Customer Ratings & Reviews

I decided to buy something a little different for myself for Christmas this year – an HD Radio receiver. Inexpensive HD Radio receivers are few and far between, but given my line of work, I feel it is important that I have one, so I bought an Insignia NS-HDRAD tabletop radio. Quite honestly, I wonder why I didn't buy one long ago! It's truly an impressive piece of equipment. It's simple, which I like, and easy on the eyes, which everyone will like. It's also pretty versatile (as you'll read in a moment). Now, mind you, the radio isn't perfect. Here are my least-favorite things: * It has no AM band, despite there being more than a few AM stations which are HD Radio-enabled. * The audio quality is good – but not great – with the built-in speakers. There is little bass, but at least the sound that is there isn't “buzzy” or overly “tinny.” Headphones or a connection to a home theater system help greatly, but that's been the case with most smaller radios I've owned over the years. * It's somewhat slow to recognize HD Radio signals. (Although, in its favor, it does lock them in tenaciously once it finally pulls them out of the air.) Reception of “standard” FM stations is outstanding. Where I live, distant and seldom-heard stations, along with stations that get drowned out by adjacent-channel stations, can be received with relative ease. And it's not difficult to get great reception – you can use the included “stick” antenna, the included plug-in pigtail, or you can buy an adapter and connect it into your home's attic or outdoor antenna. The controls are simple and intuitive to use. All of the operational buttons are in a silver-colored strip beneath the glossy monochrome LCD information screen. You can connect an external audio device (such as an MP3 player, computer or phone) to the 3.5mm input jack on the right rear of the radio. It runs on 4 "AA" batteries or the included AC adapter, which has a nice, long cord to make use more convenient. So far, I've only used it for about two to three hours on battery power and it has yet to warn me of impending battery death, so it must be fairly easy on them. We'll see. So … now the big question: Do you need an HD Radio receiver? That really depends on what you want to listen to. In my part of the country, there are few HD Radio stations. However, some of those stations offer unique secondary formats not available with “standard” FM radio. You may find (as I did) that these appeal to you. But, oddly enough, HD Radio itself didn't make me glad that I bought this radio. It was the greatly improved regular FM reception – which I did not expect – that made this radio well worth its price, at least to me. I enjoy listening to many different radio stations depending on my mood, and this radio has easily increased the number of stations I can receive clearly. It's a major improvement over my 17-year-old Magnavox bookshelf stereo system that was previously my benchmark for sensitivity (and it's still good in its own right). On the whole, my feeling is that this radio is worth a look if you're shopping for a new radio. Its outstanding reception and good quality make it something you should consider if you're at all interested in HD Radio – or even if you just want a good FM radio. I'm glad I made the investment!

It's cute and compatible with a small office but it is easy to tune in stations at all.

Although this radio was on the low end of the price scale, you would still expect much more!! Terrible reception with this radio, and the sound quality is poor even when you are lucky enough to get a signal! Spend a little more and find one that works!

I've been wanting an affordable gateway into HD radio, and this has proven to work pretty well. Advantages are that it gets good reception (even if the rabbit ears and extra antenna are a little unwieldy), and even on AA batteries, it sips power. I've been listening to mine for about 13 hours now and have not had to replace the batteries, which is an excellent sign for using it in a more portable fashion. I really thought I'd get more like "old boombox" type battery life, but it's done well. Disadvantages are that it is a little bulky, the sound isn't sensational out of it but it is very clear to listen to. You won't feel like you're getting the surround impact of HD Radio, but you get the clear signal, no static aspect of it no doubt, and the bonus channels. The dual antennas also make this bulky to use, but that also helps its reception, so that runs both ways. Overall, it's a good product in the Insignia line, and while it's for a niche group of people who want HD Radio, it's worth a look.

Using just its extendable aerial, the reception is very good. With a dipole, placed in a window, it is excellent. Its reception is much better for FM than my $400 Bose (which does not receive HD). The HD reception is better than the Sherwood w/HD FM I bought over eBay, then returned. I feed a Teac AB-790 from the earphone output. While the Teac has an FM receiver, its ability to receive signals--using the same dipole--does not come close to the Insignia. I am ordering 2 more for gifts, use in other rooms, or? Best Buy price ($52) is well below Amazon ($83)).

Got it for work and nome of the stations came in at all.

At loudest volume you could barely hear the radio.

I purchased the NS-HDRAD after getting hooked on a couple of the HD radio stations here in Dallas that do not have analog counterparts. I wanted something that I could use on the go, if desired, not just a tabletop unit; this little radio fills the bill nicely. It finds all the HD channels just fine with the telescoping antenna - I have not tried the provided plug-in antenna, but it's nice to know I have the option. In fact, the antenna option brings me to another great aspect of this little radio - its versatility; along with the antenna feature, it has another handy set of input/output jacks - the headphone jack is great for private listening, and it doubles as a line-out to connect the NS-HDRAD to a home or car receiver, or even a set of powered speakers. Additionally, there's an AUX-in for connecting and listening to an mp3 player, CD player, phone, etc. Yet another facet of its versatility: it runs on batteries as well as the supplied AC adapter. The sound quality is good overall, considering the unit's small size; while it's not going to be mistaken for a large boombox, the sound isn't terribly tinny - it has a nice fullness that rather surprised me. There are no sound shaping settings, like bass or treble, but I don't really miss them. And, again, it's possible to connect the NS-HDRAD to another device for more substantial sound. It has a nice, sharp, clear LCD display that is easy to read. At night, I don't think it would be a nuisance, as the display is angled up rather than straight out the side, like a clock radio. All in all, this unit is a terrific value, combining well thought-out features with a bargain price point. If you're interested in HD RADIO and don't want to spend a lot of money, the Insignia NS-HDRAD is definitely worth a look.

