[blessingx]

Okay, this doesn't fit nicely in a forum, so I'll post it here. Just curious what those that have tried XM Radio thought of the sound? Read that it's 48 kbps AAC-Plus. Although that doesn't sound great, I was curious about some real life experiences. If anyone knows of an OS X player/encoder for AAC-Plus I could test for myself.

Thanks.

 

[Welly Wu]

I had XM. I had the Delphi SKYFi car / home adaptor kit along with the XM SKYFi tuner. That was before XM implemented these major changes (for free):

1. 68 commercial free music channels
2. Traffic & Weather
3. America Left, Right, and Independent
4. Delphi ROADY, XM Commander, XM PCR

Sound quality wise, I would say that it varies. Some channels sound pretty good as in much better than FM but not up to par with Compact Disc. Some channels sound crappy. It's a hit or miss thing but I did not miss this conclusion: the channels that got lots of tuners tuned in had much much better sound quality (albeit with occasional commercials at the time I owned XM) than the other channels that were considered more esoteric like the New Age only channel. Here is also another truth: I sold my complete XM package deal to Head-Fi sponser Todd R; ask him what he thinks of XM

. I sold it because I found myself spending so much damned time listening to XM that I literally neglected my reference system despite the dramatic difference in sound quality. Of course, I used parts of my reference system such as my cans and headphone amp in conjunction with the Delphi SKYFi system (it really is a system). At that time, I had the HeadRoom Cosmic (Reference Module), Etymotic ER-4P/S, Grado RS-1. I think I made a serious mistake in selling my XM. The sheer width and depth of music is mind boggling. That alone is worth the price of admission. Then, there are dedicated XM fan forums like HTTP://WWW.XMFAN.COM . They're like us except they're centered around XM only. I sold XM at a critical time in their continued growth when they decided to go commercial free, add weather & traffic, and America Right (conservative talk radio; stupid me. My favorite personalities are on along with Fox News Channel). I made a big mistake selling XM. Heck, I might get research information about XM stock as I'm reading Orman's 9 Steps to Financial Freedom book.

Ok. Enough blabbering.

At the time of my ownership, XM sound quality varied significantly but I would not characterize that as a death knell for people who might express interest in XM. Sound quality never seemed to dip below something like WMA Standard at 64kbps but some of the heavily tuned channels had amazing sound quality. I could say they were just a hair under CD quality in terms of fidelity; I would definitely think something on par with LAME 3.96 --alt-preset standard. XM is radically different from AM/FM: nationwide coverage, 24/7 music channels with zip commercials, and enough talk / news / variety shows to make your brain go into sensory overload. Music is loosely organized around themes established by not only each channel on XM but around a set of core deejays. There is indeed human contact in the world of XM: I have requested half a dozen songs by calling in or going to xmfan.com / xm.com and they played my songs within the hour! Music breadth is all encompassing from jazz, rock, soul, rap, hip hop, electronica; you name it. As Tuberoller said himself, music depth is quite amazing: you'll hear singers and songs on XM that you'll never hear on AM/FM. He's telling the truth. Now, it is all music with zero commercials. I don't know whether weather & traffic channels will stay because the US Congress and FCC are still weighing the options set by the satellite radio broadcasting laws. I do know that now they have Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Fox News, etc. that I made a sorry ass mistake of selling my XM too soon.

The good news is that XM now has over 2+ million subscribers. Stereophile once wrote them off as being a bad deal but changed its position; don't you just love how editors can do doublespeak with such elegant ease? Also, there is more good news in that there are family subscription plans, pre-paid annual contracts, and more hardware choices. When I get my full-time career landed, I'm definitely going with the Delphi Roady because it costs like $130 USD and it comes with a free home adaptor kit (the car adaptor kit is included). That thing is smaller, cheaper, and just plain cooler than the slightly outmoded Delphi SKYFi system.

Damn. I was going to tell you about how XM sounds but I just wound up convincing myself to re-subscribe. Damn. I got a budget to stick to.

 

[KyPeN]

I have XM now.

HDTV is to TV as FM radio is to XM

get it?

Sound quality, as stated in the above post, varies. I have the FM broadcaster thingamabob which sucks, but my car stereo sucks. There it sounds on par with FM. At home, I just plug a Y-Cable into the Roady and start blastin'. The sound is pretty good. My only complaint is the dynamic range seems truncated. Weak bass and weak higher-treble. Other than that, very good. Also, sometimes late night, the signal cuts out in my room.

I know I'm focusing on the negatives. I know they sound kind of nit-picky. There is a reason for that. There are so many positives I don't have the time to list them. The DJs kick ass. The song selection is like a CD store in your car.

HEY! What are you waiting for? Best purchase of the year in my opinion! GO BUY IT!

/fanboy rant

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KyPeN I have XM now. HDTV is to TV as FM radio is to XM get it?

So FM is better than XM?

Thanks for your comments Welly Wu and KyPeN. One of the reasons I'm considering XM is because of talk (though the other side of the political spectrum), where sound quality is less an issue, but very curious about the musical diversity there. Wish there was more a way to test quality/reception first. Oh well, if I see a decent sale I might just go for it. The Roadie looks great for size (especially considering antenna), but for not much larger the SkyFis display/build quality looks much nicer. Anything else I should consider if I plan to use it for home and on the road?

Thanks.

 

[Welly Wu]

BlessingX:

You can hear XM radio on http://www.xmradio.com . I think they have a streaming service where you can listen to current broadcasts for a limited period of time. At least, they had a streaming service when I was a member.

Seriously, the Delphi Roady has better reception and sound quality than the Delphi SKYFi; check xmfan.com to read some customer comments about the apparant sound quality differences between the two. Methinks it is due to the Road implementing a 3rd generation chip and better DACs.

 

[blessingx]

Thanks again Welly Wu. Rumor (and may be its just that) has it a new generation of Roadie is coming next month with FM reception also. I may wait to see if that's a reality as having both would be a big plus.

 

[stevewm]

The audio codec XM uses is offcially called ct-AACPlus.

XM runs music channels at anywhere from 48 to 64kbps. Talk channels run at lower bitrates. According to some documention from ST their chipsets support all the way up to 128kbps.



Any sound quality differences between the Roady and SkyFi are simply because of output levels. The SkyFi's output level is quite below line level, while the Roady is line level. This has been discussed many times on both XM message boards. The Roady, SkyFi, XMPCR, XM Commander, and XM Direct all use the same exact 2nd generation XM chipset.

The only 3rd generation device is the Roady 2 which is not shipping yet.

 

[john_jcb]

I have been an XM user for quite some time. Actually I think I got it at about the same time Welly Wu did IIRK. I wired mine so that it plays through my truck radio and another base station at home. When you listen to FM at its best XM does not compare, however if the reception or your equipment is not that good I would say XM is better. Last Summer I drove from Chicago to Seattle and XM quickly became indispensable. I programed 10 stations and switched between them every so often. The only reception problems I had were in the mountains of Idaho. Some of the roads are so far down in valleys you loose coverage.

At home we use it for ambient music. If I sit and pay attention you can tell the difference. As was mentioned above the diversity is what I like. They will play stuff that is vinyl only on occasion. I am sold and gladly pay the monthly fee.