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Re: AM radio sounds terrible
Originally Posted by Donald
Just Curious,
Has anyone tried to compare the HCH II radio directly with a radio from another car? I mean same spot, same time, strong local signal, weak distant signal, AM & FM bands. My impression is that my radio has great sound :) , BUT poor reception :angry:. I have the bass boost. My guess is that it's the antenna, or noise filtering (do the IMA's generate intermediate frequencies?). Has the radio been a problem in previous HCH's? |
Re: AM radio sounds terrible
I agree about the poor AM. Compared to my other vehicles, the FM on the HCH is the same quality or better. The AM sounds like the speakers are inside a tin can.
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Re: AM radio sounds terrible
Originally Posted by zimbop
Have you listened to AM very much in other radios? AM quality, because of the way it works, sucks inherently - not just reception, but also in the general sound quality. So it should sound worse than CD or FM on your stereo. That said, if you're convinced that it sounds worse than other AM radios you use then perhaps there's something to it.
I will try to be clear as I can: The Honda HCH-2 radio's AM band has much poorer sound quality compared with practically any other AM radio I've ever heard including any other car radio, or in a home. Even the clock radio on my nightstand sounds better. I agree with every description mentioned so far--it's just extremely muffled and flat. It's as if you took a normal radio and turned the bass all the way up and the treble all the way down. I don't know about the others, but my reception is fine and clear. That's why I characterize the sound as if "someone bumped the equalizer knob before stamping out the radios". Obviously I don't know if that's true--it could well be some factor external to the radio that only affects the AM--that's beyond my knowledge. I can only express an opinion about what is hitting my eardrums in this car, when compared with other AM radios. |
Re: AM radio sounds terrible
Well, at least I'm not the only one. Tarabell's comment that AM sounds worse than nearly any other radio is exactly how I feel. I listen to talk radio every day. Yes, AM by definition, doesn't sound as good as FM or certainly digital sources. It simply shouldn't sound as bad as the radio in this car sounds. No other radio, in my home, other Hondas, or my VW's make human voice sound this bad. It is like the signal is "stepped on' ending up flat and hollow. Hence, the listening through a tin can comments.
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Re: AM radio sounds terrible
Well in that case, then I suspect that they either tried and failed to set up the car for AM, or they simply didn't care to worry about it, assuming people don't care about AM anymore. Hard to know which, but I guess you guys got the shaft either way. Maybe the 07 will have improvements. It would be interesting to see if the same problem plagues people who install aftermarket stereos - clarifying if it's a crappy radio or a difficult car to use AM in.
Maybe it's just time to dump the AM garage logic and move to NPR? :-) |
Re: AM radio sounds terrible
Originally Posted by zimbop
Maybe it's just time to dump the AM garage logic and move to NPR? :-)
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Re: AM radio sounds terrible
Originally Posted by zimbop
Maybe it's just time to dump the AM garage logic and move to NPR? :-)
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Re: AM radio sounds terrible
Sorry to hear everyone else complaining. I was hoping my radio was just defective rather than poorly engineered. AM really sucks and I listen to WFAN and ESPN. Hope someone comes up with a solution.
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Re: AM radio sounds terrible
Originally Posted by ralph_dog
I'll bet that one of the reasons they put the antenna outside on the roof is because if it was in the back window near the battery you would get tons more high freq whine especially on AM when the IMA kicks in. Electric motor controllers are notorius for putting out a lot of RF interference.
From the comments here it sounds like those with XM don't have an issue with the system. If so, that would point to the antenna. I noticed the system was certainly not the best fidelity I've heard in a car, but not the worst either. I drive in an area and listen to stations that have strong signals. But my mp3 player doesn't sound great, which would point to the amplifier/speaker system rather than the antenna? The hybrid has six speakers. A lot of stock radios, especially in older cars, have only four. Is it possible that Honda didn't bother to impedence matching the system when they added two speakers? Just a thought.... |
Speaker probs in 05 HCH???
Glad to hear I'm not the only one with this...
My speakers on my 05 HCH are crackly and of generally poor sound quality. In fact, my right front crackles and sounds blown (even though it hasn't been cranked up or anything!) Ideas? Do I have a blown speaker, and does anyone else have the same issue? Hummm...pondering a dealer visit for this, but honestly, they try hard but have been less than stellar. For my lousy rattles, it took 3 trips for the A piller fixes. Geez. Ideas, guys? Thanks in advance...! |
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