Product Description Polk XRt12 reference tuner is designed to be a permanent part of your home audio system. It is there when you want it and ready to deliver up the quality programming that XM is famous for. It is easy to connect to any home audio system and comes with everything you need to enjoy XM radio the day you bring it home. Its unique video output allows you to display channel number, name, and artist name and song title on your TV screen so you can see what you need to see from across the room. Yes there are other ways to get XM radio to play through your home audio system, but only the Polk Reference XM tuner brings out the best sonic performance from XM radio. Polk Audio uses premium digital and analog components and superior construction techniques to bring you the highest possible audio performance allowed by XM's digital standard.
Product Description The XRt12 from Polk Audio is the world's first component-style XM Satellite Radio tuner for the home. It's the best sounding and most convenient way to enjoy XM's wealth of digital music, sports, news, and entertainment programming in your home through your existing amplifier and speaker setup.
The XRt12 connects to any audio system and fits in any audio furniture or equipment rack. (Use of the receiver requires a paid subscription to XM Satellite Radio).
Set it up once and the XRt12 is ready to deliver high-fidelity XM programming in your home anytime you want to fire up your favorite XM channels. You no longer have to remember to take your plug-and-play XM tuner from the car and dock it in a home adapter. No more squinting and running up to the tiny display to see who's performing that awesome song. The unit has its own 4-line blue-backlit display and a composite-video output for viewing the artists and track information right on your television.
The XRt12 comes with everything you need to enjoy XM radio the day you bring it home: a high-gain XM antenna with 20-foot cable, an optical digital-audio cable, and a stereo audio/composite-video interconnect. The unit's rear panel features both optical and coaxial digital-audio outputs for easy connection to surround receivers and processors. And, if XM starts delivering multichannel surround sound, you'll be ready. The XRt12 also features standard RCA analog stereo outputs for connection with any stereo receiver or integrated amplifier.
The XRt12 features both optical and coaxial digital outputs for easy connection to surround receivers and processors.
Other features include a built-in signal-strength meter to help you position your antenna, up to 20 channel presets for quick and easy switching to your favorite channels, a memory button (so the XRt12 can store up to 10 records of channel, artist, and song data for later retrieval), and a function that lets you scan through major channel categories (rock, talk, sports, etc.). Preview mode lets you see what channels are available and what's playing--before switching from the channel you're listening to.
Further, the XRt12 sounds better than other XM home appliances because of its high-grade parts and construction. If you already have XM in your home, Polk is certain you're not yet hearing its full sonic potential. The XRt12 maintains low noise and low distortion, delivering music that approaches CD sound quality. The digital bits and bytes of satellite radio must be converted to analog for listening, a job handled by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The reference tuner uses a Burr-Brown DAC, widely regarded as the best in the industry.
Each major function (power supply, display, outputs, preamp, and tuner) of the XRt12 are on physically separate circuit boards to minimize interference and noise.
The DAC's analog output must be amplified to a voltage level that your receiver or preamp can use. The XRt12 employs a true high-fidelity preamplifier circuit board, offering greater gain than do the cheap headphone preamps found in plug-and-play tuners. In fact, you can adjust the XRt12's analog output to match the gain of your other components. Each major function (power supply, display, outputs, preamp, and tuner) of the XRt12 is on a physically separate circuit board to minimize interference and noise.
If you have a whole-house distributed audio system like those made by Crestron, NetStreams, or Elan, the XRt12's RS-232 I/O connector allows you to plug right into the system to enjoy XM radio throughout the house. You'll be able to control the XRt12 from any station on the system, displaying channel, artist, and song data on any control screen in the network. If your audio receiver or amp has a 12-volt trigger output, you can connect your XRt12 to it and have the receiver turn the XRt12 on and off.
What's in the Box XM receiver, a remote control, remote batteries, an XM high-gain home antenna, an optical digital-audio cable, a stereo analog audio/composite-video cable, a user's manual, an XM channel reference card, and online registration information.
XRt12February 2, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Good over all product. The gray buttons on the reciever stick sometimes and I was dissapointed with the remote control. The remote is much bigger than it needs to be and is just a plain rectangle that feels akward in your hand. Sound is good though and the menues are easy to use. I also like the bright display which is big enough to read without to much effort. Keep in mind that if you want xm in your car also you might be better off with a portable unit and a home docking system or you will have to pay for a second radio which isnt cheap.
expensive and not deliveringJuly 31, 2007 0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Summary This review is for the Polk XM reference receiver Polk XRt. In summary this receiver exposes way too many compression artifacts for its price. As a 2005 (2004?) model its algorithms are not up to state of the art that portables show.
