Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Got any questions about the BMW's R1200RT/R1250RT's onboard audio, Bluetooth or the Electrical system?
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bradrcfii
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Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by bradrcfii »

I have a Scala Packtalk that I bind with my bike's Bluetooth.  I found that the audio quality from the bike's XM integrated XM receiver is not very good.  I wired my iphone to the aux jack, used the Sirus XM app on the iphone and the resulting audio is much better implying the bike's XM receiver leaves much to be desired. 

Has anyone had a similar experience?  Any suggestions?  I would rather use the bike's radio as it is controlled nicely with the hand controls.

Thanks,

Brad
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blokeonthemove
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Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by blokeonthemove »

May be a bit quiet from this side of the pond as we don't have sat-rad only DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) we Brits love long drawn out names for stuff! DAB is useless, the government said it would replace FM but there is no chance, it hasn't been fully adopted by car makers yet
guest2360

Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by guest2360 »

Don't know about that with DAB.  Got it in the car and it works everywhere and gives far better quality than FM.  It's a shame the very expensive RT audio unit hasn't got it yet.
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blokeonthemove
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Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by blokeonthemove »

You're fortunate then, none of mine pickup Planet Rock at home or in the car since they moved the frequency, I tried an add on DAB unit on my 1600 but it was no good just too flakey. I'm using data for radio now .
Lisa_st
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Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by Lisa_st »

I tried it with 2 different SENA headsets: a 10C and a 10S. The 10S uses a newer Bluetooth specification and had much better sound. So I would suspect that other manufacturer's headsets have the same experience.
Lisa Malachowsky, BMW MOA Board Member, 2016 R1200RT, 2014 R1200GSW
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Millman
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Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by Millman »

I know this is an old post.  But some of the issue may be with the version of Bluetooth. The BMW is still 2.1 I think but the iPhone and the head sets are probably 3 or higher. I also found that some of the sat radio stations broadcast at different bit rates.  The higher the bit rate the better the sound, but the higher the bit rate the more data you will use. Just try Pandora at the high quality vs. low.  Either way in order for the wife to ride with me I need the Elvis station!
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timminator
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Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by timminator »


I have experienced the same issues with my Scala Rider Q3, both on FM and XM using bluetooth...my iPhone streaming sounds much better.  I do enjoy the convenience and ease of using the bike audio, so generally just live with it.  I usually wear earplugs, which oddly seems to make the radio sound better.  By the time you reach speed, the wind noise is going to be impacting with the audio quality in any case.
Last edited by timminator on Tue Feb 28, 2017 3:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Lisa_st
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Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by Lisa_st »

I constantly swap back and forth as I ride in many places on roads where there are no cell signals for my AT&T phone. I certainly wish there were a better solution. I used to sell the wired audio systems called AUTOCOM! No bluetooth matches it but the convenience of wireless has become too compelling for most people....
Lisa Malachowsky, BMW MOA Board Member, 2016 R1200RT, 2014 R1200GSW
pkpilot
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Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by pkpilot »

Lisa_st wrote: I constantly swap back and forth as I ride in many places on roads where there are no cell signals for my AT&T phone. I certainly wish there were a better solution. I used to sell the wired audio systems called AUTOCOM! No bluetooth matches it but the convenience of wireless has become too compelling for most people....
I find the best sound is from recorded music on the iPhone through the bikes audio system/Bluetooth (better) or from recorded music on a thumb drive plugged into the bikes audio system (best). Although you lose some control, you still have the wonder wheel to move through the library.


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timminator
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Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by timminator »

pkpilot wrote: I find the best sound is from recorded music on the iPhone through the bikes audio system/Bluetooth (better) or from recorded music on a thumb drive plugged into the bikes audio system (best). Although you lose some control, you still have the wonder wheel to move through the library.


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Millman
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Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by Millman »

Has anyone tried pairing regular Bluetooth headphones with the system?  I ran out of time today to try it. I also took some pics of my Bluetooth system.  Software version is 3.22.95. Image


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daveckelley
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Re: Bike' XM radio not as good as using Iphone as source

Post by daveckelley »

My solution is Bose comfort quiet 2 noise canceling headphones with Apple music, downloaded favorites. 8)
R1200RT Ebony 2016
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