Best iSimple HDRT Peripheral HD Radio Tuner Add-On for PXAMG Interface Deals

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Edited 2 years later...

This product is flashy in the box, but it has several glitches that keep it from truly shining.

1 (A+)Easy installation with an intuitive wiring layout. They include the wiring harness for both Acura and Honda makes, and a return box so that you can easily recycle the wiring harness you don't use. Yeah for green thumbs!

2 (C)This unit requires that you have a pass through device such as their unit, the Peripheral PXAMG Universal iPod Adapter. The unit would be MUCH better as an ALL-IN-ONE Aux/Ipod/HD radio input. Making room for both units in your car is somewhat difficult at times. In fact I would go one better and incorporate a switch for the antenna input so that you can use your car antenna with both the OEM radio tuner, or the HD tuner (with this device you un-hook from the OEM radio making all antenna inputs go through the HD tuner). I will explain in depth shortly.

3 (D)The printed instructions are INACCURATE/INCOMPLETE. upon completing install I attempted to use the unit and thought for certain that it was broken. Fiddling with my radio I stumbled upon the correct manner to start the HD tuner/Aux input selector. A couple times practicing it and now I find it easy. For my car the correct method is to change from sat/cd input to FM/AM, then change back to sat/cd; following this you must (within 4 seconds) press the seek forward/backward button and hold it for 5 seconds. This causes the menu of options to start scrolling wildly, listing AUX/SAT/IPOD/HD Radio. I have to release and then tap the arrow button to the input I want, release for 4 secs and viola the input starts.

4 (D-)The Sound Quality is on par with satellite radio, meaning excellent, especially when you are listening to HD channels that have a strong signal. However there are some catches to this statement. It seems the radio tunes to the local standard FM channel first, then if HD is present on the same frequency it switches over to HD. This can cause a slight stutter in audio with a noticeable change in quality of sound. PLUS there is a loss in synch of audio as most HD stations aren't in perfect synch with their analog output. If your radio is having problems tracking the HD signal then there is an annoying switch back and forth from standard FM to FM-HD. It appears in the form of constant stuttering in audio with a noticeable upgrade/downgrade in sound quality. The loss in audio synch as mentioned before is HIGHLY noticeable and may have to do with how the tuner selects which signal it will track. Strangely you may have a good signal with the HD tuner, but if the FM tuner sees a significantly stronger signal the unit will still swap back and forth. I find this issue UNBEARABLE and have gone the effort of installing a pass-through with switch for the antenna cable so that I can use the built in FM tuner rather than the HD tuner for certain stations that show this problem due to reception in my area. I have this issue with 2 of 6 radio stations I listen to in my area.

5 (C-)When switching to the HD tuner the display on my radio still reads that it is on XM satellite input. I can deal with that except that unless I am paying attention to how many times I have selected the input I won't know if I am on AM-HD or FM-HD. It can be a little distracting trying to select the channel while driving. Also, about 1 in 6 or 7 times when selecting the HD tuner the front panel control inputs from my radio do not get accepted by the HD tuner and I am forced to change to standard FM tuner and back to get the controls to respond. Annoying, but livable.

6 (A-)AUX input (I don't have an IPOD so I can't review that side), the unit (Peripheral PXAMG Universal iPod Adapter) that is required to make the HDRT work will ONLY allow you to have 2 of the 3 possible inputs at a time. Your options are: HDRT, AUX (mini stereo 3/8inch plus R/L RCA type), and IPOD. This is livable, but they should have been able to combine all the inputs into a single cable, or used a switch, or some other ingenuity.

7 (A+)AUX input sound quality is superb, if a little quiet. I had to turn up my MP3 player to be able to hear it well on the radio.

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The controls are a little strange but once the station is tuned it sounds excellent. Good range in metro area. Easy to install but must purchase the iSimple ISGM571 Gateway. Gateway connects to radio and HD radio tuner hides in the glove box of my 2013 Chevrolet Silverado. Picks up numerous HD stations. There is a delay but I typically listen to 3 main stations so it is not an issue.Watched a Youtube video on removing the radio and dash panels. Very simple. Less than an hour to install.

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I had this installed in my 2010 Subaru Outback (not sure if it's this model; it's whichever model iSimple said would work with my car). Mobile One did this by attaching an antenna adapter to the factory antenna and then connecting to the SAT port in the factory stereo system, in accordance with the iSimple installation instructions. The system does not always recognize the HDRT. I have to turn the car off then back on again to wait for the system to recognize it. Once it does recognize it, the sound quality is tinny and sometimes has an intermittent signal. iSimple doesn't tell you that you can still have your factory radio work by using a Y-splitter. After my fourth trip to Mobile One to try to get this thing working, I was about to have them remove it and re-connect the factory radio, and forget about HD radio even though it means I won't receive my local NPR station's classical music on its HD2 channel. Just before giving up, I asked Mobile One if there were a way to have both connected. They tried a Y-splitter with an adapter and it worked. So even though the iSimple HDRT doesn't work well, I kept it to get the HD2 classical music on the occasions when the HDRT decides to work! and will use the factory radio for everything else. So this was an expensive way to get one radio station on an intermittent basis. I don't know if it's bad software or bad hardware, but either way, it does not work well, especially given the price plus installation charges.

Honest reviews on iSimple HDRT Peripheral HD Radio Tuner Add-On for PXAMG Interface

received this back in June the interface didn't work so i got that replaced after a while i finely got interface back now the hd radio don't work now they tell me its to late to get it replaced so here i sit on junk that don't work

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I am using this unit with an ISSB571 in my 07 Subaru Outback. The HDRT tuner has poor reception. I live at the edge of town so the signal strength weak to begin with. I have another vehicle with a Kenwood HD radio tuner that picks up most of the HD stations with very little troubles. This unit is always switching between "HD" and a very static laden analog. It will only stay on HD for short periods of time. I have double checked the antenna connections. I did use an antenna "Y" adapter so I can still use the FM from the stock head unit. The Y may be degrading the signal strength some, but the stock FM works just fine in this configuration.