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Customer Reviews for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Model: NS-HD01
SKU: 9375071
UPC: 600603147234
When you're on the go, listen to your favorite HD and FM radio stations using this portable player that features an armband for easy portability.
Average Customer Rating:
3.6
out of 5
(199 Reviews) 199
Rating Snapshot 199 reviews
5 stars
77
4 stars
51
3 stars
17
2 stars
28
1 star
26
68% of customers would recommend this product to a friend
(
135 out of
199)
Customer Reviews for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Review 1 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Posted by: NoMoneyDown
on 01/26/2010
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Durability
5.0
Reception
4.0
What's great about it: Micro-sized but substantial construction; excellent performance.
This item is just what I wanted: a compact, portable HD radio to listen to the HD side-band of my favorite classical music station. With this radio, I can avoid the wasteland of contemporary FM radio broadcasting. The sound is good, the controls are intuitive and the reception with the antenna built into the earphone cord is really very, very good (with negligible signal drop-out).
Two characteristics I really like are (a) this item stays on-channel -- it does not revert to the analog FM signal of the station when the HD signal drops-out and (b) the fact that you really do not need a computer to recharge the battery. Quite often, FM radio stations broadcast entirely different program content on the main analog channel and the HD sub-channels, so staying on-channel even when there is a brief signal drop-out is a great feature -- no surprises blasting into your ears. Also, you can use a readily-available universal USB charger to recharge the battery -- as long as you can match the specs (5V DC, at least 500mAh current). I discovered that my cell phone charger is a perfect match for this radio!
I would recommend this to a friend!
+123points
153out of 183found this review helpful.
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Review 2 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Great until it died.
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: Dennis0227
from Charlottesville, VA
on 04/23/2012
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Durability
1.0
Reception
5.0
What's great about it: Quality HD reception.
What's not so great: Premature death.
Check the reviews and see that many have had theirs die shortly after the 90 day warranty. I bought two units 18 months ago. One still working. Other shows that HD station is being received but no audio. Tried other earphones, reset, factory defaults, ran battery down to zero & recharged - retpeated resets - no joy in mudville. There is clearly a design or manufacturing fault in the audio output circuit. My Sony Walkman FM radio has been working forever. (BSEE, MSEE)
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 3 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Ditto! Simply dies in 3 months
Customer Rating
1.0
What's great about it: clear sound and reception.
What's not so great: Doesn't work!
Same complaint as MANY others. After 110 days, NO AUDIO! It appears to work fine, I reset to factory default, and any other trouble shooting I could think of but simply NO SOUND..not even static. Dead, dead dead.
C'mon Best Buy, this is s very, very clear problem and someone needs to stand behind this!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+6points
6out of 6found this review helpful.
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Review 4 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Audio stops working within 90 days
Customer Rating
1.0
Posted by: Anonymous
from St,.Petersburg, FL
on 03/06/2012
Sound Quality
5.0
Durability
1.0
Reception
3.0
What's great about it: Audio quality
What's not so great: Audio output stops working after a few months.
I just had the second unit fail, 91 days after the first unit failed. The 1st unit failed just under 90 days after purchase. Looking at the other reviews, I see this is a known problem/defect. Not good for Best Buy to continued to carry a product with a known life of 3 months.
Too bad because otherwise it's a nice product.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+6points
6out of 6found this review helpful.
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Review 5 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Worked Great For A Year
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: DoctorO
from Baton Rouge, LA
on 02/14/2012
Value for Price
4.0
Sound Quality
2.0
Durability
1.0
Reception
3.0
What's not so great: If it can't last more than a year, it's not worth having.
The HD radio worked great for a year. Then I picked it up one day and could not get any volume. Everything else works but it doesn't matter if you can't hear the radio! I have heard about someone else having a problem with their HD radio. They had to throw it away since the warranty is only for 90 days. Very disappointing. I will probably have to do the same with mine.
I once had an Insignia TV that crapped out within the warranty period (actually within about 7 days). I was able to get a full refund from Best Buy. I will never buy another Insignia product.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+7points
9out of 11found this review helpful.
