Just considering the idea of getting HD---how many of you have one, and if so, do you use it enough to justify the cost? What are the upsides and downsides to it?
It depends on what the cost is, where you live, what stations are available and what kind of music you enjoy.
When I bought my current truck, I negotiated the dealer-installed HD radio into the deal. Where I live, there are 11 stations broadcasting in HD, of which I listen to three. One of the stations I listen to has a sub-channel which broadcasts commercial-free. So, for me, I am able to use it quite a bit locally.
When I travel (central US), there are not a lot of stations away from the population centers that broadcast in HD. Again, depending on where you live, it will be different. I would imagine the coasts have stations in reception distance most places.
The quality is hearable, IMO. It ups the FM sound to about CD-quality. AM sound improves a lot also.
Each person will have a different cost/benefit answer. If you're looking for quality, and a station around you has a channel or sub-channel which you would listen to, it's worth it depending on the cost.
I love my HD radio that I have with my DNX8120. I live just outside of Dallas, so I get quite a bit of HD broadcasts. The quality is worth it in my experience. The AM sports talk radio I listen to sounds a lot better.
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HD radio sucks in my opinion. They throw that HD on there to make people thing its a huge difference like HD TV. its still FM radio, and it still sucks. Get sat or an Ipod.
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Personally, I think HD radio is a huge crock of horse *****. The quality is better, but not enough to justify the $200 dollar add-on module required to receive it, which is 50 dollars more then sat radio modules. You could argue that the higher price is offset by the fact that HD radio doesn't require a monthly subscription like Sat radio, but look at the difference in programming you get with sat radio vs HD radio, in both channel quantity and variety.
In my opinion, HD radio is a pathetic attempt by terrestrial broadcasters and the NAB to hold onto their diversity-strangling Top 40 business model in the face of satellite radio and iPod alternatives, which is something any serious music lover should bridle against. After adding an iPod jack to my stereo 2 years ago, the online time I switch over to the tuner is when I want to catch the newscast on AM, which doesn't really need higher sound quality then it already gets.
HD radio is geographically dependent. By that I mean if a person lives in a large metro environment they will have options that rural locations will not have. Is the cost to service ratio positive? That's purely a subjective concern. Some people like it others don't. It's personal...
For me it was worth it, but I got the HD module for an additional $30 when I bought my HU. I would pay about $30 for it, but not much more. Certainly not the $100+ cost the modules are normally going for. It gives you a few more options in your local stations, but except for one surprising blues station I found here, SunDevil is right, it's still just FM radio.
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