[Ronald Epstein]

Since the introduction of satellite radio to the
automobile market, I have been dying to get my
feet wet. I love music -- especially in the
comfort of my car.

In the past two days I have experienced good XM
radio and great XM radio.

It started with an ad for Delphi Skyfi to have XM installed
for about $200. I went to Circuit City. They recommended
an Alpine FM Modulator and Tuner over SkyFi -- mainly for
the fact that the SkyFi modulators were recently recalled.

I spent $400 to have the Alpine FM Modulator added.

But you know what? FM is FM no matter how you cut it.
Yeah, the sound was slightly better than FM radio (very
strong in fact), but you could hear the shrill highs in
the music that often became overmodulated.

Well, I went back to Circuit City this morning and had it
all taken out.

Instead, I bought a $380 Alpine 7894 head unit (I wanted
MP3 playback capability), and had XM hardwired in my car.
In addition, I had an old subwoofer boombox placed in
my car with a brand new power amp. By the time I was
done I spent a little over $1,000.

It was worth it. The XM sounds absolutely incredible --
far more robust than the FM modulator with far greater
dynamic range. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to
not know it wasn't a CD playing.

I love my XM. I guess by the money I spent today to
upgrade, you can tell what an influence this new digital
format had over me.

If you want to get your feet wet, the Delphi SkyFi
with FM Modulation may be an inxepensive option. I
hear that some car receivers (mainly Kenwood) have
inputs that you let you hardwire the SkyFi to it.
Gregg Loewen can tell you more about that.

I promise you, though, you'll like this XM radio
so much that you won't want to stay with FM modulation
forever. This is a forum full of stereo geeks like
me who appreciate quality audio.

If anyone else here has XM radio or even Sirrius
satellite radio, I'd love to hear from you.

Interesting post Ron. I bought a Pioneer head unit almost a year ago specifically because it was XM ready...still haven't pulled the trigger on the tuner yet.

One question...how is the reception? Any noticeable and/or frequent drop outs?

I live in the mountain west, so obviously me reception won't match yours, but I am still curious to hear for a 1st hand user.

FM in my city is the usual corporate wasteland. XM sounds like the answer to my radio prayers.

Regards,

Brian

[Ronald Epstein]

Brian,

This is day one, and so far, no dropouts.

I am very pleased with XM radio. I gave up a 6-CD
changer that came with my car and traded it in for
a single-CD head unit just to get this technology.

The problem right now is that it is expensive.
However, when has that stopped any early adopters
before?

I am very impressed with this technology. It
sounds just about as good as CD audio. In most
cases, you can't tell the difference.

What I like is the programming. I am a 70s junkie.
There's a channel devoted to 70s music and they
really play a great variety of songs -- not just the
top 40 hits you hear all the time.

There's a CINEMAGIC channel that plays all movie
soundtrack music. Was listening to Harry Potter
and The Chamber of Secrets this evening as well
as some Star Wars cuts from John Williams.

There's three comedy channels, one of which is very
raw with its raunchy language. But you know what?
This is the type of adult radio programming I want.

There are about 100 channels that cover all realms
of music, News, Weather, Entertainment News, Sports,
Broadway & Movies and so on. There is so much to
listen to that I find it hard to listen to a single
station for more than 10 minutes. You are always
curious as to what is playing on the other channels.

This XM is really huge! The problem is, they are
slowly nearing bankrupcy. Still, there is much hope
on the horizon that they will be loaned money, as they
are signing up a huge amount of new subscribers daily.

I can't go back to FM radio anymore. CDs? Well,
you know what you get with those. I liked the fact
that I can turn to any music channel of my choice
and not know what song is coming next. Many times
it's a nice little surprise -- something I have not
heard in a long time.

I guess you can see by how I am rambling on here
how much I am impressed with radio programming that
sounds stunningly amazing.

My Sony CDX-Mp70 CD/Mp3 player says it is "XM-Ready". I'm not sure if that mans it remodulates the incoming digital signal from the satellite as FM, or if I use auxilliary inputs.

Quote:

The problem is, they are
slowly nearing bankrupcy.

