Kan-O-Z

I am planning on purchasing a new RX350 and was wondering if I should get the factory installed XM radio or not. I heard there is a company that produces a product that plugs into where the Sat radio would go but it allows hookup to iPod and XM. If that's the case and I want both then should I not get the factory XM?

Kan-O-Z

JorgeGVB

The dealer installed a XM radio for me for free to make the deal, so I was very happy with that. XM will keep you plenty busy and if not, just pop in a CD (or 6 CDs if you get the changer). Besides CDs will sound better than an iPod any day.

TripleDES

There are a few companies that have products that you're seeking. Check the Audio Video forum. Specifically, look at THIS link.

Kan-O-Z

I don't think you can generalize that statement. It all depends on what compression you used when you ripped a CD and put it on your ipod. Also from what I hear, if you use 320 compression, even audiophiles can't hear the difference between a CD and MP3 and this is on a hi fi system in your home, not in a moving car with plenty of other noise.
I like ipod for convenience...take it from car to car to home...can't do that so easily with a set of CDs that you have to load/unload all the time.

Kan-O-Z

jfelbab

I have the equivalent of some 500 CD's on my iPod. I sure can't easily go plugging into the music I want to hear by carting my CD's as I travel across the country. In a quiet car, like the Lexus, you can't hear the difference between a CD and a 160 or 192 kbps AAC encoded track. In a home setting with very high end gear you can't hear the difference between a CD and a track encoded at 320 kbps AAC or Apple Lossless endcoding. For most tracks you wouldn't notice the difference even at 192 kbps in a high end home system.

I want a fully integrated interface integrated into my ML system so I can have all my music when I am on the road for three to four months a year.

JorgeGVB

Using an iPod for convenience is one thing, but the average user is not going to be able to reproduce high quality sound from it. We probably cannot get into the details on a car forum, but you could always visit a great music forum like www.SteveHoffman.tv to learn more about this subject.

Your originial question had to do with getting the factory XM or not. If you want to integrate your iPod for use in your RX for convenience you will need another piece of hardware to connect it. This is what seems to be the hardware of choice on this forum:

http://www.vaistech.com/sli.html

Kan-O-Z

After looking at this for a bit, I assume that it doesn't matter whether or not you already have the factory XM installed. It seems like this device acts like an additional CD player. This is good. I thought for some reason that this device plugs into the Satellite input of the stock head unit and if you already had an XM installed, it couldn't be done. Thanks for the info.

As far as iPod quality, I currently have an Acura with an aux input to which I connect my iPod. Now if you use a direct connection such as an auxilary input and not an FM modulator or cassette adapter, the results are quite amazing. I have played the same songs back to back between my CD player and iPod and could not tell the difference. I'm sure there may be a difference but it's usually beyond the capabilities of most car audio systems to be able to tell. In my Acura, the iPod sounds the equivalent of a CD and 10X better than an FM station. I think that's good enough for almost all people.

Kan-O-Z

JorgeGVB

It's too bad Lexus just didn't give us an aux input in our RX, like the one in the new ES model. It sure would have made life easier!