REPRISE: Competitor to the MR88 (with HD)?

[Weirdcuba]

The 205 is a good first step. I have one and it helps with two channels on the edge. Then!, get an md 90and you’ll love it.

[Clark2]

Originally Posted by W9TR

...The FM hybrid digital/analog mode offers up to 150 kbit/s of lossy data. The pure digital modes use up to 300 kbit/s bitrate. So basically equivalent to 320 kbp/s mp3.

At the risk of opening a can of worms here, I'll report results of a little Web research (you know the old saw...). The upshot seems to be that the HD codec (HDC) is far superior to MP3 (per bit rate) and makes better use of psychoacoustic principles (recall Ray Dolby's old work on tape recording) to preserve the subjectively important aspects of many sounds at reduced bit rate.

If interested, take a look at the two PDFs attached. (I found these readily with a Google search on "psychoacoustics.") One is a brief article that (interestingly, I thought) outlines some of the techniques behind modern, "perceptually accurate" codecs. The longer is a chapter from a book (I admit I haven't read this yet -- tonight...) that introduces psychoacoustics.

I'm not saying that any of this makes HD FM radio OK -- I still haven't heard it on an audiophile system! -- just that it shouldn't be written off with bit-rate comparisons alone. -- Clark2

[Clark2]

Well, I read the book chapter last night and found it somewhat disappointing. Although it summarizes good information about the functioning of the ear, the "threshold in quiet" and, "masking," it doesn't go into the most interesting aspect of the HDC scheme (actually the SBR method discussed in the technical paper), which I take to be "guided reconstruction" of the deleted high frequency information. (I had read somewhere that the auditory system is not particularly sensitive the precise frequency content of the highs, but they need to be there to sound realistic.) I'll dig more and post anything relevant that I find... -- Clark2

[Formerly YB-2]

Considering the number of folks on the FM Tuner forum who have tried and no longer listen to HD (including me), the 'psychoacoustics' of broadcast HD must be mostly miss on the hit or miss basis.

[Weirdcuba]

I tried HD and it didn’t come close to the traditional signal for me

[Clark2]

I'm going to keep digging anyhow, now that I'm both curious and interested. Will report anything really enlightening. After learning more about HD, I'd like to listen for the artifacts that we all know are there...

[nicoff]

Originally Posted by Clark2

I'm going to keep digging anyhow, now that I'm both curious and interested. Will report anything really enlightening. After learning more about HD, I'd like to listen for the artifacts that we all know are there...

I realize that you called yourself a dinosaur earlier, but now that you are "curious" you should stop beating a dead horse (HD, FM) and explore streaming as several folks have suggested. You can get high definition sound via streaming!

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by nicoff

I realize that you called yourself a dinosaur earlier, but now that you are "curious" you should stop beating a dead horse (HD, FM) and explore streaming as several folks have suggested. You can get high definition sound via streaming!

Or better yet, give a 'known good' tuner a try for the best sound (assuming your station broadcasts a good FM signal).

[Clark2]

Originally Posted by nicoff

I realize that you called yourself a dinosaur earlier, but now that you are "curious" you should stop beating a dead horse (HD, FM) and explore streaming as several folks have suggested. You can get high definition sound via streaming!

Thanks for nudging me that way here and on the other thread. I did pick up a Bluesound Note 2 Tuesday, but haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I still want to get FM working well though... -- Clark2

[nicoff]

Originally Posted by Clark2

Thanks for nudging me that way here and on the other thread. I did pick up a Bluesound Note 2 Tuesday, but haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I still want to get FM working well though... -- Clark2

Absolutely! I hope it works for you!
Here is an internet station that you might enjoy:

Classical Music - KDFC San Francisco:
https://tunein.com/radio/KDFC-903-s35953/