I'll start with my short satellite radio history. I've had XM radio for about six months now. My first radio was an XpressR, which was very good and had lots of bells and whistles, but definitely showed its design roots in the early 2000's and was slow to navigate. Some jerk broke into my car and took that one. I replaced it with the XpressRC, which was a nice update to the XpressR, and much faster, but I kept having a problem where it would regularly lose all my presets and settings, so I returned it and replaced it with the XM OnyX.
I decided not to go with the SkyDock because while it is a cool idea, one thing I love about satellite radio is not having the need to hook my iPhone/iPod up every time I get in the car to have some tunes. With a regular XM radio, I get in the car and drive and I don't need to do anything else. Wanting to try a newer model radio model instead, I went with the XM OnyX. I could barely find any reviews or anything online, so it was kind of a shot in the dark.
The OnyX is a solid radio with a nice design. I'd say it is more attractively designed and has better build quality than my two preceding radios. It comes with some color accent rings you can swap out, which is an interesting idea, but the color choices are only glossy black, matte silverish-white and matte blue. I wish there was a glossy red in there, but really even having that choice is a unique idea I shouldn't complain about. The display is full color, however instead of seeing full-color channel logos and graphics, the only color you see is the background and text colors. While it is much more minimalist than the XpressRC, I will go out on a limb to say that I prefer the solid color background of the OnyX to the unnecessary flashiness of the XpressRC. Having the blue or red background looks really nice while in use in my VW Rabbit. Combine this with the design of the radio and it is a very attractive aesthetic upgrade for my car as opposed to the eye sores some other satellite radios can be.
Navigation is quick and simple. Up and down buttons change the channels while left and right flip through the categories. You have ten one-button presets. The only unneccessary button for me is the FM button because I use auxiliary input. I have always preferred a less-is-more approach to electronics, so I appreciate a design that isn't littered with buttons and functions that you don't use often.
Sound quality seems loud and clear. The aux signal is noticably louder than my Xpress radios. When I flip back and forth between XM and FM, the volume seems about the same, which wasn't true with my previous radios.
When comparing this radio to the Xpress's, I have to bring up the lack of bells and whistles. This radio is more basic. It does not have artist/sports alerts which were convenient on the Xpress's. There are less display options, but the display is well laid out and is safe to view while driving (enough info, but not too much). There is no live pause or any buffer to rewind through-- I never really made good use of that feature on my Xpress's. There are no stock quotes or sports scores, which is fine because that is what my iPhone is for. It does not come with a remote which I don't care at all about because I use it in the car and just use the online streaming at home. So really of all those things, the only thing I would have liked to have seen in the OnyX would have been the artist/sports alerts.
All in all, the XM OnyX is a solidly designed and attractive XM radio that I would recommend to anyone who wants to experience XM in their car. It is not the flashiest radio, and will not blow you away with features, but it is probably the best basic car radio that Sirius XM produces. XM XDNX1V1 Onyx Dock-and-Play Radio with Car Kit (Black)
Overall: 4/5 stars
Build quality: 4/5
Installation: 5/5 (YMMV)
Operation of device: 3/5
Features on device: 2.5/5
"Bang for buck": 4.5/5
Sound quality: 3.5/5
(Read near the end of my review to find out how to possibly save extra costs on XM subscription.)
What I was looking for with XM radio:
I wanted to get into XM radio with minimal dent on my wallet.
If you are looking for a nice cost efficient way to get into XM radio, this is probably the only option to get you XM in your car within less than a hundred bucks (before adding fees for starting XM subscription for a year). It sounds like a lot when you calculate out the fees - purchase a XM device + set up XM subscription (+ applicable tax/royalty fees/start up fee) BUT considering the opposite end of the spectrum - purchase a stereo deck with XM features from a professional installer, I'm sure the cost could've been easily been upwards to 300-400 dollars *just for the device change* at a stereo shop!
Device is small and light - size of an index card if you held about a half inch of them. The device feels very light but solid. The feel of the buttons are slightly more stiff than I'd hope but overall amount of pressure to get a button pushed seems slightly more than I'd want for a small device. Build of cradle is tough and I like the minimal design of the cradle as it compliments the device very well. The attaching and detaching is fairly quick for the device. The display is very simple, not too flashy (shows a plain color background, station name, artist and song title) and not too flashy on the features (channel up/down, presets, and flip through channels by genre type, instant switch to traffic/weather station).
