Best XM-Ready Home Audio Receiver for Under $400

The word is out: normal radio kind of does not cut it anymore. And with all of the recent and very significant advancements that have been made with satellite radio technology, what in the heck are all of us still doing being subjected to standard, and commercial-ridden radio waves that rarely bring us the songs that we want to hear, but quite often bring us the tunes that are just considered by label executives and payola scammers, to be the quintessential top ‘40’ tunes of the hour? Well we say rubbish. That’s right, rubbish. No longer must anyone be subjected to such cataclysms when listening to radio. Instead, it’s time for us to bite the ceremonial bullet and wave a parade of welcoming to the next generation of ‘real’ radio: the satellite era. If you thought that satellite radio was not ear-worthy, thing again! Check out how many stations and clusters of greatness adorn the current satellite radio waves, and all for fewer than $13 per month. Now that we have made our point, its time for us to laud the next great thing to hit satellite radio: XM ready home audio receivers!

Oh yeah and one more point before we tell you, with all the giddiness about this squeaky new XM ready receiver. XM and Sirius have recently merged, so you now you get ALL of the shows and all of the channels out there for one low price! Are we in radio heaven or what?

Sherwood 600-Watt AV 7.1 Receiver with HDMI Switching RD-7502
This 600-watt beauty will sit comfy along side your old entertainment peripherals and seemingly will blend in to the matte of wires and cables, not to mention it looks pretty darn nice in the shiny black finish that it offers. Compatible with all aspects of Dolby and Dolby surround sound technology, including: DTS ES Discrete, Matrix, DTS Neo, Dolby Pro Logic II, and Dolby Virtual Surround, you won’t have to worry about compatibility issues when wiring this top-of-the-line Sherwood. A 1 year, all parts, all labor warranty and the ability to dump nearly 100-watts of power at 4-ohms to up to six speakers will leave plenty of DB for your ears to recover after they finish squealing. It comes XM-ready, which means you will have to buy the home dock for about another $40. But here is the kicker: you buy an XM deck for you car and dock it once you get home, enjoying the best, commercial-free radio stations out there, in and out of your ride! You can get your paws on this slick beauty for about $350 online, at select retailers.

Specs:
• Universal video upconversion
• 100 watts x 6 in surround mode
• DTS ES Discrete, Matrix, DTS Neo (Cinema and Music), Dolby Pro Logic II (Movie, Music, Custom, and Matrix), and Dolby Virtual Surround
• 2 HDMI, 3 AV, and 32 component video inputs
• XM “Connect & Play”
• 17″ W x 6″ H x 16″ D
• Includes advanced multi-brand remote control
• Weight: 24.9 lbs

Some things you may not know about the XM/Sirius Merger
This video—courtesy of Wall Strip—outlines all of the juicy details behind the coveted and long coming XM/Sirius satellite radio merger, which made both companies the one and only satellite radio provider. Many consumers and critics were skeptical about the merger because they feared it would monopolize the market. But to no avail of their skepticism, the merger went through without a hitch.