| | |  | Tuners | Home » » » » Sangean HDT-1X HD Radio Component Tuner | | | | | | | Description: | | Sangean America HDT-1X Component Radio Tuner HDT-1X FM Transmitters | | | Features: | |
• AM/FM HD Radio tuner with multi-casting reception. HD seek up/down
• 40 station presets (20 FM, 20 AM). Remote - credit card size
• signal strength meter. Clock - display illuminated wth power off
• force analog mode. Backlit LCD display
• split audio mode lets you listen to HD Radio on the left channel and analog radio on the right channel for comparison. Optical Digital Audio Output
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 16.8 inches | | Product Width:
| 10.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 2.8 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.0 pounds | | Package Length:
| 21.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 14.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 6.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 8.3 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 54 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 54 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
90 of 91 found the following review helpful:
 A great way to start exploringApr 02, 2008
By Randall Borst
I have been following the development of Hybrid-Digital radio (HD) since I listen to radio more than any other audio source. I finally made the move to an HD tuner recently with the purchase of the Sangaen HDT-1X and I would like to tell you my impressions of the hardware and the sonic quality of the signals I'm receiving. Prior to the HDT-1X my experience with FM tuners has been with vintage equipment from Sony, Sansui and Kenwood.
The HDT-1X is an audio component designed to be used with an additional component such as an integrated amplifier, preamp or receiver. It's sized to fit with other equipment in your rack or audio cabinet. Standard AM and FM signals can also be received with the tuner. It weighs 5.7 pounds (2.6 kilograms) and only comes in black. Sangean markets two other models of HD radio receivers, the HDT-1 and HDR-1. The HDR-1 is a tabletop radio. The HDT-1 has the same appearance as the HDT-1X but there are two important differences that caught my attention.The HDT-1X has a optical-out port and the ability to adjust the brightness of LCD display. Both of these features are important to me. Other differences between the two models are a bit more esoteric and are covered on page 16 of the manual. It's available for download from the Sangean web site.
The unit ships with a remote, a very nice heavy duty dipole FM antenna, AM loop antenna and a set of RCA cables to attach the tuner to another audio component. The power cord is detachable. The remote requires two AAA batteries which are not included. The user manual is 22 pages long, very well written, illustrated and filled with all kinds of interesting and useful information about the unit.
Within minutes after UPS dropped it at my door I had it cabled to a vintage Sansui 7000 receiver. I attached both antennas, the power cord and I was on my way. The layout of the front panel is simple and straightforward. You can read more detail about the controls by downloading the manual from Sangean's web site. I'll just hit the highlights in this review.
Set up is very easy. I managed to tune my first HD station without consulting the manual simply by hitting the HD Seek rocker switch on the right of the tuner. I locked onto WMXD (92.3) which bills itself as a classic soul and contemporary R&B station in Detroit. Wow! It nearly knocked me out of my chair. No hiss, signal strength meter pegged, dead silence when there should have been dead silence. Great, well defined punchy bass, clear midrange without a trace of muddiness. In short, it sounded fantastic! I noticed that the station was broadcasting multiple channels of HD. I hit the tuning rocker and that took me to a great gospel program also being broadcast by WMXD. This stuff sounded fantastic. Far superior to satellite radio and closer to that of a fine audio CD.
I managed to locate a total of 18 stations broadcasting in HD. Thirteen of those were multichannel which means I am able to listen to a total of 31 different music streams on FM. Bouyed by my success I fished out the manual and started reading what else the radio could do.
The Info button controls what information is displayed on the LCD screen. It can be operated from the front or the remote. One of the displays is a more sophisticated signal strength meter composed of 18 bars. The weakest station I was receiving was at 16 bars. This is outstanding performance considering that I am only using the dipole antenna supplied with tuner. Normally, I need an outside antenna to eliminate the hiss I get on regular FM. Although I have never bench tested the HDT-1X the sensitivity seems to be outstanding.
Using the presets is a snap. Very intuitive. It works much like my car radio. Find the frequency you would like to store, hold one of the buttons on the keypad down for two seconds and it's captured. I filled up the FM presets in just a few minutes using the HD Seek switch. You can also input the frequency of the station manually through the keypad as well as using the Tuning switch which walks you through the band one frequency step at a time. There is also a Seek switch which takes you to the next strongest station.