Installation:
Car installation on my Lexus IS250 is a cinch(non evasive, just jam wires in cracks), but instructions of installation leave a bit up to the installer to decide details. I was pretty distraught when I was trying to imagine the amount of work I had to do to get the anntanea wire snaked through not to mention the audio and car adapter cords. But it turned out the setup was fairly quick and only took a little over an hour as I spent some extra time making sure the wires were tucked away. On my Lexus IS250, I had no problems getting the wires tucked into the cracks/crevices and did not have to rip, tear or drill any holes. This process did not leave any damage to my car at all!
The extra time you put into hiding the wires under the lining/cracks, the more it pays off! I was able to hide almost all of the wiring, with exception to the part that traces up to the back of the unit.
My decision to XM was simple:
I'm too lazy to make music for myself (dusty ipod), I always wanted *fresh content*, but I hate the regular radio for 3 reasons 1)commercials 2)lack of variety 3)poor sound quality/static
This is the option for you if you're in the same boat as me. Willing to spend a bit more for fresh music content, but looking for cheaper
alternative to more expensive avenues to get XM, and looking for quick results.
Sound quality:
A bit lacking on this part unfortunately. I have a very nice sound system and the clarity of the system can pick up the flaws in lower sampling rates (mp3s sound like they are missing something, while playing audio CDs have a full body sound and a clarity that can't be matched by anything less than a 256kbps mp3 file). The sound quality, though the bands on the bass and treble are clear, I can tell the quality is kin to that of 160kbps mp3s, not really getting to that 256 kbps level unfortunately. It matches quality, of say, something like the streaming music from Pandora - as you turn it up, you may notice it is slightly lacking in that "punch". I believe this is not a fault of the device but the actual stream of the music from the satellite. If anyone can chime in about this, it may be helpful to know if this is true?
Cost of new XM subscription:
So after I installed the device, I knew from prior research that the cost was about thirteen dollars a month for the full package (minus Sirius channels), but if I prepaid for a year or two it would be as low as ten dollars (which is the same month-to-month price for the package that only allows you to have music. I did a happen-chance search online for keywords like "XM promo" or "XM subscription discount" and found out people were getting huge discounts! For some people, a normal subscription cost of a hundred thirty dollars, was haggled down to eighty eight dollars! This is because there is a seventy seven dollar promo that XM customer service reps know about...its called the "half off a year subscription promo" - but this actually is a little less than half. Keep in mind it finally does come out a little more, the rep tacked on a music royalty fee of ten dollars, so final price for a year came out to eightyseven dollars. In any case, if you are starting a new subscription, I HIGHLY recommend you call in, rather than doing a new subscription online (they probably won't offer something like this). Also, my rep. didn't tell me that I could get this discount until I gave her the device unit's ID code and my personal info (name, address, number). Oh and I talked to another friend today, and it turns out there is also a even sweeter deal, if you are a continuing subscriber, a couple weeks before the subscription expires, you can call in and ask for the twenty dollars for five months deal, apparently this is the greatest discount you can ask for - it comes out to four dollars a month!
As I mentioned before, this device definitely exceeded my expections and I am very pleased with the overall process to get me plugged into the XM world.
***Update: After 1 week of use - I stand by the rating I give for audio quality - It is acceptable, better than radio and good enough but not really exceptional quality. Some stations not as good as others, clarity in treble seems to be lacking more than the body of bass. I hear subtle, slight distortion in treble and some mids (overall sounds a little flat). I noticed this morning something I didn't notice before: Outside interference! The device (or 3.5 aux audio cord) was picking up some interference: I turned the station to channel zero, which is completely silent, and I can hear the interference very clearly. I also noticed when I rev up my car's rpms, the interference is picked up and carries through as well. Its like a high pitch swirling sound at some varying frequencies. Its not completely noticeable but this morning, I could definitely hear it clearly (something I haven't heard before with about its past 15 uses. I tried turning off the unit and undocking and after I put it back on, the interference was still there. After I turned off my unit *and car*, and started it again to see if it came back, and it finally was gone for the most part. Itt was significantly reduced but at volume at 100% on channel 0 (silence), I could still hear it faintly. It could have been an isolated incident, I am not sure what would cause it to happen? I am guessing the audio cord is picking this up so I decided to spend 7 bucks (final price) on a 3' shielded audio cord which I found at this company called West Florida Components (cheapest I could find it). I hope this resolves this interference issue - I will post results once I test it next week or two.'
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