Anybody have any experience with XM?

11-03-03, 10:14 PM

I'm thinking of getting XM (specifically Sirius), and I was wondering if anybody has any experience with XM? Anything you like? Dislike? One specific question - is there an input for audio - I'd like to plug my Axim in so I can listen to mp3's and audiobooks.

Mike1138 · 11-03-03, 11:32 PM

Ummm, are you getting XM and Sirrius mixed up? They are two separate companies. They are both satellite radio providers, but there are differences. From what I have heard XM has better audio quality and a slight edge in available signal. XM is a couple of dollars cheaper per month. I do not have either, I'm not sure if I would use it enough to justify the cost... If/when I do get satellite radio I will definitely go with XM. For what I want and from what I have heard they are the better company.

As for the audio input, I am not sure. There are a lot of options out there so I would do some looking around.

One last thing so far the manufacturers are sirrius or XM only. Once you decide which service you want, it will limit what decks you can buy.

11-04-03, 08:38 AM

Ah - You are correct - I read something a long time ago about FM, AM and the new XM, and I was assuming that the XM was going to include all the satellite radio services. I'm not too worried about the products available - I've seen that Brix, Audiovox and Kenwood all make products just in the realm of plug and play, which interests me the most. I don't want to buy just a car deck.

Thanks!

BoilermakerFan · 11-04-03, 09:24 AM

I have had both XM and Sirius satallite radio services. I have a Delphi SkyFi unit with both the home and car kits. I have the SkyFi ported through my Sirius-ready Kenwood deck. I also had the Sirius tuner for the Kenwood since they were running a promo for a free tuner and 30-day free trial. Before the trail ended, I cancelled Sirius and sold the tuner and antenna. I still have my XM service and love the service. I'm thinking about getting a second XM unit since my wife uses the XM at home so much.

Sirius had very audible artifacts in their midrange and treble, especially in the symbols onthe jazz channels. Sirius sounded like a low bitrate MP3. XM doesn't have quite as much low end bass, but the overall sound quality is comparable to a 160kbit or 192 kbit MP3 file. Is it as good as a cd, no, but it's significantly better than radio. Also, Sirius programming played the same 40 songs over and over and there was a significant amount of overlap between various channels. For example, a later Led Zepplin song would be played on about four different channels and a current release RHCP song would be played on five, all within 10 minutes of each other. I also experienced significant signal drop outs with Sirius all over the Midwest.

As far as bringing in XM into your Axim, I'm not aware of a way to do it. You can bring XM into your PC and capture it as a .wav file, then edit the stream into individual songs and convert them to .mp3 or .wma files.

Here's a link for a wealth of additional info:
XMFan

JaxDomino · 11-04-03, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BoilermakerFan
As far as bringing in XM into your Axim, I'm not aware of a way to do it. You can bring XM into your PC and capture it as a .wav file, then edit the stream into individual songs and convert them to .mp3 or .wma files.

Here's a link for a wealth of additional info:
XMFan

I think he was talking about plugging his Ax INTO the Sat receiver.

You may luck up and find a reciever with that feature. The recievers are showing up everywhere so look and you could get lucky. I am personally waiting until the price goes down on the equipment. These companies are $9.95'ing us to death!

BoilermakerFan · 11-04-03, 03:08 PM

I don't watch a lot of tv and my job requires over 60% travel, so it's the best $9.95/mo I've ever spent!

The Axim doesn't have an audio input, so how could you bring the signal in?

4reeds · 11-04-03, 03:31 PM

I love the XM system that I installed in my wifes SUV, when I get a chance to listen that is. Nothing beats being able to listen to the same station when traveling through multiple states. Regular radio will cut and sometimes you get stuck with what ever you can find in the area that you are in, not with XM. I have had only a few times when it cut out and that was in tunnels. Really for my family and I it is the best 10.00 bucks spent. I am looking into getting a Roadie next for my work vehicle. It comes with a car cassette adapter already. Good luck in what ever you get and enjoy.

11-04-03, 06:04 PM

Thanks for all the input! This is definitely helpful - I'd like to know as much as possible before committing. As for my Axim - I want to take the audio output from my Axim and plug it in. If there's not an input jack it's not the end of the world, I can just keep doing what I'm doing which is using a Belkin FM transmitter. The trouble is that it doesn't work well in my area because the four frequency choices are pretty well covered by regular radio. An input jack in to the satellite system would be a nice bell (or would it be a whistle?)

BoilermakerFan · 11-04-03, 10:28 PM

Well I can only speak from my experience with the Delphi SkyFi unit, but there are basically four ways to add XM radio to a system:

1) A specialized, brand specific add-on tuner for a vehicle aftermarket head unit, i.e. a Pioneer XM tuner for a Pioneer head unit or an Alpine XM tuner for an Alpine head unit. This is the most expensive option, but typically gives the best sound. Drawback is it's not portable between vehicles or the house.

2) Aftermarket XM reciever with a FM modulator through a car's OEM or Aftermarket head unit. This is an option for all of the standalone XM tuners such as the Sony PNP, SkyFi, and XM Commander. The drawbacks are that if the installation is not done well, ground loops will occur and the reception and sound quality will be horrible.

3) Cassette adapter. This is the standard output option for the SkyFi's car kit. It works ok and it would be an option for the Axim as well, but how many peeps or cars come with a tape deck anymore?

4) A mini jack to RCA male adapter cable plugged into an AUX input of the head unit. The head units usually require a special adapter to convert the CD Changer input on OEM or aftermarket decks into an AUX IN for the RCA jacks. This is what I did with my SkyFi and my Kenwood deck. I actually have a module that Kenwood makes that has two CD Changer inputs and an AUX IN so I could have 2 twelve disk MP3 changers and my SkyFi as inputs into my deck. Depending on your vehicle, this is typically the best price/performance/sound quality option and you could disconnect the mini jack from the XM receiver and plug it in to your Axim to play selected MP3s. BUT, this is not an option for an XM receiver in a rental car. The only option for a rental car would be a Delphi Roady with the FM transmitter similar to what you have now with your Belkin unit.

Go to Delphi's web site: Delphi.com

Check out their info and spend time on XMFan.com

If you want to check out satallite radio w/o a large investment, go to Hertz, rent a car, and request the Sirius satallite radio option. They come with an Audiovox receiver ported through the a FM Modulator so you can experience satallite radio. If you like the experience, then I would recommend that you take the next step and buy a SkyFi or Roady an join XM.

LMK if you have anymore questions. BTW, my user ID on XMFan is BoilermakerFan as well...