As a rule, PCM receivers will be about double the price of an FM receiver.

The 6xas is a great radio, I had one for my first radio and it worked very well. When I bought my ultra stick, the 6xas couldn't be programmed for the crow feature so I upgraded to the 9cap. Now don't misunderstand me because I'm not trying to talk you out of the 6xas because I really liked mine and it worked great, and if you are planning on staying with smaller planes that need only 3-4 channels I would go with the 6xas. However if you can afford it and are planning on staying in this hobby and having multiple planes that need more channels and mixes, I would recommend the 9cap. Yes it's a little more money, but it will be the only radio you'll ever have to buy so in the long run you will save yourself some money by not having to upgrade later. Plus IMO the single biggest reason for buying this radio is how easy it is to program. Now I'm sure everyone tells you that what ever radio they recommend is really easy to program but having had both the 6xas and the 9cap, I would say the 9cap is 10 times easier to program than the 6xas. I looked through the manual the first day I got the radio and haven't touched the manual since. Plus the 9cap has allot of extra features that you can get by without, but are nice to have just the same. Again this is just my opinion.