For those of us who prefer classical music and, like me, live within range of a good FM station that broadcasts such music, high quality FM reception is essential. And, while the advice that you’ve received is well intended and basically sound, it reflects “old school” design; it’s NOT technically current. To appreciate this see…
http://www.biline.ca/audio_critic/audio_critic_web1.htm#sony
Also here: https://www.cnet.com/products/sony-xdr-f1hd/review/
I acquired my own (new) Sony XDR-F1HD FM tuner in late 2008, for $50, in a closeout sale. Sony ceased production of this product at about that same time, presumably because too few consumers understood or appreciated the merits of high definition (HD) FM broadcasting. However, you are frequently able to find Sony XDR-F1HD tuners for sale in the used e-commerce marketplace. For me, finding this product was an important windfall because I live (on the central coast of CA) within range of a local repeater that transmits the HD FM signal from KUSC (Los Angeles), the last remaining full time, non-commercial, public radio station in the U.S. that’s dedicated exclusively (24/7) to classical music. And KUSC does this with live on-air program hosts, using the full 96 Kbps bandwidth of their HD allocation, assuring their listeners of the finest possible transmission fidelity. The result can be absolutely glorious audio, but that won’t persist for long unless you also do something about the serious internal heat rise that’s implicit when using this product. For full info, see: http://www.ham-radio.com/k6sti/xdr-f1hd.htm
As the above report cites, it’s vital to address the XDR-F1HD heat build-up problem. In addition, there are numerous other improvements that are well worth making on this tuner because its ultimate performance potential is so outstanding. And here’s the guy that can do that: http://www.xdrguy.com/sony-xdr-f1hd-audio-performance.html This man is truly a talented craftsman. For $300, he installed two hi-end fans (noiseless), replaced all of my fried electrolytic caps, provided an optional HD lockout, upgraded the output jacks, replaced the worn and erratic control buttons, replaced the dim LEDs on the LCD display board, provided a super-cap to prevent loss of memory during power outages, and optimally realigned the RF front end. In addition, he installed a new analog audio stage that eliminates the high frequency falloff that was previously inherent in the stock design. And now I own the finest FM tuner ever produced. There’s nothing better, at any price. The RF performance is now amazing (I use Terk's FM50-Pro antenna, wall-mounted near ceiling), and the audio quality of the classical music that I receive from the live KUSC broadcasts is superb—also completely free of any noise at all times. This is an FM tuner that’s well worth pursuing.
Fm tuner
I am looking to upgrade my fm tuner. I now have an old Rega Radio.
i listen mainly to classical,wfmt in Chicago and listen to that station as much as I do my vinyl and cds.
as I live close to Chicago receiving weak stations is not an issue.
i have recently upgraded to a Rogue Sphinx v2,kef LS50s and a rega p6.
im not really up on the latest technology so I think an fm tuner is all I really need.
any suggestions or thoughts will be appreciated.
allan
i listen mainly to classical,wfmt in Chicago and listen to that station as much as I do my vinyl and cds.
as I live close to Chicago receiving weak stations is not an issue.
i have recently upgraded to a Rogue Sphinx v2,kef LS50s and a rega p6.
im not really up on the latest technology so I think an fm tuner is all I really need.
any suggestions or thoughts will be appreciated.
allan
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- 41 posts total
My post of yesterday had some broken and duplicated links. I'll try to do better now, see below. In response to Cleeds' accurate comment, let me add that I merely intended to refer to "HD Radio" as hi-def because that is what it is named; the HD handle stands for hi def. And the implicit benefits of HD radio do work well FOR ME, but I'm located within 5.4 miles of my KUSC repeater, and I use a good antenna. If you are in a more distant reception area and find that conventional analog FM reception might work better than HD mode, the modification work performed by the cited source includes an optional HD lockout switch that gives you that option. |
"And now I own the finest FM tuner ever produced. There’s nothing better, at any price." vtmtodvm- you found something that agrees with your ears. Have you owned one a Marantz 10B, REL Precedent,Scott...etc? I wasn t aware Sony produced such a product that can match and exceed the performance of these tubed classics. Im a KUSC listener in SoCal, and yes that and our Jazz station can sound great on a decent tuner with a good antenna. I'm using a 65' tubed Mac MR71. |
tablejockey, I based that conclusion on what was stated (and implied) by Peter Acxel, owner of the now defunct "The Audio Critic". It's in his post, see: http://www.biline.ca/audio_critic/audio_critic_web1.htm#sony schubert, it's my understanding that the other stations that you allude to are NOT actual full time classical music broadcasters. I'm told that they carry other programming, too, like "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition" and related NPR format programming, as well as some pop and folk music. Is this truly not correct? |
vtvmtodvm ... I merely intended to refer to "HD Radio" as hi-def because that is what it is named; the HD handle stands for hi def.No, "HD Radio" does not mean or stand for "high-definition." See: https://hdradio.com/trademark " 'HD Radio’ is the brand name for the digital radio broadcast technology developed by iBiquity Digital Corporation. The ’HD’ in ’HD Radio’ does not stand for ’high definition’ or ’hybrid digital.’ ” This is significant distinction because - no matter how happy you are with your HD radio - it’s 96kbps at best, and it uses an even lower bitrate than that if the station is also transmitting HD2 and HD3 subchannels.
That may be true for you, in your location, especially given your satisfaction with its 96 kpbs HD signal. After all, some people are satisfied with 128 kbps mp3 files. To understand more about the limitations of the little Sony XDR-F1HD, see: http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/sony.html |
- 41 posts total