What is best? tell me what you think

I had the dealer install the XM Radio in June. It works. You can tune the stations with the radio tune knob, there are 3 banks of 6 presets, the presets show the name of the station, and there is a text screen with 16 characters each for song title and artist. An icon shows the signal strength. You can search by type of song, and scan within types. This replaced an XM tuner that plugged into the accessory socket, with cords hanging to the antenna, and to the AUX jack.

The dealer's installer put the antenna high up on the glass, upside down. I had to ask them to put it back down on the dash, where the instructions show it should be. Signal strength is fine (So Cal) even through the glass. He also didn't know that the radio needed to be tuned to station 0 to read the serial number, which has to be given to XM to turn on the subscription.

I am not sure what other radio options there are. A few more characters on the song title would be nice. Otherwise, very happy.

 

Let's see... $500 for the dealer-installed XM, or $42 with shipping for a Roady2 off of eBay... Same performance, two lines of ten characters (but not on MFD), three banks of ten presets, search by song type, stock ticker with up to 10 stocks (or is it 20?). Yeah, there are cords hanging, and you have to find a place to mount the Roady2 (I'm mounting mine just under the passenger-side vent). Can I find another use for the left-over $458? Hmmmmm....

 

Sound quality shouldn't differ between the two units (factor vs PNP,plug n' play), only variable affecting PNP unit's sound quality is how you connect the output; FM transmitter, cassette deck adaptor, wired FM modulator, or AUX input. AUX input is the best and preferred method, and essentially what is used in factory installations.

I decided to go PNP so that with only ONE subscription, i have the ability to take my music elsewhere; home adaptor kit, boombox, and not be limited to only listening to satelite radio in the car. I decided to go with a proclip with swivel kit dashboard mount for my PNP and am very satisified with the look.

Hope that helps

 

I went with the Xact portable Sirius player, Sounds just like a factory radio. $49.00 + $300.00 for one time payment/lifetime service.

I'm getting ready to purchase 2 more units for $49.00 each & a $6.00 fee for each as they are added onto the same plan.

Plus my personal feeling is Sirius is a better service than XM. (as they seem to offer true commercial free radio and 130 channels which = more selections).

Just my two-cents. B)

 

I went with the Pioneer XM AirWare for about the same reason people get a Garmin or Tom-Tom NAV system instead of built-in:

1. Price- Under $100
2. Options- 30 pre-sets and the ability to record up to 5 hours. It has 18 characters for the top line and 22 for the 2nd line (you can also change the display so it's 4 times larger and scrolls). The latest model is also an MP3 player.
3. Portability- It came with a car dock and home dock. If I use it in my wife's car, I use the cassette adapter that came with it (it also has an FM transmitter, but it's not that great). It also has a built-in antenna for outdoor use.
4. Frees up the MFD- The unit is mounted on the hump in front of the drawer in the center console (I use the remote to operate it). This way I have access to the MAP and INFO screens while at the same time have continuous access to the XM information. It came with a vent clip, so I could've mounted in next to the MFD. I mounted the antenna in the back, behind the regular antenna.

I have a DICE, so I use the AUX input. Yes, I had to get a Ground Loop Isolator, but it works fine.

If the price was the same, I might've gone with the built-in as that's where it's used the most, but it wasn't so I didn't.

 

I went with the skyfi2 in the prius and the myfi in the wifes highlander.
$79. skyfi2 at circuit city $485.90 for built in at Toyota. Mounted the skyfi under the radio on the bottom plastic panel. plugged into the aux jack and ran the cable under the carpet and under the dash to the radio head. The antenna is on the roof behind the shark fin antenna. (i first had it under the fin but the reception took a hit. Same as inside the front windshield.) All wires in one small piece of black cable tube that goes up under the dash. Sounds great . The money I saved paid for the new Hydroedge tires. This was a win-win for me. BTW no ground loop noise using the aux jack and I can take the xm head into work and use it with my desk radio.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sluggo42 @ Aug 23 2006, 08:27 PM) [snapback]308586[/snapback]</div>

Ha! That's exactly where mine lives now, too! The Bride and I did about ten hours of driving this past weekend and decided to mount it on the flat spot just under the center vent on the passenger side (below the right side of the MFD). That'll keep it out of the way of everything but accessible enough from the driver's seat. We have the power plugged into the outlet under the dash, with no buzz. I'm probably going to remove the center piece under the dash (where the plug is mounted) and splice in three power feeds, for the Roady, the fuzzbuster, and the compass.