Crutchfield - North America's electronics authority since 1974

1.888.955.6000
 
 
Free Shipping on Everything.  60-Day Money-Back Guarantee  |  Lifetime Tech Support
 

Alpine TUA-T550HD

Add-on HD Radio™ tuner for 2007-up Alpine Ai-Net receivers

Zoom Alpine TUA-T550HD
Front
Video loading and will display in just a moment.
Photos
Alpine TUA-T550HD Alpine TUA-T550HD
 
Videos
 

Item# 500TUAT550 offer details

Item# 500TUAT550

Review Sumary

 
In Stock
 
 
 
 
 
Free
 
Your price $199.99
 
 
 
Add to cart
 
 
 
 
Alpine

Our take on the Alpine TUA-T550HD

Love the variety of your local radio stations, but can't stand the sound quality? Alpine's TUA-T550HD HD Radio™ tuner picks up the crisp, clear digital signals offered by participating local stations so you'll never have to deal with static again. Also, HD Radio technology allows stations to broadcast two or three channels of content. The TUA-T550HD tuner receives these additional channels, so you can enjoy everything your favorite radio stations have to offer.

Just connect this compact tuner to your compatible Alpine receiver, and tuck it neatly away inside your dash or under a seat. Connect your iPod® or other audio device to the built-in USB connection, and listen to your stored digital music.

The TUA-T550HD also allows iTunes® tagging when paired with an Alpine IVA-W505 or iDA-X100 receiver. When you hear a great song, simply press enter on your receiver to save the song's information to your iPod, or save up to 50 songs on the tuner if your iPod isn't connected. Then the next time you sync with iTunes, you'll have the option of purchasing your new favorite songs.

Get more info on this product
  • Details:
  • HD Radio™ tuner for 2007-up Alpine receivers with Ai-Net
  • receives multicasting content (where available)
  • USB connection for iPod or other audio device
  • iTunes tagging available with Alpine IVA-W505 and iDA-X100 receivers
  • box dimensions: 4-3/4" x 3-1/8" x 1"
  • warranty: 1 year
  • Our 60-day money-back guarantee

Note: Sorry, Crutchfield cannot ship Alpine products to Guam or Puerto Rico.

 

Hands-on research from the Crutchfield Labs (what are the Labs?)

Product Research

Product Research
What's in the box?

Download owner's manual

  • HD Radio Tuner
  • Power wiring harness
  • 8' Ai-NET cable (Ai-NET connector on each end)
  • 10' Antenna extension cable (male Motorola connector on one end and female Motorola connector on the other)
  • 8' USB cable (USB type A on both ends)
  • 4 Self-tapping screws
  • Owner's Manual (English/ French/ Spanish)

Our Product Research Team

At Crutchfield, you'll get detailed, accurate information that's hard to find elsewhere. That's because we have our own in-house Product Research team — they open the box, verify contents, check the owner's manual, and record dimensions, features and specs. We stay on top of new products and technologies to help people make informed choices.

Features
Connections

Features

HD Radio: HD Radio is digital FM and AM broadcasting, allowing you to enjoy your same favorite FM and AM stations with digital sound quality. The FM stations have CD-quality sound and AM stations sound as good as today's analog FM stations.

Multicasting: HD Radio offers multicasting, meaning current FM stations can provide more than one program stream on their existing frequency.

Compatibility: This tuner is compatible with 2006 and later Alpine HD Radio ready head units that use the Ai-NET bus system.

CD Changer Pass-Thru: The HD Radio tuner uses the CD changer input on the Alpine head unit. If you also want to use a CD changer, there is a CD changer pass-through connection on the tuner, so they can be daisy chained together.

iTunes Tagging: iTunes Tagging allows you to Tag songs on a FM HD Radio station. The songs' information is captured on the TUA-T550HD and transferred to your compatible iPod when connected to the USB port. The next time you connect your iPod to your iTunes account, a new Tagged playlist will appear and give you the option to preview or buy the songs from iTunes.

Note: iTunes Tagging is supported by the following iPod/iPhone models - iPod classic (80/120/160GB), iPod nano (3rd/4th/5th/6th generations), iPod touch (1st/2nd/3rd/4th gen), iPhone (2G/3G/3GS/4).

Connections

Front of Tuner:

  • Antenna: Motorola jack that connects to the AM/FM antenna
  • Ai-NET Output: Ai-NET jack that connects to the head unit using the supplied Ai-NET cable
  • Ai-NET Input: Ai-NET jack that connects to an optional CD changer
  • USB 1: connect iPod using Dock to USB cable (use only when connecting an iTunes Tagging compatible head unit)
  • USB 2: connect to iTunes Tagging compatible head unit

Rear of Tuner:

  • Power: 4-pin jack for use with supplied power harness
 

Product Reviews

Review this product

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences about this product. Please be sure to focus your comments on the product itself. Read our Review Guidelines for more information.

