"Streaming Audio' vs. HDRadio

I listen to local KLSX here in LA on my computer at work and am waiting for Sirius to start streaming Howard Stern online. The problem I see with streaming on the computer is bandwith and usage.

If you have a poor internet connection or share your pipes with many people like in a corporate atmosphere or are located a long distance from your internet provider you could experience additional drop outs and reduced sound quality.

So far, I'm finding internet radio in general to sound tinny and unnatural. Same with Sirius satellite radio. I think DirecTV music channels sounds slightly better.

You are probably right in that the streaming ausdio feed is dependant on what it must go through to get here. I am sure that DSL would help a bit. Another factor would be that a streaming audio feed is quite compressed.

HD radio is pretty much brand new. That's why there are so few receivers. Of course, it may not catch on. We'll have to see.

Streaming audio, HD radio, and satellite radio are all compressed. Their relative quality depends on how compressed they are and what codec they use. In the case of HD radio, there is also the matter of signal strength. If it's too weak, it reverts to analog (which probably won't be that great, either).