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Toyota Sirius okay for your Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by Coastal Dave, May 20, 2005.

  1. Coastal Dave

    Coastal Dave New Member

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    Hello Everyone!
    I had a moment to test and investigate the Sirius tuner now available from Toyota. All functions worked OK with the Prius including text (only 10 characters) and touch screen control. Sound quality and speed is good. If you are contemplating it, you cannot connect both XM and Sirius at the same time. Connecting both will not damage anything, but the dual communication is not configured to be compatible, so the units will have conflict. The Sirius tuner with interface is smaller than the XM package so more options for positioning the tuner can be available. Installation is still a single plug to the back of the radio with the other end of the cable plugging into the Sirius tuner. The antenna is a small single wire with Toyota options of magnetic roof mount or stick-on window antenna. Have a great weekend!
     
  2. hancho

    hancho New Member

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    That is great news Coastal Dave, thanks!

    Any idea where to pick up a Toyota Sirius tuner? Does the connecting wire come with tuner?

    My '05 Prius is supposed to be in 2 weeks and I was just starting to research the best way to connect my PnP Sirius radio, a fully integrated unit is much better option. :)
     
  3. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    It should be available for purchase through any dealer, though they'll probably hose you on the price. I'll see what I can find on a good price for the Sirius tuner to offer as a Group Buy.

    Thanks for the information, Dave. It's nice to see you back posting on PriusChat!
     
  4. NCNyrk

    NCNyrk New Member

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    Woo Hoo!

    This was the only negative to my purchase of the Prius...with most of us being hip techie sorts (OK, so that might be oxymoronic) it's just so amazing they didn't get this taken care of sooner.

    Sign me up for the Group Buy!
     
  5. Cyndrax

    Cyndrax New Member

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    Awesome, count me in for a group buy!
     
  6. petteri

    petteri New Member

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    Only 10 character display and 18 pre-sets? I'm keeping my PnP unit (Brix Streamer) and hoping Dave eventually ships out those AUX-IN kits. I wonder why the RDS portion of the MFD can display more than 10 characters but for the satellite services they only allow 10?
     
  7. Airgetlam

    Airgetlam Junior Member

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    I too would be interested in a group purchase option.

    Bruce
     
  8. hdrygas

    hdrygas New Member

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    Why would one want one over the other? I only say that because I am happy with my usual radio station and iPod.
     
  9. petteri

    petteri New Member

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    You mean XM or Sirius? They have different approaches to the music that they play. They have different sports line-ups and the talk stations are also different. You can sign-up for a free on-line trial for both services to get a taste for what they offer. They also have the full channel line-ups that you can view to see what they offer. Its mostly a matter of personal preference. Although you have die hard supporters for both camps.
     
  10. PilotChris

    PilotChris New Member

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    I'm absolutely buying a kit the moment one is available. When might we expect to see complete kits with installation instructions from such vendors as Coastal Dave? Or are most people going to just order the Toyota parts and wing it?

    Chris
     
  11. jdfoster

    jdfoster New Member

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    I would be interested in a unit also. Thanks Jim
     
  12. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Copied from a post I replied to at PriusOnline:

    I read a really nice balanced article comparing Sirius to XM (wish I had it now, it was Business Week or something like that). Anyway, on most issues they were pretty much equal. Clearly if you're a huge Howard Stern fan or something Sirius would be the way to go. If you mostly want news they're basicly equal, if baseball is your sport then XM, if you'll listen to all your football then Sirius.

    But when it comes to music I think the real divisioin occurs. XM has 3x larger (maybe 10x, but I can't confirm that without the article) music library and gives it's DJs a lot more freedom to choose the music allowing them to dig into the archives and experiment and play a big variety of music. They, of course, have the Top 20 channel and such, but on all the other more general genre stations it's quite open. Sirius, OTOH, did/does extensive market research finds what songs people love and come back to and heavily plays those and keeps the DJs on each channel on a tighter rein so they don't stray outside those boundries.

    This is NOT to say one is necessarily better than the other as regards their music play decisions (I do have my opinion), but rather that if you're someone who likes to hear stuff you know you like and doesn't want someone throwing in the 'B'-side track off of a Blue Oyster Cult single when you're listening to 'classic rock', then Sirius is your best choice. If, OTOH, you really get into some of the more arcane material and like to hear something you've never heard before from a band you thought you knew well, then XM is a better choice as far as music.

    If I find that article I'll post it.

