I am looking at getting an XM unit for my van. It is a 2003 Ford with OEM Radio/CD. I have noticed that most, if not all, units come with a FM modulator that plays through your in-dash unit on different frequencies. Is this a good remedy for going in an having someone hard-wire the unit. What is the quality of sound and has anyone had any real issues with this set-up? I know that in early units of CD players years ago there were a number of issues and people in general did not like the "wireless" units. Thanks, Mike
XM Quality
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I don't have an experience with XM. But I've use an FM transmitter for my CD changer which is mounted in my trunk.
I haven't had any problems with it at all.. I also live in a rural area where the frequency isn't occupied. I think it's 93.1 or something like that.
I would imagine if your in an area where the freqency is in use then there might be some interference issues
I haven't had any problems with it at all.. I also live in a rural area where the frequency isn't occupied. I think it's 93.1 or something like that.
I would imagine if your in an area where the freqency is in use then there might be some interference issues
xm
u will be fine i am a xm dealer i install lots of units in new cars the new roady is a nice unit i like the delphi units alot the roadyxlt just went down in price xm is also giving away skyfi 2 with car kit for free for dealers.
u will be fine i am a xm dealer i install lots of units in new cars the new roady is a nice unit i like the delphi units alot the roadyxlt just went down in price xm is also giving away skyfi 2 with car kit for free for dealers.
if you are looking for the best audio quality i would not even consider XM at all,you should take a look at some of the kenwood sirius head units.just about every car stereo magazine has said that sirius has better sound quality when you compare the two systems.not to mention that sirius has a better music line up.also XM has issues with signal drop out because of the low angle of their satellite signal,because of this signal problem XM has to rely heavily on a repeater system to make up the signal loss.it just seems that xm has to many unresolved problems.
Beagle said:
As a subscriber to both XM and Sirius I'm calling Bravo Sierra on this one. The sound quality is no different on the music channels and the talk channels on XM actually sound better in my opinion. My xm and sirius units drop out in the same places in my area. And as far as music goes they have to different philosophies. Sirius plays pretty much hit based and hit based only playlists. Xm plays hits but also goes deeper into what is called B side music.
This is the kind of answer I wanted. I know that each system has it's drawbacks and I know that there will be dropouts no matter where you are at. I like the music selection that XM has to offer. Sirius channels are on my Dish and I really don't care for the selection. XM has outpaced Sirius since their inception and millions can't be to wrong about XM quality. I know there will be times I will probably want to throw the unit out the window but that happens quite abit with my computer at home! With the deal taht XM is giving now I am able to try it out for 6 months without much money out of my pocket, if I don't like it then I could try Sirius. Sirius will have to try promos like XM to intice people to cross over. I will let you all know how things go over the next several months. Talking about FM signal loss, the guy at CC showed me a kit that is supposed to hold the FM signal so you won't have a drop-out for $29. Does anyone know about this and does it really work? Thanks Mike
shodobe said:
They may have been talking about the Audiovox inline fm modulator. Were you plug the adapter into your xm unit. Then the other end plugs into your headunit and then you plug the antenna for your car in to that. What it does is shut off you cars antenna and basically pumps the FM right into the Headunit. its much better then just regular FM modulation.
I have an XM2GO MyFi Unit. I like this unit for its portability and flexibility in use for me. In my van, I use the cassette adapter. I also travel weekly and use rental cars. The FM Modulator works pretty well, except in major cities. In major cities I need to frequently change the modulation frequency due to the large numbers of FM station in some major cities. Also when traveling long distances, such as from DC to Boston, I need to change the frequency at every major city. This change takes about 10 seconds, including finding an open frequency, then selecting it. Not really a big deal even at 75 mph.
Enjoy,
Bob
Enjoy,
Bob
I had Sirius for 6 months last year, and I have had XM for about 8 months now. My opinion is that Sirius' sound is better than XM's through their FM modulator, and XM's is better hard wired or through the cassette adapter. I will say it didn't matter with either carrier, in my wife's car no matter what station we had it tuned to for the FM modulator, there was always static. In my car I neve had static on at least one station.
I just found this thread today and I'd like to comment; as 2 year XM subscriber I can say that sound quality was close to CD quality 2 years ago but ever since they added bunch of crap talk and sports channels the sound quality is way down. Thay are using heavy compression and why do they care? they have over millions of subscribers now and that's all they want.
I use 2 units one in my Infinity FX45 hard wired and one at home connected to the stereo receiver. IMHO There is no comparison between XM and CD quality even to a good compressed mp3 music (128 kbps and over). some channels like 41 you can't even hear nice cymbals or hi frequencies, it's over compressed.
And why do I need 20 baseball channels anyway? if I want to follow my local team they are on my local am channel with my local comentators.
These days when I want to listen to music at home I'd prefer to listen to internet radio which sounds much better than XM. Even their internet based radio stations have very lo quality sound (close to 64 kbps).
Unfortunately most people don't care for sound quality (or picture quality when it comes to video) and according to some research the majority of people who have high definition TV don't watch in hi def. The same thing applies to music I guess, and most people care more for content, but when there's an alternative solution I will be the first to drop XM.
I use 2 units one in my Infinity FX45 hard wired and one at home connected to the stereo receiver. IMHO There is no comparison between XM and CD quality even to a good compressed mp3 music (128 kbps and over). some channels like 41 you can't even hear nice cymbals or hi frequencies, it's over compressed.
And why do I need 20 baseball channels anyway? if I want to follow my local team they are on my local am channel with my local comentators.
These days when I want to listen to music at home I'd prefer to listen to internet radio which sounds much better than XM. Even their internet based radio stations have very lo quality sound (close to 64 kbps).
Unfortunately most people don't care for sound quality (or picture quality when it comes to video) and according to some research the majority of people who have high definition TV don't watch in hi def. The same thing applies to music I guess, and most people care more for content, but when there's an alternative solution I will be the first to drop XM.
