Somebody has been doing his or her homework. When I first heard demonstrations of HD Radio technology a few years ago, I had serious doubts about it. All of the technical advantages, such as improved reception and elimination of static and multi-path interference, were overshadowed by the mediocre sound quality of the prototype radios. What good is static-free reception if your radio sounds like it has chipmunks living in it? Fortunately, some big changes were implemented, and the new sound quality of HD Radio technology is something to get excited about. When I powered up the Panasonic CQ-CB9900U, one of the first in-dash CD receivers with a built-in HD Radio tuner, I was seriously impressed with the sound.

Panasonic CQ-CB9900UCD/MP3/WMA receiver with built-in HD Radio tuner

What? You?ve never heard of HD Radio?
Well, join the crowd — practically nobody else has either. Check out our article on What You Need to Know about HD Radio Technology for an introduction to HD Radio, or visit www.iBiquity.com, the company that is largely responsible for the technology. Briefly, HD Radio is a new technology that enables AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally, while continuing to transmit the original analog signal on the same frequency. An HD Radio tuner can receive either version, the digital or the analog, of any given radio frequency. In most cases, the digital version will sound better.

For now, only a relatively few stations are using HD Radio technology — about 150 out of 13,000 radio stations nationwide — but 445 stations have been licensed and more will follow.

A new class of head unit
The Panasonic CQ-CB9900U is a single-DIN head unit with a built-in CD player, an AUX input, CD changer controls and an HD Radio tuner, along with a host of other features. It can play MP3 or WMA files from CD-R or CD-RW discs, and has full folder navigation. The CD player displays CD Text information, if available.

The CQ-CB9900U is a gorgeous head unit — not too flashy, but with an elegant mirror-finished fa?ade. A fold-down faceplate (with the CD slot opening behind it) gives the display and controls an uncluttered feel. The faceplate is simple enough, with a large rotary volume control that's easy to adjust on the road. The volume knob is pushed to access system setup menus, such as bass and treble boost, low-pass and high-pass filters, and fade/balance controls. Buttons for source select, mute, and sound quality are located around the top of the volume knob. The source and mute buttons have secondary functions (power and Super Bass Control, which lets your rear speakers act as subwoofers) if they?re held for over 2 seconds. Underneath the volume is a button labeled "D/A" — more on this later.

The center of the faceplate features a large dot-matrix display that is easy to read in all lighting situations and can be set in one of three brightness levels. Backgrounds are selectable from a variety of styles — I preferred the tropical fish. To the right of the display is a menu access button and a button to fold open the entire faceplate, so you can either remove it for security measures or access the CD slot opening. Disc, MP3/WMA navigation, and radio station navigation controls share a simple five-button circular array; a button that cycles through display options completes the faceplate.