Background: I am not an audiophile. I do however have a decent pair of ears on my head. The biggest blame I have for the Polk XRt is that it does not mask the compression artifacts well. Talk channels are very distorted, a bit less so for music channels. The best channel quality I perceive is on the classical channel, most likely because they play mostly instruments rather than vocals.
Details: I bought a Delphi SkyFi3 4 months ago and hooked it up to an analog receiver. My only grief with the DELPHI was the frequent lockup which is described under respective review sections. Actually the Delphi sounded good, if not great. As I said I am not the expert but I think they just mask the compression artifacts with a little less fidelity. Anyways it sounds to me as good as FM radio at least. Based on the lockup problem and since I only listen to XM at home I thought I'll upgrade to the Polk. However no upgrade it was. The Polk clearly exposes the compression artifacts that can be heard mostly with vocals and talk stations. I find it quite annoying but hope to get used to it over time (have it for 2 weeks now). I destroyed the Delphi cradle and object to returning items that work so I stick with the Polk for now(well at least it looks very cool) but I would not recommend to anyone to buy it. I think the portables have newer and usually better algorithms (the Delphi certainly does).
Supplement: I also bought a new receiver with the POLK with a digital input. However both digital and analog input show the same amount of distortions.
PPS: Some audiophile might say that the Delphi lacks in clarity. This could very well be true but I rather have lacking clarity in the output than being exposed to every single detail in the compression artifacts.
Excellent productMay 28, 2007 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
After one month of use. Excellent product, works well; easy to set up and use. Don't listen to the XM Radio people about having to set up the antenna on the SW side of the house or even outside the house. Try it first on top of the TV or the unit itself and play around with it a bit; see where you get a decent signal. IF that doesn't work, then do what they say and worry about drilling holes, running cable and having to get an outside antenna. My antenna sits on top of my TV in the entertainment center and gets an excellent signal.
Polk Audio XRt12 TunerMarch 16, 2007 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the correct tuner to add to my stereo unit, but a bit pricey when you compare it to the portables out there. With the portable units you can switch from home stereo to car stereo using one account. With this unit you only get one account and cannot use it for a stereo care unit. Therefore, I had to pay for two subscriptions.
Radio's great for news but too much compression for musicMay 16, 2006 15 out of 18 found this review helpful
I bought this tuner last year after finding out this receiver had optical and coax digital outputs for SS, expecting great soon to be 5.1 surround sound and entertainment, but was disappointed when I found out XM went to another system (neural sound decoding). This receiver is great for News but you will be diappointed if you decide to hook it up to your home entertainment system for music. You would think anything coming off of a satellite in digital would put you close to the sound of a philharmonic but because of the number of channels XM has and the high compression they use...you would be better off listening to the transmission of your local AM radio statiion. If you are a news/sports junkie, this receiver is for you, if you want cd quality sound....don't waste your time or money. I have recently sold my receiver on E-Bay and am looking at over the air HD reception using the Ibiquity system. If local FM radio stations decide to use more then two sub-channels (after going digital)and thus lower their bit rate, I'm afraid, it too, will sound as poorly as XM and this polk receiver. Polk csr said, Polk does not intend to update or support the XRT-12 with a Neural Sound firmware update, to enable this receiver to function as a 5.1 ss receiver using the backside output of optical digital or coax.
ABOUT NEURAL SOUND: Neural Audio Corporation, an audio development company specializing in digital signal processing solutions for broadcast and consumer electronics, is the developer of Neural Surround, a proprietary audio format that embeds the rich envelopment and discrete image detail of surround sound and is 100% compatible with stereo content. Chosen by XM Satellite Radio as the format for their 24/7 XM HD Surround programming, Neural Surround will introduce the excitement of surround music to a broad audience. Neural Surround is supported by major home theater brands and automotive OEM's and is expected to be available in more than 50% of surround sound receivers starting in Spring '06. Neural Audio Corporation is a privately owned company headquartered in Kirkland, WA.[...].
