XM Radio Question?

ZSKCivic01 · 12-05-2003

Hey, I have been thinkin about getting XM Radio for my civic for a while. I have an Alpine CDA-7893 in my civic with an JL Audio XR Comp. set amped in the front with a 12w3 in the rear. It sounds really nice so I think that getting XM radio in my civic would be worth it. For those who have XM, is it worth the $9.99 montly subscription? Also, I would probably install the stuff myself since thats what I did with my entire system. Is it hard to install the Digital Satellite Radio Tuner, the Antenna, and just get it working overall? Id apprecaite the help.

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HondaSales · 12-05-2003

read the satellite radio post in this forum

ZSKCivic01 · 12-05-2003

Read it, but that wasn't my only question

tfnaaf · 12-05-2003

I installed XM radio on the wifes ride. She likes it alot. the quality isnt close to CD quality but but not too bad. Her deck ( Alpine cva-1003 )was XM - Ready so the install was pretty straight forward matter of plugging it into the Ai-Net cable and running the atenna lead to the outside. I've heard on a few cars that you can get away with mounting the atenna up on the dash close to the windshield and still get reception. Not sure what atenna you have or not so this may be an option too. Good Luck!

HondaSales · 12-05-2003

i mounted the antenna on the trunk lid where it meets the back window. it's more out of sight there. i don't understand why people are receiving poor quality sound from their xm. mine sounds the same if not better than cds. zskcivico1 - if you installed the rest of your system, you should have no problem with the xm. enjoy!

ZSKCivic01 · 12-07-2003

Now im stumped on whether to get XM, there are very mixed opionions. The reviews I read said that the sound quality is no where near good to CD, and knowing me and my tastes, id notice right away. Also, I have an Alpine CDA-7893 that is XM ready. Do I have to get the alpine XM Radio tuner since I have an alpine deck? The Alpine tuner is pretty expensive, more than $200. I know different recievers have different connectors, depending on who makes them for whatever deck.

tfnaaf · 12-07-2003

This is what you will need Plus an anntena
look here

It is a littel pricey, but will give the best signal quality from what i hear.

grenloch101056 · 12-07-2003

the install isnt hard at all, just have some patience with it and you will be fine. i wrote up a DIY and posted it in this forum, its somewhere in the archive

Mystic3030 · 12-08-2003

I really don't get the posts on it being bad sound quality...you people must not be installing them correctly, or using FM Modulators or something! I have an Alpine 7893 with the TUA-T020XM Brain from Alpine and the Terk XM3 magnetic antenna mounted to my trunk lid. It is perfect CD quality. Perhaps you have 1st generation equipment? Alpine is on their 3rd gen I think, which has better decoding, and that = better SQ. The new Terk antennas have better gain and grounding on them as well, so that provides better reception.

ZSKCivic01 · 12-08-2003

Mustic, since you have the same HU as me and your getting the same reciever and same type of antenna, then that give me a good reason to get it. The only quesiton I have is installing the antenna. I don't really want it on my roof, I would like it better on my trunk since I have a spoiler. From behind it wouldn't be noticeable.

Mystic3030 · 12-09-2003

The Terk XM3 antenna is a bit smaller than older ones, so its not as noticable, and it is paintable to match your car. I have it on my trunk lid, about 2 inches from the windshield, and I have no signal dropouts or any other problems. I also get signal inside tunnels and stuff like that.

ZSKCivic01 · 12-09-2003

Awesome, I will definately put the antenna on my trunk lid then. It should be alot easier to install than if it were on my roof.