pbda
Super Member
Your interpretation is spot on. That is exactly what I meant.
Astonishing Sony XDRF1HD Tuner
- Thread starter pbda
- Start date
Your interpretation is spot on. That is exactly what I meant.
pmsummer
simul justus et peccator
And that is my experience.
BTW: Just how many angels CAN dance on the head of a needle?
$$$???? Loser!!!
Well, I just lost the EBay auction for new-in-the-box Sony.
I bid $150 and it was won for 152.50. WoudaShoudaCoulda.
At least I have the one i bought 6mos ago new, but sure wish I had at least one to take to work. I wonder how high my "opponent" would have gone?
Hope it was one of you guys. Phil
Well, I just lost the EBay auction for new-in-the-box Sony.
I bid $150 and it was won for 152.50. WoudaShoudaCoulda.
At least I have the one i bought 6mos ago new, but sure wish I had at least one to take to work. I wonder how high my "opponent" would have gone?
Hope it was one of you guys. Phil
Cut-Throat
Well-Known Member
pmsummer
simul justus et peccator
You won't be sorry... and they quit stinking after a few days.
Snade
humble AK member
The only one on Amazon today costs $250 and it is used.
Several other online vendors I checked said it was "on order".
Glad I got one earlier, thanks to this thread. :yes:
Cheers, Snade
Snade
humble AK member
Not aware of any change to this model.
Rumor that Sony is discontinuing this model and may come out with a new model with new features and much higher price. Current model is harder to find on online stores.
Gottanother
Thanks to this forum, I ordered a 2nd XDRF 3 days ago from Amazon which arrived today.
A month ago they took my order telling me it would take a month for delivery; after 1 1/2 weeks they cancelled saying they were unavailable.
I found a new one on EBay and stopped bidding @$150.
Someone posted they were available for $99 again and they were and I got it.
Today Amazon says no stock/1-2mo wait.
I think the party may be over.
Gosh, I've become attached to these little marvels!
Thanks to this forum, I ordered a 2nd XDRF 3 days ago from Amazon which arrived today.
A month ago they took my order telling me it would take a month for delivery; after 1 1/2 weeks they cancelled saying they were unavailable.
I found a new one on EBay and stopped bidding @$150.
Someone posted they were available for $99 again and they were and I got it.
Today Amazon says no stock/1-2mo wait.
I think the party may be over.
Gosh, I've become attached to these little marvels!
PeterFCassidy
Nikko+Apt-Holman = OMG!
XDRF is Purring Contentedly in the Office Now
Got it tuned to a couple of favorite university station and the sound is very good, from what I can tell listening for 20 minutes. The interesting part is having a whole new dimension of radio available in these alternative HD channels that ride with the main frequency. Some have three channels on one frequency. Intriguing. I will futz later after I cadge some AAA batteries for the remote. Perhaps a face-off between XDRF and Gamma V is in order when I get past some desk work . . . In the meantime, WHRB is coming in at three bars and sounds fine.
Got it tuned to a couple of favorite university station and the sound is very good, from what I can tell listening for 20 minutes. The interesting part is having a whole new dimension of radio available in these alternative HD channels that ride with the main frequency. Some have three channels on one frequency. Intriguing. I will futz later after I cadge some AAA batteries for the remote. Perhaps a face-off between XDRF and Gamma V is in order when I get past some desk work . . . In the meantime, WHRB is coming in at three bars and sounds fine.
C Crane is showing them in stock @ $99.95. They claim to have shipped mine but it has not arrived yet.
http://www.ccrane.com/radios/hd-radio/sony-hd-radio.aspx
Dave
http://www.ccrane.com/radios/hd-radio/sony-hd-radio.aspx
Dave
baneste
Active Member
Thanks to this thread, I was convinced to buy an XDRF last week. Got mine from Compusource.com for $84 shipped. The receiver arrived in two days.
