BMW OEM Integrated Sirius XM Radio on 16:9 Navigation BM53 Alpine CD Monitor Review by delmarco

4 minute read

BMW OEM Integrated Sirius XM Radio on 16:9 Navigation BM53 Alpine CD Monitor Review 

Compliments of delmarco @ www.bimmerfest.com

10-16-2010

Reviewing the BMW Sirius XM OEM integrated kit on a 16:9 Navigation Monitor.

Rated by me 4 stars out of 5 stars 

POSITIVES:

- quick signalling

- great sound quality with BM53

- works seemlessly with other I.C.E and navigation features

- lots of ways to search thru stations (steering wheel button, arrow buttons or selection knob)

- allows for CATERGORIES when it comes to organizing and selecting what you want to hear.

- easy to understand and use

NEGATIVES:- poor use of 16:9 screen real estate to display song information.

- the BMW E46 Sirius Receiver is rather expensive

- allows for ONLY 6 presets (the CD53 radio gives 18 presets)

- no scrolling and text display is limited to 16 per line

-

Below is the previous review I did on the basic version of BMW Sirius on the CD53 Alpine Business Radio.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...ght=bmw+sirius

Quote:

Originally Posted by delmarco
For those of you thinking of spending loads of money buying one of the remaining used OEM BMW E46/E39/E53/E85 Sirius Receiver Units of eBay and other online auction sites.


Watch the video:

PART 1:

PART 2:

Positives:
-Fully Integrated with CD53
-18 Presets available
-Sound Quality is Amazing
-Pretty fast in picking up channels and acquiring a signal-provided the antenna is mounted properly
-Reception is stellar even with a low budget aftermarket antenna
-Easy to set up in car
-Sirius does not count these older receivers as "factory installed" or "oem car radio" so the limitations and rules do not apply this receiver that prohibits subscription transfers between in car factory installed Sirius radios.
-Works with USA-Spec, DICE, and any other iPod Integration kits.
-Most units can work with both the CD53 and/or OEM Navigation so you have the flexibility of upgrading to nav and not losing Sirius
-Resale value at this time is out of this world. Expect to sell your used units for either what you paid for them or more when you are ready to sell them.
Negatives:
-Scroll features suck
-These Sirius units may not get XM Only packages and channels
-Scarcity and absence of production have drove up the prices of used units. I was ready to pay close to $500 for a receiver last fall and most 2nd/3rd gen receivers on eBay can bid all the way up to the $900s if the come with subscriptions.
-BMW either does not warranty or service these units at all or you have limited service/warranties on them if you buy a CPO with a receiver installed.
-Fahkra Antennas that this unit uses tend to be more expensive and rarer than the normal-connection Sirius antenna

Using the print out to channel surf :-(

Here is a visual of using SiriusXM on the BMW Business CD53 Alpine Radio (For the 5er and X5, X3, Z4 Professional Radios it will be the same):

When I installed the Navigation Retrofit in the car I also decided on upgrading to the more powerful TERK antenna which I mounted OEM style onto the roof.



This is how Sirius works on a Mercedes Benz 2010 with the Media Package Display Screen. I used this as something to compare my BMW Sirius to.

link to picture album:
ImageShack Album - 17 images