Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner

First of all, yes, this is a tuner, NOT a radio, and Amazon should correct that! Also, HD radio is NOT High Definition radio. The HD stands for Hybrid Digital. So don't assume you'll have better sound in HD than analog radio! That said,

I have been interested in getting an HD radio to try out the format. Being an audiophile, I checked several audiophile review sites for the Sangean tuners, and they weren't getting too good of reviews. Also, their price is $200-250.
Then I came across a review for this tuner, and how much better it is, saying the FM analog portion alone is worth the price.
I have to agree, the FM tuner is much better than the tuner in my $1000 PrePro! Analog reception picks up more stations and the sound is great! Haven't heard analog FM sound this good since the 60's! Analog AM is also better than my Prepro (though not by much). Great sound, and only $99 ! This is a steal, grab it before they jack up the price! Audiophie FM tuners go for $200 & up. All this performance, and it's about the size of a car stereo!

There are about 20 FM HD stations here in Chicago, and it pulls them all in great, except for one, which keeps switching between analog and HD. There are some AM HD stations in Chicago. It would show which were HD, but none of them had enough strength to switch the tuner from analog to HD, so I couldn't judge AM HD.
Now for some things that need improving: there are 40 presets; 20 for FM and 20 for AM....not enough for FM and too many for AM. If you want to hear a HD station in analog, there's no way to switch it back to analog, you have to listen in HD. The dial glows like a cellphone, which is great while you're using it, but when you turn it off, it still glows, like a night light in a dark room. When powering down, it should dim. You can dim it down in the menu so it doesn't glow in the dark, but then when you turn it on, you can't read it because it's dark. Who wants to set the dimmer everytime you turn it on and off?
Overall, it's more than worth it.

The receiver is a tuner that is very small and intended to plug into your existing stereo system in a living room setting and it does this very well.
Acquiring HD is the fastest I've experienced, not the 8 seconds it should be, but close enough.
There is a really handy arrow that tells you if there are more subchannels and if you should tune 'up' or 'down' to hear them. This is really handy since it takes a while to tune HD signals, even on the best tuners.
Sound is excellent. You hear the talk radio host sip his coffee.
Remote is handy and not as useless as others think.
Presets can be set to HD subchannels. This is a major, crucial feature, and I'm very happy with it.
On AM Radio, even if the analog signal has static and interference, the HD Radio signal still comes on with crystal-clear audio. This is a huge advantage.

Some issues:
The unit runs extremely hot when tuning HD, hot when running, and very warm when off.
The back light cannot be turned off and remains lit when the power is turned off--this is a major flaw.
No optical output is a major omission for something that is just a tuner.
You cannot input a frequency. You must tune up or down one step or use presets.
The radio does remember its presets when AC power is removed, so I'm not seeing what other reviewers said.
The tuning buttons are to the left of the preset buttons meaning that I accidentally hit the preset when I want to "tune up" or "tune down".
Tuning off an HD channel is easy to do accidentally and tuning back takes a while for the HD to come back.
The tuner machine picks up alot of its own digital hash on AM.
Nighttime AM HD is currently banned by the industry due to adjacent channel interference so your AM radio will go to analog when local sunset occurs.

One word about talk radio: Even though HD Radio has been around for a few years most broadcasting equipment in my area is not upgraded well enough to provide clean broadcasting, especially on AM talk radio stations whose old analog signal covered up a world of audio hurt that you can now hear in HD. Talk radio is hard to listen to unless it's a national show that is well produced and processed. You'll hear background sound, hiss, hum, and feedback which would otherwise be masked by traditional AM broadcasting.

Compared to the current Sangean, the Sony XDRF1HD is smaller, costs less, and gets as good of a signal. I have it on my computer desk plugged into my PreSonus Firebox amp.

Nice features:
* sleep button
* remote control

Not so nice:
* no volume control from Sony itself (would not matter if my PreSonus amp had a remote control)
* does not remember channels or time after a power outage

If you have HD channels in your area that you enjoy, then this is a good box. I live in D.C. and basically got this box for the extra WAMU channels.

Sony should have called it a tuner. But if you want to be simple just buy a couple of computer speakers with an RCA adapter and you're ready to go. This item works very well in my area. HD radio stations are not that common yet, but what I received (about 15 extra stations in Orange County, CA) seems pretty good. I can receive AM radio programs that were preempted by LA Dodger game, or if I want commercial free "elevator" music, pop, rock or classical music this tuner offers a nice departure from the same old stuff found on FM radio. The Sony does a nice job locking in to HD channels and you can preset your favorite programs on HD or regular stations. The LCD display offers signal strength, HD signal detection, clock, Channel name ID and display format. A remote control comes with it (less batteries) and it is fairly easy to use. It comes with a wire dipole FM antenna and external AM loop antenna. Unless you live near alot of FM stations, HD radio is not ready for you, but in terms of performance the Sony is versatile little tuner.

I bought Sony's XDRF1HD HD Radio based on reviews about its sensitive analog reception and, I must say, lives up to its reputation! On analog FM, the XDRF1HD pulls in distant New Hampshire country station WOKQ 97.5 despite being sandwiched between New Bedford's WJFD 97.3 and Boston area WKAF 97.7. Other (less sensitive) radios in our apartment don't detect WOKQ at all. Same with WRIU 90.3 Providence, RI. Religious 90.5 WSMA from Scituate totally covers up 90.3 on every radio but the XDRF1HD. The XDRF's high sensitivity is what I expect and appreciate.

HD reception is fairly good. Living (south of Boston) in a first floor apartment, a necessity because my wife is handicapped, does keep us from experiencing optimal reception. In spite of that, we get HD signals from WGBH 89.7, WSNE 93.3, WTKK 96.9, WKLB 102.5 but can't get a lock on Kiss 108's HD signal despite a strong 3-bar reading. Seems HD FM stations need the almost 100kw power level of WGBH to adequately get their HD channels into area homes.
Unfortunately, the "empty space" on each side of an HD signal is far from empty. The adjacent space is filled with a hashy sound, byproduct of the HD signal. That "hash" does block reception of many weak, distant stations
and messes up others. I used to get Cap Cod's 96.3 WRZE fairly well here, but not now because of HD hash from 96.1 WSRS Worcester.

As for AM, no problem locking into WBZ-HD. Boston's Radio Disney on 1260 also broadcasts in HD but the Sony cannot log into it. At night at least a dozen HD signals from other states are detected yet none strong enough for a lock. AM HD can work if the FCC lets stations up their power levels. Small stations with 5kw signals can't get their HD content out very far.
One major downside is that all AM HD stations create heavy "hash-sounding" static that wipes out adjacent signals. So now, at night, there's
no chance to hear KDKA-1020 (PA) or WHO-1040 (IA) because of the side hash produced by WBZ-1030.

Over all, despite the disadvantage of a first floor apartment, this Sony provides excellent analog and good HD reception.
However, while I totally adored HD at first, I feel that HD sound quality isn't that different from analog on FM, and that the heavy interference caused by HD stations to adjacent signals is not worth its existence. No radio station should suffer degraded reception due to any technological advancement.
Mind you, this receiver is worth buying for all its reception quality, but HD has to go. The lack of HD listeners and the amount of money wasted on HD by its maker Ibiquity and major broadcasters shows what a failure HD radio really is.