1998 528i Stereo

I have the Non-DAP version of the stereo for my car. I am new to the BMW but have some skills witht he stereos. My question:

1) Is bad reception and poor sound quality just the BMW way?

2) As yo might know, if you hold the "m" button down for 10 seconds it will give you some data, I believe 4 things. Does anyone know how to use/decipher that data?

THanks