I've thought that XM and Sirius might be the killer app of radio, kind of like Tivo is for television. I've heard almost nothing but universal praise from fellow Tivo users. The damn thing takes ten minutes to sell. It's easily the best home entertainment value going right now.

BUT, then I read on the internet that there are more American homes with outhouses than Tivos. And I wonder why so many people are skipping over Tivo. Strange.

I have to admit that I have not looked seriously at satellite radio precisely because local broadcast radio is such a wasteland (Oh, hi Brian! ) that I don't want cleaner and more channels of Brittney Spears. Commercial-free channels of Goa, Hard Trance, and other Electronica would be good.

[Glenn]

Hi Ron,

I have had XM for several months now and I love it for long road trips. I drive to and from FL frequently from Atlanta and it is great. I get maybe 2 or 3 audio dropouts on my 7 hour or so trip, underneath overpasses. I will lose signal for at most a couple of seconds. The variety is super as you have found out.

Enjoy,
Glenn

[Scott Pierson]

Hi, Ron.

I too have the Alpine hardwire setup in my car. It is terrific. The variety of music is great, especially for those of us who aren't really into the pop scene. There are three classical channels, several jazz, blues, lots of world music, the comedy stations, old-time radio, etc.

About a week after I had it installed in March I bought the Sony plug-and-play for the house. It's great to have it in the house, but the Sony is so darn loud (a fan runs constantly), and the thing only allowed five presets and no random direct access. As soon as the Delphi tuner came out I bought it. It has 10-key direct access. My Pronto has many stations programmed in, and the display is easily readable across the room. Plus it's dead quiet (no fan), and I think it even has a bit better sound.

As to dropouts, I live in a hilly area, very heavily forested. There are a few spots as I'm driving to or from work where the signal will drop out for a couple of seconds, but it's a very minor deal. There are no terrestrial repeaters in this area, so I probably experience more dropouts than most people would, and I hardly consider it an inconvenience. At home there are no reception issues, as I have a good line of sight for the antenna off my deck.

I highly recommend XM for any music fan bored with local radio fare, and especially anyone who spends lots of time in their car.


Scott

[Kevin_Kr]

I have xm and love it. Ron next time email me and quit paying those high prices=)

[Michael St. Clair]

I've been pondering an XM purchase. The latest financial news has me putting this on hold for a bit. Ultimately I'm sure things will shake out and there will be at least one solid player in the market (XM or Sirius). I'm eager but patient.

Thanks for the review!

[Jason Caudill]

I am going on 5 months of XM service and couldnt be happier. I dont even take my cds in the car anymore because I can always find something on. The real reson I got it is because I am a talk radio junky. If I could just get them to not all take commercial breaks at the same time life would be even better.
By the way I have a pioneer setup (not modulated). I would highly recommend XM to anyone who listens to much radio. I dont love it as much as my Tivo, but I like it alot. Jason

[Ronald Epstein]

Scott,

Quote:

About a week after I had it installed in March I bought the Sony plug-and-play for the house.

When you buy an additional unit for the home, which
is what it seems like you did, are you charged an
additional $10 per month or does the monthly charge
cover additional units?

I have satellite TV pumped into my home, which gives
me a wide assortment of digital music channels. But
XM has a greater variety of channels, particularly the
comedy channels.


Kevin,

Quote:

I have xm and love it. Ron next time email me and quit paying those high prices=)

You have my curiosity piqued. Send me an email.

[Paul_Medenwaldt]

Ron,

You do get charged an extra $10 for each unit you have, ie an extra deck for another car or a home unit.

I've had XM since May and have almost stopped listening to FM radio. The quality is great, but for some reason's on Saturday Mornings I have problems with reception. I don't get it.

I enjoy listening to Fox News Channel. Its great when i'm out and about and can still listen to Bill O'Reilly.

I have a Pioneer deck in my car with a built in XM turner. Its a bare minimum deck. I purchases front and back Polk speakers at the same time i made the deck purchase.

I'm not sure if they have this technology or if its only offered on more expensive decks, but it would be great to see what songs are playing on the deck display!!

I'm waiting for the update of Channel 41 in December the Bone Yard (ch. 41) will focus primarily on 80s rock - hair bands, stadium fillers, and power metal.

Paul