MarinersRule

Joe-

How did you get XM to play in your BMW? I am a big MLB guy and I understand XM has the exculsive, but I haven't seen any reasonable (interms of sound quality, ease of use with Idrive, and cost) way to get XM in a BMW.

Thanks for the info.

BGM

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Effective April 2, web streaming became standard on XM. The web streaming on Sirius is limited to the music channels, on XM it includes other channels as well. Also, XM increased its price to be the same as Sirius, i.e. US$12.95 per month.

Joe
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Rudy

If you want XM, you'll have to go the aftermarket (non-integrated) route.

joepoole

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Actually I have Sirius in my 545. To the best of my knowledge there is no way to integrate a XM Tuner into the I-drive system. I also have a Roady2 for XM, which utilizes a integrated FM Modulator and for occasional use it works OK. I researched the tuner issue prior to having the BMW dealer install the Sirius tuner in my BMW. The dealer wisely advised me that it would be unwise to permit the unknowing lead by the uncaring to tamper with the fiber optic system in my BMW.

Joe

cobradav

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I have seen some excellent installs of XM in some 6ers using XM Commander? (not sure of the name). These were on some early production 6ers that could not get Sirius. I believe the small control unit fit right in the ashtray and they could close the lid. I believe there were pics available, if interested I could try to post.

Not sure if they used FM modulator or Aux Input, but in either case you not controlling thru iDrive, but that is not big deal for Sat Radio.

sleepdoc

I have to put in my 2 cents on this issue. I have had both XM and now Sirius and feel that the content of both is very similar. When I ordered my 545 it had Sat Prep, but I did not get Sirius factory installed. I changed my mind last minute and had sat radio installed by the dealer once my car arrived, which cost me some extra money.

I am disappointed in the sound quality of Sirius. The Logic 7 system sounds absoultely fantasitc with CDs and even FM radio, but cannot shine with the compressed sound quality of Sirius Radio.

Yes, the variety of the programming is great, and it is wonderful to listen to your favorite music without changing radio staions on long trips, but I find myself switching to CD or even FM to appreciate the quality that Logic 7 offers. I may not renew my subscription when it runs out.

I regret adding the sat radio for the most part. My advice to prospective buyers is to avoid it if you appreciate audio quality more than content. If, however, you can look past the lesser sound quality and value good programming, Sirius is right for you.

BurgessMW

Sound quality is almost as good as a CD, better than FM. If FM reception is poor (like ours in the 'burbs), sound quality is far superior.

Content is nice. There's a nice mix of stations and I usually have no trouble finding something I like. It's nice to have an options other than the limited Clear Channel playlist.

Rudy

I'll agree that sound quality of Sirius isn't CD quality at this point. One thing I've found is that the quality varies between streams. The best quality (but still not CD) is on most of the music streams and the worst quality seems to be on the talk/news streams (especially the TV ones like Fox News or CNN.) I think the music streams sound better than FM even though they tend to be a bit "boomy" in the bottom end.

For me, Sirius is about content and not about sound quality.