I would be curious as to the sound of the built-in satellite radio option if anyone has it.

I am more dissapointed in FM sound than I used to be. Even my Yamaha/Kef home receiver FM just doesn't sound as good as a CD or DVD music source.

I don't think that it means that the FM tuner is bad in this car.

As far as comparing to an I-pod it would utimately depend on the resolution of the Mp3 file. Most people don't capture at a high enough (at least for my ears) bit rate.

Well I don't mean to compare the entire thing to an iPod. I was basically trying to say the AUX port sucks. My iPod sounds very washed out through the AUX as opposed to through my home receiver or headphones. 95% of my mp3s are VBR extreme and average in the 275 - 350 range at the high end.

How odd. Must be an impedance mismatch or something. My Transcend and Archos mp3 players both sound fantastic through the AUX port. It really sounds just as good as a CDs played through the system - either original WAV or VBR mp3 CDs.

As to FM - my non Nav JBL system is one of the better sounding FM radios. It has better reception than my Alpine or Sony stereos I've had. I'm able to listen to LA classical radio in San Diego as well as a low power jazz station that my Sony barely picks up.

I will play with it some more. I think my friend has a Samsugn MP3 player. I will try that out.

But honestly, in today's world, give me one CD drive and a 30 gig hard drive. Jeez. The stuff isn't expensive and it is amazing how far something lag behind the tech curve.