    BTW, XM/Sirius will change the way you listen to 'radio' forever. It's much more like having a TV in your car with the variety of listening options. Long shift at work on a football Sunday and on the way home I tune in ESPN news and catch up on scores and highlights, another time I may want to listen to CNN-HN and catch up on news. Family trips and XM Kids can save the day. In a jamming mood and I tune in one of the multiple rock stations depending upon my listening mood. Cards are playing a big game and I'm on a road trip and I can tune in for live coverage any time they play. Wife's in the car and she wants pop and we switch to Mix. No loss of coverage on long trips so you're not constantly looking for a palatable music station in the middle of Kansas. I rarely tune in to regular radio any more and only for local listening things.
     
  13. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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  14. hancho

    hancho New Member

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    Hey Danny count me in on the group buy!

    As to the XM/Sirus debate, I got Sirius about 2 years ago and at the time listened to both XM and Sirius for awhile to decide which I liked more, I ended up going with Sirius for several reasons:

    1) For my tastes the Sirius music selection and channel selection fit my tastes better. This is just my opinion though, your millage may vary ;)

    2) One of XM's major investors is Clear Channel. IMHO these are the guys that responsible for the demise of FM radio with their monopolistic ownership of stations, robotizing of DJs, and (most importantly) pay to play policy (a.k.a. payola); I refuse to give them my money.

    3) at the time XM had commercials on some of their own stations (both Sirius and XM have commercials on channels that are streamed from other sources such as ESPN and CNN), they have since stopped playing commercials.

    4) You can listen to Sirius online (I think you can do this with XM now).

    Overall, sat radio is like high speed internet, once you get it, you'll never go back.
     
  15. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    This is definately one of the major decision points everyone should consider.

    This is a false, though widespread, rumor. Clear Channel holds only 2.5% interest in XM--fully diluted.

    See This Story

    Correct

    Correct again, XMOnline is part of your standard subscription.

    No doubt about it.
     
  16. hancho

    hancho New Member

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    hmmm interesting, thanks for the info. Do you know if Clear Channel's CFO still has a seat on the XM board of directors? He did back in the early days of XM. Of course, 2.5% is still too much of my money to send to clear channel :D
     
  17. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    He is no longer on the BOD--His name is Randall T. Mays and you are correct that he was on the board back in '99. Don't know when he left, but the current board members can be seen here:
    http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?...p=irol-govboard

    Recall that XM has never turned a profit, so, in reality, Clear Channel is currently losing money by being invested in XM!

    I'm not a fan of Clear Channel's monopoly either, but to me it's like hating Wal-mart or Intel or Microsoft b/c they're successful. There's usually going to be a down side to a company that large and successful.
     
  18. hancho

    hancho New Member

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    At the risk of this getting way off topic (which has probably already happened)

    lol, good point.

    I hear you. I don't hate Clear Channel, I believe that they are trying to maximize profits for their shareholders. What I don't agree with is the practices they use to do this. They are entitled to run their business any way they see fit (within the scope of the law) and I am entitled to not buy their service. I think for free markets to work well in society people have to be willing to put their money where their mouth is. I can't stand people who bash Walmart/MS/etc. and then do business with them to save a few bucks.

    This line of thinking has a lot to do with why I'm buying a Prius (BTW my 05 Silver pkg. #6 hit the port of chicago this weekend, should be at the dealer next week!!). As an engineer working in the US automotive business I'm not happy with the way the Big 2 are making their product, so I'm not spending my money with them, and at the same time I'm impressed with Toyota as a company so I'm spending my money with them as well as putting my money toward a better stance on consumption and the environment.
     
  19. gschoen

    gschoen Member

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    I have Sirius and am cancelling it. I only kept it since my CD player went out in my old car, with the Prius now I have no use for it.

    The part about keeping their DJs on a short leash is very true, they go in cycles, you'll hear the SAME songs OVER and OVER and OVER for a few months, and then they'll switch it up to a new set for a few months. $13/mo seemed like a lot for so little variety (even with 100s of stations, I only listen to the few I like!)
     
  20. Gassipper

    Gassipper Junior Member

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    I'm a Sirius listener. I enjoy their style, and especially like their NPR programming, which is not available on XM.

    If you want to hear "out of the ordinary" music, listen to Sirius Disorder on channel 24.

    I believe that with either of the choices, you'll have enough variety if you choose to try some of the other non-pop stations.

    I only wish Sirius had a movie music channel.

    Count me in on the group buy!