Astonishing Sony XDRF1HD Tuner
- Thread starter pbda
- Start date
targeteye
Super Member
got mine installed tonight. The is the first tuner I've had that will pull in stations with ease out here in the burbs. So sensitivity is superb. I've only run into on issue. On one station with a marginal HD signal the unit will switch into HD mode and drop out what appears to be a perfectly good Analog signal. However, the HD signal is not good enough to get a lock and the tuner just goes quiet. Might have to install the mod to keep the tuner in Analog mode when required. I was actually surprised it didn't come with the option from Sony.
Needless to say the Yammie T1 is eBay bound.
Steve
Needless to say the Yammie T1 is eBay bound.
Steve
pmsummer
simul justus et peccator
Joining the fray: ordered one the other night for the aforementioned $84...time for a comparison with a Yamaha CT-7000 and a McIntosh MR78. We shall see soon enough
Shoot. I could have saved you $84. I'd have happily swapped my XDRF1HD for one of your tuners.
;-)
BrocLuno
Lunatic Member
Well, mine is here 
I hooked it up in the shop sitting atop the Nikko 850. Yup, it runs warm. I added 1/4" clear stick on feet and that helped. Sounds nice, I may mod for the added treble, but maybe not? It has that cruising down the road FM sort of sound
It does make some stations much more listenable. That's a good thing. But, with the factory antenna about a foot away from my folded dipole feeding my old MCS 3245, the Sony does not blow it away. To be fair, that old receiver has a pretty good FM section. It gets a few more stations and some are more listenable, but it does not pull in anything like 20 more or anything. It did better the Nikko, but that set has never been aligned or serviced - that's coming.
It'll be quite nice to have in one of my systems, but it will not replace a well aligned wide/narrow selectable dedicated FM Tuner for me in all systems. I was a bit concerned that it would mean I'd have to sell off my tuners - not to worry - it just adds to the stack
I hooked it up in the shop sitting atop the Nikko 850. Yup, it runs warm. I added 1/4" clear stick on feet and that helped. Sounds nice, I may mod for the added treble, but maybe not? It has that cruising down the road FM sort of sound
It does make some stations much more listenable. That's a good thing. But, with the factory antenna about a foot away from my folded dipole feeding my old MCS 3245, the Sony does not blow it away. To be fair, that old receiver has a pretty good FM section. It gets a few more stations and some are more listenable, but it does not pull in anything like 20 more or anything. It did better the Nikko, but that set has never been aligned or serviced - that's coming.
It'll be quite nice to have in one of my systems, but it will not replace a well aligned wide/narrow selectable dedicated FM Tuner for me in all systems. I was a bit concerned that it would mean I'd have to sell off my tuners - not to worry - it just adds to the stack
Last edited:
baneste
Active Member
FWIW, there is a mod for a switch to foce analog FM reception described in http://www.ham-radio.com/k6sti/xdr-f1hd.htm. I wouldn't feel comfortable attempting these modifications because I don't have the skill or experience.
Does anyone here know of someone would be interested in performing this work? A referral/recommendation would be greatly appreciated.
BrocLuno
Lunatic Member
Cool Punker, if you offer choices of mods (menu) I'll bet you get plenty of customers
Since I live on rural electric, I'd sure like to have an external battery to keep the memory for power outages. Ours rarely last more than 24 hours, but sometimes.
Since I don't get any Digital FM stations, I don't need to worry about it hunting back and forth between HD FM and Analog FM, and that's a good thing. I might find a way to help the heat issue more, like swiss cheesing the top to add air flow.
Will there be any way to add 300 OHM balanced antenna inputs?
Since I live on rural electric, I'd sure like to have an external battery to keep the memory for power outages. Ours rarely last more than 24 hours, but sometimes.
Since I don't get any Digital FM stations, I don't need to worry about it hunting back and forth between HD FM and Analog FM, and that's a good thing. I might find a way to help the heat issue more, like swiss cheesing the top to add air flow.
Will there be any way to add 300 OHM balanced antenna inputs?
Cool Punker, if you offer choices of mods (menu) I'll bet you get plenty of customers
Since I live on rural electric, I'd sure like to have an external battery to keep the memory for power outages. Ours rarely last more than 24 hours, but sometimes.
Since I don't get any Digital FM stations, I don't need to worry about it hunting back and forth between HD FM and Analog FM, and that's a good thing. I might find a way to help the heat issue more, like swiss cheesing the top to add air flow.
Will there be any way to add 300 OHM balanced antenna inputs?
Putting some taller feet on it really helps the cooling, from feeling hot to just feeling warm. Made a huge difference. There's shielding panel under the top where you would think about drilling holes for the swiss cheese effect. Engineers put it there for some reason. Probably not to drill holes in it.
To add a 300 ohm connection you just need to get a 300 to 75 ohm bulan. Had them at Ace last time I looked. Doing internally you will would still need a bulan and would experience the same loses.
autoexer
G.A.S. man
How much taller? 1/2 inch?
Ed in Tx
Super Member
That's BALUN for balanced to unbalanced. Probably won't come up with much searching for a "bulan".
PeterFCassidy
Nikko+Apt-Holman = OMG!
Mine Runs Cool. I Wonder . . .
I got mine a couple of weeks back and plugged it in and have left it on ever since, even when the system is retired for the evening, an old burn-practice to make sure any faults appear before the warranty expires. (I will leave it on until the end of July.) Mine runs cool. The top barely gets warm and I can hold my palm against the bottom and it feels just warmish. Could Sony have changed the design to allow it to run cooler. The sound is very competent but I get these odd dropouts on a favorite analog station. Just a pause now and then during the workday. When the deadlines spread out a little further apart I will have a comparison session of a few favorite stations with the XDRF1D and the Gamma V.
I got mine a couple of weeks back and plugged it in and have left it on ever since, even when the system is retired for the evening, an old burn-practice to make sure any faults appear before the warranty expires. (I will leave it on until the end of July.) Mine runs cool. The top barely gets warm and I can hold my palm against the bottom and it feels just warmish. Could Sony have changed the design to allow it to run cooler. The sound is very competent but I get these odd dropouts on a favorite analog station. Just a pause now and then during the workday. When the deadlines spread out a little further apart I will have a comparison session of a few favorite stations with the XDRF1D and the Gamma V.
Yes 1/2" will do it. I used .4" and runs much cooler
specialidiot
Break Glass, Smoke Lucky
Cool Punker, if you offer choices of mods (menu) I'll bet you get plenty of customers
Since I live on rural electric, I'd sure like to have an external battery to keep the memory for power outages. Ours rarely last more than 24 hours, but sometimes.
Count me in for the mods too...
The lack of battery backup annoys me - the loss of 20 presets every time the power goes out..... grrrrr
I should have some 1.5F super caps in stock soon and the memory extension mod done on my sometime this weekend. Was thinking of offering a package deal on most of the mod's then extra for the active filter and mono switch. Always flexible and can do it a la carte
Not sure on pricing yet. I've quoted a couple people and they haven't responded. So I may have my prices too high.
I'd appreciate feedback on just how much everyone would be willing to spend on mods for a sub $100 tuner.
Not sure on pricing yet. I've quoted a couple people and they haven't responded. So I may have my prices too high.
I'd appreciate feedback on just how much everyone would be willing to spend on mods for a sub $100 tuner.