HD Car Radios -- What's Availble and What They Cost

HD Radio is a wonderful new, digital technology that makes AM radio sound as good as today's FM radio and FM radio sound almost as if you were listening to a CD. These digital broadcasts not only provide radically improved audio quality, they also permit more radio channels through multi-casting, and new data services.

As of this writing, six manufacturers offered HD radio solutions for your car. Here is a list of the audio systems available as of November 14, a brief description of each, and some sample prices.

JVC: The JVC KDSHX900 HD car radio is an HD Radio Tuner Receiver with Motorized Slide-Out Face. It has a 256-color OEL display. In addition, the HVC SHX900 is Sirius compatible and has a detachable control panel with carrying case and a multi-function wireless remote control. Shop.com has this unit priced at $875.00.

Panasonic: The Panasonic CQ-CB890IU HD is a fully-featured, in-dash unit that includes HD Radio technology and is XM Satellite ready. It has bass, treble and balance fader controls, and a maximum power output of 50W x 4. There is a text display for XM, CD and HD text. The unit comes with a wireless remote control and weighs just 5.73 lbs. As of this writing, there were no prices listed for this unit.

Sanyo:The Sanyo HD car radio (ECD-HD1990M) is an in-dash HD radio and WMA/MP3 CD Player with front AUX in. It features a detachable front panel and full-function, credit-car sized remote. The power output is 50W x 4. Its CD deck features motorized CD loading, and playback of both CD-Rs and CD-RWs. The display is a Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD) and there are rotary volume and tone controls. Budgetaudio.com prices the ECD-HD1990M at $474.95

Alpine:The Alpine DVA9965 is an outstanding, all-around in-dash stereo that plays back CDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs (including discs loaded with MP3 and WMA files), DVDs, DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs. It sports a fold-down, detachable face with vivid BioLite Display. While this unit has no internal amp (an external amp is required), it has a built-in HD Radio tuner, and is both XM and Sirius ready. Sjgreatdeals.com has this unit priced at $1048.00.

Kenwood HD Tuner: The Kenwood EZ700SR is a slim, compact, powerful AM/FM/HD radio and CD player featuring a full dot matrix display with white LED backlight. It's CD section can handle both CD-Rs and CD-RWs and it plays back both MP3 and WMA files. This unit offers red or green selectable illumination color, and has a built-in Sirius Satellite Radio and comes with a Sirius Satellite Radio Antenna. Its price is $269.99 at etronics.com.

Eclipse HD Tuner: This HD tuner, the HDR-105,is a compact 6-19/64 1-7/16 6-29/32. It is a tuner only and needs to be connected to an Eclipse amplifier. The unit is said to be easy to install with these Eclipse products: VN5435, CD8455, CD8445, CD5435, CD5425, and CD5415. Crutchfield lists the Eclipse HDR-105 tuner at $449.99.

To learn more about HD Radio technology, just go my Web site, http://www.hd-radio-home.com, to get all the buzz. Douglas Hanna is a retired marketing executive and the author of numerous articles on HD radio and family finances.

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