[Greg Grainger]

I have an account with XM radio; I like it for the variety of programming and the selection of
music played.

A few months ago, my FM tuner (Revox) gave up the ghost. I have not replaced it, because I
find commercial radio to be too full of, yes, commercials and other interruptions.

Now, I have a hankering for a decent-quality tuner for news, weather, traffic, as well as a
few programs that I liked.

I have in mind a combination unit that does all three - AM. FM, and XM. There are a very few
on the market - the Polk xrt-12, the Marantz st7001, and the Magnum Dynalab MD609T or MD606T
have been suggested to me. None is available in any stereo store in the area (Toronto) that
I've been able to find.

There is a difference between 'XM' and 'XM Ready' - one has the satellite radio circuitry
built in, the other requires a small tuner unit from the XM people to be plugged in, like a
kind of iPod dock.

My dilemma/question is this - does anyone know which of the units mentioned above falls into
which category? None of the reviews I've read is clear on the subject. I've even downloaded
the owner's manuals and I can't tell from them whether I would have to purchase a seperate
unit for the XM portion.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Best,
Greg.
--
Greg Grainger grainger(at)vex.net

'What a world of gammon and spinnage it is, though, ain't it!'
- Miss Mowcher

[Audio Empire]

On Fri, 29 Oct 2010 06:53:44 -0700, Greg Grainger wrote
(in article ):

I have an account with XM radio; I like it for the variety of programming and

the selection of
music played.

A few months ago, my FM tuner (Revox) gave up the ghost. I have not replaced
it, because I
find commercial radio to be too full of, yes, commercials and other
interruptions.

Now, I have a hankering for a decent-quality tuner for news, weather,
traffic, as well as a
few programs that I liked.

I have in mind a combination unit that does all three - AM. FM, and XM. There

are a very few
on the market - the Polk xrt-12, the Marantz st7001, and the Magnum Dynalab
MD609T or MD606T
have been suggested to me. None is available in any stereo store in the area
(Toronto) that
I've been able to find.

There is a difference between 'XM' and 'XM Ready' - one has the satellite
radio circuitry
built in, the other requires a small tuner unit from the XM people to be
plugged in, like a
kind of iPod dock.

My dilemma/question is this - does anyone know which of the units mentioned
above falls into
which category? None of the reviews I've read is clear on the subject. I've
even downloaded
the owner's manuals and I can't tell from them whether I would have to
purchase a seperate
unit for the XM portion.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Best,
Greg.


I have XM radio in the car and find it adequate for that purpose. I used to
have it in the house via my satellite TV service but they dropped it in favor
of some other subscription music service the programming of which, I do not
particularly like. What I replaced the indoor XM with (and indeed FM which
has become practically unlistenable for the reasons you cite as well as
technical reasons) is internet radio. It has the following advantages:

1) The quality limitations of streaming radio, while different from the
quality limitations imposed upon most analog FM, can be less obtrusive and
more sonically satisfying - especially with stations that stream at 128 KB/s,
or higher and many streams have NO commercials. I'm no fan of lossy
compression schemes, but since both satellite and internet radio solutions
are compressed, either can be satisfying for background listening (which is
about all most of us use radio for, anyway).

2) The amount and variety of programming available on the internet is simply
staggering. I listen to music from BBC 3 in England, WQXR in New York, A
Brazilian Jazz station, classical music from Radio Switzerland, and film
soundtrack music from Poland! To name a few choices.

3) Add to the above the fact that many of these 'stations' can be upgraded to
CD quality via their web sites and that basic programming has no subscription
fees, and it is a real bargain.

4) There are several ways to go and a number of companies make Internet radio
"tuners" Including Apple with their $99 Apple TV box, or the more versatile
Logitech "Squeezebox Touch" at $299. All you need is either a Wi-Fi or a
cat-5 internet cable connected to your broadband internet connection. I find
Internet radio to be good enough to dispense with FM altogether. Besides most
of the local FM stations that I used to listen to all stream on the internet
as well, so they are still available to me.

I'm not suggesting that you give up on your idea of an FM tuner with in-house
XM or Sirius capability, just pointing out that there is an alternative. One
that doesn't require a subscription and one that has a lot more programming
choices available with quality that can b at least as good as modern
commercial FM or satellite radio subscription services.

[C. Leeds]

On 10/29/2010 9:53 AM, Greg Grainger wrote:
I have an account with XM radio...
A few months ago, my FM tuner (Revox) gave up the ghost...
I have in mind a combination unit that does all three - AM. FM, and XM. There are a very few
on the market - the Polk xrt-12, the Marantz st7001, and the Magnum Dynalab MD609T or MD606T
have been suggested to me...
There is a difference between 'XM' and 'XM Ready' - one has the satellite radio circuitry
built in, the other requires a small tuner unit from the XM people to be plugged in, like a
kind of iPod dock.
My dilemma/question is this - does anyone know which of the units mentioned above falls into
which category?

I think you are mistaken. A so-called "XM-ready" tuner requires a module
from the tuner manufacturer, not XM. And the module mounts inside the
tuner. It's not external, like an iPod dock.

To be sure, I'd check with the manufacturer or a dealer. Magnum Dynalab
sells direct, so I'd think it would be easy to find out.

You might want to also consider the McIntosh MR88
http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/1333.asp

[Arny Krueger]

"Greg Grainger" wrote in message


Now, I have a hankering for a decent-quality tuner for
news, weather, traffic, as well as a few programs that I
liked.

I have in mind a combination unit that does all three -
AM. FM, and XM. There are a very few on the market - the
Polk xrt-12, the Marantz st7001, and the Magnum Dynalab
MD609T or MD606T have been suggested to me. None is
available in any stereo store in the area (Toronto) that
I've been able to find.

