I have been thinking of getting HD radio for my HR. The problem with me is that I love the OEM look. I don't want to get rid of the OEM head unit. Today I went to xxxxxxxx Audio Solutions to buy a(n) HD tuner (wohoo).

It turns out, "it ain't gonna be cheap."

* The salesman told me I would have to buy a new head unit.
* THEN buy the HD tuner.
** And if I want to keep my bluetooth capabilities, I have to buy the bluetooh adapter.
*** AND if I want to use my controls on the steering wheel, I have to buy the adapter for that too.

So much for getting a High Def. radio... Or did I miss something?

 

Well it is true.. I already do have the hardware. I could just pick up another monthly payment. But I'm cheap.. i was looking to spend only $300-$400 for "free" cd quality Fm stations.

 

You can get a HU that is HD ready. Check out crutchfield. But , be aware that unless you live in a large city HD is not for you. Especially if you have a short antenna.

 

SiriusXM

 

Well.... it's not a subscription??? and.. I highly doubt I would even get to know most of those channels. I'd.. probably set it to my favorite type of music.. and that's it.

As far as crutchfield goes, I used their "Outfit my car" help page and there were no compatible HD tuners for our cars.

 

Ooh I understand now. Thanks for the information. Now I know what to expect. When i first bought my car, back in June, I had free XM for like 2 weeks. I loved it. It was probably from the original owner or something. It sounded great, super clear and I could listen to the same station all over. But then it stopped working ahahha, that's when I decided to get HD radio. I guess goign back to XM would be better.

 

I have both XM and HD radio. HD radio is useless. The only reason I have it is because it's a gift.

 

Each of your statements is correct. You provide the best advice here.

HD is a questionable benefit designed to attract more listeners to terrestrial radio, and consequently sell more equipment that may not even be much of a benefit. The additional quality promised for HD radio depends upon your car’s audio equipment, local reception, and its (HD Radio) availability.

Satellite radio is much better.

• 200+ channels and growing
• Many channels without any commercials
• Uninterrupted listening to any channel (driving your car coast to coast)
• Uncensored channels and lots of live feeds
• Great sound and reception (and getting even better with LAN repeaters)
• And… so many additional features of satellite radio that it’s difficult to list them here

HD radio is stupid. Spending additional $$'s to get it is even more stupid.

--Spike