Of course, you can listen to non-HD radio as well. That's good because my favorite station is CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) 2 from Canada and they don't broadcast in HD. I miss the great clarity and rock solid signal when listening to this station but it sounds better than my Sansui or Denon receiver sections.
What's really a kick is listening to AM. The powerhouse station in Detroit is WWJ at around 50,000 watts on 950. This is a news station and I spend a lot of time in my car listening to it to avoid traffic delays. The AM radio in my truck is awful and all the maladies that an AM radio signal is subject to doesn't help either. Pops, clicks, crashes and ignition noise are just part of the game with AM. Not so with HD-AM. AM sounds nearly as good as FM and comes through in stereo. If I didn't know I would have a very hard time telling difference between an AM and FM signal on HD. Of course, the programming would give it away in a second. I can only find two AM stations broadcasting in HD in the Detroit area.
All of this goodness was repeated when I hooked the unit up to my Denon 3805 with one important difference: I used an optical cable to attach the tuner to the receiver instead of the RCA jacks. Whoever invented the optical cable for the interconnection of audio components should get some kind of award. Not only is the connection of equipment simplified but it really cuts down on the cable mess. And I'm really good at cable management too. The Denon is a receiver so it already has a built-in tuner that sounds great. The HDT-1X is attached through an unused port on the Denon and operates separately from the receiver's built-in tuner. It's a relatively inexpensive way to upgrade an existing receiver to HD radio.
My experiences with the Sangaen have been nothing but positive. If I had to search for a flaw it would be the remote which requires you to point the remote directly at the tuner to transmit commands properly. Another item which might bother some people is that the display can not be turned off completely. It can only be dimmed with the HDT-1X. You can at least dim it to a non-obtrusive level. This is the only model of HD radio that Sangaen makes that allows the display to be dimmed.
I would recommend this product to anyone wishing to explore what HD radio is capable of.
77 of 78 found the following review helpful:
Even better than the HDT-1!Jun 29, 2007
By Michael A. Cartolano
The HDT-1 is an excellent tuner however being the initial offering from Sangean there were some annoyances like the display that could not be dimmed and no optical output. Well these two issues have been addressed in the HDT-1X! Other improvements like forced analog mode; split comparison between HD and analog signals; accurate time keeping; display that goes black when in the standby mode but you can push the INFO button and the time will come on and stay on for a few seconds. The sensitivity of the tuner is superb as I live almost 50 miles north of NYC. While I do not get all the HD stations, I pull in a fair number to cover the various music genres. I am most satisfied and I am not a teckie, but I know a quality item; as I said this is my second Sangean tuner and I am enjoying it! Buy it, but make sure you have a good FM antenna -- I am using an indoor whip antenna and a Magnum Signal Sleuth and I get HD stations -- imagine with a roof or attic antenna (I can't have either as I live in a townhouse). Of course if you live close to a large city like NYC you won't need any elaborate antenna!
44 of 47 found the following review helpful:
At last - the only affordable component HD receiverOct 23, 2007
By MorganR
Things I like about having this HD reciever:
- HD sound quality
- HD signal reception -- I can pull in all kinds of stations I couldn't get before
- More programming (i.e. HD1 is usually the same, but others are additional programs)
------ (sometimes HD2 or even HD3 on some - one local station has rock on their HD1, Blues on their HD2)
- Extra HD stations are usually advertisement free (at least for now)
- some surprisingly good programming - even innovative
As for the reciever itself -- I like that it's a component I can plug into my stereo, not a table-top radio. I also like that it doens't cost thousands. Right now, it has no competition in this space.
