Mike Cherry had mentioned, in an earlier post, that none of the Admins here at QZVX have access to an HD Radio. I bought a new car last year and the dealership didn’t even discuss HD Radio as an option. In fact, I have such a low-end radio receiver that it is not even equipped for Sirius XM radio. I have AM/FM and outlets for USB and Bluetooth connections.
The problem with original equipment in automobiles is that, so often, you need to shell out big bucks for upgrades in order to have a quality sound system with options such as HD Radio. This goes back to the very beginning of the auto industry, as you can see in this film clip from 1933. Though the radio in Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy’s car was only the standard equipment, they obviously paid a little more for upgrades.
I used to wonder how the audio snobs would feel about their Carver components if they knew Bob Carver got his parts at Radio Shack. It’s true! In about 1978 I managed the “Rat Shack” at Lake Forest Park Shopping Center and Bob would come in after dinner with his beautiful wife and his condescending attitude and pick through the IC’s, resistors, caps, switches etc. while he loudly expounded on the junk quality and the lousy service from the stupid clerks.
I didn’t care what he said to me, but picking on my employees, mostly high school kids, was offensive.
One night he came to the counter with an armload of parts and a company check and was complaining about how long it took to write everything up, so I said, “Bob, I won’t keep you waiting. You are no longer a customer. Get out and don’t come back.”
While he flipped his lid, I glanced at his wife, and her expression seemed to say, “I live through this every day”.
An upside (or downside) of having spent a portion of a lifetime in Broadcasting is the desire to always have the best audio equipment, whether it is in the car or for home listening. While it was a competition among the guys when I was younger, later in life, when I could actually afford it, it meant investing in components such as Carver, a now collector’s item Citation 7 Audio Processor, and enough gold-tipped finger diameter connector cables to buy a decent car. Unfortunately, you have to have the right environs to really appreciate the quality of that equipment and right now, it’s not sounding to great in boxes in my Storage Unit! By the way…just what is HD Radio? Ha, ha.