jzerden

So I have come to the conclusion that I will never get a factory Sirius install in my non-sat prep 545i ? 04. Has anyone got an after market turner installed for this purpose? I am thinking about getting one and running it thru the AUX jack. What has your experience been? Where did you place the unit? How does it look?

Thanks

buzzeroo

i'm using the auxillary input to power an XM roady 2. I have it mounted just left of the dsc button. I used an adhesive mounting solution which allows me to easily remove the unit.

I removed the panel and tucked the wires (power supply, antenna, and line out) behind for a very clean install. It was easy.

Rudy

buzzeroo, if you get a chance, I'm sure many of us would love to see some pics...

teriyaki88

I am using a JVC PnP. It's very small and it has a suction cup mounting that works really well.

http://www.siriusbackstage.com/product_matrix.php

It's installed just above the drink holder with the power cord/antenna coming out of the glove box. I can move it without any hassel to my other car. I'd stay away from any hard mounts (just a personal preference). I have AUX installed but for Sirius I use the FM modulator. For some reason Aux input for this unit doesn't sound as good as the FM mod. Weird. I use the Aux for my Ipod. I have that in my drink holder.

Teriyaki

Merzbow

Honestly, I've found that the quality of satellite radio is garbage, worse than a good FM station. Technically this has to do with the incredibly high compression ratios they use. I definitely won't be renewing my Sirius subsciption after the first year. Do your ears a favor and invest in an iPod and the aux input.

300TTto545

While it is not great - garbage is a strong word. I personally have issues with drop outs. I won't be renewing either unless they improve this. If I was struggling like you are - I would just get an Ipod ...

cobradav

Well to my ears Jack Benny sounds just as good as he did in 1939 over AM radio and you can't get him or the Shadow, Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will travel, Nick Carter - Private Detective, Fibber Magee and Molly, etc., on the iPod. I'm thinking that most Sirius users are using it to listen for something other than their current music collection. But just IMHO - I only have 4 subscriptions to Sirius AND I also use Ipod and TAPE input - for Echoes and HOS.

Rudy

I've found that some Sirius streams are more compressed than others. I tend to agree with cobradav that I enjoy the non-music programming more than the music.

Having said that, I haven't had time to prove it but my initial comparison between Sirius and XM in my wife's minivan is that XM has a more consistent, good sound quality across all stations where Sirius sounds either good or bad...

teriyaki88

Sirius isn't for everyone. And certainly you don't get this for sound quality alone. You get it for content first, then for convenience.
I'm not trying to sell Sirius by any means but here's the reason(s) I bought Sirius.

1) I don't have a huge CD collection and my song collection on my IPOD is only 1900 songs.
2) I love the NFL. I can get my favorite out-of-town NFL teams while i'm out driving. If I don't like their 'homer' view point, i change the station and listen to it from the other team's perspective. It's cool. I'm not stuck with some crappy announcers on a national broadcast.
3) I love the NHL. See #2
4) I love the NBA. See #3
5) I love all kinds of music.
6) My music mood changes from time to time. At times i want to hear show tunes, then classical, then rap, then childrens, etc. Sirius and XM has variety.
7) I like no commercials on music channels. It does have DJ's but their input is minimal during breaks. All the news channels, ESPN, E entertainment, Talk channels, Comedy channels have commercials,

8) $13 per month? I don't like that but its worth it for me since I get 6 or 7 stations here locally. Now I don't listen to all channels on Sirius but I do like the CHOICES.

Teriyaki

cobradav

Well put. I agree with all u said especially the NFL options. I do have a large collection of music, in excess of 800 CDs alone, let alone old vinyl records from Brasil and Trinidad. I put the hard to get items on my MP3 player and use duplicates of CDs or my own mix of favorites in CD format (non MP# format until we get that too) for when I feel in the mood for something different. I can go from Norway, to Middle East, to Latin, to Native American, to Didgeridoo, to many different African sounds in a flash. Or let Sirius do it for me. Obviously the CDs will give the better sound, but as u say it is not always about the quality.