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Review 6 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Play's well. I get most of the channels from 30 mi
Customer Rating
4.0
Value for Price
3.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Durability
2.0
Reception
4.0
What's great about it: Range and Sound
What's not so great: Battery replacement does not exist.
I like the radio as a whole but was surprised that it will end up
being a throw away. From what I can see the rechargeable battery
cannot be replaced when it finally dies. I didn;t know this when I purchased it and don't remember seeing this lack of feature on the packaging or the on line description. I will keep it as long as the battery lasts as it does have good range and sound. It would be great if they make on with a replacable battery.
being a throw away. From what I can see the rechargeable battery
cannot be replaced when it finally dies. I didn;t know this when I purchased it and don't remember seeing this lack of feature on the packaging or the on line description. I will keep it as long as the battery lasts as it does have good range and sound. It would be great if they make on with a replacable battery.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+4points
4out of 4found this review helpful.
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Review 7 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Good Buy for the money
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: crftst134
from Sacramento, California
on 01/22/2012
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Durability
5.0
Reception
4.0
What's great about it: Battery Life & Size
What's not so great: Used item upon delivery
I really do not understand why this product is not being sold in a best buy retail store other then top people in the company wants to push satellite radio so they get kick backs from the subscription service.
When the radio arrived, I could tell that the item had been opened and used. I did not understand why until I took a drive and found that if you get out away from big cities most if all FM stations have not converted over to the new HD format, yet. For example, up in Butte County, it would be a waste of money because I scanned for HD stations and there weren't any. The radio will pickup standard station broadcast but will not lock into HD because there isn't any up there. In Sacramento, there are a lot of HD stations [about 5].
The radio is nice I am really happy with the sound quality. I would buy a second one if the retail store sold it, but I am not going to waste my time ordering another one online. As far as the unit dieing after a three month, I have it only for a month so far and I'll let you know if it does. A cell phone charger [[see a Sprint store for a car/home adapter]] charges the HD radio. The connector on the unit that charges the HD radio is a mini-computer port interface and the connector can be purchased through digi-key [electronics parts seller] but the connector would need to be connected to a 5 volt DC power source [really should have come with a AC adapter-for another $5]. The battery life is really good [about 4-5 hours before HD starts fading in and out] and this radio is small and fits in the palm of your hand [it is really nice]. By the way, a 300 mAh hour charger works too.
Over all I would hope that Insignia will keep on improving this unit and would put in HD/AM Radio in this thing while keeping the existing features. Would like to see firmware updates on this model. WiFi radio built in would be nice.
Over all, I like it.
When the radio arrived, I could tell that the item had been opened and used. I did not understand why until I took a drive and found that if you get out away from big cities most if all FM stations have not converted over to the new HD format, yet. For example, up in Butte County, it would be a waste of money because I scanned for HD stations and there weren't any. The radio will pickup standard station broadcast but will not lock into HD because there isn't any up there. In Sacramento, there are a lot of HD stations [about 5].
The radio is nice I am really happy with the sound quality. I would buy a second one if the retail store sold it, but I am not going to waste my time ordering another one online. As far as the unit dieing after a three month, I have it only for a month so far and I'll let you know if it does. A cell phone charger [[see a Sprint store for a car/home adapter]] charges the HD radio. The connector on the unit that charges the HD radio is a mini-computer port interface and the connector can be purchased through digi-key [electronics parts seller] but the connector would need to be connected to a 5 volt DC power source [really should have come with a AC adapter-for another $5]. The battery life is really good [about 4-5 hours before HD starts fading in and out] and this radio is small and fits in the palm of your hand [it is really nice]. By the way, a 300 mAh hour charger works too.
Over all I would hope that Insignia will keep on improving this unit and would put in HD/AM Radio in this thing while keeping the existing features. Would like to see firmware updates on this model. WiFi radio built in would be nice.
Over all, I like it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+4points
4out of 4found this review helpful.
