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Astonishing Sony XDRF1HD Tuner

The new McIntosh MR88 should fit the bill quite nicely. (No affiliation to McIntosh).

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While I'd love to have the MR88, I must bow my head in financial impotence... must wait for next paycheck (which means next job that I'm still hunting for).

Meanwhile, here's a great alternative:
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It's the Sangean HDT-1X. Very sharp unit. Only $169.99 shipped from NewEgg. No affiliation. But I'm probably going to be a customer. :)
 
For a measly $99.00 you guys sure nit pick. I set mine on some tall feet and it runs cool to the touch. The display can be dimmed in three steps and makes a nice night light. ALL HD tuners take a second or two to lock on. This is a non issue compared to loading a CD or BR disk.
Changing channels is easy and I have not inadvertently hit other controls.
2 chanman, I stand by Brian Bezzley's statement. Tuners do not have issues with "ideal clean signal". The Sony excels when the reception gets tough.
I think many feel somewhat threatened by the little Sony, which is silly. On my local stations the HD section is super both in programing and sound quality but many do not have a great pallet of local FM to chose from. Understandable.

PS, yes the MR88 will kick the Sony's ... at a price of course.

Thanks,
Ron-C
 
You forgot: can't force analogue with HD signal available

myu701 said:
I've seen a few issues cited as well.
  • Runs very hot and remains quite warm when "off".
  • Backlight remains on, even with unit off--talk about unnecessary power consumption.
  • Presets not remembered when unit is unplugged (OK, there goes the backlight solution).
  • HD signals have a noticeable lag for lock-in, and the poor control layout makes it easy to accidentally turn off HD... thus forcing another lag while you wait for HD to be activated again.
  • No optical output (for those not running with vintage, kind of a bummer).

What's a worthwhile alternative?
Click to expand...
 
Brian Beezley has some detailed reviews of audio equipment, including the Sangean and Sony tuners mentioned. He's way too techie for me... but it's fascinating to see his mods (backlight off, memory retention).

Anyway, if the backlight can be dimmed so it's not very noticeable, that might be OK with me. I just wish I hadn't missed the Amazon deal! $48 shipped (with $50 rebate). Maybe another deal will come around with this lagging economy. ;)
 
ron-c said:
For a measly $99.00 you guys sure nit pick. I set mine on some tall feet and it runs cool to the touch. The display can be dimmed in three steps and makes a nice night light. ALL HD tuners take a second or two to lock on. This is a non issue compared to loading a CD or BR disk.
Changing channels is easy and I have not inadvertently hit other controls.
2 chanman, I stand by Brian Bezzley's statement. Tuners do not have issues with "ideal clean signal". The Sony excels when the reception gets tough.
I think many feel somewhat threatened by the little Sony, which is silly. On my local stations the HD section is super both in programing and sound quality but many do not have a great pallet of local FM to chose from. Understandable.

PS, yes the MR88 will kick the Sony's ... at a price of course.

Thanks,
Ron-C
Click to expand...

Agree with Ron on all these points. :thmbsp:

Snade
 
I just did a little re-arranging in the music room and have been A/B'ing my Sony against my Kenwood L-02T through an Adcom GFP-750 preamp (the remote makes it just too easy)

My impressions are right on with Snade. The Sony is very clean, very quiet, and sounds great but it just can't create the same sort of sound that you can get with a really top-notch analog tuner.

The difference is especially noticeable when listening to jazz, blues, or any somehwat minimally recorded music...cymbals just aren't quite right on the Sony, and piano takes on a bit of an edge. Even the newsreaders on NPR sounded a bit thin on the Sony. Good, but just not completely there.

But so what? The flipside to the Sony is that it locked in to a couple of stations in clean stereo that my L-02T has trouble with, AND it can access content that my big Kenwood will never be able to! The addiition of 5 really good local HD-only stations (in my market) is a huge benefit! Add a remote control and a clock to the mix and you have a welcome addition to my music room system.

Most of you audio-guys spend $100 on cables. Here's something that will allow you to connect with new music (in most markets) and maybe start enjoying the radio again!
 
PS, yes the MR88 will kick the Sony's ... at a price of course.
Click to expand...

And MR88 is just freakin' gorgeous, to boot. What a great idea to go back to an analog-looking tuner face. One of my favorite features of my Mac1700 and Mac1500 is the classic look of the tuner.

I have had an experince similar to one described above: on FM signals that are strong and nearby I would rather listen through my 1500's tuner, but when drift or interference become an issue, I switch to the Sony. Best of both worlds.
 
the sony sounds better than the tuner in my sansui 7000 -it pulls in weak stations much better w/less of ant antenna
 
As I write this I'm listening to the Sony at the Oregon Coast. Its OK, but my MR78 would do better on analogue signals. On digital signals the MR78 is a boatanchor. Ah, progress!
 
I just got one. It is better at pulling a clean signal than my Marantz 2220B and my Tivoli PAL. Considering what it costs, I am very happy with it. I was aware of the issues like the lack of digital output, losing presets, etc..but those issues weren't deal breakers for me.
 
the party's over????

Having been an early buyer of this little gem, I ordered another for my shop from Amazon for $89.
"We are sorry to report that we will not be able to obtain the following item(s) from your order:

"Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00168Q248

Though we had expected to be able to send this item to you, we've since found that it is not available from any of our sources at this time. We realize this is disappointing news to hear, and we apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you."

Amazon does have one available used: $250!! If these are out of production now, that might be reasonable-they're that good for fringe reception-better than any of my 5 other tuners. phil
 
wow, looks like people have caught on! Glad I bought one when I did. I hope sony starts making more of them soon so the price will go down.
 
pfcs49 said:
Amazon does have one available used: $250!! If these are out of production now, that might be reasonable-they're that good for fringe reception-better than any of my 5 other tuners. phil
Click to expand...

Hey, this was supposed to be our little secret. Fess up, who blabbed?:thumbsdn:
 
My guess is that Sony or some other manufacturer will come out with an "upgraded" model with more features for more money.
 
The sudden non-availability of the Sony XDR-F1HD tuner makes it all the more important to preserve the ones we already have. That can be done by putting a 4" 12vdc computer cooling fan over the cooling vents on top of the tuner. This should significantly increase the service life of the tuner. Brian Beezley's report on the tuner has more info on what is required.
 
2chanman said:
The sudden non-availability of the Sony XDR-F1HD tuner makes it all the more important to preserve the ones we already have. That can be done by putting a 4" 12vdc computer cooling fan over the cooling vents on top of the tuner.
Click to expand...

I raised the feet on mine about half an inch with rubber pads. It seems to be cool with that.
 
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