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View Full Version : *Review* Polk XRT12 XM Tuner



Gary
06-27-2005, 10:18 PM
Polk XRT12 XM Tuner

OK I’ll admit it, I’m a XM junkie. I’m a big time jazz fan and the state of local jazz radio is very grim in this part of the world, so as soon as I heard about XM, I knew it was for me. This year when they added baseball, that was just icing on the cake. Since moving from my native Illinois, I have missed listening to my Cubs, so when the XRT12 became available I picked one up for my home. It gave me the chance to evaluate it for my client’s, while listening to Pat and Ron give the play by play.

So then.

Unlike most other XM tuners, the XRT12 is a designed to be a home stereo component. It is 17" wide by 2.3" high by 10.5" deep and weights 5 pounds. I not going to spend a lot of time on sound quality as that is not the purpose of this review, but it includes Burr-Brown Digital-to-Analog Converters, it has both coax and optical digital as well as RCA analog outputs. Considering the compressed nature of XM, sound quality is very good, it's not going to satisfy hard core audiophiles but it is easily the best sounding XM radio I’ve heard.

http://xm.polkaudio.com/images/tuner.jpg



Moving along.

Beyond control, the biggest problem other XM tuners have is poor line level output voltage, this is not a problem with this tuner, there was no drop in volume level when switching between other sources in my system.

One of the coolest things about the XRT12 is the on screen display; the unit features a composite video out that allows the user to browse channels and get feedback of current channel, artist, and song right on their TV.

I want to applaud Polk for taking control into consideration; most companies never even consider the needs of integrators. For that they get some well deserved dap.

That said, there's some good and bad with the control side of this product.

I’ll start with the good, discrete IR for power and a 12 trigger; giving integrators two ways to assure that the unit is on. The first units used RC5 codes with a toggle bit, just like the Delphi tuners, making them very difficult for most learning remotes. Polk quickly realized their mistake and had a firmware update on their website to fix this issue.

I tried IR control with both RTI and Home Theater Master remotes, both with great results. It has no problem excepting commands in rapid succession and favorite macros were incredibly reliable.

In my system, I'm using the 12volt trigger from my B&K receiver to control power.

The following is a list of supported IR commands from the Polk install guide.

Power On/Off (toggle)
Discrete Power On
Discrete Power Off
Select Next
Next Category
XM – Enter
Last Category
Select Last
Mute
Preset/Direct
Jump
“1 “
“2 “
“3”
“4 “
“5 “
“6 “
“7 “
“8 “
“9 “
“0 “
Display
Menu

I have also found that the unit responds to the channel up/down commands from the Delphi tuner.

There are a couple glaring omissions, no discrete commands for Preset Mode and Direct Channel Mode. It would also be nice to have a rear IR input.

If you plan on using this tuner with IR control through a distributed video systems, it’s a real winner.

On the other hand, serial control although available, is a mess. I’m sure Polk had good intentions, but you know what they say about that.

The serial protocol duplicates all the functions of the remote control plus gives you direct channel and preset select. That’s where the good news ends.

Feedback is provided for channel number, channel name, song name, antenna signal strength, and radio ID. These must be polled for; this is a small nuisance but a pain just the same.

Here’s a sample from the install guide:

System response for the 'Get' commands are as follows:
GetSongInformation (return command)

Current Channel Artist Name: B.B. King (1 blank space + 16 characters + return command)

Current Channel Song Title: Take It Home (1 blank space + 16 characters + return command)

The big problem with the protocol is the lack of anyway to scroll through channels. Although the protocol includes the category next/last commands and select next/last command, without feedback they’re useless. So you can get song and station data on a touchpanel, but you can’t do much with it. In my system I tried using the channel up/down IR commands in concert with polling and the result was less than useful.

In conclusion if you’re using a distributed video system with the TV for feedback this unit is for you, sounds great, very reliable, looks very slick. If you want something that plays nice with Crestron or AMX, keep looking.

It’s still not as good as sitting in the bleachers with a cold dog and a warm Old Style, but I’ll think I’ll keep mine, I just won’t sell it to my Crestron clients.



http://xm.polkaudio.com/

http://www.xmradio.com/

Theaterworks
06-28-2005, 06:08 AM
Excellent review, Gary. I'm sorry to offer the opinion that the mags will not be clamoring to publish this, but that's a compliment to the honesty of the critique.

tomciara
06-28-2005, 09:35 AM
I have a client with XM in two of his cars and who just added the Polk tuner to his home stack about 4 months ago.

