i got mine this summer for the same price...2 years later...and there are STILL none of ANY HD radios in Wal-Mart and Target...WHY? I love LOVE LOVE my Insignia NS-HD01 Portable HD Radio Player!
Some "review" .... "it's OK" (at the end) ... all the rest is just how everything works .. not how well it does it's job. It would have been nice to see how it compared to other HD radios, or how long the battery charge lasted.
That said .. I just bought one off eBay for $26 and really like it. Too bad there isn't much to listen to that I like, but then I have specific musical tastes.
Kirk, my gosh..how cool to see you after all these years...I was surfing for a review of this receiver and found your video...You probably don't even remember me but I worked at KGIR in Cape Girardeau, Missouri in 1988 and you were our engineer! At least until Jim Marvin bought the station and ran it in the ground :) Wow...cool to see you again old friend!
I got this radio one week after it came out. The reception of this little device is exceptional. It receives all the stations that my Dual car HD radio can get. Sounds is great although you can hear the sound compression used. I'm in Tampa, by the way. You do need a good length earbuds. I dont recommend using the ones that came with it as it is uncomfortable. As for using it in the car, it does work. I have mines hooked up to a car-tape adapter. Obviously, you are not going to get the same.....
I got this radio one week after it came out. The reception of this little device is exceptional. It receives all the stations that my Dual car HD radio can get. Sounds is great although you can hear the sound compression used. I'm in Tampa, by the way. You do need a good length earbuds. I dont recommend using the ones that came with it as it is uncomfortable. As for using it in the car, it does work. I have mines hooked up to a car-tape adapter. Obviously, you are not going to get the same.....
I picked up a set of Sennheiser CX400's to replace the OEM ear buds. Big difference! As for battery life, it's pretty good. I seem to get about 7 hours minimum. The battery gauge, like the signal strength gauge, isn't very accurate. It will go from two bars to dead.
@RayAir1 Pretty much spot on, Rayair1. Great little radio, but receptioon indoors? fuhgeddaboudit. Also, browsing through stations needs some improvement, everything is kinda slow in that department. Maybe a firmware hack or a bonafide firmware update can fix that. All in all, so far..9.3/10. Picked it up at Best Buy yesterday for $39.99+tax. Anyone have any knowledge about the battery life?
I got mine yesterday, First I charged it up as instructed, then powered it up. I heard some stations in HD the clarity is much better than regular FM. The reception quality is the same as a digital TV conveter box. I am getting a boombox like portable son called the Radiosophy HD-100 soon. The only way for them to make one like this with AM is add more circuitry and fit one of those small ferrite rod antennas just like the walkmans have.
(2) Reception is actually better than larger radios. It got HD channels, big radios on my roof antenna failed to achieve.
(3) You CAN pick up signals without the earbuds, but they are the antenna. Make sure ytou use headsets with simalar-sized wire for optimum reception, or you'll lose reception. (My review proved that.)
Nice review but the most important aspect of such a review was missed; what does it sound like? Is the reception good in buildings of ferro cement construction? That would be very nice to know as I've owned a MP3 player with AM/FM and the reception was terrible in buildings with lots of rebar in the construction.
I did that in my review. It shows up in SEARCH for "Insignia HD radio".
The sound didn't translate too well in the video, but there is a difference between regualr, and HD. Also, he failed to mention it's got a powewrful tunert. With the earbuds (or equivelant sized headset, wire-length), it works best. I got stations big HD radios on my roof antenna failed to get.
Ever notice how FM Radio has outside antennas? There's a reason for that. Ever notice how your car radio has a "nearly outside" antenna in the windshield? There's a reason for that. Ever notice how your portable FM radio has a big rod antenna? There's a reason for that, too. FM Radio is from 88-108 Mhz. A minimal dipole antenna is 468/98=4.77 FEET long (on 98Mhz in the middle) NO pocket radio, HD or analog running on the headphone cord antenna works good 10 miles from the 100KW FM tower
Huge talk/sports radio fan, and I cannot find anything suitable. Im not spending $150-200 on a radio. Dont have a stereo, otherwise the Sony tuner for $80 would be suitable. Disappointing that this wasn't the solution.
