Satellite Radio Hitting Home

INDIANAPOLIS— More custom-install suppliers are taking notice of the soaring popularity of satellite radio.

Here at the Expo, Elan, NuVo and start-up Control4 plan to show their first satellite-radio tuners, all delivering XM service. Antex will show its first three-tuner XM tuner, joining a three-tuner Sirius version; Audio Design Associates will show its second XM-equipped product; and Polk will show its hi-fi-component-style XM tuner.

Here's what the products offer:

Antex: A three-zone XM tuner just joined the company's three-zone Sirius tuner, both at a suggested $1,999. The Triple Play XM-3000 is shipping with IR and RS-232 control. Each zone features separate S/PDIF-TOSlink and analog RCA line-level outputs.

Audio Design Associates: The company's first distributed-audio receiver, the nine-zone 24x100-watt HTR-2400, ships with standard AM/FM/weatherband tuner card and separate XM satellite-radio card, making it the first A/V receiver with standard satellite-radio reception, the company said. The AM/FM card can be swapped for an XM card.

Control4: The distributed-A/V and systems-integration company will show a 7.1-channel multizone/multisource home theater receiver with built-in 80GB HDD music server and optional plug-in XM tuner module. The $2,495 Home Theater Receiver Controller also doubles as a home automation controller integrating with multiple home subsystems via RS-232, IR, contact relay and serial connections. Server-based music and XM channels can be distributed via wired or wireless Ethernet.

Elan: The company will host a technology demonstration of its first satellite-radio product, a three-zone component-style XM triple tuner. Availability hasn't been announced. NuVo: The Cincinnati-based distributed-audio company plans to demonstrate three variations of its new T2 dual tuner: one with dual AM/FM tuners, one with XM tuner and AM/FM tuner, and one with dual XM tuners. The T2 is the company's first satellite radio product and first source unit to integrate in plug-and-play fashion with its Concerto distributed-audio systems without installing drivers. The AM/FM-only version will retail for $799, including RDS and weather band. The dual-XM version is expected to ship in January 2005.

Polk Audio: The company's XM Reference Tuner 12 is a 17-inch-wide hi-fi-component-size single-zone XM tuner with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 80dB. The unit is expected to ship in November at a suggested retail of $329.