Kenwood KTC-HR300

I wouldn't bother

I tried this in two vehicles. The first was a Toyota Sequoia with power antenna and the addition of this HD module rendered the power antenna inoperable. After checking all wiring and trying the head unit stock and with this HD receiver it was definitely something with the HD receiver. I called Kenwood support and they got back to me real quick (kudos there). However, they had not heard of this problem and couldn't help me but make some guesses about grounding through antenna sheath. Nice try but nope. One thing the technician did suggest was installing an antenna power amplifier to get good signal strength; like he knew something was up with the unit. So I boxed it.

I broke it out again when installing a second Kenwood system in a Ford Super Duty without power antenna just to see how it worked. Dismal at best. Again an antenna amp may help but then I discovered there are hardly any HD channels in my area anyway. And the automatic switching between HD and SD is annoying.

The whole HD radio thing seems preposterous. It's an apparent attempt to compete with satellite radio but cannot compare. I also see no improvement in sound quality due to the extreme compression that HD radio does in order to get signals to fit within frequency band. Me thinks HD radio will go the way of Beta tapes and Toshiba HD DVDs. There may well be a reason you don't see many head-units manufactures jumping on the band wagon with enthusiasm. I should have done more research before trying it.

I guess I'll put mine up on eBay and happily drive around with good, solid, strong and dependable standard-def radio.

WHAT!!!!

@ James from Clint,
HD radio has nothing to do with trying to compete with Sattelite radio, in my opinion, satellite radio sounds no better than regular radio!!! But HD radio, sounds way better, and I also think your WHOLE problem is (as you mentioned) YOU HAVE HARDLY ANY HD STATIONS) in your area!!! This matters a great deal when trying and using HD radio!!!

Amazing Sound

I got a whole new Kenwood system for the wife's BMW. It sounds great, but gets even better once the HD kicks in. Not only do you get a cleaner, clearer sound, you get all the extra stations. Only recommend if you live near a large city. In rural area, it wouldn't help you out.

Works Well

I am using this with a Kenwood DNX-7019.
It works quite well.

Compared to Satellite Radio: The sound quality is much better. To my ears, satellite radio sounds over-compressed and shallow.
Compared to Normal FM: The sound quality is better and is static free. If the signal is weak, the unit seamlessly switches back to normal FM mode.

Most radio stations in large metropolitan areas have an HD counterpart, each of which may have one or two additional, and commercial free stations. The unit gives me the station name and artist, song title, and genre on the screen of my DNX-7019. Unfortunately, the iTunes tagging does not work for me because my head unit does not support the tagging (It is an older model that was discontinued before the KTC-HR300 was released)

Overall, I am very satisfied with the KTC-HR300 and would recommend it to anyone who has a Kenwood head unit and lives where there are HD stations.

By the way, there are no subscription fees for HD Radio.

Love this unit!!

I love the features of this unit. Wish the pre-loading of album art was a bit quicker so you could get past songs quicker. Kenwood, please listen. Other than taht this unit is very versatile and has tons of configuration features to fine tune the sound feild for your specific vehicle!!. Able to tri-amp (which I do) for fronts rear and sub. works fantastically!!

KTC-HR300

I am using this with a Kenwood KDC-MP635 head unit and am very pleased with the performance. The stations are clear and the audio quality is incredible. I held out for a couple of years because of the price to move up to HD, Glad I finally made the jump!

HD Radio

This an excellent product as an alternate to xm, even though I do have both. The KTC-HR300 has much better reception than the KTC-HR100 it replaced. All in all its a great value for the money. Very satisfied and love Sonic's prices. Would recommend this product.

Love the extra stations...., No additional cost...!

Easy to install, more stations, better sound, no monthly payment. What's not to like?