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 is certainly NOT technically current. To briefly appreciate this refer: http://www.biline.ca/audio_critic/audio_critic_web1.htm#sony.
Also here: https://www.cnet.com/products/sony-xdr-f1hd/review/
And 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 amazing, and the audio quality of the classical music that I receive from the live KUSC broadcasts is superb, and completely free of any noise at all times. This is a course that’s well worth following.
Also here: https://www.cnet.com/products/sony-xdr-f1hd/review/
And 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 amazing, and the audio quality of the classical music that I receive from the live KUSC broadcasts is superb, and completely free of any noise at all times. This is a course that’s well worth following.
