You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Today
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.
Sent five days a week
Kiplinger A Step Ahead
Get practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Closing Bell
Get today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Adviser Intel
Financial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.
Delivered weekly
Kiplinger Tax Tips
Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Retirement Tips
Your twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement
Sent bimonthly.
Kiplinger Adviser Angle
Insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Investing Weekly
Your twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.
Sent weekly for six weeks
Kiplinger Invest for Retirement
Your step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose.
Terrestrial broadcasters have a new weapon to keep listeners from defecting to satellite radio: high-definition digital radio. Now broadcast on close to 1,000 U.S. stations, HD Radio promises to bring CD-quality sound to FM and FM-like clarity to AM.
Digital technology lets broadcasters send multiple channels over the same frequency, delivering more channels to FM. In addition, stations will be able to use spare HD bandwidth to stream weather and traffic reports across radio text displays.
"Multicasting" may be a draw in the future, but for now HD Radio's biggest plus is its improved audio quality -- and free broadcasts. Satellite-based rivals Sirius and XM charge about $13 per month for well over 100 digital channels of music, news, sports and talk. With HD, you get local stations and a multicast (HD2) channel or two.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
But just as with satellite radio, you'll need to spring for new hardware. An HD receiver for a car goes from $200 to more than $1,000, while a quality tabletop HD home model runs $270 to $600. Of course, HD Radio also comes in some home receivers and other audio equipment. Walkman-size receivers aren't practical yet because HD Radio needs more power than batteries can provide.
We tested the Boston Acoustics Recepter Radio HD ($300), a compact desktop unit with one built-in speaker and a separate speaker for stereo sound. HD FM clarity was excellent. We'd rate it as near-CD quality, but your experience will vary based on several factors, including terrain (hills wreak havoc on FM reception) and distance from the station's FM transmitter. HD AM was far clearer than its creaky analog ancestor, and without the cracks and pops that annoyed even your great-grandfather. As the song says, no static at all. Another plus: HD radios display song titles and artist names, a cool feature that was made popular by satellite receivers.
Most people listen to the radio in their cars, not at home. Only BMW currently offers a factory-installed HD option. The aftermarket business is more competitive and includes players such as Alpine, JVC, Kenwood, Panasonic and Sanyo.
Although HD Radio is advertised as the free alternative to satellite, that could change. Broadcasters may feel compelled to reap profits from HD, which could mean subscription-based channels, pay-per-listen events or additional fees for stations with enhanced audio.
-
Over 65? Here's What the New $6K 'Senior Deduction' Means for Medicare IRMAA CostsTax Breaks A new deduction for people over age 65 has some thinking about Medicare premiums and MAGI strategy.
-
U.S. Congress to End Emergency Tax Bill Over $6,000 Senior Deduction and Tip, Overtime Tax Breaks in D.C.Tax Law Here's how taxpayers can amend their already-filed income tax returns amid a potentially looming legal battle on Capitol Hill.
-
5 Investing Rules You Can Steal From MillennialsMillennials are reshaping the investing landscape. See how the tech-savvy generation is approaching capital markets – and the strategies you can take from them.
-
9 Types of Insurance You Probably Don't NeedFinancial Planning If you're paying for these types of insurance, you might be wasting your money. Here's what you need to know.
-
21 Last-Minute Gifts for Grandparents Day 2025 to Give Right NowHoliday Tips Last-minute gifting is never easy. But here are some ideas to celebrate Grandparents Day.
-
Texas Sales Tax-Free Weekend 2025Tax Holiday Here's what you needed to know about the Texas sales tax holiday.
-
Alabama Tax-Free Weekend 2025Tax Holiday Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 back-to-school Alabama sales tax holiday.
-
Amazon Resale: Where Amazon Prime Returns Become Your Online BargainsFeature Amazon Resale products may have some imperfections, but that often leads to wildly discounted prices.
-
Don't Let High Taxes Break Your Heart This Valentine’s DayState Taxes We’ve mapped out the best states where your box of chocolates comes without a side of sales tax.
-
Florida Back-to-School Tax-Free Holiday 2025Sales Taxes The new tax-free holiday in Florida brought month-long savings on computers, clothing and other school supplies.
-
Roth IRA Contribution Limits for 2026Roth IRAs Roth IRAs allow you to save for retirement with after-tax dollars while you're working, and then withdraw those contributions and earnings tax-free when you retire. Here's a look at 2026 limits and income-based phaseouts.