AM would require a large loopstick antenna making it THICK. This ISN'T UHF cellular phones. AM band antennas are large! FM antennas are large, too, 98Mhz=4.7' dipole, that whip antenna on an FM portable. The headphone cord antenna stinks, digital or analog. 17 stations in my market. 6 work outside in my pocket, 2 with any reliability. The antenna is up against your body, a conductor, and moves about causing HD to drop in and out and no amount of hype will change it.
Thank you for the review. The reporter, however did not mention a very important drawback. The Insignia radio is FM only. It does not have AM (AM HD or AM analog). For that reason, I will not buy this radio.
Also, it is not the first portable HD radio. That title belongs to the Coby HDR-700. I know that company had some quality issues in the past, but they are first. Also, the Coby unit is still the only portable HD AM -AND- FM portable.
I have this radio! I got my first one at BestBuy it got broken then I got one on E bay.
Sundancer213 1 month ago
i got mine this summer for the same price...2 years later...and there are STILL none of ANY HD radios in Wal-Mart and Target...WHY? I love LOVE LOVE my Insignia NS-HD01 Portable HD Radio Player!
BarbieBoy1997 4 months ago
The Zune HD would also be it's contemporary which came first?
endersgambit 7 months ago
I got this for 20 bucks with my best buy employee discount, ahah.
BrianMWrong 1 year ago
Some "review" .... "it's OK" (at the end) ... all the rest is just how everything works .. not how well it does it's job. It would have been nice to see how it compared to other HD radios, or how long the battery charge lasted.
That said .. I just bought one off eBay for $26 and really like it. Too bad there isn't much to listen to that I like, but then I have specific musical tastes.
n1jdu 1 year ago
I just bought this radio and it is great! I didn't even try out the headphones though. I tried out my own and I get my locals about 60 miles away!
TheChrisBarrows 1 year ago
I love the extra HD broadcasts. Unfortunately, the reception is spotty in my house. If you're taking a walk or a jog it works pretty well.
pcman3550 1 year ago
Kirk, my gosh..how cool to see you after all these years...I was surfing for a review of this receiver and found your video...You probably don't even remember me but I worked at KGIR in Cape Girardeau, Missouri in 1988 and you were our engineer! At least until Jim Marvin bought the station and ran it in the ground :) Wow...cool to see you again old friend!
pastorsc01 1 year ago
I got this radio one week after it came out. The reception of this little device is exceptional. It receives all the stations that my Dual car HD radio can get. Sounds is great although you can hear the sound compression used. I'm in Tampa, by the way. You do need a good length earbuds. I dont recommend using the ones that came with it as it is uncomfortable. As for using it in the car, it does work. I have mines hooked up to a car-tape adapter. Obviously, you are not going to get the same.....
gotflava1 1 year ago
I got this radio one week after it came out. The reception of this little device is exceptional. It receives all the stations that my Dual car HD radio can get. Sounds is great although you can hear the sound compression used. I'm in Tampa, by the way. You do need a good length earbuds. I dont recommend using the ones that came with it as it is uncomfortable. As for using it in the car, it does work. I have mines hooked up to a car-tape adapter. Obviously, you are not going to get the same.....
gotflava1 1 year ago
@gotflava1
I picked up a set of Sennheiser CX400's to replace the OEM ear buds. Big difference! As for battery life, it's pretty good. I seem to get about 7 hours minimum. The battery gauge, like the signal strength gauge, isn't very accurate. It will go from two bars to dead.
RayAir1 1 year ago
I got one on EBAY for $30. I only bought one because they moved my favorite jazz station to HD2.
Pros: Small, sleek, good battery life, HD audio no better or worse than satellite radio. It's also free.
Cons: HD reception needs to be improved, can be finicky in buildings and cars.
