Digital Radio Review

Whether you listen to the radio to hear the latest music or want to catch your favorite AM talk show, digital radio is a great way to go. With FM stations coming through in CD clarity and AM stations sounding like FM, you can enjoy great-sounding radio in your own home. While HD Radio is still not available for every station, it is continually growing and offers a variety of options for the stations that do participate. Instead of having only one channel per frequency, stations can broadcast on multiple stations providing even more music and talk show options. For more information, check out the articles on digital radios.

Many of the digital radios we reviewed not only pick up high def radio stations but also come with an iPod dock, iTunes tagging capabilities and even act as an alarm clock. Our top picks include radios from Polk Audio, iLuv and TEAC. Take the opportunity to read through our product reviews to compare HD digital home radios and find the best HD stereo for your needs. At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don't Have To.™

Digital Radio: What to Look For

When reviewing these products, we looked into several factors to determine the ranking.

Radio Options
The most important factor, first and foremost, is the device’s high def receiver capabilities. We feel there’s no point in spending the money for the tuner if it isn’t going to have the ability; there are plenty of other radios without the option that cost less because they don’t have the HD tuner. One of the unique features high def radio offers is the ability to capture the metadata of the song by using iTunes tagging. Not all high def digital radios have the capability of gathering this information and transferring it to your iPod. Another feature we looked into was whether the digital radio could double as your alarm clock.

Ports
Not only is receiving HD Radio an important attribute, but a digital radio should have ability to play music through other mediums as well. The main feature we looked at is the ability to hook up your iPod since one of the strongest reasons to get an HD stereo is because of the iTunes tagging capability. While many of these high def radios come with an iPod port, we also looked into the options of connecting AUX, video, USM and a CD player. The more options the radio has, the higher the ranking.

Help & Support
When purchasing an electronic device, the warranty is always something to consider if you hope to get your money’s worth out of it. A product with a longer warranty is a better investment. We also looked into the service and support offered by the manufacturer of each high def receiver. We looked specifically for technical support information, including a telephone number, email address and online FAQs.

Though digital radio has been around for several years, few people understand the options and capabilities of this technology. With more stations adding a digital signal, this is something that you will want to take advantage of, especially if you want more variety from stations you already love.