98LS

I' m considering Sirius satellite radio for my 98 LS 400. Does anyone have it installed on their cars? If so, did you install it yourself or have a shop do it? How well can it be integrated into your existing audio setup? Are you happy with your decision?

My LS has Nakamichi audio.

Thanks

Alan D

I have a 99 with the Nak system. I added a Sirius Sportster 4 last year to the stock system. I bought the antenna connection that allows you to connect the output to the back of the radio's antenna. Better sound then trying to use just the FM modulator wire near the antenna. Sound quality is ok although the output volume is lower than a cd and I have the Sirius turned up all the way.

You could try a cassette adapter connection although I bought one of those for my MP3 player and it makes a lot of noise. It clicks a lot and is very annoying. You have to crank up the music to over come the noise. Maybe a higher quality one would not do this. The one I have was a $20 one from Best Buy.

I really enjoy it and haven't listened to regular radio since installing it last October. It's great for long trips. I do a 4 hour drive every few weeks for work and love listening to Howard Stern the whole way.

19psi

I Love The Sirius. one of the best things i've ever bought for a car. i have an aftermarket head unit so it runs through the auxiliary input for a cleaner louder sound. it's ok though through the radio...

Blavatsky

Had XM for awhile when I bought the car...nice to have the variety but the sound quality (I guess mine was FM transmitting) was pretty bad....lost a lot of highs and lows if you tried to listen to rap/rock type stuff...vary faint and wispy at times. Also, if I drove on tree lined road it's reception was crap.

98LS

Thanks for all of your responses.

Alan D, did you do the install yourself or have it done by a shop like Best Buy? How hard is it to connect directly to the back on the antenna?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

i heart my aux mod

Alan D

I have seen that post and keep thinking about doing it.

I don't have the link on my work computer so you may want to post it for this guy as another option. Or he can do a search I guess.

Alan D

I did the install myself and it was pretty easy. The only part that gave me grief were the center vents above the stereo. You have to take them out to get to a pair of screws that hold the stereo. The individual vent directional plastic thingies, good technical term, come apart and are a pain to put back in. Other than that it was very easy to pull out the headunit and plug in the antenna connection.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

there's a link in the UCF2x sticky near the top of the LS forum

McSwine

This is what I did as well...tragically, my limited IQ prevents me from doing the CD changer thingy.

All in all, I've been pleased with the result. Not CD quality, but far better than the FM mod or the cassette adapter. I got the Sirius FM adapter from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Sirius-Wired-R.../dp/B000KGLL84

Alan D

Yep, that is the antenna thing that I have as well.

Does the volume on your Sirius radio seem to be lower than the regular FM or a CD?

98LS

Thanks for all of your replies. I put the Sirius in yesterday and it's up and working. For the time being, I'm using the wireless connection but will probably look into antenna connection.

FWIW, the reception has been pretty good, even down tree lined streets. I mounted the sat antenna on the back shelf inside the car as an experiment and so far so good. Listened to CBC Radio 1 on the way to work today.

Alan D, I also noticed that the volume on the Sirius radio is a little lower than FM or CD. I went into the Sirius menu and adjusted the volume. It helped a little.

McSwine

Yes, it is...I've got my Sirius cranked up as far as it will go. Since I don't listen to music as loud as I used to, it's not too much of a problem.