Considering XM/Sirius - Concerned About Sound Quality

dpippel · 12-28-2004, 08:48 AM

I'm thinking about trying out satellite radio and have been poking around the various user forums on the web. The number of people I've found who are complaining about the lousy sound quality of satellite radio in general, and XM in particular, is surprising. There are many descriptions comparing it to "56K streaming audio", "below 64K MP3 quality", "worse than FM", "on par with bad AM", etc. These complaints are coming from customers using both FM modulators and direct RCA connections to a car/home head unit. Apparently XM and Sirius are in a competition to cram more and more content into their limited available bandwidth. They then have to compress the hell out of it all to make it fit. As a result quality has suffered immensely.

Now, there are three major things that are important to me as a potential satellite radio customer: 1) A variety of music that I can't find on OTA FM stations (crap mostly), 2) Sound quality (at least comparable to good 128K MP3 or equal to regular old OTA FM), and 3) Very few or no commercials. My research so far has found that #2 on my list appears to be a deal breaker for me. How many of you out there (using either service) are happy with the quality of the audio you're getting? How many of you are NOT happy with it? FYI, I'd be listening at home with a tuner connected via RCA to my mid-fi HT setup, and in my car via FM modulator (for now). I'm drawn to the music lineup on XM (I like alternative a lot) but the fact that I can get NPR on Sirius may swing me in their direction. This is *IF* I can overcome my concerns about audio quality. So, I'd love to get information from you subscribers out there. Thanks in advance for any insights you can provide.

Doug^Ch · 12-28-2004, 09:02 AM

While I am far from an audiophile, I do appreciate good sound and the XM signal coming from my SkyFi2 seems amazing at least in the house. See my other post in another thread for my XM experience.

Mark Bendiksen · 12-28-2004, 09:49 AM

Well, I think you'll find that there's no shortage of opinions on these particular issues here at HTF.

I have had XM Radio for a year now. I made that decision mostly on personal research as opposed to personal experience and most of that research was here at HTF reading threads and participating in email discussions. At that time I got the feeling that there were significantly more individuals who were disappointed with the music programming at Sirius than there were people not pleased with the music programming at XM Radio. Since music was my main reason for getting into satellite radio (as opposed to news, sports, comedy, etc. which are nice extras but I consider to be "gravy") that was a major factor for me.

As far as sound quality, I've heard some people say that Sirius is slightly superior, and that may indeed be the case. Ron Epstein is a good person to talk to about that because as I recall he's had both services installed in his vehicle at one time or another. However, that having been said, I'm extremely pleased with XM Radio's sound quality, and for the record I have a dedicated head unit in my car, not an FM modulator. Is it CD quality? No, and if anyone tells you that it is then either they're not very discerning or they're selling you a bill of goods. Don't let that deter you, however. IMHO, the sound quality is still far above FM radio, and if it is not quite CD-quality then for me that factor is completely negated by the enjoyment I get from the service itself.

BTW, as I mentioned, some people "oversell" the sound quality of XM Radio by saying it is "CD Quality". However, anyone who refers to it as "56K streaming audio" or "below 64K MP3 quality" either (a) doesn't know what he/she is talking about or (b) has a lousy setup and couldn't tell the difference between 56K and 256K MP3 anyway.

Just my $.02; your mileage may vary.

Chris · 12-28-2004, 11:35 AM

Yeah, both services are better then 56k Mp3s. Imagine it more ala Itunes quality for the most part. Slightly less then CD, but in a good setup, it's pretty good.

I think the direction you go will depend a lot on what you listen to. For example, Ron and many are swayed by XM's attention to deep playlists. On the other hand, people like myself seldom listen to the music channels (I tried to keep a diary as we index here and realize I listen to NPR/NFL/CNN/SIRIUS RIGHT/LEFT far more then I do any music) so when we switch over to music, I generally like picking up music I know

(however, anymore when I flick over to music, it's for Shade45, while not a giant rap fan, I enjoy the banter from the DJs and interviews far more then the music).

Both services have significant pluses that differentiate themselves from the other. These are the kind of thing that help make decisions for people. Neither service provides everything, but both provide a good mix of niche product that attracts their audience.

I'll admit, the best news I had from SIRI recently came when they expanded airings of CarTalk, which doesn't air here on any of our local NPR affiliates at a normal time that I can find

Dean_S · 12-28-2004, 12:00 PM

I complain frequently about the sound quality of Sirius but it's still better then FM. What annoys me about the sound is the highs are thin/tinny sounding and bass is way overboasted around 40hz. Even though I wish it was truly CD quality (it's very far from it) I still wouldn't give up the service b/c I love the programming and it is better then FM.

**HTF Ads**

Ronald Epstein · 12-28-2004, 02:06 PM

Trust me -- go with XM.

The sound quality between both services is
very similar though I find Sirius to be noticeably
harsher in its highs.

Neither service will give you CD quality. Don't
expect it. What you should expect is audio that
is at MP3 quality, far superior to FM.

My problem with Sirius? The reception in the car.
If you live in an area that does not have enough
repeaters expect dropouts whenever you go beneath
an underpass. Expect complete signal dropout whenever
you go under a gas station or drive-thru bank overhang.
All these reception problems are due to the fact that
Sirius satellites are higher in the sky and cannot
get under anything with an overhang.

Finally.....

I always get slammed for saying this, but it is
absolute fact....

If you want satellite radio for MUSIC, then XM
is the better choice. Sirius plays mostly the same
songs/artists over and over again. Their programming
philosophy is hits based. XM, on the other hand,
plays a far wider variety of music with lots more
songs that you probably haven't heard in a while.

Chris · 12-28-2004, 05:36 PM

Quote:

My problem with Sirius? The reception in the car.
If you live in an area that does not have enough
repeaters expect dropouts whenever you go beneath
an underpass. Expect complete signal dropout whenever
you go under a gas station or drive-thru bank overhang.
All these reception problems are due to the fact that
Sirius satellites are higher in the sky and cannot
get under anything with an overhang.

??

I'm not sure how this may spread throughout the country. I have also tried both, and through my stretch of the world, I have had a far more difficult time with XM (in Western Kansas, in particular) then with SIRIUS.

YMMV.

Michael St. Clair · 12-28-2004, 06:22 PM

I find each to sound about like 96kbps MP3.

Quote:

The sound quality between both services is very similar though I find Sirius to be noticeably harsher in its highs.

The elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about is this: What will happen to XM sound quality this spring when they add up to 16 channels for baseball?

Chris · 12-28-2004, 07:17 PM

Quote:

The elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about is this: What will happen to XM sound quality this spring when they add up to 16 channels for baseball?

Yeah, I've posed that elsewhere without a good answer. The thing is, SIRIUS gets beat up for pre-empting channels, but for baseball, as I noted.. that's hard.. because you'd be interrupting at all hours, every day different channels rather then Sunday, set times, during show repeats for a big slice of the day.

SIRIUS gets bagged at times for interrupting "Air America" or "Patriot Network" on Sundays, but those are "best of" shows, whereas with baseball, you're talking middle of the week first runs.

So, XM is instead adding channels.. and they are, in fact (after calling and speaking to a rep) doing both home/away calls of many games. So, you'll have moments where 16+ new channels are created. What kind of impact will that have on the bandwidth *shrug* nobody knows.