Radio

[dslanec]

Any reviews of the radio system? I’m getting a XR3135 or XR3140 cab tractor. When I test drove them there was no radio installed but it will come with it. Brand? Bluetooth at all? Speakers sound good? I can always upgrade the receiver and speakers if needed. I probably won’t use it much but my wife will be doing a lot of the mowing and she is a music freak so she is asking me questions about it. Gotta make sure the tunes are up to her standards, it’s the only “implement” she is concerned with!!

 

[BWeir]

My XR had a Sony unit installed by my dealer when purchased. They never gave me an option of what I wanted. It has a usb input to connect to. No Bluetooth. It’s fine for what it does, which is provide music while working. I will say that the oem speakers are not so great. They start to distort at about vol 17 on my head unit. When running higher rpm’s for pto work, you have to turn the volume up, and that’s when the quality gets crappy. Probably should have replaced them already, but it wasn’t all that important to me.

 

[George2615]

I have the older model XR3037HC. I installed my own radio, a Sony. I don't use the bluetooth. The general consensus here is the factory speakers are not that great. Others have replaced them and have posted better results. The sound they produce reminds me of vehicle radios and speakers back in the 70's. My guess is you'll be replacing the speakers to keep the wife happy.

 

[Macinnis]

I opted against the radio after hearing about the crappy speakers.

I just got a blue speaker and play stuff off of my phone. $20 investment.

 

[Avenger]

SidelRanch put this one in his tractor:

https://www.amazon.com/Character-Receiver-Assistant-Bluetooth-Charging/dp/B08464VRML/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=JENSEN+MPR210+7+Character+LCD+Single+DIN+Car+Stereo+Receiver%2C+Push+to+Talk+Assistant%2C+Bluetooth%2C+USB+Fast+Charging&qid=1616015744&sr=8-1

I really like it since it doesn't have bulk, no cd player. Has Bluetooth, which is what I use. If mine ever dies, this is what I'll install in its place (or something like it)
He did a video of the install

I got this one a few years ago:

Amazon.com: Pioneer MVH-S320BT Single DIN Bluetooth Digital Media Receiver with Short Chassis, Supports Amazon Alexa & Spotify + Magnet Phone Holder : Electronics

Buy Pioneer MVH-S320BT Single DIN Bluetooth Digital Media Receiver with Short Chassis, Supports Amazon Alexa & Spotify + Magnet Phone Holder: Car Stereo Receivers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

But I see its currently unavailable.

You will definitely want to upgrade the speakers. The little 4 inch ones that come with these tractors are garbage. One was completely blown (before I even installed the radio) in my cab. I found some brand new 5 inch speakers at a garage sale. Had to use a Dremel tool to make the holes bigger, but that was easy enough. Sounds much better. Could be better with larger, better speakers, but for listening to music over the drone of the engine, completely fine.

 

[dslanec]

Thank you all for the replies. Very helpful. Clearly I’ll need better speakers at minimum. I was just looking at the parts list on the new website. It does show Bluetooth. No clue if that what I’ll get or not?

 

[swreeder]

I just purchased a MT353HC and added my own radio. Picked up the radio (same as SidelRanch video) along with a pair of Pyle speakers for Amazon. Less than 100 bucks for everything I needed and I have good sound with bluetooth. Took about an hour to install it all.

 

[wjb-49]

My MT573 came with (standard) a Chinese or Korean ETL MCA Model 2015 and the afore mentioned "crappy" little speakers. I normally listen to NPR or podcasts, so the speakers aren't a big deal. I have thought about upgrading the speakers but didn't know if thay would be difficult to access.

 

[deserteagle71]

My experience...even with a cab, the ambient noise of a tractor and implement working at PTO speeds is so loud that to hear the music at all you have to turn the volume up on the radio way too high and all that loud noise just tires you out.

Go with a unit that you can use headphones with, bluetooth or otherwise. That way you can shut out most of the noise of the tractor.

 

[Avenger]

My experience...even with a cab, the ambient noise of a tractor and implement working at PTO speeds is so loud that to hear the music at all you have to turn the volume up on the radio way too high and all that loud noise just tires you out.

Go with a unit that you can use headphones with, bluetooth or otherwise. That way you can shut out most of the noise of the tractor.

That hasnt been my experience. Granted I'm deaf from the military days anyway. But my cab, while not completely sound proof, is pretty quiet. My ears are not ringing or muffled when I'm done working all day. I listen to podcasts and music while out working, over the speakers in the cab. With the tractor engine off, and the radio on, the volume is comfortable, if that makes sense.

I cant stand earbuds. They hurt my ears after a while, and if they have a wire, gets tangled and snagged. The bluetooth ones are nice, if they'd stay in the ears, and not hurt after a while. And yes, I've played around with the different seals, none seem to work well. Another issue I have the the BT ones is that the batteries die quickly. If I'm out brush hogging all day, they might last a few hours. My speakers last as long as the tractor battery has juice. Just sayin.

Its all about comfort. Do what you like.