Insignia HD Tuner

No Sony's around locally and decided the digi outs are important to me. Sony is really interesting for FM (analog) performance - but there's nothing in my locality that makes analog performance a buy feature for me.
Bought the Insignia this afternoon - took the covers off of it and my Sangean - not at all similar. The Rf shield on one of the Sangean's modules has LG embossed into it.In terms of HD performance the two tuners seem to be pretty much a wash. The Sangean does have a more legible (larger letters) display than the Insignia - do like the "flywheel" tuning knob on the Insignia.Insignia build date was 9-11-08 - so pretty recent design. Tuner module in Insignia is inside a cast assembly that then edge connects into the main board.
For the price -seems pretty reasonable.

Beware of Sony's warranty. A few months after I bought my Sony XM receiver, the fan started to make a very loud noise. I sent it back, under warranty, to have it repaired. They sent it back to me in the same condition, telling me there was nothing wrong with it, that it sounds just like the ones they bench-tested it against. I have to cover it with a box I lined with foam to muffle the noise, and I can still hear it. I will never by Sony again.

I just saw a review of the Sony in The Audio Critic -- kind of a weird editorial philosophy there. Measurements rule and all amps sound the same provided they're well designed. But as far as tuners go, measurements don't lie and the Sony seems to measure as well as the FM "supertuners" of yore, according to them anyway. I can't wait to pick one up for the office.

Was not at all aware of the Sony. Very interesting - every once in a while Sony does this - pops out a world class product for almost no money! My pre-amp only has digi inputs - but I suppose I could just hook up a A/D converter and feed it in that way.

I don't think it's a re-badged Sangean. The controls on the front are significantly different and the outputs on the back are also in different places. I doubt they'd go to the expense of making those engineering changes, though from a distance they do seem similar. Who knows?

I almost picked up the Insignia in a moment of weakness. Luckily, I didn't. The Sony XDR-F1HD is the same price, yet more compact, looks to be of higher quality and seems to be getting great word of mouth.