Review title
* Email
Your email won't be visible
Display name
(e.g., JohnD) Your review will be signed using the display name and location
* Your location
(e.g., Charlottesville, VA)
* Your rating
Click on a star to rate the overall product on a scale of 1-5
1500 characters left * Your review
Attach a YouTube Review
Crutchfield Video Review Guidelines
  • Only submit videos that you made or are authorized to use.
  • Do not submit videos that contain music, video or visuals that are copyrighted and belong to someone else.
  • Please see our Review Guidelines for more information.
Submit the URL of your YouTube™ video review or product demonstration. e.g., http://www.youtube.com/v/o79TWHh598U
500 characters left Pros
500 characters left Cons
* Agree to Terms
By checking this box you agree your review becomes the property of Crutchfield, that you are over 18 years of age, that you own or have owned this product, and that you are located within the United States or its territories. Please see our Review Guidelines for more information. We reserve the right (but are not obligated to) review all submissions and edit or remove any review in any manner which we deem necessary. Your review should be posted within seven days.
Share this product

1-10 of 21 items >> Sort Results By: Date Reviewed | Rating | Helpfulness
 
3 out of 5

Works good if connect right

Written By Robert, Houston on Sunday, January 29, 2012
 
The blue wire must be connected to the amp turn on lead. It tells the HU that the radio is in the TUA -t550
Pros:
works good when connected properly
Cons:
too expensive
1 out of 1 people found this helpful
Was this review helpful?    Yes | No
 
5 out of 5

Alpine HD tuner

Written By TT, Virginia on Monday, January 03, 2011
 
I purchased this along with the Alpine IDA-X305SBT and I'm not sure why it has received
such low reviews. I have not had any issues with stations drifting or fading. Once it's
locked into a HD signal, that's where it stays. I love HD radio for multicasting, which I hope
expands a bit more, and for iTunes Tagging. How many times have you heard something
on the radio and wished you could remember it later. With iTunes Tagging you press the
"Tag" button on your HU and it's done, iTunes will ask you if you want to purchase the
song the next time you hook up your iPod to their website. I know this unit is a bit pricey
but I'd rather pay once initially than pay monthly for satellite radio, there's just something
about paying for radio that rubs me the wrong way. With an iPod you have endless, non-
stop, no commercial music. We already pay enough in other monthly bills, I just can't
make radio one of them. "Bring On More HD Channels!"
I'd like to thank my sales advisor Buck for steering me towards Crutchfield instead of
purchasing elsewhere, THANKS Buck and thank you Crutchfield!! I'm very happy with this
purchase.
6 out of 6 people found this helpful
Was this review helpful?    Yes | No
 
5 out of 5

Works Great for Me

Written By David, Clearwater, FL on Friday, December 17, 2010
 
I seem to get a LOT more stations than some other reviewers. I've heard that in the last few
months, the FCC has allowed stations to increase their broadcasting power. Or maybe
Alpine has improved the unit. I don't know why, but I seem able to received pretty much every
station in my area (Clearwater, Florida) that broadcasts in HD. Sound quality is excellent --
way better than analog FM.
5 out of 6 people found this helpful
Was this review helpful?    Yes | No
 
1 out of 5

Worse than analog....

Written By Carlos, Northern Rhode Island on Sunday, June 27, 2010
 
This critique is about the product and NOT Crutchfield.

I bought this item with the hopes that my radio static would finally disappear. I looked online and was pleasantly surprised to see that the majority of stations in my area were already broadcasting in HD. So, at least according to 'opportunity' to pick up HD stations, I am in good shape.

Sadly however, the unit proved to be useless. The analog stations were 100 times worse than w/o the unit in place and only 1 or 2 stations would lock in on HD. And even those were not guaranteed as soon as I drove around town. I was even in and around downtown Boston, MA the other day and the reception was horrible and inconsistent. When it locks in, it's great BUT....there are so few times it locks in to the HD signal and it is incredibly annoying when it goes in/out of analog/digital.

Bottom line is that I have unplugged the unit and gone back to analog. Hopefully the signal strength will get better in the future and I'll plug it back in.

