I have an 03 so my only choice was after-market. I've had a Sirius receiver for about a year. It's an external unit that sits in a cradle you suction-cup to the windshield. The cradel broadcasts on an FM frequency - tune your radio and away you go. Hardware was $100 at the time. It works great, although I had to remove my FM antenna from the roof - was picking up interference in places. That solved the problem - I get a nice, clear signal. It's not a bad setup - think of all the fun you can have with the extra $800. I also wonder how much of that cost is the antenna install. You need an antenna that can see the sky - if they didn't pre-wire it that could also be another reason for the cost.

 

I'm not sure about those things that broadcasts to your FM band.

I live in Los Angeles.
There are a billion FM stations.
The iPod FM transmitter thingie is worthless.
All the frequencies it can transmit on already have a station.

It did work great out in the middle of nowhere though.
I suspect the XM things must have the same problem in a big city.

But out 2006 HCH2s have a minijack so we don't have to use the FM transmitter feature.

 

We haven't seen any problems with the FM modulator on the Roady2 here in Phoenix. Even in, out, and around the city. Not even while driving around South Mountain, where all the TV and radio towers are.

 

I installed a Sirius Starmate Replay in my 06 HCH. I put the antenna on the dash just in front of the speedometer gauge. Reception is fine and because of the raised speedometer cluster, I can't even see it when I drive. My plan was to just use it this way temporarily and move it to the outside later, but it works great this way so I'll probably leave it. It was simple to install even with tucking all the wires out of sight.

I used the AUX jack to plug it in. I've tried the FM approach in other cars with my ipod and had interference problems, not to mention that I didn't like the sound quality difference (FM has tighter dynamic range than a direct connection).

 

Oh, and since using FM modulation was a concern with the iPod in LA, XM has a $29 kit that allows a cleaner install of the receiver. It moves the power plug out of sight and also has a feed-through that you plug into the stereo antenna. That way, the FM modulation signal is injected right into the stereo. The result is a much cleaner sound with less chance of FM bleed through from a transmitting station. So, even if you do go this route, you're only out $58.

And, The Roady2 and RoadyXT are essentially the same. The only real difference is the external casings.

 

My dealer quoted me $649 installed for the XM option. They charged me 2 hours labor, although the service manager mentioned that they can (and often do) take upwards of 4+ hours to install. I'm not surprised after looking at the install instructions.
Although I currently have a portable Sirius receiver in my Insight, I opted for the XM option in the HCH. I like the fact that it's integrated into the car's hands-free system (I'm a notorious channel-flipper), and that it will be covered by the Honda warranty.

The Sirius radio will go into my wife's Pilot or in my Triumph, if I ever get a radio for it.

 

?! Are you talking about the steering wheel controls? If so, that's definitely not hands-free.



Can you change to each individual channel? The HAH's steering wheel controls only let you change to each preset. I wish I could go from channel to channel, though.

Although, the HAH does have a hands-free channel selector.

 

Hmmm...well, I don't know exactly to be honest with you.

My boss's TL allows you to 'tell' it what channel you want "XM xxx" will tune in whatever channel you say - so Honda definitely makes such an animal.
Whether it's in the new HCH is something I hope someone here (lucky enough to already have their '06 HCH) will chime in about.

Either way, even if it's just changing presets from the steering wheel- it's going to be much nicer than fiddling with the tiny buttons on the portable Sirius unit that's mounted down in the cup holder in my Insight.
Any controls on the steering wheel are better than what I have now!

 

That is exactly what I am going to do. That is a lot of money for very little convenience. So far, I think this is the dumbest thing Honda/XM could have done. What isn't it just prewired?!?

Good news is this now gives me an "out" to purchase Sirrus which is what I really wanted anyway.

 

Wow, that's a good deal. They must be getting a lot of flack about it. Good job.