Things I don't like:
- Channel presets (i.e. to select station #6) require two key strokes, not one (dumb)
- the unit's power supply hums (quietly, but still)
Things I love:
- it's ability to pull in all these marginal signals and sound great
- the remote control
- the HD search (finds only HD stations) separate from the full search (finds both regular and HD)
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Great product if you have HD stations in rangeJun 16, 2008
By Stan Miastkowski
Sangean has designed an excellent product in the HDT-1X. But its limitations are mainly a factor of the availability of HD Radio. While most stations except for those in very rural areas broadcast HD Radio, the little-known fact is that the power of an HD signal is only 5 per cent of the power of the normal (analog) signal. Without getting too technical, HD Radio "rides along" on the sidebands of analog FM. What this means is that it doesn't carry anywhere near as far as analog FM. I live in Southern New Hampshire and have a large rooftop antenna pointed toward the Boston area (50 miles away). I can get dozens of analog stations, but only FIVE that broadcast HD Radio. Bottom line: This is mainly a tuner for those who live in major metropolitan area. And when it receives HD Radio, it sounds great.
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Excellent unit and great customer support from SangeanApr 06, 2008
By Russell C. Campbell
I'm mostly a classical music listener. And I don't say that to be snobbish to those who listen to other kinds of music. In fact, I have very diverse tastes in music, and I like to view new equipment purchases with that mindset. However, if you're accustomed to listening to the only classical FM station in town that is always sort of scratchy sounding, you may have wondered why HD radio was only offered for vehicles in the beginning stages of HD. This unit is your answer. Despite any shortcomings, this is a great bargain, and you can't go very much wrong here.
There are a lot of things I really like about his unit. For not too much over $200-ish, you can upgrade your home stereo system to receive HD radio broadcasts. I think that's a pretty decent price for a system makeover. For the classical music listeners, you will be stunned by the CD-quality broadcasts and the silence in-between the quietest passages.
I found many features in this unit to be very helpful, not only to those who are just exploring HD radio, but to those who are a bit nerdy and knowledgeable about audio stuff. During the setup process, the Signal Strength Indicator ("SSI" on the display) was of tremendous help, since antenna placement is often tricky in certain areas. The other sort-of unique thing I've found out about HD radio is the best analog antenna placement does not always equate the best HD antenna placement. (Seattle KING-FM listeners please take note.) So please pay attention to your SSI (signal strength indicator) display during setup. Sudden fade-ins and fade-outs for HD reception may indicate you need to re-arrange the FM dipole 90 degrees or so. Crummy analog reception for analog FM may not always translate to lousy HD reception and vice versa. Experiment with your antenna!
I like a log of things about the front panel display and information. Please keep pressing the "Info" button on the unit or remote to accommodate your desire for information. Even the clock is pretty easy to set up and is practically intuitive. In that case, I almost had to refer to the manual. The instructions seemed to be pretty well written, with the exception of some typos and perhaps some assumed abbreviations.
I have a few very minor complaints about this unit. It seems to have some sort of protection circuitry to protect itself in case of a power outage or a "power bump." If you unplug the unit, you may wish to wait an hour or so before plugging it back in. If you plug the unit back in right away after unplugging it and try to get it to work, you may think it is completely DOA. Some uses may do what I did and end up writing frantic emails to the seller or manufacturer. I've heard of some electronics technicians refer to this as a "crowbar circuit." Note to Sangean: Please spell out this idiosyncrasy in your enclosed (and online) instructions in "plain talk" language. You may save yourself a LOT of service calls. What I do appreciate is a live voice on the other end of the Sangean toll-free number to answer these questions. We certainly don't have a lot of power outages here in Seattle, but this "bug" may cause some people to scratch their heads.
The other very, very minor complaint I have is the tolerances on the optical SPDIF optical socket. I have tried several different brands of SPDIF optical cables on the back panel socket and they didn't seem to "lock in" and stay put without slipping out with much resistance. I appreciate the built-in dust cover on the back panel SPDIF socket, but tighter tolerances of the optical SPDIF socket could have made the look and feel of this unit truly professional in that regard.
Overall, this unit is really a gem and rock solid. If you don't want to spend a bunch of money on a new receiver or preamp/tuner to upgrade your system to HD Radio, this is certainly the way to go. And thanks to Sangean for being on the cutting edge of this technology and for listening to the needs of the consumer. Those of us (especially classical listeners) who had HD radio in our cars when it was first introduced and wished it was in our homes really do appreciate your efforts.
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