I connected it to a Magnum Dynalab ST-2 Omnidirectional antenna mounted in my attic. Maybe I'm under the "influence" of the positive reviews here and elsewhere, but I think the FM audio quality on this tuner sounds just about as good as any FM tuner I've had in this system, including a McIntosh MR-80 and my current Magnum-Dynalab FT-101 Etude. I say "just about" because the XDRF sounds a little hard, bright or "edgy" in the mid treble range by compairson to the analog signal through the Etude on some stations when it switches to digital mode. But it's hard to say whether that's the fault of the tuner or the broadcaster. It would be nice if this had an "analog only" control for A-B comparison to analog tuners on all stations. On analog only stations, the differences between it and the Etude were really, really difficult to discern and -- when I could hear a difference -- it was hard to say which was more objectively accurate or even more subjectively preferable. I could easily live with the XDRF except I'd miss fiddling with all the switches and controls that are available on the Etude.
I live in a radio-rich urban environment where there are plenty of strong signals available, so I can't really comment on DX reception abilities. It does seem to do a great job of rejecting nearby frequencies, however, and multipath seems to be a non-issue. It picks up without fuss stations that I have to use the "narrow" selectivity option to get cleanly on the Etude.
I wasn't as impressed with the sonic qualities of the AM section. My current AM tuner is the AM section of an NEC T-601E. The NEC bests the XDRF in AM sound quality. The XDRF sounds as if the midrange is much more emphasized than the rest of the frequency spectrum by comparison to the NEC. Even with the XDRF in AM HD mode, the NEC sounded better in an A-B comparison. AM HD, on the few stations in the Dallas area that offer it, sounds phase shifted, kind of like a low bitrate MP3. However, AM is AM, after all, so I'm not going to knock the XDRF too much for AM sound quality. Without the A-B comparison, I wouldn't have found the AM sound quality of the XDRF unbearable or even objectionable.
Beyond the sound qualities of the XDRF is the additional content. I was delighted with a couple of the sub-stations that I was able to pick up in digital mode. Overall, this has to be the best sub $100 purchase for a new peice of audio gear that I've made in a long, long time. The whole experience has re-kindled my interest in FM and in trying out some of the new stations that I can now pick up. Thank you to those who helped get out the good word on the XDRF. I guess the next step is to get another and look in to some of the mods that are floating around for this little gem. Anyone have any first-hand experiences with those?
I connected it to a Magnum Dynalab ST-2 Omnidirectional antenna mounted in my attic. Maybe I'm under the "influence" of the positive reviews here and elsewhere, but I think the FM audio quality on this tuner sounds just about as good as any FM tuner I've had in this system, including a McIntosh MR-80 and my current Magnum-Dynalab FT-101 Etude. I say "just about" because the XDRF sounds a little hard, bright or "edgy" in the mid treble range by compairson to the analog signal through the Etude on some stations when it switches to digital mode. But it's hard to say whether that's the fault of the tuner or the broadcaster. It would be nice if this had an "analog only" control for A-B comparison to analog tuners on all stations. On analog only stations, the differences between it and the Etude were really, really difficult to discern and -- when I could hear a difference -- it was hard to say which was more objectively accurate or even more subjectively preferable. I could easily live with the XDRF except I'd miss fiddling with all the switches and controls that are available on the Etude.
I live in a radio-rich urban environment where there are plenty of strong signals available, so I can't really comment on DX reception abilities. It does seem to do a great job of rejecting nearby frequencies, however, and multipath seems to be a non-issue. It picks up without fuss stations that I have to use the "narrow" selectivity option to get cleanly on the Etude.
I wasn't as impressed with the sonic qualities of the AM section. My current AM tuner is the AM section of an NEC T-601E. The NEC bests the XDRF in AM sound quality. The XDRF sounds as if the midrange is much more emphasized than the rest of the frequency spectrum by comparison to the NEC. Even with the XDRF in AM HD mode, the NEC sounded better in an A-B comparison. AM HD, on the few stations in the Dallas area that offer it, sounds phase shifted, kind of like a low bitrate MP3. However, AM is AM, after all, so I'm not going to knock the XDRF too much for AM sound quality. Without the A-B comparison, I wouldn't have found the AM sound quality of the XDRF unbearable or even objectionable.
Beyond the sound qualities of the XDRF is the additional content. I was delighted with a couple of the sub-stations that I was able to pick up in digital mode. Overall, this has to be the best sub $100 purchase for a new peice of audio gear that I've made in a long, long time. The whole experience has re-kindled my interest in FM and in trying out some of the new stations that I can now pick up. Thank you to those who helped get out the good word on the XDRF. I guess the next step is to get another and look in to some of the mods that are floating around for this little gem. Anyone have any first-hand experiences with those?