is xm radio cd quality?

[TopShelf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zotjen /img/forum/go_quote.gif What about XM streamed over the Internet? I believe Sirius streamed is 128kbps.

still pretty crappy

You can get programs, that improve the sound, for over the internet, but its still pretty bad

All in all, its a great thing to own, when music isn't your 1st priority, or you love to have alot to choose from

 

[will75]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TopShelf /img/forum/go_quote.gif You make it sound like having Howard is a good thing? Ill take MLB over Nascar anyday, if I was a shareholder They also kept their Nascar channel, which keeps people informed, which about 25% of the Nascar fans want, so they wont lose out too bad. Ya I havnt even attempted to try their HD channels, so your probably right on the surround thing

The proof is in market share growth.

 

[stevesurf]

I can give you some background on Sirius; I am not sure about XM.

Currently, Sirius offers a 128kbps "premium" streaming service via the internet. This unfortunately does not stream to their car or portable units. We are hoping that this will eventually be resolved. Sirius' current bitrate for music is around 64kbps; XM's could be less, depending on the channel. Also, not all receivers rebroadcast in stereo when the FM Modulator is used as a link to your vehicle radio; however the more preferred Aux input provides stereo when it is originally broadcated.

A very good Sirius Forum:
Sirius Backstage

 

[Sweet Spot]

I'm an XM sub, and can honestly say that if sound quality is a top priority for you, don't get it, nor Sirius for that matter. The SQ is absolutely irritating to me when I try and get into any song which I am familiar with. The highs are absolutely ssssssssibilant, drum snares, crashes and such are just a disaster, the mids are atrociously absent, and the bass is muddier than a pig in a sty after dinner.

I mainly have my Myfi unit just to listen to a few talk shows (202 OnA RnF), but am "considering ditching it to save the cash, since I can actually download those shows if I choose to via Bit Torrent. RARELY will I turn to any of the music stations, since I tend to get annoyed after a while.

I will say one thing which is a redeeming quality for XM though: I've been able to record a slew of artists which I was not familiar with, and have been turned on to. It's a great medium for discovering new artists, though some may not be into that kind of "deep" playlist. The only channels which I CAN stand, are the classical channels. Strings and horns come across decently enough, as to not make me turn it off.

Also, something kind of cool: If you tune any radio in your house to 88.3 Mhz, it will pick up your XM signal, and broadcast it. So when you're say, in the bathroom and you have that lil' radio on, you can actually get your XM to play through it.

On the whole though, I'm thoroughly unimpressed with what they're doing with the technology. What the hell is the sense of having 150 channels to compete with another company, if you're going to deplete all of your bandwidth, and make the broadcast sound worse than FM radio ?

The only hopes of either company improving this problem, is if Sirius get what they are currently begging for, which is a merger w/XM. I hope it happens actually, because the way both companies are going, their profiles are so low, and below the consumer radar, Sat radio will be a ghost in a matter of a decade IMO.

P.S. for more XM info and a good forum (if you steer clear of the idiots whom visit from the Sirius forums to troll) try xm411.com

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweet Spot /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only hopes of either company improving this problem, is if Sirius get what they are currently begging for, which is a merger w/XM.

If we learned anything from Clearchannel, have the monopoly on radio always means a lesser-quality product. Several channels on satellite are now 'same 50 songs every day!', I can't wait till its 50 channels of the same Top-40 playlist.

 

[RYCeT]

I tried borrowing my bro's XM and using it in my car. The sound is really bad and it annoys me.

 

[uofmtiger]

I have had XM for 4 or 5 years now and if you want great sound quality, look elsewhere. I also have the MyFi and I use it at work, home and in the car. At work, I have to listen at low volumes and I am not really concentrating on sound quality, so I can live with it there. In the car, I mainly listen XM when I want talk radio unless I am on a trip and just want to hear a variety of music that I mostly do not have on CD. I have driven my car from Memphis to Chicago, Memphis to Orlando, Memphis to Dallas, etc.... and have only lost a signal while heading into the Smokey Mountains. In other words, the reception is great, especially given the fact that I have the antenna on the shelf in the back window inside the car.. Actually, at work, I do not even need an external antenna because the MyFi's internal antenna picks up a strong signal.

I realize that Sirius and XM both have their own following. I could live with either and it is just easier to stay with XM since I already own the equipment. I would love to see a merger if it meant higher bandwidth....but then again, competition helps keep the prices low.

Also, many people hear XM over an FM modulator and the sound quality is even worse without a direct connection. Luckily, my car has an aux input.

 

[Max F]

Like everyone has said, XM does not have good sound quality at all. I really wouldn't even consider it FM quality, but it is better than AM. It really depends on the channel though. You listen to XM for content and content only

. Also, its background music. You are not going to sit there in front of your stereo and listen intently cause it will drive you nuts (especially on a good system). You have it on in the background and enjoy.

One thing that I did to make the sound better on my home stereo is to run it through the dolby Prologic 2 in surround (light amount of sound to the center and rear channels). It really fills in the sound much better than 2-channel. I wouldn't dare use prologic on anything else (besides 2-channel movies) cause it sucks, but it does seem to help with XM radio.

I've just ordered a squeeze box and will be listening to internet radio on my stereo. I may just get rid of XM after that (although there isn't much of an alternative for the car).

 

[Some geek]

Why is it every XM thread on any board brings out the trolls? Sigh.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 /img/forum/go_quote.gif XM radio sounds worse than 128kbps mp3. In a lot of cases FM actually sounded better. XM and other forms of high definition or "cd quality" radio are crap -- not even as good as a 128kbps mp3. I didn't even need nice headphones to hear how ****** it sounds, I heard it very clearly out of a stock honda accord car stereo.

Perhaps it's the stereo...

 

[Michael415]

I can't speak for XM but I have had Sirius in my car for a few years now. The sound quality is of course less than cd, very similar to fm imho but according to their engineer it most resembles tape. The advantage of sat radio is a large variety of programming. Far from perfect w/o a doubt but its a viable option on long trips especially if you have limited space for carrying piles of cd's. Since I listen in a convertible I really don’t have too many gripes on the sq. A poor stereo/amp/speakers only aggravate the problem further. It would be nice if it was higher for certain and I asked on a few of the forums what was the deal. An engineer took the time to explain it somewhat to me. They have limited bandwidth so it boils down to number of stations vs. sq. and since most ppl are concerned with quantity over quality guess which wins out. But in fairness they have some channels that you simply will not find on any radio station period. So its a catch 22. Personally I think it fills a great niche and offers great diversity to people that may otherwise not have access to it. Supposedly the best (sq wise) to get Sirius is via Dish Network. I would assume the same could be said for xm via DirectTV.

 

[Max F]

What I don't understand is that Direct TV and the Dish can shoot HDtv through space via satellite, but XM and Sirius can't have enough bandwidth for some decent quality audio. What's the deal?

 

[Michael415]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max F /img/forum/go_quote.gif What I don't understand is that Direct TV and the Dish can shoot HDtv through space via satellite, but XM and Sirius can't have enough bandwidth for some decent quality audio. What's the deal?

You can thank the FCC allocated spectrum for that. That is all the bandwidth they sold them, or the sat rads could afford.

 

[altempo]

I don't have much to add, but I thought I'd point out that a merger of Sirius and XM may be on the horizon: LINK.

While this would not initially increase sound quality, maybe these poor companies can put their minds together, start generating some revenue and work at creating a higher quality product.