Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio "Tuner"

highlights:

1) it's not a really a "radio", instead it is just a "tuner" to be used with your AV amplifier/receiver. However it has all the components a stand-alone radio has (even a remote control), sans speakers, and you can hook it up to a pair of powered/unpowered speakers, if it takes RCA stereo input or 3.5mm mini plug(need a conversion cable)
2) $50 unadvertized rebate from HDRadio.com

Does it have an optical out? If yes, I'll buy it in a heartbeat!

rts said:Does it have an optical out? If yes, I'll buy it in a heartbeat!

No

nukem said:$99 is MSRP and widely available.
Thanks for the post since you mention the rebate, the $50 rebate is good on a number of HD Radios:

Accurian TTR
Alpine DVA-9965, TUA-T500HD,
TUA-T550HD
Audio Design Associates HDM-1
Axxess (Metra) AHDT-01
BOSS 750HD
Boston Acoustics, Inc. (D&M)
Receptor HD
Cambridge Soundworks 820HD
Coby HDR-650, HDR-700
DaySequerra M4.0X, M4.2R, M4C
Denon AVP-A1HDCI, AVR-4308CI,
AVR-5308CI, DRA-697CIHD, S-52
Dice HD DICETM, iTR-100
Directed DHHD-1000, DMHD-1000
Dual XHD6420, XHD6425, XHD7714,
XHD7720
Eclipse HDR105
iLuv i168, i169
Insignia NS-C5112, NS-HD2114
Integra C-HDSAT, DTC 9.8, DTR 8.8
JBL (Harman) On Time 400IHD
Jensen (Spectra) Jims-525, JiMS-525i
Jensen Mobile AMM12HDN, HD5112,
HD5212, VM8013HD, VM8023HD,
VM9022HD, VM9022HDN, VM9312HD,
VM9512HD
JVC KD-HDR1, KD-HDR30, KD-HDW10,
KT-HD300, KT-HDP1
JVC Arsenal KD-AHD39
Kenwood KTC-HR200
LG PC12
Marantz AV8003, SR8002
Niles Audio TM-HD/R
Onkyo PR-SC885, T-4555, TX-NR905
Peripheral (AAMP) HDRT
Pioneer GEX-P10HD
Polk Audio I-Sonic ES, I-Sonic ES2
Polk Designs HDX3
Radiosophy HD100
Rotel RT-1084
Sangean HDR-1, HDT-1, HDT-1X
Sony XT-100HD, XDR-F1HD,
XDR-S10HDIP, XDR-S3HD
Visteon HD Jump, HD Zoom, HD Pulse
VR3 VRHDUA100
Yamaha RX-V863, RX-Z11

lowest price on the above list??

I did a non-exhaustive check and found out that the Sony XDRF1HD was the cheapest at $100.
The JVC car unit appears ok, but has no aux input (it is also $100).
In other words, you have to pay at least $50 for a car or home unit.
There is a qualifying item that is a Sony "upgrade to HD" that is $57, but it requires having a compatible Sony head unit already.

kneeldug said:I did a non-exhaustive check and found out that the Sony XDRF1HD was the cheapest at $100.
The JVC car unit appears ok, but has no aux input (it is also $100).
In other words, you have to pay at least $50 for a car or home unit.
There is a qualifying item that is a Sony "upgrade to HD" that is $57, but it requires having a compatible Sony head unit already.
I got my car radio HD tunner in eBay through the BestBuy outlet. I do not remember the model offhand but it came with a remote and a red LCD screen. I paid about $20 for it and they sold a bunch of them around this price. I really do not use it since I am not close enough to the city to get any reception.

dacoroman said:The Sangean HDT-1X has optical out and it's been coming down in price. Keep checking eBay, deals sites, etc.

Edit: I just noticed the Sangean 1x in the list of radios that qualify for the rebate. It ends up being $130 AR from Newegg.com. Not a bad deal if you're looking for a unit with optical out.

rts said:Does it have an optical out? If yes, I'll buy it in a heartbeat!FWIW, I have the Sangean HDT-1. Not sure how it differs from the HDT-1X. The blue display is BRIGHT even at its lowest setting. Clock runs slow -- loses minutes in roughly two weeks, so I often have to adjust the time. (Time is displayed when the unit is in standby / off.)

(Edit - I have subsequently learned that the extended delay described in my comments below had to do with the radio station's signal -- not the radio.)
Not sure is this is related solely to the Sangean or not, but I have access to a local signal via AM, HD AM, and HD FM. If I have another non-HD radio running in the house where I can hear both broadcasts, the HD AM is very slightly delayed behind the normal AM (sounds like an echo). HD FM, by contrast, runs with a ~45 second delay vs. AM. I don't know if this is a function of the broadcasting station and their processing or the Sangean and it's buffering / decoding. The 45-second delay is extremely frustrating when I have a non-HD radio running in another portion of the house (shower radio). On the other hand, at times it's been almost like a TiVo buffer in that when I question "Did I hear that right?" on the HD AM broadcast , I can switch to FM to catch it again (but no rewind).

I had this in my cart for the past two weeks but hadn't pulled the trigger. The rebate clinches it! Thanks

Think this rebate would work on the 'open box' radio from Amazon? If so, this would only be $40, shipped. However, rebate form does explicitly exclude used items.

I'm just not sure how the rebate place would ascertain whether the item is new or used?

does anyone know if you need to purchase an antenna with this, or does it come with one, and is it good enough for suburban listening?

CZ