I would strongly recommend holding off on buying this until lots of people start posting about success with it.
4 out of 8 people found this helpful
Was this review helpful?    Yes | No
 
1 out of 5

Alpine TUA-T550HD Not Ready For Prime Time

Written By Warpig, Chicago on Saturday, June 26, 2010
 
Very hard time installing. With all the AI-Net boxes I have in my AI-Net daisy chain it took 2 hours of different combo's before I got radio and my AI-Net sources to work. The manual only shows how to hook it up to a AI-Net head unit by itself. No mention of what to do if you are also using an Imprint processor or other AI-Net sources. I search for FM stations in the Analog FM band and I get only a few stations to lock in. My 9886 FM receiver picks up way more stations. My favorite radio station who has 2 HD sub channels... Nothing... Turns out the reception is so horrible on the receiver that I was not getting a strong enough signal to receive the HD content. I live 17 Miles from Chicago and NEVER had bad reception ever before. I decided to buy an amplified antenna and give it a try. I run the power wire for the ant/amp to the 9886 and hook it to the power ant lead on the 9886. The TUA-T550HD does not activate the 9886's power antenna lead. I change it to the Amp lead. Now I have some reception in FM. Still not enough signal to receive most HD sub channels. Nowhere NEAR as good as the internal receiver in the 9886 on it's own. This is the First Alpine product I would have to tell people to steer clear of. You may be OK if you live IN the big city, but this Receiver is NOT ready for the Burbs.
6 out of 7 people found this helpful
Was this review helpful?    Yes | No
 
1 out of 5

TUA-T550HD with alpine Ixa w404

Written By mike, New York Ny on Tuesday, December 15, 2009
 
Dont waste your money I live in New York City and the Hd unit keeps fadeing in and out It makes lisining to the raido hard .
3 out of 8 people found this helpful
Was this review helpful?    Yes | No
 
4 out of 5

Works now!

Written By Michael, Elk Grove, Ca on Monday, June 29, 2009
 
For all of you having issues with your HD unit, send it in to Alpine for a software update. I sent mine in and the unit works just fine now although here in Sacramento there are not to many HD stations around. The unit stays on now and transitions from digital to analog smoothly - you can really tell the difference in sound quality.
14 out of 14 people found this helpful
Was this review helpful?    Yes | No
 
1 out of 5

Needs a lot of work...

Written By Paul, The Bay Area, CA on Monday, May 18, 2009
 
I bought this with an Alpine 9887 and it just doesn't work. I have to keep turning off the ignition and on again to get it to work, Sometimes I have to actually unplug the power to the unit itself to make it work, I had to relocate the unit so I could access it easily to unplug it....

I wish Alpine would hurry up and get the fix out that they have promised, I have stopped using the radio altogether...
6 out of 7 people found this helpful
Was this review helpful?    Yes | No
 
4 out of 5

READ Head Unit Directions completely 7 times

Written By kuade, Mountain Home, ID on Monday, April 27, 2009
 
I have a CDA-9886, added on the TUA-T550HD module resulting in extreme frustration. The audio out of the speakers was really quite with the volume turned all the way up. After several hours of reading the head unit directions I realized there was 3 switches on the bottom of the radio. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS! Make sure they are all in the Norm position. My radio was shipped with one of the switches in the Ai-Net setting. Now the receiver works perfect. I would have rated 5 stars but the instructions included with the HD adapter sucked! No mention of the switches! I can pick up HD stations over 50 Miles away. Sounds great!
8 out of 9 people found this helpful
Was this review helpful?    Yes | No
 
5 out of 5

A Nice HD Tuner

Written By Alan, Houston, TX on Sunday, March 01, 2009
 
We have this plugged into the back of our Alpine CDA-9884, and it work's very well. HD radio is a new feature, and we are enjoying it. It gives a little more variety of stations and maybe a tad better sound.
2 out of 3 people found this helpful
Was this review helpful?    Yes | No
 
1-10 of 21 items >>

Learn more about HD Radio Add-on Tuners

Learn more about HD Radio Add-on Tuners

What You Need to Know about HD Radio™

What You Need to Know about HD Radio™

Robert Ferency-Viars, Ralph Graves
9/5/2010
based on 232 ratings (16 comments)
 

An explanation of iBiquity Digital's HD radio technology and what it means for AM and FM radio listeners.

 
HD Radio™ FAQ

HD Radio™ FAQ

Ralph Graves
8/1/2010
based on 87 ratings (8 comments)
 

Get the answers to frequently asked questions about HD Radio technology.

 
HD Radio™ Glossary

HD Radio™ Glossary

Ralph Graves
8/2/2010
based on 1 rating
 

Glossary of terms associated with HD Radio.

 
HD Radio™ — Consider the Benefits

HD Radio™ — Consider the Benefits

Ken Nail
1/4/2012
based on 29 ratings (2 comments)
 

Ken looks at the cool features you'll be able to enjoy with many HD Radio receivers.

 
Want to play tag with HD Radio and iTunes?

Want to play tag with HD Radio and iTunes?

Jim Richardson
10/12/2007
(1 comment)
 

Here's a new feature that's about to be introduced on select HD RadioT receivers: a special "Tag" button that lets you queue up songs you hear on certain HD Radio channels...

 

For a more in-depth review and enhanced detailed information on the Alpine TUA-T550HD, please visit the Crutchfield website product page (/ISEO-rccbcspd/p_500TUAT550/Alpine-TUA-T550HD.html ).

Alpine TUA-T550HD