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Is HD Radio on its last leg?

I was just shopping for my 5th HD tuner, and it looks like both the excellent Sony XDR-F1HD as well as the Sangean HDT-1 and HDT-1X are no longer in production!

In fact, for home audio, it looks like there is only one standalone HD tuner still being made: the massively expensive Day-Sequerra M4 series.

This is too bad, since it looks like virtually all manufacturers have dropped HD in favor of some combination of Internet and/or SiriusXM.

I wonder how long it will be before my local NPR affiliate, the only source of jazz in my small market, stops broadcasting on its .2 channel.
advrider
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mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,610 posts
 
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Advrider, internet radio is where it's at nowadays. Kiss all of your over-the-air radios goodbye. I'm sure your jazz station streams on the web. If it doesn't, you have at least 200 other jazz stations on the web. $300 and a SqueezeBox Touch and you are in business.
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advrider OP
1 posts
 
I was talking with and owner of a local audio store yesterday. His opinion: It's the tsunami's fault. The tsunami massively depleted Japan's component manufacturing base, and several producers have squeezed out low-volume items like the HD radios. He has even waited for up to 5 months for the larger Sony Bravias.

I agree that Internet radio is where everything is going. I'd just rather have the relative simplicity of the good ol' airwaves.
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