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Review 8 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Works for 3 months max.
Customer Rating
1.0
Posted by: Muppy
from Alexandria, VA
on 01/11/2012
Value for Price
3.0
Sound Quality
3.0
Durability
1.0
Reception
4.0
What's great about it: First three months
What's not so great: Only lasts three months.
I just returned my third radio and asked for a refund. Love the radio but they're just junk. Seeing how many reviewers have had the exact experience that I've had, I don't understand why Best Buy would keep these on the market without doing a fix. The radio works fine and then one day just dies. All three of mine stopped working in the same way. Turns on, all functions work but no sound. Please Best Buy - fix the problem!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+5points
5out of 5found this review helpful.
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Review 9 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Only lasts a few months
Customer Rating
1.0
Posted by: rchris
from Seattle
on 12/10/2011
What's great about it: Low price for a portable HD FM unit
What's not so great: It only lasts a few months, then mysteriously dies.
I owned 4 of these, the first was the original purchase, the last three were warrantee returns. Every time the unit would last about 3 or 4 months, then would mysteriously stop working. Each time I took it back, I would extend out the Best Buy service agreement, which would cost about $10, and leave with a new radio. The last unit that stopped working, I just returned it and got a full refund. This thing is fine while it lasts, but since it only lasts a few months, it's a piece of junk.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+10points
10out of 10found this review helpful.
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Review 10 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Can only hear out of 1 earbud
Customer Rating
3.0
Posted by: Mikester
from Eagan, MN
on 09/26/2011
Value for Price
4.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Durability
1.0
Reception
3.0
What's great about it: Size - small size is nice it fits in any pocket
What's not so great: reliability - very unreliable
I purchased this product about a year ago and it worked well for about 6 months. I use it almost every day and it still holds a charge well. At about 8 months one of the ear buds was inoperative. I tried using new earbuds, no good. Recently the PS-, PS+ and the on-off button have become hard to use and sometimes unresponsive. I was very happy with the unit until the one earbud stopped working. Now I am looking to replace it. For $50 I would look for something a bit more reliable.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+9points
10out of 11found this review helpful.
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Review 11 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Good product for the money while it lasted
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: DavidWbeaumontca
from Los Angeles, CA
on 09/05/2011
Value for Price
4.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Durability
3.0
Reception
4.0
What's great about it: Decent reception and easy to use
What's not so great: No replacement for imbded antenas.
This was a good product while it lasted. I bought it in April 2010 and have used it at least 3 times a week without failure. Battery life is excellent. However, this week the antena seems to have given out. I can only hear from one earbud. It seems like the connection is lose; if I fiddle with it for a second, the sound comes thru fine but as soon as I release the wire, sound is maintained only thru one side. I guess it is time to move up to MP3 now. If I could raplace the antena, I belive the unit itself is still good, but I cannot find the wire with an antena imbeded. Overall, a decent value for under $50 and a 1.5 year of service.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+7points
9out of 11found this review helpful.
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Review 12 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Good value
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: gonefishing400
from St. louis
on 08/31/2011
What's great about it: great signal
What's not so great: battery
radio works well - good features - battery runs down when not in use.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+4points
4out of 4found this review helpful.
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Review 13 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
don't waste your money
Customer Rating
1.0
Posted by: mikedo
from michigan
on 08/14/2011
Value for Price
1.0
Sound Quality
3.0
Durability
1.0
Reception
2.0
What's great about it: not much
What's not so great: the warrenty
In less than 5 months I went through 2 of these units. The first one the sound quit working after a little more than 2 months. Took unit back to store and exchanged for a new one. Once again about 2 months later the very same thing happen. Working fine one day and the next day no sound. I am out of the warrenty so I guess I just threw away $43 bucks. One of my co workers has the same radio and guess what, his did the very same thing. He is out of warrenty also but he paid full price for his ($50). I just threw the second one in the trash today. Also when the radio changes from normal FM and then to HD it is very annoying and it happens all day long. You can't just switch it normal FM. The sound was good when it was working. I would not buy untill they either fix this promblem or they extend the warrenty to a full year. Looks like I will now be buying a Sony Walkman and hope I have better luck. There goes another $40.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+11points
14out of 17found this review helpful.
