Cambridge SoundWorks Radio 820HD (black)

Pros: it receives HD stations!

Cons: user interface, sound quality

Summary: I have a non-HD radio from Cambridge Soundworks that I like a lot, so I bought this 820HD from them when it first came out. When I finally got it four months later (after it passed certification), I was very disappointed. It does bring in my favorite local station better and with no static due to the digital signal, but that's about all I like about it. The list of complaints I have is long, and includes the HD signal dropping out often, an optical output that varies with the volume control rather than being fixed (so you have to listen both to the radio and the stereo it's plugged into), you can't set or adjust an alarm unless you first turn on the radio, the RDBS scrolling display is jerky, the remote has to be pointed right at the unit, sometimes the display shows another station's info if I scroll thru channels quickly, and the sound quality is really pretty mediocre. I just can't believe they made some of the design decisions they did; it must have been a different team from the CSW 745 team.