Anybody install an XM radio in their X yet? I have been looking at the Sony and Pioneer units. I am a little concerned over what kind of reception I will get in the NYC area. Also, if someone installed it in their X, would like to know how they did it and pics if possible. Thanks
XM Radio ?????
1 - 20 of 23 Posts
Joined
·
31 Posts
I'm interested too!
Someone in another Electronic post stated that the new '02 antenna's were XM compatible. I checked with several different sales reps today and they all shot that remark to hell.
But would love to know if anyone out there has installed any units yet. And where did you put the external antenna?
Someone in another Electronic post stated that the new '02 antenna's were XM compatible. I checked with several different sales reps today and they all shot that remark to hell.
But would love to know if anyone out there has installed any units yet. And where did you put the external antenna?
XM Radio
I installed the pioneer xm radio. I purchased it at Best Buy and they did the install. Excellent job they did. I had them put the little receiver module come through the change holder under the existing radio. This way it's easy to see and they didn't have to drill any holes. Plus if I want I can slip the unit into the holder and no one can see the unit. The antenna was mounted on the passenger side rear window. I live in Ct and have some dead spots. The sound quality is super. I'm glad I installed this unit.
I installed the pioneer xm radio. I purchased it at Best Buy and they did the install. Excellent job they did. I had them put the little receiver module come through the change holder under the existing radio. This way it's easy to see and they didn't have to drill any holes. Plus if I want I can slip the unit into the holder and no one can see the unit. The antenna was mounted on the passenger side rear window. I live in Ct and have some dead spots. The sound quality is super. I'm glad I installed this unit.
Love my XM Radio. Got it installed last November.
I chose to have the Acura sound system removed and a custom install done and as such I have an Alpine head unit and ALpines Ai-Net XM module.
THe Ant. is installed on the top of my MDX near the factory Ant.
Let me know if I can be og any assistance.
I chose to have the Acura sound system removed and a custom install done and as such I have an Alpine head unit and ALpines Ai-Net XM module.
THe Ant. is installed on the top of my MDX near the factory Ant.
Let me know if I can be og any assistance.
Joined
·
31 Posts
Mig... got any pics for us???
Would love to see them
Would love to see them
We used the factory location to install the new sub. I decided I wanted even more bass so in the next 2 weeks we are going to install a Boston Pro 10 in the same spot and build a custom box behind it. Right now we are using a free air sub. My main goal is always stealth in any install. I like to enjoy the sound but usually don't like to show it off (or invite theft). It sits behind the factory grill and you would never guess there was anything other than the factory sub back there.
The sub in the picture is not the one I am using right now I actually have a JL IB4 free air sub in there. We tried that concept sub as a test but since we didn't build a sealed box behind it the sound really suffered.
BTW, we replced the factory speakers with Focal Polykevlar 6.5'" component speakers in the factory locations.
I also added Dynamat Extreme to all the doors the hatch back and various other places and we pulled out the interior and added Roadkill Carpet Pad the entire length of the floor to kill noise (for an Acura this car is very loud on the road).
It sounds great and I get complements all the time. But it was not cheap.
![]()
The sub in the picture is not the one I am using right now I actually have a JL IB4 free air sub in there. We tried that concept sub as a test but since we didn't build a sealed box behind it the sound really suffered.
BTW, we replced the factory speakers with Focal Polykevlar 6.5'" component speakers in the factory locations.
I also added Dynamat Extreme to all the doors the hatch back and various other places and we pulled out the interior and added Roadkill Carpet Pad the entire length of the floor to kill noise (for an Acura this car is very loud on the road).
It sounds great and I get complements all the time. But it was not cheap.
Joined
·
31 Posts
SWEEEEEET!
Thanks Mig for showing off your gear. Would you mind telling us where the installation was performed? And would you recommend them??
So how does standard radio sound compared to CD's compared to XM radio?
Thanks Mig for showing off your gear. Would you mind telling us where the installation was performed? And would you recommend them??
So how does standard radio sound compared to CD's compared to XM radio?
The bulk of the work (rip out factory and install amps,head unit, speakers and sub) was done by Joe at Autosound (in Texas). They do good basic work but are not really able to handle some of the custom stuff I wanted. The dash kit was beyond what they had the equipment for you need special dyes and a spry rig.
The dash kit and the Roadkill carpet install was built by Jason at Earmark (Texas). Great work but they cut my gas guage sensor wire and powered up the car with the seats out (causes the SRS ligt to go on and has to be reset by Acura). Things a professional shop should not have happen.
The dynamat was done by me in my garage on weekends.
Patrick at Tweeter (Texas)will be doing the upgrade to the Sub. IMO Tweeter does the best work and is the most professional of all the places I have had work done.
The dash kit and the Roadkill carpet install was built by Jason at Earmark (Texas). Great work but they cut my gas guage sensor wire and powered up the car with the seats out (causes the SRS ligt to go on and has to be reset by Acura). Things a professional shop should not have happen.
The dynamat was done by me in my garage on weekends.
Patrick at Tweeter (Texas)will be doing the upgrade to the Sub. IMO Tweeter does the best work and is the most professional of all the places I have had work done.
Road Noise
mig,
You indicated that you "pulled out the interior and added Roadkill Carpet Pad the entire length of the floor to kill noise".
We find the MDX a little noisy at freeway speeds. What can you share about Roadkill Carpet Pad:
** How much did it help?
** Cost for pad?
** Was there a lot of work to pull the seats, carpet, etc to install?
While I am handy, not sure I would want to take on pulling the seats, etc. Can you tell me what the install cost for just the Carpet Pad?