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Review 14 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
A Neat Little Device for Listening at work
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: KCsFinest5
from KC
on 08/10/2011
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Durability
5.0
Reception
4.0
I enjoy listening to sports talk radio and decided to pick up an HD radio because my favorite station has been advertising their new HD station. I, like many of you, found the cheapest portable available. I am very critical of electronics, but I can honestly say that this is a great product. I believe the current price tag is due to low popularity of HD radio. However, if you are looking for a neat little radio that is small and looks nice, this is your radio.
Pros:
-Small size
-Attractive design
-Optional work-out band included
-Rechargeable battery
-Price
-Easy to use
-Small size
-Attractive design
-Optional work-out band included
-Rechargeable battery
-Price
-Easy to use
Cons:
-Sometimes signal gets weak while inside (usually a few 10 second periods everyday)
-screen could be bigger
-Sometimes signal gets weak while inside (usually a few 10 second periods everyday)
-screen could be bigger
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 15 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Bad Design
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: gquinta5
from Washington Twp, MI
on 07/14/2011
Value for Price
2.0
Sound Quality
2.0
Durability
2.0
Reception
2.0
What's great about it: Nothing is great about it.
What's not so great: Battery life, useless buttons, no changing batteries
While a rechargeable battery sounds like a good idea, its not. Its a very bad idea because when it goes dead, your out of luck. No changing batteries and going back to work. It wouldnt be too bad if the radio was designed and engineered better. You need to hit the buttons twice to wake it up s you dont accidentaly hit a button. However the Power button only needs to be pushed once. This causes big problems because there are no lights or indicaters to let you know its on, even without headphones plugged in. So if you store it anywhere where it might get touched, it will turn on and run out the batteries which cannot be changed,only charged.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+9points
10out of 11found this review helpful.
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Review 16 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
audio
Customer Rating
3.0
Posted by: GMike
from Fontana, Ca
on 06/29/2011
Value for Price
2.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Durability
1.0
Reception
3.0
What's great about it: the audio
What's not so great: 90-day warranty
The audio quality of the Insignia was amazing up to June 28. Then there was no audio. I tried re-setting to the factory setting. I tried a different set of ear-buds. No change. The receiver turns on, but no audio. To make matters worse, it is about a week and a half out of warranty
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+6points
7out of 8found this review helpful.
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Review 17 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Barely lasts past warranty!!!
Customer Rating
1.0
Posted by: iheartmuzak
from San Diego, CA
on 06/27/2011
Value for Price
1.0
Sound Quality
2.0
Durability
1.0
Reception
2.0
What's great about it: was able to listen to one of my favorite stations without fail...
What's not so great: short battery life, HD stations are a joke, other stations are distorted when clear on another radio
This radio was great...while it lasted. I bought it Feb. 24, 2011. Got the glowing screen of death today, June 27, 2011...even the reset button doesn't do anything. Only 30 days over the 90 day warranty and when I called Insignia, they wouldn't do anything for me. All they said is that sometimes the software can be corrupted or something happens to cause it not to work....Seriously!?!?! A product that costs $50 should last more than 120 days. And if they know that people are have problems with it (as the guy said when I called) they should be more willing to help fix the problem...especially when the problem is in the design. As it stands now, I won't ever buy another Insignia product. I'm just glad Best Buy has other radio options.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+5points
5out of 5found this review helpful.
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Review 18 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Lasted 6 months
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: elgeek
from Colorado Springs, CO
on 06/17/2011
Value for Price
2.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Durability
2.0
Reception
2.0
What I Liked:
Small Size. I used it outside whle working. The radio didn't switch stations accidentally on me after getting bumped. It was easy to adjust volume. I liked that it came with an armband except the armband needs stretchy material to work better. I liked that it has a more standard jack for charging, so I can take one USB cable and charge up several of my devices. I bought an adapter so I can plug it into the wall. I think the sound quality is pretty good but I'm only listening to talking programs. The battery lasted a lot longer than the MP3 player I was using.
