Make my radio HD, please!(high definition)(evaluation of high definition radio)(Column)

Depending on where you live and what radio stations you listen to, you may have heard about this mysterious new "HD" radio. The "HD" stands for "High-Definition," and it's the trade name for latest breakthrough in terrestrial radio: digital broadcasting. Stations promote it on the air--but until now, it's been impossible to hear HD radio due to the lack of receivers.

That situation is changing gradually. Recently, I had the chance to spend an afternoon sampling HD radio on two of the first HD-capable units released: the Day Sequerra MR4 Broadcast Monitor tuner and the Boston Acoustics HD Recepter table radio. I won't go into great detail about either unit, other than to say they both sound darned good in either analog or digital/HD and both have exceptionally sensitive and selective tuners.

We're fortunate here in Cincinnati to have 11 FM stations broadcasting in HD--largely because one of the biggest manufacturers / suppliers of broadcast equipment, Harris Radio, has its HQ in suburban Mason, OH. Harris has worked with many stations in the market to help them get the digital gear in service--and believe me, going digital is neither easy nor cheap for radio stations.

One of the advantages to HD radio is the possibility of running a second programming service. Two of the stations here are actively pursuing that route: public WGUC broadcasts a second Classical service and Clear Channel's WVMX is running Smooth Jazz on WVMX-2, as it's called. Down the road, more services may be possible.

OK, so that's nice, I hear you saying, but why should I care about HD radio? Simply because it improves the sound of FM remarkably. You know when you're driving in a hilly area and the FM signal sounds as if it's spitting at you? That's multipath, a major problem for many FM listeners. With HD, no more multipath! It's gone. Period.

Another advantage is that even on the best, least-processed analog FM signal (public stations tend to fall into this category), if there is "dead air," or very soft music, you'll always hear a little hiss in the background. In digital, that's gone, too. The ...