I've been hearing alot about HD radio but i'm not sure what it is. Based on the radio commercials it sounds really cool, but is it worth the money and extra equipment I'll need to add to my car. I've already got NAVI and I like the way the interior looks, i'd hate to have to add something to it. Any advice???

 

I liked HD when I tried it out for a month.

YOu do get a lot of channels now that are on top of the regular radio channels.

If you have upgraded your audio system the SQ difference is amazing - better than Sat.

BUT... other than the DICE unit that's supposed to start shipping any day, plus an SHOND, I don't know how to add it to what I assume is a TSX.

I also don't know about any SQ interference issues with your XM IF your TSX is 05 or newer.

As far as the controller is concerned, it would have to go in the pocket. It won't allow display on the nav screen, which would obviously be preferred.

I would go to HDradio.com and enter your ZIP and see if it's ever worth considering where you are.

 

Sounds like good advise.
I am curious about the programing, like are there commercials as in other free radio?. I'm guessing there has to be but needed to ask.

Thanks..

 

I've got HD radio in my '03 TL-S. (Kenwood DDX7015 + Kenwood HD radio addon, factory speakers)

Take this with a grain of salt, but depending on the station broadcasting HD, the sound quality could sound better or worse. For a good station the sound quality between standard radio and HD radio is the difference between night and day. There is a significant difference. HD radio sounds so much fuller. Kind of like listening to an mp3 encoded at 128 and one at 320. I can't compare HD radio to satellite radio because I don't have satellite radio.

You won't get as many channels with HD radio as you will with satellite radio. Depending on where you live, you might get more or less, but you will get more channels with HD radio.

Can't comment on the reception between HD and satellite. What I liked about HD was you can basically hook up the antenna built in on your car rather than installing a "shark fin" antenna. This would give it a more stock look. Not sure with the other HD radios, but the Kenwood has a "auto, digital, analog" setting. If you keep it on auto, it will search for the digital HD signal, and if it loses it, it will switch to analog. It's a little annoying because you will hear the difference when you lose the digital signal, but atleast you won't lose the signal.

The stations in my area don't broadcast any commercials on the HD2 channel, besides the normal "You're listening to blah blah blah in HD."

What annoys me is some of the HD stations aren't maintained well. Sometimes they don't broadcast the song titles, sometimes they do.

HD has it's pros and cons. The initial costs are a little high. There's more aftermarket radios that are coming with HD built in. There's no monthly costs. You're limited to the genre in songs based on what the stations in your area cater to.

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks for all the assitance. I think i'll hold off on purchasing one for a little while. I want them to get the bugs out a bit more before I put out that money. Thanks again.

 

Yeah I understand holding out and seeing how things pan out with HD radio. My friends wanted me to get it to see if it was worth it. After hearing the sound quality of it, they ended up buying it also. From what they say, HD radio sounds better than satellite. But it's really up to the listeners ears.

It really does sound a lot nicer than analog. Listening to one of the HD1 channels, it was a commercial with seagull sounds in the background. I had the windows down and thought there were actual seagulls outside. My friend thought the same thing. Didn't realize it was an actual commercial.

I'd have to say overall, I love it.

 

Satellite radio sounds crappy. I'm not even talking about reception.

The only reason to get it is for Howard Stern.

 

i'm glad someone agrees with me about sat. radio sounding like crap. the monthly fee is worth it for some of the talk programming. but music? no way. i can't stand that compression!

I'm very interested in HD Radio as well... I think i'm gonna add the DICE unit when/if it becomes available. (as long as the interface doesn't suck). I'm hoping for at least CD quality sound... if i get better, that's great. And if the radio programming gets old, i will just go back to the trusty ipod for a while

 

So what channel is Howard Stern on?

 

Sirius - Ch. 100

 

I seriously want to ad an HD radio tuner to my TSX but adding an hd enabled head unit doesnt seem worth the trouble ... anyone have an add on suggestions ... would alpine be the best choice since the thats the stock head unit?

 

VTEC, blumpkin is right. Sirius/XM does sound crappy. On the other hand, HD Radio sounds great !! Being in the radio industry for 31 years on-air, many of the terrestrial stations are now in HD. And now, many of the stations are now starting to promote their "stations between the stations"-meaning the extra stations they've got with the extra HD Radio bandwidth.

I've always considered Sirius/XM similar to HBO Radio-you've got to really want to get rid of commercials and then get very picky with your music selection. But when you go into your local Best Buy, they think you're talking about Sirus/XM-they don't really know what HD Radio is. And alot of their head units for cars are HD Radio ready...pretty sad. At least that was my experience when I went in there.

Give it a shot..by waiting for "the bugs" to worked out won't do anything for you. The signal is there-radio stations are broadcasting in HD. It's now just a matter of acceptance by the listening public.

Clintrad-I've heard the Alpine head unit...it really does sound great. Give it a shot !!!