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 List Price: $149.95 Sale Price: $28.95 
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The world's smallest HD radio tuner! The KT-HDP1 adapts to most vehicles and features a thin and slim design with Built-In HD (With Multi-Cast), FM, and AM Tuners. Using the optional accessory kits, the KT-HDP1 allows you to listen to your favorite High Definition Radio programming while driving, or, you can take it into the home or office too. Accessory options include: KV-K1017 Professional Car Installation Kit, KV-K1018 Do-It-Yourself Car Installation Kit, and KV-K1019 Home Kit
- Universal add-on HD Radio tuner
- Improved sound quality and static-free reception from participating AM and FM stations
- Built-in wired and wireless FM modulator
- Connects to factory and aftermarket stereos
- Receives multicasting content (where available)
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After several years as a satellite radio subscriber, I bought and installed the JVC transportable HD radio receiver in my car. Radio never sounded so good, and though my small city doesn’t have HD stations, I live a short distance from Minneapolis an there are several excellent HD station there that I can listen to during frequent visits. Reminds me of FM in the 70s. We had the radios before there were stations to listen to.
AM sounds better, FM sounds great and when I am in the City, HD radio is a new experience in sound! The screen shows artist and song title and the FM transmitter on the JVC receiver is strong enough that I never have bleed-through from nearby FM stations.
My factory radio doesn’t have an auxiliary ear phone jack or tri-color RCA plugs in the back. Most HD radio tuners require this. The JVC KT-HDP1 does not. I’m a dope when it comes to car audio, and if I can install the JVC receiver and car kit, anyone can.
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I use the JVC KT-HDP1 Transportable HD Radio Tuner (Black) as an attachment for my home theater system. I live in the city in Boston and am about 3 miles away from the transmitting antenna for WROR 105.7. WROR broadcasts from the top of the Prudential building downtown. The KT-HDP1 has difficulty receiving the HD signal from WROR. It has difficulty receiving signals from other (but not all) radio stations. I am using the JVC home kit for the KT-HDP1 along with the supplied antenna. My only comment on the antenna supplied with the kit is that it is short (~18″). I don’t believe that is the optimal length for an FM signal. This may be the issue.
Just to be sure that it is the unit and not the signal, I also have a competing portable HD unit in my car. It has no difficulty receiving WROR or other HD signals (in the car or my house).
So, I suggest that if you intend to purchase an KT-HDP1. You consider a strong signal source or an external antenna that is better than the one provided in the KT-HDP1 home kit.
Some people have complained about the KT-HDP1 temperature being hot after extended use. I use the KT-HDP1 home kit with the supplied metal stand. The stand seems to act like a heat sink. So even though the KT-HDP1 gets warm, it doesn’t get too warm like in might in the sun in a car.
I would recomend that you not purchase this without access to a strong signal or a good FM antenna. Don’t even think about purchasing the KT-HDP1 without the car or home kits.
My other HD tuner is able to show the music that is playing on both the HD1 and HD2 stations while listening to one or the other. The KT-HDP1 cannot (at least I haven’t been able to make it do it.) It is a nice function if you are listening to a station and don’t like it and want to know what is playing on the sister station without changing. Otherwise the KT-HDP1 is a good tuner with solid functionality and menu options.
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I purchased this HD receiver with high hopes. I live around 20 miles from most radio stations and had zero reception at my house. Since I purchased both the car and home kits, I decided to try just the home stuff first. If I was successful, I’d move on to the installation of the car kit. Never got there. At my office, right in the center of the broadcasting area, I only received 2 out of 10-15 HD stations. No AM HD.
The FM receiver worked fine and when HD came in, the quality was excellent. I think it will be a usable receiver, but maybe the antenna was not ready for prime time. All in all, I was disappointed with the number of stations I could pick up in the area and returned the product. Quality of the product was just fine, however.
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I installed this JVC HD radio unit in my car with the “professional” installation kit. The professional installation kit includes a box that patches into your car’s antenna. This setup uses your existing radio antenna for clear HD reception as well as acting as a wired FM modulator for a high-quality connection, even if your radio has no aux input. My Scion has an aux input, but the sound quality is actually better through the FM signal. There is a bit of static if I use the aux input, but that is the fault of the factory radio, as it always has some hiss when using the aux input.
I can pick up more stations than I expected. I live about 20 miles from Washington DC and 40 miles from Baltimore. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to pick up much at home, but was hoping to be able to pick up my favorite stations for most of my daily 32 mile commute. I get full HD on most of my stations all the time. If and when they fade out, there is a seamless transition to analog. I have had to look at the display to see it happen.
Regular FM and AM reception is as good, if not a little better than my factory Pioneer radio. I don’t live within range of many AM HD station, but I have found a few (not my type of stations, though). The sound quality is surprisingly good.
The remote control is as confusing as most in-car remotes. Once I memorized where the buttons were, I was able to use it in the dark. Some people have complained about the positioning of the volume buttons on the unit itself, but I never touch those. I prefer to use the volume control on my car’s stereo, since there are controls on the steering wheel for that.
I also hard-wired the power on mine. This simply involved cutting off the cigarette lighter plug, adding an in-line 2A fuse, and tapping it into a switched power source (the line to the cig. lighter on my car).
I just ordered the home kit for this unit. I’ll add to this review once I have had a few days or weeks to play around with it.
I wish there were more options for mounting. There aren’t mane flat surfaces on my dash. Also, I would like the display to go dimmer. Even on the lowest setting it is very bright at night. The only other thing I would wish for on the next model is a single cable to run from the unit to the behind-the-dash box. It would be a lot cleaner looking if the power, antenna, and audio were combined into one cable.
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This unit works great when hooked up to aux. When useing rf signals clash in seattle because of so many stations. It sounds great in hd. No heating problems at all.
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Install was pretty easy, though you do have to order the installation kit as well. Only took 10 minutes to get it into my car and get it working. Overall, i would give it 4 out 5 comparied to a normal radio
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fun to play with and to experiment with.
It only draws 350 ma. but it dose get very warm.
only tested on standard radio stations as of yet.
buy it to experiment with