My Tahoe did not come with XM, but no big deal, I have had Sirrius for over a year that mounts in the truck. I use a car kit that has an RF transmitter. It works, but with a Bose sound system, the digital signal is not fully realized. My question is there a way that I can hook up the sat radio to the AUX port of the stock radio? I do not have a DVD system, so the button is not used. I am assuming there would need to be some kind of adatper. Anybody have any experience?
Satellite Radio
1 - 19 of 19 Posts
Wow.. I didn't know the newer GMs or Tahoe's even had an aux in. You might check with a dealer or one of the better specialized car audio shops to see if there's a way to tap in to that aux in. On the older vehicles that you could add a changer to, they often went with a protocol of a big company, like Panasonic, JVC, etc. If that still holds true, something from one of them might work but its usually all in the protocol used for communication.
Were you looking at Sirius or XM? You can test-drive both (at least the music channels) online through streaming for 3 days for free. I do this at work all the time with rotating email addresses (part of the fun of controlling my own domain and mail accounts). My thoughts on them:
SIRIUS:
Good all around service, 3 satellites in a figure-8 orbit so they are constantly moving. Plays more popular music more often than XM. Quite a large variety of genres, especially within the Rock category. $12.95 per month, which includes free Internet streaming. Over 120 channels, all music channels are "commercial free" but have DJs breaking in quite often (similar to FM radio). Has contract with NFL for games.
XM:
Good service also, 2 satellites ("Rock" and "Roll") that are in geosynchronous orbit over US. One East coast, one West coast. Plays a lot of popular music, but with more time between repeat songs than Sirius, there are a TON of songs that are rare and not heard often. I hear many songs I'd completely forgotten existed. Over 150 channels. No commercials on music channels, and very little DJ chatter, usually once every 5 songs or so to say what station you're on or to tell you the number to call in for requests. $12.95 a month like Sirius, web streaming is now included with basic service. You can get web streaming ONLY (no regular XM tuner) for $7.99. There are discounts for "contract service" if you pre-order for 3+ years its down to $9.99/month effectively. They also have additional radios for $6.99 a month for multiple car/home/mobile tuners. XM has ~8 MLB channels so you never miss a game but doesn't have other sports other than ESPN Radio and Fox Sports.
I personally have XM in my Tahoe, and I like it a lot. Long trips are so much better when you don't have to find a new station every 50-100 miles (if you're lucky). The local weather/traffic stations were invaluble on my trip to Washington D.C. last summer considering I arrived in rush hour and wasn't familiar with the roads at all. The only downfall (which affects Sirius as well) is tall buildings, like in a large city downtown area, where there are no terrestrial backup towers as the buildings block the signal (and I work in downtown Des Moines, IA so I get cut off as soon as I hit a building more than 5 stories to my immediate south side). Larger cities have terrestrial towers to negate this problem.
SIRIUS:
Good all around service, 3 satellites in a figure-8 orbit so they are constantly moving. Plays more popular music more often than XM. Quite a large variety of genres, especially within the Rock category. $12.95 per month, which includes free Internet streaming. Over 120 channels, all music channels are "commercial free" but have DJs breaking in quite often (similar to FM radio). Has contract with NFL for games.
XM:
Good service also, 2 satellites ("Rock" and "Roll") that are in geosynchronous orbit over US. One East coast, one West coast. Plays a lot of popular music, but with more time between repeat songs than Sirius, there are a TON of songs that are rare and not heard often. I hear many songs I'd completely forgotten existed. Over 150 channels. No commercials on music channels, and very little DJ chatter, usually once every 5 songs or so to say what station you're on or to tell you the number to call in for requests. $12.95 a month like Sirius, web streaming is now included with basic service. You can get web streaming ONLY (no regular XM tuner) for $7.99. There are discounts for "contract service" if you pre-order for 3+ years its down to $9.99/month effectively. They also have additional radios for $6.99 a month for multiple car/home/mobile tuners. XM has ~8 MLB channels so you never miss a game but doesn't have other sports other than ESPN Radio and Fox Sports.
I personally have XM in my Tahoe, and I like it a lot. Long trips are so much better when you don't have to find a new station every 50-100 miles (if you're lucky). The local weather/traffic stations were invaluble on my trip to Washington D.C. last summer considering I arrived in rush hour and wasn't familiar with the roads at all. The only downfall (which affects Sirius as well) is tall buildings, like in a large city downtown area, where there are no terrestrial backup towers as the buildings block the signal (and I work in downtown Des Moines, IA so I get cut off as soon as I hit a building more than 5 stories to my immediate south side). Larger cities have terrestrial towers to negate this problem.
Joined
·
4,888 Posts
Yeah, you've hit on the big problem with satelite radio. I used to work in downtown Fort Worth and it would have been a problem getting a signal down there.
Thanks for the comparison/contrast. I'm interested in hearing from others if they have similar finding on these services.
Thanks for the comparison/contrast. I'm interested in hearing from others if they have similar finding on these services.
Joy! even more updated info on XM now.
XM has recently added online streaming to the basic subscription package, so no additonal $3 a month. However, if you are JUST an online listener and don't have regular service, the price of streaming went up to $7.99 a month. My previous post will be edited accordingly so it has the correct information.
XM has recently added online streaming to the basic subscription package, so no additonal $3 a month. However, if you are JUST an online listener and don't have regular service, the price of streaming went up to $7.99 a month. My previous post will be edited accordingly so it has the correct information.
08 silverado xm radio- not xm stereo
I subscribed to xm for a couple months. I really like the channels and the lineup. But the plain truth of it was that it sounded like crap. It was like comparing the fidelity of am radio to fm stereo.
Stock stereo and sound system. with 6 cd radio with mp3 input and EQ.
Is something wrong with my trucks stock radio ? Anybody have similar results
I subscribed to xm for a couple months. I really like the channels and the lineup. But the plain truth of it was that it sounded like crap. It was like comparing the fidelity of am radio to fm stereo.
Stock stereo and sound system. with 6 cd radio with mp3 input and EQ.
Is something wrong with my trucks stock radio ? Anybody have similar results
1 - 19 of 19 Posts
Join the discussion