While XM may solve the commercial problem, it creates what for me has been
an intolerable sound quality problem.

I'd rather prefer to listen to LPs with all their obvious sonic problems
than even the best-sounding XM channels, and many of the XM channels sound
far worse than the best.

My solution for mobile listening is digital recordings I prepare on my
computer and download to the player.

I find XM to even be marginal to unacceptable even for listening to spoken
word programming. I can't believe that people who complain about the SQ of
high bitrate MP3s can stand to listen to XM, whose highest bitrate is far
worse. Right after introduction XM sounded almost as good as 128 kb MP3s,
and then they more than doubled the number of channels in the same bandwidth
and I've heard maybe added some video.

[Audio Empire]

On Mon, 1 Nov 2010 04:45:02 -0700, Arny Krueger wrote
(in article ):

"Greg Grainger" wrote in message


Now, I have a hankering for a decent-quality tuner for
news, weather, traffic, as well as a few programs that I
liked.

I have in mind a combination unit that does all three -
AM. FM, and XM. There are a very few on the market - the
Polk xrt-12, the Marantz st7001, and the Magnum Dynalab
MD609T or MD606T have been suggested to me. None is
available in any stereo store in the area (Toronto) that
I've been able to find.

While XM may solve the commercial problem, it creates what for me has been
an intolerable sound quality problem.

Like most lossy compression schemes, XM/Sirius is difficult to listen to
seriously. Like MP3, though, it's OK in the car (where background noise
levels are high), but it's useless for headphone listening, and it's nothing
you want to hear above background from your home stereo system.

I'd rather prefer to listen to LPs with all their obvious sonic problems
than even the best-sounding XM channels, and many of the XM channels sound
far worse than the best.

Well, since LP, at its best, *CAN* sound even better than CD, that's
certainly not surprising to me. XM/Sirius is a lot like streaming internet
radio. Some 'channels' are very poor because of low data rate, and some, with
higher data rate, are OK. None are good enough for serious listening. Then
again, FM used to be good enough for serious listening, but even though it's
for different reasons, modern analog FM is really no better than XM/Sirius or
internet radio and digital FM is actually worse.

My solution for mobile listening is digital recordings I prepare on my
computer and download to the player.

Using lossless algorithms like FLAC or ALC, I trust?

I find XM to even be marginal to unacceptable even for listening to spoken
word programming. I can't believe that people who complain about the SQ of
high bitrate MP3s can stand to listen to XM, whose highest bitrate is far
worse. Right after introduction XM sounded almost as good as 128 kb MP3s,
and then they more than doubled the number of channels in the same bandwidth
and I've heard maybe added some video.

Now, I have to admit that I have never listened to anything on XM other than
classical and jazz. I don't find either of them nearly as bad as you have
described. Then again, I only listen to XM in the car these days.

[Jenn[_2_]]

In article ,
Audio Empire wrote:

Now, I have to admit that I have never listened to anything on XM other than
classical and jazz. I don't find either of them nearly as bad as you have
described. Then again, I only listen to XM in the car these days.

I only use Sirius/XM in the car as well, and I find it to be great for
that use. The quality is better than FM in my experience. Great
variety, too: all kinds of music, sports, talk, etc.

--
www.jennifermartinmusic.com

[Audio Empire]

On Tue, 2 Nov 2010 09:46:19 -0700, Jenn wrote
(in article ):

In article ,
Audio Empire wrote:

Now, I have to admit that I have never listened to anything on XM other
than
classical and jazz. I don't find either of them nearly as bad as you have
described. Then again, I only listen to XM in the car these days.

I only use Sirius/XM in the car as well, and I find it to be great for
that use. The quality is better than FM in my experience. Great
variety, too: all kinds of music, sports, talk, etc.



Yeah, It's OK for that and it is more practical than FM and that's for sure.
One thing I like about it is that one can drive coast to coast and listen to
the same station the whole time. Automobile background noise is so high, that
I generally don't notice the audio quality at all.

[Tuner Guy]

Dear Greg,

I saw your post on Audio Banter. This is Jim Richards from Magnum Dynalab. The XM 606 and 609 use the internal module from XM and not the XM ready one. Unfortunately our XM tuners only have XM and not the FM. These are the best XM tuners made. We will have a new 8 series of WiFi or Internet radio's early next year which will have embedded 25K plus stations, Fm and Sirius satellite internet by subscription which will give you 80 channels. You will also be able to access the AM channels through the internet?

Hope this helps?

Jim Richards

Originally Posted by Greg Grainger

I have an account with XM radio; I like it for the variety of programming and the selection of
music played.

A few months ago, my FM tuner (Revox) gave up the ghost. I have not replaced it, because I
find commercial radio to be too full of, yes, commercials and other interruptions.

Now, I have a hankering for a decent-quality tuner for news, weather, traffic, as well as a
few programs that I liked.

I have in mind a combination unit that does all three - AM. FM, and XM. There are a very few
on the market - the Polk xrt-12, the Marantz st7001, and the Magnum Dynalab MD609T or MD606T
have been suggested to me. None is available in any stereo store in the area (Toronto) that
I've been able to find.

There is a difference between 'XM' and 'XM Ready' - one has the satellite radio circuitry
built in, the other requires a small tuner unit from the XM people to be plugged in, like a
kind of iPod dock.

My dilemma/question is this - does anyone know which of the units mentioned above falls into
which category? None of the reviews I've read is clear on the subject. I've even downloaded
the owner's manuals and I can't tell from them whether I would have to purchase a seperate
unit for the XM portion.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Best,
Greg.
--
Greg Grainger grainger(at)vex.net

'What a world of gammon and spinnage it is, though, ain't it!'
- Miss Mowcher