RayAir1 2 years ago
@RayAir1 Pretty much spot on, Rayair1. Great little radio, but receptioon indoors? fuhgeddaboudit. Also, browsing through stations needs some improvement, everything is kinda slow in that department. Maybe a firmware hack or a bonafide firmware update can fix that. All in all, so far..9.3/10. Picked it up at Best Buy yesterday for $39.99+tax. Anyone have any knowledge about the battery life?
clinicallydiagnosed 1 year ago
I got mine yesterday, First I charged it up as instructed, then powered it up. I heard some stations in HD the clarity is much better than regular FM. The reception quality is the same as a digital TV conveter box. I am getting a boombox like portable son called the Radiosophy HD-100 soon. The only way for them to make one like this with AM is add more circuitry and fit one of those small ferrite rod antennas just like the walkmans have.
gccengineering1996 2 years ago
(1) Battery is stated to have a 10-hour lifespan.
(2) Reception is actually better than larger radios. It got HD channels, big radios on my roof antenna failed to achieve.
(3) You CAN pick up signals without the earbuds, but they are the antenna. Make sure ytou use headsets with simalar-sized wire for optimum reception, or you'll lose reception. (My review proved that.)
georgef551 2 years ago
Nice review but the most important aspect of such a review was missed; what does it sound like? Is the reception good in buildings of ferro cement construction? That would be very nice to know as I've owned a MP3 player with AM/FM and the reception was terrible in buildings with lots of rebar in the construction.
bullfrog71 2 years ago 2
I did that in my review. It shows up in SEARCH for "Insignia HD radio".
The sound didn't translate too well in the video, but there is a difference between regualr, and HD. Also, he failed to mention it's got a powewrful tunert. With the earbuds (or equivelant sized headset, wire-length), it works best. I got stations big HD radios on my roof antenna failed to get.
georgef551 2 years ago
Ever notice how FM Radio has outside antennas? There's a reason for that. Ever notice how your car radio has a "nearly outside" antenna in the windshield? There's a reason for that. Ever notice how your portable FM radio has a big rod antenna? There's a reason for that, too. FM Radio is from 88-108 Mhz. A minimal dipole antenna is 468/98=4.77 FEET long (on 98Mhz in the middle) NO pocket radio, HD or analog running on the headphone cord antenna works good 10 miles from the 100KW FM tower
w4csc 2 years ago
Yep, would buy this today, if it was AM too...
note to Best Buy..
Huge talk/sports radio fan, and I cannot find anything suitable. Im not spending $150-200 on a radio. Dont have a stereo, otherwise the Sony tuner for $80 would be suitable. Disappointing that this wasn't the solution.
mrgoodkat218 2 years ago
AM would require a large loopstick antenna making it THICK. This ISN'T UHF cellular phones. AM band antennas are large! FM antennas are large, too, 98Mhz=4.7' dipole, that whip antenna on an FM portable. The headphone cord antenna stinks, digital or analog. 17 stations in my market. 6 work outside in my pocket, 2 with any reliability. The antenna is up against your body, a conductor, and moves about causing HD to drop in and out and no amount of hype will change it.
w4csc 2 years ago
Thank you for the review. The reporter, however did not mention a very important drawback. The Insignia radio is FM only. It does not have AM (AM HD or AM analog). For that reason, I will not buy this radio.
Also, it is not the first portable HD radio. That title belongs to the Coby HDR-700. I know that company had some quality issues in the past, but they are first. Also, the Coby unit is still the only portable HD AM -AND- FM portable.
Grisha63 2 years ago
Well done, sir. I just bought my unit yesterday. Good so far. I listen to WCBS Newsradio 880 in NYC on CBS-FM 101.1 HD-3.
stevescottwcbs 2 years ago
bought one and like it.win
fookau2biatch 2 years ago
Was it made by Apple? What's with the non-changeable battery!? Good to see ya Kirk!
JD
jdpigg 2 years ago 2