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Sony XDR-F1HD first impressions as a DX machine on a budget

I read about the rebate today on the Anandtech forum. They were linking to J/R which wanted $99.99 with free shipping. I did some searches and found it at B&H for $89 with $5.40 shipping. $44.40 AR is a steal!! :)

I plan to connect it to my Harman/Kardon HK 3480 and do some A/B tests with the built in tuner. We will see if it earns full time tuner use, or solely HD reception.
 
That bandscan from Duluth, MN inspired me to post my own. Can't get that LCD sharp enough on the video though...:no:

Lots of tropospheric ducting this year. Usually the foggy conditions (May Gray and June Gloom) don't last this late in the summer, hence the exceptional and consistent reception of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

No luck with E's though and I foolishly missed the meteors last week (Perseids)! :tears:
 
Anyone heard of a repeat of the rebate?
Regards,
Jim
 
Great DX, BUT.....

I have had an XDR-F1HD for a couple of months now, and am quite impressed with its DX ability. Using an un-amplified rabbit ears, my best DX is WGBH in Boston MA, 156 miles away as the crow flies! Sadly, the audio quality of the XDR-F1HD does not match its stellar sensitivity and selectivity. Brian Beezley's analysis of the tuner mentions a -3db HF deemphasis rolloff and substitute opamp filter output circuit to eliminate the problem, but I don't think that will help much. Even with my 72 year old attenuated high frequency ear response (only up to 10.8 Khz), My best analog tuners obviously sound better than the Sony on high quality FM transmissions, with cleaner airy open sound. The Sony is certainly acceptable for everyday non-critical listening and it does grab stations that other lesser tuners can't even hear, but the audio is a major disappointment. I hope someone comes up with a feasible fix for this problem.
2chanman
 
Connected to a large rooftop antenna I am sorry to say that the little Sony sounds very good. It may not be as lush as the classic tuners but it has the best bass, dynamic range and is noise free. HD is noticeably more dynamic than analog on all of the very high quality stations. Stereo separation is superb as is the quieting. I doubt you will get the best performance on a dipole but that can be said for almost any nice tuner.

Thanks,
Ron-C
 
ron-c said:
Connected to a large rooftop antenna I am sorry to say that the little Sony sounds very good. It may not be as lush as the classic tuners but it has the best bass, dynamic range and is noise free. HD is noticeably more dynamic than analog on all of the very high quality stations. Stereo separation is superb as is the quieting. I doubt you will get the best performance on a dipole but that can be said for almost any nice tuner.

Thanks,
Ron-C
Click to expand...

Completely agree with Ron! :thmbsp:
 
I don't think my using a dipole(rabbit ears) has anything to do with audio quality as long as the received signal is strong enough and free of multipath to get the tuner into its optimal operating range, which it is with almost every station I receive. However, there are two stations that broadcast extremely high quality signals: WPKN (listener sponsored, obviously no compression used) and WQXR, the classical music station of the New York Times. Both sound very good on the Sony, with almost no difference in quality compared to my best analog tuners. Neither station transmits in HD, thank goodness. Unfortunately, most stations using HD split their HD signals into 3 channels, which assures poor audio quality on all three. It is uncommon to find a HD station broadcasting only one HD channel. The main interest from the station's point of view is additional programming, not enhanced (?) audio quality.
2chanman
 
90.7 and 96.3 QXR are probably two of the best FM stations left in NYC. Luckily I get a 5 out of 5 on em with a wire antenna but I do live close....

I haven't gotten into HDFM yet and have no use for terrestrial radio much anymore... I like internet radio even with the crappy streams. At least I can choose what I want and avoid ads
 
Your not missing much by not being into HD radio for the reasons I gave in my post. If I remember correctly, 90.7 is WFUV, right? They are broadcasting HD and seem to have pretty decent audio, but I don't care for their programming, which is mostly rock. WQXR is entirely classical, but the commercials are very annoying, especially so in view of their programming. In the distant past, it was their practice to ban singing musical commercials, but that policy went by the boards a long time ago. They have always had high quality audio, however. 95% of NYC fm broadcasting is unlistenable garbage, both in programming and audio quality. What a waste of spectrum!
2chanman
 
Ordered one and it arrived yesterday. This little jewel is quite the DX'er and picks up many station I could not get clearly before with my other tuners. Since FM is mostly background for me with no critical listening involved, this tuner is the bomb! No it does not have the sonics of the Yamaha's and Kenwood's Ive owned, but this little guy will really pull em in. Great buy at $82.40 shipped, and has a very small footprint to boot!
Regards,
Jim
 
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