Magnum Dynalab XM Tuners!

[Negotiableterms]

Yep, it's true, and not one, but two! $2500 and $4000 Take a look:

http://www.magnumdynalab.com/xmtuners-overview.htm

Anyone know anything about these new toys?

 

[motorstereo]

I have one of the polk xm tuners and it's somewhat better than the little portable boxes. I wonder if it's worth the extra 2 to 3 grand for a fancier tuner? It won't change the satellite source which is the problem. It's pretty tough to make ice cream out of $h&t.

 

[Sluggo]

I have been thinking of taking the Leap into XM
and last month while researching different units
found that MD was making them now for big $$$.
The Polk XRt 12 is more around my budget
but I would love to hear a MD to see what I might
be missing out on-or not!

 

[Negotiableterms]

I have a Polk, too, and I never listened to it because the sound was... not good. Later, I connected its digital output to a Mc MDA-1000, and sure enough, the sound was greatly improved, but still really lacking compared to the average CD.

I'm skeptical that even MD can turn a sow's ear into any kind of silk purse, as the digital signal just isn't susceptible to much improvement. Too much info has been lost in compression for even a first-class upsampling DAC (the Mc is 24/768) to reconstruct.

Thus, I'm wondering if anyone has actually heard either of these expensive units?

 

[chadnliz]

Folks should just get a stock unit and a paper shredder for the money they want to throw away NO AMOUNT OF MONEY IS GOING TO TURN CRAP INTO CREAM, its almost criminal to charge that amount for a Satelite signal, I won XM and Sirius and have heard several tuners for the record.

 

[stuartk]

Folks should just get a stock unit and a paper shredder for the money they want to throw away NO AMOUNT OF MONEY IS GOING TO TURN CRAP INTO CREAM, its almost criminal to charge that amount for a Satelite signal, I won XM and Sirius and have heard several tuners for the record.

I agree. The format is the limiting factor here, not the hardware.

 

[Negotiableterms]

The question, however, is what the MD units actually sound like? They've gotten quite good reviews in several places, all with the conclusion that they make XM quite listenable. The theoretical limitations aside, has anyone heard them?

 

[Hepcat]

I really love XM. I have the first generation Sony that I take everywhere and I have the Polk tuner installed at home. And yes, the Polk is not that much better in music sound quality than the early Sony. But it has other great features such as digital outputs and a video output for showing the pad data on TV screens.

FWIW, I tried to buy a 2nd Polk tuner last month and found them to be out of stock everywhere. Got one off Amazon and it came from a pawnshop in Mass. with no remote and no antenna kit - but they refunded after I returned it. I think production must have been held up for a while during the merger efforts. Dunno for sure though.

I get Sirius music channels on my HD DishNetwork MPEG II satellite receiver and it is quite good.

And no, I wouldn't spend thousands on tuners for either XM or Sirius. (But I have spent thousands on FM tuners that I rarely listen to. :scratch2: )

 

[Negotiableterms]

...And no, I wouldn't spend thousands on tuners for either XM or Sirius. (But I have spent thousands on FM tuners that I rarely listen to. :scratch2: )

Ah yes, the undeniable logic of this hobby.

 

[himm37]

I get Sirius music channels on my HD DishNetwork MPEG II satellite receiver and it is quite good.

I run my optical output into my Lexicon DC-2, it shows a 48K signal. I was told that the downstream signal is better through Dish then the signal the Radio tuners receive. I notice a HUGE difference in sound, based on the program materiel. For instance I'm a big fan of Vin Scelsa's "Idiots Delight" on the Disorder channel (if you haven't heard his show, check it out!). He does his show from his own studio in his house, all music is either CD or LP. There is a HUGE difference in sound quality when compared to the "in-house" programing, done off a hard drive. While the "canned" music ranges from OK for background to un-listenable, with Vin's show I can sit down and ENJOY the music!

 

[Negotiableterms]

So, it's been a long while since the MD XM tuners came out. They've gotten good reviews from almost everywhere. Has anyone heard them, and have comments?

 

[satkinsn]

...and six+ years later, I notice MD doesn't even list refurbs any more.

Like you, this was a piece of gear I really, really wanted to hear, mostly because I didn't believe anything could improve the sound, given the ridiculously choked off bandwidth used.

I'm beginning to wonder if these units ever made it into the wild. I've never seen one second-hand on eBay, or on Audiogon, though I'm rarely there. I have a feeling they sold under a hundred of them, and they're gathering dust in very wealthy peoples' homes.

s.