Sony XDR-S3HD Radio

[W1AEX]

If you have any interest in the HD (hybrid digital) radio scam, Best Buy has put the Sony XDR-S3HD radios on sale for close-out (regular price was 199 bucks). The price varies from market to market, but it has been seen for as low as 43 bucks in some stores. At one of my local stores it was marked at 116 bucks but depending on which sales person I talked to there was a different level of interest in wanting to get rid of them and I got it for 75 bucks after pointing out how much dust was on the box from sitting there for so long. Dragging out my 50 dollar gift certificate someone had graced me with it meant spending 25 bucks out of my own pocket by the time I was done.

With the supplied external AM loop and FM dipole I had no problem filling up the presets on FM with HD content (20 slots) and even found a few HD content AM stations as well. This thing is a pretty nice chunk of radio for 100 bucks or less. Fidelity is outstanding even with regular AM/FM stations, but with HD it is really exceptional. It has a line level input for your portable MP3 player or whatever. Just thought I would mention it as they probably will not sit around for long on their shelves as the price approaches 50 bucks. If you are interested, check out the Best Buy site for purchasers comments regarding its features. I have no clue as to the status of HD radio's future, but it's a pretty amusing little toy even if you are only looking for an AM/FM clock radio!

Rob W1AEX

[NE4AM]

Hmmm... Last year I went through the excercise of finding a used Chrysler factory CQUAM AM Stereo radio for my truck, so I could listen to the last remaining AM stereo stations out there.  I ended up paying a lot more for my radio than you did yours....

[Sam KS2AM]

If you have any interest in the HD radio scam, Best Buy has put the Sony XDR-S3HD radios on sale for close-out (regular price was 199 bucks).
Rob W1AEX

Thanks for the tip Rob.  I've been looking for a table-top radio with clock/alarm and having one with HD was a bonus.  So I went to Best Buy and picked the XDR-S3HD for $40.

I've only spent a couple of hours with it but so far ...  The difference in fidelity is very noticeable on AM after it locks onto an HD signal.  Apparently many AM-HD stations shut-off the HD component at night so there were few AM-HD stations I could pick up this evening.   I live about 25 miles south of Manhattan and while I got a good HD signal from 710 (WOR) and 820 (WNYC) I could not get a solid lock on the HD signals of 880 (WCBS) and 1010 (WINS).  I also had a good signal from WBZ in Boston but it would only intermittently lock on the HD component.  Outside of HD on AM, the sensitivity and selectivity on AM seemed above average for consumer grade AM gear.

As for FM, there were quite a few FM stations broadcasting in HD in my area.  Some of them carry a second and third program on the same channel which is interesting.

The radio also features RDS so when the station offers it you can see the name of the song/artist scrolling across the screen.

[W1AEX]

You did well to get it for 40 bucks! It is a seriously nice chunk of radio for that price. I did some tuning around last night with the little supplied loop and had pretty much the same results that you had. WTIC straps in on AM and that locked right in on HD, other than that there were perhaps 4 or 5 other AM stations that indicated the presence of HD but would not lock. If I have time this weekend I'll connect it to my big receive loop and see how it does. It's pretty cool when you tune a station in on AM and it links up and transitions over to HD. It goes into a kind of echo mode then snaps in crystal clear. The alternate broadcasts on FM are pretty entertaining. Each station seems to have its own ideas on what to do with the -2 feed so it's a roll of the dice as to what will be there. WHCN 105.9-2 seems to run movie theme music on its second feed! I ran coax to the connector on the back to use a better FM antenna and it helps a lot. I can easily fill the 20 FM presets with HD content here in northern Connecticut. Interesting stuff.

As good as the HD stuff sounds on AM, it sure looks nasty from a spectrum viewpoint. The attached picture is WTIC AM (1.080 Mhz in Hartford) amid a few standard AM broadcast stations. It appears to be about 25 kc wide.

Rob W1AEX

[Carl WA1KPD]

You did well to get it for 40 bucks!
Rob W1AEX

Hi Bob,

Can I ask you what Best Buy you went to? I live in Killingworth and work in East Granby

[W1AEX]

Hi Carl,

I picked mine up at the Enfield Best Buy. I would call first or check online to see if they still have any. There were two other boxes on the shelf last week when I bought mine. Based upon Sam's experience, you might want to be aggressive when negotiating with them. I probably jumped too fast when settling for my price. Good luck!

