Sangean HDT-20 HD Radio/FM Stereo/AM Component Tuner, Black

4 reviews for Sangean HDT-20 HD Radio/FM Stereo/AM Component Tuner, Black

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   – February 9, 2024 Mrs. Laurence Macejkovic Sr.

   I have a very good 1984 receiver, but after reading multiple reviews from hi-fi websites, thought this was worth a try. NOT DISSAPOINTED! Want to share a few points below -You may want or need to add a better antenna, depending on your location. I have never had success with wire antennas so did not try the one included, but some reviewers had good results so suggest trying that first. I use rabbit ears that I harvested from a junk 1978 TV set and get very good reception considering it is right next to the tuner. I tried multiple positions but was not pleased at first. Then I moved the tuner a few inches and got better reception. So there’s that. But I did notice a difference in HD quality between stations with four-bar signal strength and the ones with five bars. When the weather gets better I’ll try moving the antenna to the attic and hope that helps. The five-bar signals produce outstanding results.Also if you are not doing this already, be sure to buy some decent cables to connect to your receiver or amp. I set my tuner up with crappy ones first to make sure the thing worked, but was a bit disappointed. Then I purchased some good ones on Amazon and was quire pleased with the improvement. The pair was less than $30 and well worth it. Some people spend hundreds on them but this pair got the standard FM stations back to the quality of my receiver, so unless you have a receiver/amp in the four-to-five digit dollar range there’s no need spend more. Check some hi-fi community websites for suggestions and/or submit a question and I’ll advise which ones I bought. BTW, I will buy more for my other components.Have not yet experimented with the AM function so cannot comment.Only drawback is that remote volume and muting control works only for the headphones, at least when running through analog components. Don’t know if it would would work with total digital equipment.Setting the stations using the instructions is a bit confusing but easy once you understand that you have to release the two buttons before hitting the preset number button. Display will tell you when you’ve successfully added it.Overall I’m very happy with this purchase. Quality for the price is surprisingly good! UPDATE: IF YOU ARE CONNECTING TUNER TO AMP WITH RCA CABLES, READ THIS FOR GREATLY IMPROVED RESPONSE:While reading some hifi web threads I learned that performance can be enhanced by connecting tuner to a DAC (digital audio converter) via the optical audio output. Then connect from the DAC to the amp with your RCA cables. You can spend a lot of money if you want, but I bought a converter that included the optical digital cable through Amazon for $15 . Took just few minutes and WOW, really improved performance. 4-bar strength signals now sound fantastic. Search the internet for best DAC’s if you want to review all options, but be sure to get one!

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   – March 30, 2024 Liam Terry II

   If you’re serious about FM, you need this! Although Sangean is a respected name, primarily for portable and table radios, you normally wouldn’t think of them in terms of stereo components. That said, I clearly understand why they opted to move forward with this item. Simply put, they offer the best FM reception technology on the market. This unit pulls them in like no other. While an outdoor antenna is optimal, even the supplied dipole draped behind your audio system will provide much better results than most integrated AVR tuners. Audio quality is top notch with both normal FM and Digital HD signals. The analog and digital outputs provide clean, low noise connection options and the large display is clear and easy to read. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have an app, but after initial setup, the conventional wireless remote is really all you need. Great item!

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   – April 13, 2024 Esta Pouros

   This is the coolest thing ever! If you miss FM radio, you will love this. I bought an outdoor antenna and put it on the roof. I can pull in 26 stations. If the sinal is strong you can get HD stations, some of which have secondary channels with other programs. It even shows the artist and the song title! If the geography is flat where you live you can probably pull in HD stations with a standard indoor antenna, which is included. Here in San Diego it is hilly, which is why I need an outdoor antenna. If you already have a TV antenna on your roof, you can probably just put in a coax splitter and use the same antenna for the radio. I know most people stream music now (I do that as well), but if you like getting local stations with a disc jockey, give this a try.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   – December 17, 2024 Tremayne Denesik

   I fell for the reviews that said the sound quality was elevated by using the digital output into a dac. Some commented it has CD quality this way.I have a very nice tuner, a DaySequerra M4 HD. They are older generation. Hoped the newer decoder chips in the HD-20 would more than offset the pedigree of the DaySequerra.But find the sound quality falls short of the DaySqerra in dynamics, frequency range, and smoothness. Feed both tuners into a Micromega amp with built dac. Tried another coax cable, another Micromega amp results the same. Even the balanced analog output of the M4 HD is better sounding than the digital output of the HD-20. The analog output of the HD-20 is worse than the digital when feed to a quality dac.Positive, sensitivity is excellent, the tuner was receiving a local HD channel with no antenna connected. Got four bars with antenna curled straight from the box. Having RDS is nice too. Great to see the name of artists, composer, and such.Will keep, just for the RDS display. Adjusting the dimmer was easy, remote works fine. Many complaints are picky. There is only one full time classical station in Houston area. It is 88.7 HD-2. No presets works for me. Only way to listen is a HD radio.