Set up with a Universal MX-850 and it was flawless. G's review was right on with the video output being a real plus.

The dealer cost and retail are a little tight - I guess we'd be free to set retail, but they do have a list price on it for anyone to see.

If they improved once with the firmware upgrade perhaps they will again and fill in the blanks that would make Gary put it in all his clients' homes instead of just his own.

avophile
06-29-2005, 12:59 AM
Gary,

Thanks for the review. I just this evening had a client ask me to add whole house XM to his system which currently consists of five independent AMX controlled set-ups (thankfully I over-wired as always). If you can isolate the user's preferences to a few pre-set stations, could you not use the direct access protocol to switch between those stations, and poll after every switch?

I purchased a Sirius receiver for a relative who could not survive without the ETWN programming. So I set myself up with a second receiver. While I have really enjoyed the NBA coverage, the JAM band channel, the New Wave channel and some of the deep track classic rock stations, the jazz and classical offerings are paltry, at best. It appears that these services seem best at stuff I am not familiar with. How is XM doing jazz that makes it so good?

I also hate the connectors you have to use for the antennas. Do you have any info on multi-plexers for satellite radio distribution to allow multiple receivers? Or is the signal simply split for the multi-tuner boxes we are seeing?

Thanks again for your contribution to what will be a strong feature of this forum.

Gary
06-29-2005, 09:22 AM
Gary,

Thanks for the review.

Your welcome.



If you can isolate the user's preferences to a few pre-set stations, could you not use the direct access protocol to switch between those stations, and poll after every switch?

Yes, you can also add a keypad for direct channel entry.



How is XM doing jazz that makes it so good?

It's not bad, the Real Jazz channel is heavy on the bebop/cool era tunes and the bebop renaissance on the 90s, plus a lot of vocal jazz. They have a channel called Beyond Jazz that is fusion, free, and funk. Very little coverage of jam bands, if that's your thing.



I also hate the connectors you have to use for the antennas. Do you have any info on multi-plexers for satellite radio distribution to allow multiple receivers? Or is the signal simply split for the multi-tuner boxes we are seeing?

www.sandsationalsound.com

PAAI
06-29-2005, 01:25 PM
Gary do you have a link to the firmware upgrade? I could not find it on Polks (messed up) website.

I can't wait to get my Crestron XM tuner (with Free lifetime Service)!

I currently have the DTS7000 from kenwood, so I will be able to review all three with a few months.

OEX
07-28-2005, 07:26 PM
Where have you guys been buying this?

Any problems extending the antenna wire? I saw a unit that converted to RG6. Any problems?

Will this work with this tuner?

http://www.sandsationalsound.com/adapter.php

Thx

Gary
07-28-2005, 08:17 PM
Where have you guys been buying this?

Av*d



Any problems extending the antenna wire? I saw a unit that converted to RG6. Any problems?

No.


Will this work with this tuner?

http://www.sandsationalsound.com/adapter.php

Thx

Yes.

OEX
07-28-2005, 08:40 PM
Thanks Gary.

Gary
07-28-2005, 08:47 PM
Thanks Gary.

You're welcome.

2ndRick
09-05-2005, 07:40 PM
I have done a couple of these as well, and can attest to the clusterf*ck design of the control on this model... All of the commands we need are available, just not all from the same method...

If you are strictly IR, and can use the front panel or a video output for status, then you are golden...
If you are going serial YOU STILL NEED IR FOR DAY TO DAY USE!!

Gary pointed ot the lack of discrete power commands in serial, even though they exist in the IR database... WHY POLK WHY??

The discrete numeric commands are missing from the serial list, although they are AGAIN available through IR... what were they thinking??

I have TWO control system ports dedicated to this machine, and that's NOT acceptable.

But, SQ is really good...

2ndRick
09-05-2005, 07:42 PM
Has anyone ponied up for the Antex XM or Sirius tuner??

Gary
09-05-2005, 08:49 PM
I have done a couple of these as well, and can attest to the clusterf*ck design of the control on this model... All of the commands we need are available, just not all from the same method...

The one thing missing is the display text and the need to poll for feedback sucks.


Gary pointed ot the lack of discrete power commands in serial, even though they exist in the IR database... WHY POLK WHY??