Small Size. I used it outside whle working. The radio didn't switch stations accidentally on me after getting bumped. It was easy to adjust volume. I liked that it came with an armband except the armband needs stretchy material to work better. I liked that it has a more standard jack for charging, so I can take one USB cable and charge up several of my devices. I bought an adapter so I can plug it into the wall. I think the sound quality is pretty good but I'm only listening to talking programs. The battery lasted a lot longer than the MP3 player I was using.
What I didn't like:
*This radio didn't work at lower temperatures. At 40 degrees or below I had to put it inside my jacket or it would just make a terrible noise and not tune in any station.
*The NPR HD2 station in my area isn't on all the time and I found it very difficult to tune in. HD1 had no issues but even though I'm in line of sight from the transmitting towers I had trouble tuning in HD2 unless I went to specific spots. After getting it tuned in it would stay on the station.
*It was somewhat difficult to set the presets and then sometimes it would set a new preset instead of switching to the next station when I was pushing the button.
*An MP3 player would be a bonus
*Only a 90 day warranty
*6 months into it and now I have no sound output. So it goes into the trash.
*This radio didn't work at lower temperatures. At 40 degrees or below I had to put it inside my jacket or it would just make a terrible noise and not tune in any station.
*The NPR HD2 station in my area isn't on all the time and I found it very difficult to tune in. HD1 had no issues but even though I'm in line of sight from the transmitting towers I had trouble tuning in HD2 unless I went to specific spots. After getting it tuned in it would stay on the station.
*It was somewhat difficult to set the presets and then sometimes it would set a new preset instead of switching to the next station when I was pushing the button.
*An MP3 player would be a bonus
*Only a 90 day warranty
*6 months into it and now I have no sound output. So it goes into the trash.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+3points
3out of 3found this review helpful.
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Review 19 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
Units do not last
Customer Rating
1.0
Posted by: Runnerwantsradio
from Minneapolis
on 06/09/2011
Value for Price
1.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Durability
1.0
Reception
2.0
What's great about it: HD radio when it is working
What's not so great: Poor Battery and USB Recharge. AA Batteries that can be replaced better
Problems
1. Two units failed. First unit lost volume control. Second unit, randomly losses station, volume spikes! and stays loud, will not shut off, initial good reception has recently failed - in short poorly constructed.
2. problems with design
a) charging off a USB port! When past radios died I switched out rechargable AA batteries and unit is ready. NOW I have a radio that requires a running computer, it never charges if the computer is shut off. This Design is is garbage
3. No AM station
4. Carrier makes difficult to get unit out, and operate with unit in carrier.
5. I wish I would have written my issues down. I would have more.
My only regret is the Zune is my only alternative, and I do not know if
$170 is necessary for my needs.
1. Two units failed. First unit lost volume control. Second unit, randomly losses station, volume spikes! and stays loud, will not shut off, initial good reception has recently failed - in short poorly constructed.
2. problems with design
a) charging off a USB port! When past radios died I switched out rechargable AA batteries and unit is ready. NOW I have a radio that requires a running computer, it never charges if the computer is shut off. This Design is is garbage
3. No AM station
4. Carrier makes difficult to get unit out, and operate with unit in carrier.
5. I wish I would have written my issues down. I would have more.
My only regret is the Zune is my only alternative, and I do not know if
$170 is necessary for my needs.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+4points
4out of 4found this review helpful.
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Review 20 for Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player
OMG.. I love this radio
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: iLoVeMyGiRlS
from Los Angeles, ca
on 02/27/2011
Value for Price
4.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Durability
5.0
Reception
4.0
I love to listen to talk radio in the morning. Didn't want anything big for my desk so I purchased this one and I LOVE IT. The reception picks up really good sometimes I have to move it around to get better sound but it works.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+6points
6out of 6found this review helpful.
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