I find the reception about equal that of my Dodge Dakota. There is one station I listen to that fades out at certain points on my commute and find the same (no better / no worst) with my HCH. It is just the sound quality I don't like.

 

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.

 

Yes, zimbop, I have listened to both AM and FM for more than 5 minutes in my life . If you're familiar with L.A. radio, I started with the Real Don Steel on my transister radio in the '60s and graduated to the "Mighty Met" on my walkman in the '70s. So I'm well aware of what AM "sounds like" compared to FM and CDs. What I am talking about has nothing to do with the inherent drawbacks of AM.

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 **** 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.

 

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.

 

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? :-)

 

I'll raise my glass to that !

 

Better yet, switch to Sirius sattelite radio. 3 channels of NPR! That's how I live without AM or FM now

 

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.

 

Makes perfect sense! I was wondering why the hybrids have the tail hanging off the back of the roof and the standard civics didn't.

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....

 

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...!