Snomon
Full Access Member
Review of Peripheral's Ipod and HD Radio Adapter (HDRT)
Existing Vehicle Setup: 2007 Tahoe w/factory NAV / Rear DVD with GMX-320 lockpick and Coastal's Ipod lockpick. Aftermarket amps and speaks.
Why?
- I want to try HD Radio and keep my factory NAV head unit.
- Coastal's Ipod lockpick is buggy sometimes.
Pros:
- It does work great as advertised.
- It tuned into HD Radio stations at the install location in downtown Seattle with no issues. Not sure about overall HD signal range.
- Sound quality from Ipod and HD radio were excellant as expected from a digital signal.
Cons:
- Lots of use with the rotating tuning knob to access menus.
- Doesn't make any use of existing radio presets on the touchscreen.
Ipod
- Hard to access playlists
- Unusual amount of time needed to read Ipod.
- No Shuffle or Random! I think it is available in non-Nav.
HD Radio
- Cumbersome to set presets. Does not use NAV preset buttons.
- Needed a custom GM adapter for antenna input.
- I had a custom antenna "Y" adapter fabbed up so as to NOT lose the factory AM/FM. I can hear my wife now if she drives my truck and tries to play the radio. The HDRT is not set up with any antenna bypass at all. The custom "Y" adapter did work though.
Overall review:
I had it professionally installed in less about an hour. I played with the interface and all the presetting of the HD Radio. Very crisp and clear as you would expect from a digital signal.
My impression with this setup is that the interface for a non-nav head unit is way more friendly. I don't think it is ready for prime time in a NAV head unit. Coastal's Ipod interface is actually better!
However I did not know that I would lose my GMX-320 lockpick to get the PXAMG to work. I went in to this deal thinking that only my existing IPOD lockpick would go away. Wrong. When I picked up the truck, I was told my GMX-320 had to come out, but ironically the Ipod lockpick did not have to come out. I had two Ipod cables in my center console (doh!). Bummer. The features in the GMX far outweigh the HDRadio to me afterall. So I had it deinstalled to go back to the GMX-320 and coastal's Ipod Lockpick before I left the shop.
If anyone wants to buy this whole set from me for NBS GMs including custom Y antenna adapter, please PM me! I'll make you a smoking deal.
Yes this was an expensive lesson, but my loss is someone's gain!
There is nothing wrong with all of these black boxes and GM specific harness, just personally the features of the GMX would serve me more than the HD Radio.
Overall I would recommend this to a non-nav NBS GM!
Existing Vehicle Setup: 2007 Tahoe w/factory NAV / Rear DVD with GMX-320 lockpick and Coastal's Ipod lockpick. Aftermarket amps and speaks.
Why?
- I want to try HD Radio and keep my factory NAV head unit.
- Coastal's Ipod lockpick is buggy sometimes.
Pros:
- It does work great as advertised.
- It tuned into HD Radio stations at the install location in downtown Seattle with no issues. Not sure about overall HD signal range.
- Sound quality from Ipod and HD radio were excellant as expected from a digital signal.
Cons:
- Lots of use with the rotating tuning knob to access menus.
- Doesn't make any use of existing radio presets on the touchscreen.
Ipod
- Hard to access playlists
- Unusual amount of time needed to read Ipod.
- No Shuffle or Random! I think it is available in non-Nav.
HD Radio
- Cumbersome to set presets. Does not use NAV preset buttons.
- Needed a custom GM adapter for antenna input.
- I had a custom antenna "Y" adapter fabbed up so as to NOT lose the factory AM/FM. I can hear my wife now if she drives my truck and tries to play the radio. The HDRT is not set up with any antenna bypass at all. The custom "Y" adapter did work though.
Overall review:
I had it professionally installed in less about an hour. I played with the interface and all the presetting of the HD Radio. Very crisp and clear as you would expect from a digital signal.
My impression with this setup is that the interface for a non-nav head unit is way more friendly. I don't think it is ready for prime time in a NAV head unit. Coastal's Ipod interface is actually better!
However I did not know that I would lose my GMX-320 lockpick to get the PXAMG to work. I went in to this deal thinking that only my existing IPOD lockpick would go away. Wrong. When I picked up the truck, I was told my GMX-320 had to come out, but ironically the Ipod lockpick did not have to come out. I had two Ipod cables in my center console (doh!). Bummer. The features in the GMX far outweigh the HDRadio to me afterall. So I had it deinstalled to go back to the GMX-320 and coastal's Ipod Lockpick before I left the shop.
If anyone wants to buy this whole set from me for NBS GMs including custom Y antenna adapter, please PM me! I'll make you a smoking deal.
Yes this was an expensive lesson, but my loss is someone's gain!
There is nothing wrong with all of these black boxes and GM specific harness, just personally the features of the GMX would serve me more than the HD Radio.
Overall I would recommend this to a non-nav NBS GM!
