OKc
I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where even the best of radios can have signal problems. Re the XF, its small embedded antenna exacerbates this problem, so the reception I was getting sucked, technically speaking. Couple that with the almost unreadable display, and a change was in order.
I went with an Alpine unit with the XM feature. It fir right in, with only a slightly darker bezel to hint that it isn't OEM. Reception was improved significantly. However, it is the XM radio that really sold me. I've been an XM subscriber since last Augustc I have a portable unit that I use it in the house, in the yard, in my RV (great on long trips). Now, with the hardwired one in the car I'm Xm'ed up the wazoo. Can't say enough good about it.
The only problem I have with the Alpine is that the blue light behind certain controls cannot be dimmedc it's bright. The display itself can be dimmed, but not that blue. At night I like as little as possible light in the cab.