I'm asking this, mostly just out of curiosity although I have been sorta considering XM lately. I have an Xplod head unit in my TC that says its "XM ready." So if I wanted to hook XM up to it, I wouldn't have to buy a receiver, right? I'm assuming the antenna just plugs into the head unit.
Also do any of you guys know off the top of your head how much XM is per month?
You probably have to buy the antenna specifically for XM from an audio place. You mount it on your car and it plugs into the reciever.
Here's the pricing according to their website.
(http://www.xmradio.com/images/service_subscription/new_myp_box.gif)
You need an antenna and and "XM" receiver. The XM receiver plugs in to the back of your regular receiver.
You still need that for recievers that already have all the "XM" stuff in it?
I have a reciever that's Sirius ready. All I have to do is plug in the satellite antenna. I could be wrong.
I'll have to find my book to check that.
Oh, you have to pay by the year?
Screw that then, I don't even drive my thunderbird for half the year.
If your Sony is like my Kenwood, "XM Ready" means nothing more than the fact that you can add on an XM receiver and control it with the head unit (much like a CD changer)
Having an XM ready receiver (I have XM in my car) means that you have to buy an XM antenna and a receiver box. You mount the box in the trunk and then connect it to the head unit with a cable. The head unit is capable of changing stations and displaying information about each channel, song, etc. It is better, IMO, than having a separate receiver like a SkyFi or Roady because everthing is built into a single unit and it looks much cleaner that way.
You do not have to pay by the year for XM. You can sign up to pay $12.95 per month like I do. You do save a bit of money by paying for a year or more in advance though.
How much is the antenna and receiver box?
Jkirchman and thunder chicken nailed it. Exactly right and the xm receiver without the antenna goes for like $150 the new micro antenna I got brand new on ebay I think for less than 20 bucks shipped.
Aha, I found my answer on ebay. There's a company on there that sells kits for different branded receivers that are XM ready...in this case, they have one for Sony receivers that includes the receiver, antenna, and all the cords and stuff for $65. So that's not too bad.
No that's not a bad price at all. It seems that buying the receiver to connect it to an XM-ready head unit is more expensive than buying a separate one. I saw a Roady2 at Wal Mart for $28.
But the sound quality is better out of an XM-ready head unit and not having to stick something to your dash is a bonus as well.