This is pretty dumb but I've been useing the 12volt trigger for power with good results, I just run it through a crestron relay.


The discrete numeric commands are missing from the serial list, although they are AGAIN available through IR... what were they thinking??

You can direct tune any channel through serial, to tune channel 052 use ChannelSelect 052 <cr>,

2ndRick
09-05-2005, 09:13 PM
Gary pointed ot the lack of discrete power commands in serial, even though they exist in the IR database... WHY POLK WHY??

This is pretty dumb but I've been using the 12volt trigger for power with good results, I just run it through a crestron relay.
The 12V triggers are fine as an addition, but I always want discretes from all control protocols that the units support. In my case, it was easier to add an IR port.



The discrete numeric commands are missing from the serial list, although they are AGAIN available through IR... what were they thinking??

You can direct tune any channel through serial, to tune channel 052 use ChannelSelect 052 <cr>,

That is good to know, I am almost positive that my partner was still looking for a way to do this.

But I still want numerics for the homeowner to be able to key in stations direct access style after we're gone. Like in the case of a new show that gets added to a channel they don't usually listen to, or a totally new channel that gets added to the XM lineup (as in the new PGA channel on 146)

I would like my clients to have the ability to punch in 1-4-6 and be there, just like they can with an IR remote... I will be happy to go back and program new presets, and new buttons, but direct access will allow them to use the system a little more easily in the meantimee.

It's workable with both IR ad rs-232, I just wish I had a full complement of control via the serial port.

Gary
09-05-2005, 09:33 PM
The 12V triggers are fine as an addition, but I always want discretes from all control protocols that the units support. In my case, it was easier to add an IR port.

That's really spliting hairs, considering the number of products that have no discrete commands, they do give you two ways to discretely turn the radio on or off.


The discrete numeric commands are missing from the serial list, although they are AGAIN available through IR... what were they thinking??



You can direct tune any channel through serial, to tune channel 052 use ChannelSelect 052 <cr>,

That is good to know, I am almost positive that my partner was still looking for a way to do this.

But I still want numerics for the homeowner to be able to key in stations direct access style after we're gone. Like in the case of a new show that gets added to a channel they don't usually listen to, or a totally new channel that gets added to the XM lineup (as in the new PGA channel on 146)

I would like my clients to have the ability to punch in 1-4-6 and be there, just like they can with an IR remote... I will be happy to go back and program new presets, and new buttons, but direct access will allow them to use the system a little more easily in the meantimee.

It's workable with both IR ad rs-232, I just wish I had a full complement of control via the serial port.

What control system? It took me all of ten minutes to right the code for keypad commands in simpl.

2ndRick
09-05-2005, 10:43 PM
First one was in an RTI RP-6 controller with RTI T2+ remotes.

I don't recall why, but we left RS-232 and IR on it for some reason...

The Sonance Dab-1 chassis have 12V triggers, but they was something klugey about them when you use two chassis...

That whole job was a massive clusterf*ck...

The other one is staged to the next few months, and will have AMX.

I'm sure you recall my anti-Via rant here earlier... we are new to the *real* control systems...

flcusat
01-30-2006, 07:42 AM
Can somebody point me out to the RS232 protocol for the XRt12?. I can't find it in the web site and is not in the manual either.

PAAI
01-30-2006, 01:28 PM
On its way to you.

The8thst
01-30-2006, 08:09 PM
First one was in an RTI RP-6 controller with RTI T2+ remotes.

I don't recall why, but we left RS-232 and IR on it for some reason...

The Sonance Dab-1 chassis have 12V triggers, but they was something klugey about them when you use two chassis...

That whole job was a massive clusterf*ck...

The other one is staged to the next few months, and will have AMX.

I'm sure you recall my anti-Via rant here earlier... we are new to the *real* control systems...

Why not just use a cheap small 12v power supply and the contact closures built into the RP6 to send a 12v trigger to the XM tuner?

Oh, and can someone send me the protocol. All these debates have me curious about where the confusion lies.

Thanks

ATOH
10-17-2006, 03:51 PM
Anyone know, do these tuners come with rack ears or are you all using MA RSH shelves? RSH4A2S POLK AUDIO XRT12.

Matt
10-17-2006, 05:01 PM
They do not come with rack ears. Use an RSH shelf.

ATOH
10-17-2006, 06:23 PM
I figured, but one can hope right? Thanks.