I can't imagine anyone commuting to get to this little town Carl!

:O)

Rob

[Carl WA1KPD]

Hi Carl,
I can't imagine anyone commuting to get to this little town Carl!

:O)

Rob

Well, Its a long story having to do with a looooong job search in 2001 after 28 years in one place that got bought out.

I'm in airplanes a lot, but when I am there I am in the office except for lunch, usually at Bittersweet Bakery.

[Bill, KD0HG]

Those digital IBOC receivers have superior RF performance. It's part of the specification they have to meet. Even with no interest in digital, IBOC receivers are real radios compared to the garbage being sold today.

Rob, how does your Sony perform in plain old AM analog mode at night?

[Mike/W8BAC]

Hi Rob,

I have had a Best Buy gift card here since Christmas 2003. I really dislike Best Buy so the gift card just sat. I went in yesterday and first checked to see if the gift had expired, it hadn't. I found the Sony on sale for $69.99. With the card, and cash I was out the door for just over $40. A deal indeed.

This box is outstanding. I haven't done much more than tune in my local and fringe favorites but I can say the sensitivity is very good on both analog and digital AM and FM plus the twin speaker system on the front panel sounds GREAT. I think Sony must have copied Bose technology for this kind of small package, full range audio performance. A clock radio with book shelf stereo performance. Well Done.

Quite a few menu features not mentioned here are outstanding as well.  I'm really happy with this purchase.

Mike

[W1AEX]

Rob, how does your Sony perform in plain old AM analog mode at night?

It seems to work very well Bill. The little supplied loop actually works very well and can be easily used to null out or peak up stations with analog AM. The receiver seems quite sensitive and analog AM sounds pretty good but certainly not as good as my SP-600 or other big iron type receivers. For a table top type radio it makes a fine analog AM receiver.

Rob W1AEX

[W1AEX]

Hi Rob,

I have had a Best Buy gift card here since Christmas 2003. I really dislike Best Buy so the gift card just sat. I went in yesterday and first checked to see if the gift had expired, it hadn't. I found the Sony on sale for $69.99. With the card, and cash I was out the door for just over $40. A deal indeed.
Mike

Mike

We share in that feeling of dislike (and unease) with Best Buy. I carried my gift card around since last Christmas. I've got to say though, that this was one of my better purchases there. Sounds like you did well too. I was stunned with the audio quality the first time I tuned into FM HD signals. That little Sony box can really rock. Glad you are enjoying yours!

Rob W1AEX

[Mike/W8BAC]

Hay Rob,

A word of caution. Don't use the speaker grill to pick up or move the rig. It has a convenient wedge shape to it. The grill actually pop's right off like a home stereo speaker. I didn't have a mishap but knowing this might save a red face.

Best Buy got me once and I would rather shovel a mile of dung than do business with them again but I had to use up that card . I'm glad I went in.

Oh, The alarm buzzer is PW

Mike

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

For a new/no tube radio, it looks and sounds interesting. Think I'll investigate further. Thanks for the head's up!   

[Sam KS2AM]

For a new/no tube radio, it looks and sounds interesting.

No tubes but if it makes you feel better it does have an internal cooling fan and a fairly hefty in-line wall-wart to power the thing.   

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I discovered that Best Buy's "clearance pricing" on an item is very regional. On this particular model, a salesperson logged in to their on line computer, while I was with him, to view the posted pricing at many of their stores. The clearance price varied from roughly  $135.95 down to $39.95. I only saw one store as we viewed multiple page listings of all the stores that had that low price price but I might of missed one. Most of the stores already had zero inventory. My understanding is that many stores are downsizing the name brands in favor of their own house brand. Some of the "super" stores will continue to carry the name brands including this model at the current price of $199.95. Sony indicated, that at this time, this radio has not been discontinued. Regional pricing changes, especially on electronic products, is not uncommon. The regional pricing is dependent on a number of factors including  location, volume movement per day/week, daily sales, amount of traffic, etc. Some salespeople might be inclined to negotiate a better final price with you, while others will refer you to customer service, where you can try your pitch there.

The audio quality of this receiver is quite good especially on HD FM. I wanted something smaller here in the office that I didn't have screw with all day long and that sounded great. The 70's Lafayette stereo just isn't cutting it anymore plus it's the size of a tank.