CX-9 Audio: Very Disappointed!

[ScottyDont]

So I bought my wife a 2015 CX-9 GT without the Tech package. Very disappointed to find out that the Sirius/XM module was not included (brochure said "XM Ready", I assumed that meant I just needed a subscription). Call the dealer to find out that the XM module is $550 installed. That's highway robbery, I figured we would get by without it.

The problem is that the "HD" radio is absolutely awful. Sounds like it's playing in a mud-filled hole most of the time, until "HD" kicks on, at which point it sounds fairly decent. Unfortunately, this accounts for maybe 1% of the time the radio is on. The rest of the time, it's terrible.

I can change the speakers, assuming that's going to help anything. But the real question is, is there a better head unit available that will maintain the factory look as well as the Bluetooth capability and rear backup camera and give me better audio quality? I am also hoping for a cheaper Sirius/XM alternative than the factory setup.

Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

 

[strmrdr23]

i was looking at the pioneer head units with Apple Carplay. they have modules that plug right into the factory harnesses and allow you to maintain factory things such as steering wheel controls, bluetooth, and back up camera.

 

[tex2670]

i was looking at the pioneer head units with Apple Carplay. they have modules that plug right into the factory harnesses and allow you to maintain factory things such as steering wheel controls, bluetooth, and back up camera.

You don't even need Apple Car Play if you are looking for music options. You can use the BT streaming or the Aux jack.

 

[Scott91370]

HD radio isn't high definition like with a tv. While it does help with quality it divides the fm band into more channels (like getting an analog convertor box for your home television) - you'll get 97.1 (1) main channel (2) auxiliary channel and had on screen display of song/channel info.

Our 2013 sounds great, not sure what they would have done differently since then but I suppose it's possible they made adjustments.

 

[Ridgerunr]

You can get a XM onyx EZ receiver, find them on ebay for around $25. Then just get your XM subscription ..

 

[SHCX-9]

Changing the speakers will help. I plan on doing this to our's, the only problem is ours is it's quite, I need to crank it up so I can hear any thing.