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

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!

The quality of the HD Radio actually exceeded my expectations. Apparently, the Codec works well. It's better than analog FM, but still not as good as Audio CDs. There is a negative side to the reception though. When listening to the digital channels, if the signal isn't strong, there can be sound drop-outs, even though those have been managed by the circuits to result in little or no noise. Thus, don't expect to listen to a whole symphony without any glitches. This is happening to me in spite of my amplified antenna, which I provided myself. Also, the decision is often up to the station, to compress their narrative microphones more than they compress the classical music itself. I don't know why they do that. Or, if they offer more than one HD channel on their one frequency, they have to compress the channels more. I didn't bother to set up AM mode, and am satisfied overall. The impressive feat is high RF sensitivity. I get an FM station of some sort, on almost any assigned frequency I tune the receiver to, knowing that only odd multiples of 100kHz are assigned. Update: The problem with the sound drop-outs may have been due to one HD station I tune in to, because with that same station, the problem is not noticeably anymore. Update: This is one of those items, from which the buyer can select the HD 16 AM/FM, the HD 18 AM?FM, or the HD 20 AM/FM, at least in the Browser view. They are actually very different receivers. I only bought and use the HDT-20 HD AM/FM, and can therefore not vouch for the other items, that buyers can select out of the group. Dirk

Build date was 10-2021. After reading all the reviews and questions, I took a chance only to either get lucky or Sangean has raised the bar! Of all the complaining about the display not staying on, it does. Currently set on "2" and it dims to "1" and is completely readable with all the RDS info transmitted. For FM/FM HD, hooked up to an Yagi in the attic, Receives beyond expectations and reveals which broadcasters have a quality signal. If the signal is good, the sound is good. A few stations sound a little compressed which is what they do... set correctly, the HDT-20 can approach CD quality audio. For AM/AM HD, used the included indoor loop and much to my surprise, receives remarkably well with a radius of about 90 miles with a max of 300 miles (KRLD 1080 in Dallas) with a HD locked signal. You do need to rotate the loop to get the best signal but it does work quite well! The audio quality in analog almost matches a couple of high end vintage tuners I have (same antenna), the difference are slight and require critical listening to discern any difference. In HD, I actually listened to music that normally doesn't interest me but sounded so good I stayed on frequency. With my old eyes, the remote was still very usable and was nice in action. The presets among the other complaints are nothing to kill the deal, and work once you figure them out. Even with the indoor antenna, some lite DXing can be done on both bands just to see what's out there! Overall, I'm thrilled and considering getting another for the bedroom.

I agree with many of the other comments posted here. I have an older Magnum Dynalab analog tuner (MD 100) for my living-room stereo and bought the Sangean for my upstairs bedroom. The reception of stations up to about 50 miles is very good and I would say the lack of background noise compares favorably with the Magnum Dynalab; on HD stations the sound is almost CD quality. However, there are occasional digital artifacts: skips, dropouts, strange echos. Unfortunately, compared to the Magnum Dynalab, the Sanglean is almost impossible to operate in any sensible fashion. There are at least three times as many controls, most of which are useless, as well as an "info menu," a "mode menu" and a "menu menu" one needs to master and which contain options most people will not want. A good example of the confusion is the volume control/mute. Most stand-alone tuners do *not* include volume controls, which are usually found on the pre-amp. This unit *does* include a volume control but it is bypassed by the line output, and is thus totally nonfunctional except for someone wearing headphones, which nowadays tend to have their own volume control anyway. Why include it? The display logic is bonkers an shows that the engineers lost their minds. Most people, I would think, want to see the station info displayed when the unit is tuned to the station, and not be distracted by lights (especially in a dark room) when the unit is off. This piece only displays station info for a few seconds when powered on or off (or when the station is changed). Otherwise, nothing. You can keep the info on by adjusting the dimmer control to any setting other than "off," but in that case the clock is displayed even when the unit is turned off. Got it? The simplest option (display on when unit is on; display off when unit is off) does not appear to be an option. As someone else mentioned, the remote is very directional and is somewhat difficult to use. Setting the presets is also a rather elaborate procedure and not accurately described in the manual. Why these problems persist in this day and age is a mystery. Panasonic produced a good remote 30 years ago. Ditto with presets. In short, the sound quality of the Sanglean is excellent, but the company has forgotten the concept of simplicity in design. They should produce a *tuner* without all the bells and whistles that even a PhD can operate. Nevertheless, this is a good choice for those who don't have the budget for a top-end unit

This is my Second HDT HD Sangean tuner I own, still have the HDT-1 but wanted a digital out to mate with my new RME ADI-2 Dac. My HDT 1 lasted over 15 years and was still working perfectly so the question of are these made to last I would say Yes. I never had a problem with the 1 and so I took the plunge last September on the 2. Wow guys, Sangean outdid themselves. The Kit Looks FANTASTIC. Really looks very well built. So now here’s my reply to some of the reviews on Amazon I’ve read. Too complicated to use. Well yes and No. Sangean put a schiit load of features, buttons, menus for us folks who like to “Play” with our gear. But, you DON’T have to use it that way. I’ve got mine set up like my old HDT 1. Have 10 presets lined up, just like the old days, Tune in a station, hold down a preset button for a second and it’s set! To “recall”, a preset, you have to hit the “Preset” button and then the preset you want to go to. No big deal. Thee other thing is the button layout, most of the button’s have a “Dual” purpose, IF YOU WANT TO GET CRAZY. I just us it like a regular tuner and there is nothing complicated about it. But….if you want to Tweak away, you’ll have plenty to play with. Now, the sound, again, wit a Top Tier dipole inside antenna, reception in the Seattle area is great. Tons of college stations, underground stations and “Sub Channel stations (HD 2 and up) with lots of the sub stations streaming internet radio stations. The sound Quality is Fantastic. Digital output coax into my DAC is 48 KHz and a 24 Bit Depth! Read that again……… No digital “burps, clicks, farts, stutters, shadows, nothing but CLEAN reception and truly High Fidelity music. The digital display is easy to see from 10 feet away and at full brightness it is fine, I have no complaints about the display at all. Again, my log HDT 1 lasted 15+ years and is still perfectly functional, so I think that should say something about the reliability of these tuners. And last but not least, th AM section is surprisingly good, compared to so many tuners old and new that sound like crap on the AM band, Sangean should be commended on not overlooking this band because I do listen to AM radio a lot. I keep my tuner in 24/7 by the way, including my old HDT 1, 24/7. Not lying here, the jazz station I listen to keeps the Cats mellow at night. Hope that helps, I’m really digging it, and all the cool HD Sub channels around here really making my experience worthwhile. Gerard Masters