Thanks in advance ... Steven
mig,
You indicated that you "pulled out the interior and added Roadkill Carpet Pad the entire length of the floor to kill noise".
We find the MDX a little noisy at freeway speeds. What can you share about Roadkill Carpet Pad:
** How much did it help?
** Cost for pad?
** Was there a lot of work to pull the seats, carpet, etc to install?
While I am handy, not sure I would want to take on pulling the seats, etc. Can you tell me what the install cost for just the Carpet Pad?
Thanks in advance ... Steven
If I remember correctly it was $395 for the Roadkill Carpet the labor and an extra layer of regular roadkill (like dynamat) under the roadkill carpet.
It took them all day to do it and there is no way I would have done that myself. Some labor is worth paying for.
Most shops will recommend that you have the wheel wells sprayed with the liquid version of dynamat (it hardens later) as well. I think I will do that next. After I install Dynamet Tac Mat under the headliner.
It took them all day to do it and there is no way I would have done that myself. Some labor is worth paying for.
Most shops will recommend that you have the wheel wells sprayed with the liquid version of dynamat (it hardens later) as well. I think I will do that next. After I install Dynamet Tac Mat under the headliner.
A custom stereo shop did the work. I would shop around a bit and try to find one you trust. I highly suggest a Tweeter if you have one of those around. Stay away from your best buy, circut city and car toys type places as they have high turnover of installers and are really into simple quick profit installs. Make sure you interview the installer that will do the work and ask for a tour of the shop (if you see Ferraris and Rolls in the bay you are probably on the right track). It took me a month to get the low down on all the shops and pick the ones I would use. You will find that the custom car stero installers are part of a small world and all know each other.
The install dropped my noise level as measured from the drivers seat by 2 db. AS you know 3 db of drop would have been a 1/2 cut in noise.
I hop to drop it even further with the deading of the wheel wells and lineing the roof with tac mat.
Let me know how it goes.
BTW make sure the shop knows to disconnect the negative terminal from the battery before they remove the seats. The shop that did the roadkill didn't do that and the red ABs light had to be reset by Acura.
The install dropped my noise level as measured from the drivers seat by 2 db. AS you know 3 db of drop would have been a 1/2 cut in noise.
I hop to drop it even further with the deading of the wheel wells and lineing the roof with tac mat.
Let me know how it goes.
BTW make sure the shop knows to disconnect the negative terminal from the battery before they remove the seats. The shop that did the roadkill didn't do that and the red ABs light had to be reset by Acura.
mig,
Thanks for the picures of your installation. My "X hasn't arrived yet, so I used your pictures today at the audio store to discuss options in my install. I too will be gutting the entire Bose system and starting from scratch with Alpine gear including XM radio, nav system and Boston ProSeries speakers. Have you installed the Boston 10" ProSeries sub yet? Also, are you satisfied with the wattage levels of your 4 channel and sub amp? I'm thinking about going with only a 250w sub amp. Am also considering PrecisionPower amps, but there may not be enough space in the headrest storage area. They are bigger than the JL amps.
If you have some spare time I would appreciate having the measurements of the headrest storage area. It looks like you have a little room to spare. Also, is there any problem with excessive heat retention especially in the summer when there is cargo on top of them?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks for the picures of your installation. My "X hasn't arrived yet, so I used your pictures today at the audio store to discuss options in my install. I too will be gutting the entire Bose system and starting from scratch with Alpine gear including XM radio, nav system and Boston ProSeries speakers. Have you installed the Boston 10" ProSeries sub yet? Also, are you satisfied with the wattage levels of your 4 channel and sub amp? I'm thinking about going with only a 250w sub amp. Am also considering PrecisionPower amps, but there may not be enough space in the headrest storage area. They are bigger than the JL amps.
If you have some spare time I would appreciate having the measurements of the headrest storage area. It looks like you have a little room to spare. Also, is there any problem with excessive heat retention especially in the summer when there is cargo on top of them?
Thanks in advance.
I have the Boston Pro 10 installed and I am quite happy with the sound.
I have since added a "cap" to my install so we had to move things around a bit. I spilt the amps and put the cap in between them and we built a few facade. Look and sounds sweet.
I'm not sure if I mentioned it but I did move to the 500/a JL sub amp as the Boston can handle that and more.
The pics taken during the install were done with film and I am still waiting for the guys who took the pics to develope them. Once they do I will post what the fibergalss looks like. This weekend I will try and snap a few more pics of the current install so everyone can see.
I also upgraded to Alpine's replacement for the head I had purchased as it has MP3 support. I had the 7977 but now I have the 7995.
So far no heat issues including a 5 hour trip. The stuff does get warm so I am considering some sort of fan solution to move the air better. I have drilled several holes in the wood of the headret storage cover (not through the carpet ) to help vent better.
Next is remote start so I can cool off the car before I have to get in.
I have since added a "cap" to my install so we had to move things around a bit. I spilt the amps and put the cap in between them and we built a few facade. Look and sounds sweet.
I'm not sure if I mentioned it but I did move to the 500/a JL sub amp as the Boston can handle that and more.
The pics taken during the install were done with film and I am still waiting for the guys who took the pics to develope them. Once they do I will post what the fibergalss looks like. This weekend I will try and snap a few more pics of the current install so everyone can see.
I also upgraded to Alpine's replacement for the head I had purchased as it has MP3 support. I had the 7977 but now I have the 7995.
So far no heat issues including a 5 hour trip. The stuff does get warm so I am considering some sort of fan solution to move the air better. I have drilled several holes in the wood of the headret storage cover (not through the carpet ) to help vent better.
Next is remote start so I can cool off the car before I have to get in.
1 - 20 of 23 Posts