It generally works well and has excellent reception. Finding the digital sub-channels I couldn't receive before has been interesting. I like the fact that it has an auxiliary input port. However, when you shut it off in AUX mode and turn it back on again, it goes back to Radio mode; I'd prefer it stayed in the mode you shut it off to. Also, when tuned to a digital sub-channel, shut off, and turned back on, it returns to that station's main channel, which again I think less than ideal.

I've been wanting this for a while. It does a great job of picking up HD signals. I connected it to the aux port of my PC speakers and the sound is great. In my case I had to use the external antenna lead, as my building blocks a lot of the radio signals. It would be nice to be able to directly select the presets similar to a car radio, but this isn't a car radio obviously. 50 bucks is some what high for what amounts to a portable radio, but having HD radio at my desk is well worth it.

I own a large number of HD radios, I am in the transmission biz, and this is the one receiver I am most happy with. This radio acts, well, like a radio. It works in places where you think it should not, if the power goes out, or you turn it off, it comes back on on the station it was last on. It comes with 2 anteanna, it works in the car, it works in the basement, it "tunes" the way it should, the controls make sense. Am I gushing enough? While I said the speaker sound was the negative, keep in mind this is a $50 radio... and it does not sound “bad”, it sounds “even”, it sounds like you would expect it to. It will fill the room with acceptable sound, if you want better, use the output to feed ear buds or an amp. Do not think twice about buying this HD radio.

This radio was just what I needed. I was looking for just a small radio for the kitchen counter and I could not believe how hard that was to find. I was delighted to find this item since I am already a Best Buy/Insignia/HD Radio owner. The idea of this product, I think, is to get you HD Radio at an economical price. Inadvertently, I think this is simply a terrific little radio in a market that simply doesn't have many.

I can't believe this radio!! It gets the wonderful classical music station that sold here in South Florida. It is a HD radio, which is needed to receive the station on 91.3 WLRN HD2. The volume can be quite loud, if needed, which is great. The quality of sound is very good considering the size. I had previously listened to the old classical station on my Boze, this is not quite that good, but I am so happy to be able to hear classical music again, I think this sound quality is quite acceptable! I am sooooooo happy!! Best Buy had free shipping. And fast! I ordered it on the 15th and got it on the 18th (Nov 2015). Thank you Best Buy for giving me back my classical music!!

I have been searching for a portable HD Radio with excellent quality sound and reception. This Insignia NS-HDRAD meets both of these requirements and is by far the best in class. The value to price ratio is outstanding! For a little over $50.00 you will not find a better value. Don't think twice about purchasing this radio. You will be very pleased!

If you need a 'bathroom' radio, this one should do it for you. I was replacing a radio in the bathroom that was going and just wanted something small and simple. This radio picks up local stations great and sounds good. The sound is not perfect, but for the size and what I'm using it for it works. If you want a simple radio for the bathroom, kitchen, shop, etc. this is a great option. If you want a great audio experience, you will be disappointed.

If you want to add HD radio stations to your home stereo system, this is definitely the way to go. Most metro areas of any size have quite a few HD (digital radio) stations carrying a wide variety of programming that's often not available on analog stations. Here in St. Louis, for example, we have two good classical stations on HD. The radio is easy to set up and has plenty of presets for you favorite HD stations. It attaches to your stereo via any line-level input. You'll need a simple adapter to connect the radio's headphone output to your system, but that's about it. I've had mine for over a year now and I'm completely happy with it. And the price is right.

Bought this for use in my work truck. I wanted something with digital tuning and the HD was a great bonus for the price. Sound quality was much better than I expected for its compact size. Station pre-sets were easy to program. In short I loved this radio, but.... I would only be using this radio with the 4 AA alkaline batteries and not the AC adapter. The useful life for this radio was only about 9-10 hours per set of batteries, which is only about a day and a half for me. I used up 8 new AA alkaline batteries in less than 3 days. Store staff said this was probably the normal battery life for this unit. Even using rechargeable batteries would be a pain as I have no where at work to plug in the charger and changing batteries daily would get old fast. The radio I replaced, an old Eaton multi-band portable, would need its batteries changed out about once a month with the same usage. So I took it back and got a refund. In conclusion I have to say that I LOVED this radio! Unfortunately the battery life issue is a deal breaker for me. If you plan to plug it into the wall outlet it should be a great radio for you.

The HD radio stations sound really great when used as a receiver with a cord from the headphone jack to the AUX input plugged into my Stereo (need a 3.5 mm Aux adapter -cheap to buy, and useful). As a standalone unit the receiver is good, and the radio is small and light. Also its easy to use. Great to hear HD stations that are a nice addition if you like FM radio. I live in an urban area close to many radio towers, and the radio stations played through this radio don't have hiss and feedback that some others do because of my closeness to many towers (including the $200 stereo system that I now have it plugged into as the radio receiver). Hopefully it will work well and stil get HD stations when I try it in locations that are farther from radio towers.

What a great starter HD radio. I live almost 40 miles from any major stations broadcast towers. I was pleasantly surprised that it picks up all the HD stations that are in the Kansas City area using the built in antenna. It is very easy to operate. I have read reviews that often state the difficulty in operating an electronic item. If you own and operate a cell phone then you should not have any problem operating this device or any other electronic device. The reception is very good and the sound quality is excellent for this small of a radio. The features all work well. I use rechargeable batteries and they last for about 50 hours before I need to recharge.

This is a great way for listening to local radio stations in the millennium. In addition to the regular FM frequency, you can get the additional HD substations for that particular outlet if they have one. It also displays artist and Title of the current selection that's playing, if applicable. However, the one drawback is the battery life is not real long. Also, some pickup of stations can be faint in certain areas. Overall it is a good value for the money.