Visteon Tabletop HD Radio - White (HDT200)
See it at Amazon.com for $199.99Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(5 out of 5)Why is this less popular than the Sony XDR-S3HD?
I'm writing to "plug a hole" I see in the Amazon reviews. The Sony XDR-S3HD has many, but this radio not a one! And as someone who was supremely satisfied with his purchase (I actually logged on to purchase a second one of these for myself - the original purchase was a present for my mother), I thought I should speak up.
As I said, I bought this radio originally for my mother, who listens to it regularly when she is making pottery in her studio. She lives in a remote area, and I was worried about whether the HD signal would be received cleanly, but to my relief that wasn't a problem. And when there is any issue with the HD signal, it switches pretty seamlessly between HD and the regular analog signal.
I like this radio because it sounds great (the sound is warm and fills the room), looks great, is VERY intuitive and easy to operate (this was key, as ease of use is extremely important to my mother), and has an RCA input jack where you can hook up an iPod or anything else. In general, it just looks, feels, and sounds like a well-made and well-designed piece of hardware. I would recommend it to anyone.
(5 out of 5)Very Satisfying Purchase
I bought the Visteon HDT200 based on favorable Amazon reviews, and I have not been disappointed. I took it out of the box, connected the power cord and AM and FM antennae, turned it on, found my stations, and pushed the buttons to program them into memory, before even looking at the manual. Three minutes. Excellent sound,it does everything I had hoped for and looks good too. My reason for buying an HD radio was to gain access to the HD-2 broadcast by WRTI in Philadelphia. They play classical during the day, jazz at night, but with HD I can have either one at any time. I soon found other stations doing the same thing. Suddenly, radio is a larger part of my day. As another reviewer indicates, the Visteon avoids such problems, encountered with at least one other popular model, as a loud cooling fan(!). There is no extraneous noise. If I could afford it, I'd buy one or two more, for use in additional rooms. A very nice, well-designed product...Michael Robinson/Riverton, NJ
(5 out of 5)Fantastic value!
I read the reviews for all the HD tabletop radios Amazon offers right now, and this is the one I ended up buying. I'm glad I did. It is a great value for the money. The sound could be a little crisper, but it's still very good. Sure, it would be nice if a second speaker came in the box, but these are small quibbles. Reception is excellent. Even without the FM antenna plugged in, the radio was still pulling in all the local stations. With the antenna, I was able to pick up an FM station that's 80 miles away in Bellingham (though not strongly enough to receive the digital signal).
Is HD worth the premium you pay right now? All I can say is that stations whose analog signal is just a little fuzzy come in clean and clear on HD. Plus, about half the stations offer one or more additional, digital-only channels. One cautionary note: if you're primarily an AM listener, beware that few AM stations seem to have gone to HD as of now. In the Seattle area, there are none that have, as far as I can tell (supposedly, there are three: 850, 1250, and 1340; I'll have to try again).
If you're looking for a clock radio compact enough for a bedside table that offers excellent reception, HD capability, and nice sound, all for a good price, well, here it is.
(5 out of 5)Better than Bose
A real bargain, this small radio delivers a pretty big sound, superior in quality to my portable Bose Wave. Both classical and rock music have a full, rich sound. Great reception, a great little work horse, this radio more than meets my expectations.
(4 out of 5)New technology
I wanted to try HD and now that I have, I don't think it's got all the bugs out yet. Our four local HD stations sometimes just go away.
The radio itself is good. Controls are easy. Reception is nil without the external antenna.
The Boston Acoustic radio's reception and sound is much better.
I would give The HD radio idea another 6 to 12 months to fully develop.
Maybe I'll try an XM receiver.