I received a portable xm radio for Christmas and I am using the car kit with the cassette adapter. I could not use the FM modulator in Phoenix, AZ as there was too much interference from other radio stations. I purchased a FM direct adapter.
I am asking if anybody is using the direct FM adapter?
Does the FM direct adapter provide better sound quality compared to the cassette adapter?
Do a search. I know someone posted before about poor quality (loudness) from the direct FM adapter and someone posted that they used the cassette adapter because it gave them better sound (loudness).
I was using an FM direct adapter with my mifi which worked very well. Volume was a little lower than normal FM or CD but still pretty good. At low volumes I had a little humming but nothing to overpowering.
The best thing you can get is a harness that plugs into the back of your factory radio and lets the sound in via RCA cables. This was will be the best sounding. Check the link below for an adaptor. My XM in my ST goes through my pioneer HU (Pioneer XM to Pioneer HU) directly. My wife's chrysler has a Sirius ready factoru Nav radio, and I bought ahraness to coneect the XM unit to it. All the controls are handled by the HU in her car. Soud is great as well.
I agree with A1cntrler, the best thing you can do is to either obtain a new headunit that will accept RCA input, or purchase a harness that will allow you to hook up via RCA inputs into the auxiliary port (CD changer controls) of your factory radio. Something similar to this harness: <a href='http://www.xmfanstore.com/showproduct.php?id=pieoem'>http://www.xmfanstore.com/showproduct.php?id=pieoem</a>
The next best thing would be the cassette adapter method, in my opinion it provides a little better fidelity than an FM modulator. This is the current method I am using and has served me well for over a year now until I make the move to upgrade my factory headunit to an aftermarket that will have RCA inputs built in. Here is a link to the project I did to install my XM radio: <a href='http://www.mysporttrac.com/mysporttrac/projects/Sat_Receiver_Install.pdf'>XM Installation 2</a>
The FM modulator is not a bad approach. The main thing you need to do is ensure that you pick a relatively broadcast free channel in your area. In my area it is kind of tough as it seems there is a broadcast on most channels, and often these signals leach over into my 'unused' channel. The other thing to do is if your XM radio has the option to set both the Line out and FM modulator signal output level, make sure that the FM modulator is adjusted so that the signal is at the same level as say your CD or other FM stations, in my case the highest sinal output works best if I use the FM modulator.
By the way, what kind of XM radio did you receive?
On your XM there should be a spot on the menu to pick a different frequency for the modulator to use. I'll probably hard wire mine eventually but it sounds okay.
