Thanks to all the help on this forum I finally got my D2 installed along with the Sirius tuner and iPod hookup (I'll post about the iPod cable in another thread).

I'm working on a full review of the entire D2 system but was wondering if I could first tap the Sirius knowledge base here to see what's up with my tuner.

All in all, I love the satellite radio feature. Driving 16 hours from CA to Denver in the middle of the night through nothing but desert and having crystal clear reception the entire time is incredible (didn't even need to use the iPod). However, the interface through the D2 is absolutely pathetic. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong...if anything...and the manual has all of 2 pages dedicated to the Sirius tuner. I was expecting there to be some sort of channel "guide" or listing on the screen of the D2 that would allow me to access the different categories by simply pressing that button (i.e. news, comedy, rock, etc). At the very least I was expecting to be able to enter a channel number with a numeric keypad...but it won't even let me do this (which presented a problem with the Sirius agent told me to go to channel 184 to activate...and I couldn't figure out how). In order to select a station you have to actually "seek" the entire Sirius catalog (over 100 channels) until you find a channel you like and then set it as a preset. To make matters worse, you can't even change the names of the presets from "preset 1" to "Howard Stern" or something more easily remembered (something which even my late 80's receiver will allow). As a result, I actually have no idea which channels I even have on my sat radio because I really can't figure out where they all are. I can scroll through categories by pushing up and down on the joystick, but once in a category I really have no idea how many channels are in there unless I simply seek through all the channels until coming back upon the one I started on. Am I doing something wrong here? There MUST be an easier way here. What's up with all the channel logos I've seen on this forum? Are those reserved only for XM subscribers? Why the huge discrepency between the XM and Sirius functionality. My problem is that I want the Sirius programming but the XM interface.

The 2nd issue I have with the tuner is the sound quality...something I believe might actually be something wrong with my system. In my vehicle, the AM/FM radio sounds WAY better than the Sirius radio (that SuperTuner IIID really is amazing). The Sirius sound quality is somewhere between that of AM and FM whereas the terestrial radio quality is between FM and Digital. Anyone experiencing the same thing?

And just one more aside...no RDS on the radio? Come on...this is a $1500.00 system. At the very least give us the option to name the radio presets alpha-numerically!

Overall I'm still happy with satellite radio in general - as it gave me a variety of programming where no radio could ever be. However, that being said, if there's really no way to change the Sirius interface, XM might get another subscriber in the very near future.

http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2204

Another thread on the crappy functionality of the Sirius tuner. You just told us why the XM interface is so good and the Sirius sucks:

However, that being said, if there's really no way to change the Sirius interface, XM might get another subscriber in the very near future.

XM paid Pioneer so that XM has all the functionality so that people switch over to XM, like you are thinking about doing.

I agree with you on the RDS. My friends $100 cheepo stereo has it, whereas my $1500 nav system doesn't?!?! Thats just not fair :evil:

sportsfan21 said:

http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2204

Another thread on the crappy functionality of the Sirius tuner. You just told us why the XM interface is so good and the Sirius sucks:

However, that being said, if there's really no way to change the Sirius interface, XM might get another subscriber in the very near future.

XM paid Pioneer so that XM has all the functionality so that people switch over to XM, like you are thinking about doing.

I agree with you on the RDS. My friends $100 cheepo stereo has it, whereas my $1500 nav system doesn't?!?! Thats just not fair :evil:

Thanks...gave that thread a read and doesn't look like I'm alone. That's really too bad that they went so bare-bones with the Sirius interface. I was hoping I was doing something wrong - I just can't believe something like that could even make it into production.

DogTaco said:

sportsfan21 said:

http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2204

Another thread on the crappy functionality of the Sirius tuner. You just told us why the XM interface is so good and the Sirius sucks:

However, that being said, if there's really no way to change the Sirius interface, XM might get another subscriber in the very near future.

XM paid Pioneer so that XM has all the functionality so that people switch over to XM, like you are thinking about doing.

I agree with you on the RDS. My friends $100 cheepo stereo has it, whereas my $1500 nav system doesn't?!?! Thats just not fair :evil:

And...If I have to listen to Howard Stern talking one more time about how he has single handedly brought 5 million listeners to Sirius and XM is dead I might go ahead and cancel Sirius anyway (not to mention the fact that I would at least have the option of the extra XM traffic and weather features).

Anyone know if I can replace the Sirius tuner with the XM module and use the same cables?

I could be wrong, but I think you can use the same IP bus cable and power line, but the XM NavTraffic unit also comes with a IP data cable. Not sure if the Sirius does also.

Well the IP bus cable is the same; don't know about power but I doubt it'll be any different.

XM did not pay Pioneer to make a crappy Sirius interface to encourage users to swith, not sure where you came up with that. Pioneer was one of the original sellers of XM when it was launched (going on five years--even back in the days of FM mod XM.) They did not plan on ever supporting sirius and only decided to about two years ago when their relationship with XM soured and customers like us started demanding sirius (thats why the decks only said XM ready instead of SAT ready like they do now.) Because Sirius didn't want to help them develop a Pioneer made tuner that would make a profit, Pioneer instead decided to buy 3rd party tuner like everyone else (All the Sirius tuners from Alpine, Eclipse, Pioneer, etc. are made by the same company overseas.) That is why the interface sucks. If/when Pioneer makes their own Sirius tuner, the interface will improve. I agree it sucks, but at least you know why it sucks--it is both Pioneer and Sirius' fault

sportsfan21 said:

http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2204

Another thread on the crappy functionality of the Sirius tuner. You just told us why the XM interface is so good and the Sirius sucks:

However, that being said, if there's really no way to change the Sirius interface, XM might get another subscriber in the very near future.

XM paid Pioneer so that XM has all the functionality so that people switch over to XM, like you are thinking about doing.

I agree with you on the RDS. My friends $100 cheepo stereo has it, whereas my $1500 nav system doesn't?!?! Thats just not fair :evil:

the ipbus cable is the same, but for the nav traffic there is a data cable that the sirius unit does not come with obvously. the antanna is also different. the power + and - connector is different as well, i switched from xm to sirius cuz of the half ass nav traffic functionality. In addition xm seems to repeat the same damn songs (about 2 dozen) over and over accross the stations I listened to. While sirius does this as well, it doesnt seem to be nearly as bad. I sure wish that both xm and sirius drop there carrebian call center, they are a joke!

I'm with the OP on this issue. I remember when XM radio first came out and I bought one of those single-DIN $400 units which was awesome but back then the XM radio interface sucked (you would control it as an external unit and it could only display the first 8 characters of the channel, artist, song, etc. and had no scrolling capabilities). I too can't believe that a unit this expensive can have such a crappy interface, but thankfully I knew that before I bought it. Of course I could have gone with XM radio but since they dropped a station I listened to all the time (i.e. Christian Rock/Alternative) and since my wife's car has Sirius stock (hence I only pay $6.99/mo for my service) I decided to deal with the crappy interface. Once I installed the unit I quickly programmed my 18 presets and whenever I listen to the Sirius tuner instead of CD I control it via the Nav screen so I don't have to even bother looking at the horrible interface.