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Will they ever make Sat radio sound better then FM?

post #1 of 13
9/8/05 at 9:36am
Thread Starter 
I have listed to a number of XM and Sirius units and all of them still have that very high . . . .tinsel sound.

Sure, they sound better then SOME FM stations but Sat radio still have that unique sound quality.

I do find it awesome in my car and will never be without it. I can't decide if I should buy a lifetime contract or go year to year.

Funny thing is - the ONLY time I have had it cut out is in an open space. No problems in my garage or even in the 1st underground floor of a parking garage. What's up with that!!! I thought I had to have line of sight or something.
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post #2 of 13
9/8/05 at 10:41am
Brian,

I'll try to answer your second question first,
but it will be difficult because you didn't
state which satellite radio service you own.

I find Sirius has a lot more dead spots than
XM radio. This is primarily due to the fact
that Sirius satellites orbit higher in the sky
and can't get under overpasses or any sort of
roof structure. Sirius was supposed to expand
the number of repeaters to combat this problem
but here in Central NJ I still get dropouts.

That's the only explanation I can give you if
it is Sirius you are having a problem with.

As far as satellite not sounding any better
than FM....

The problem is available bandwidth. Both XM
and SIRIUS were only allocated a small amount
of bandwidth. They went the obvious route of
offering variety over sound quality. This meant
that by offering well over 160 channels of
content they would have to compromise on sound
quality by compressing their audio.

Both XM and Sirius have fine tuned their channels
so that talk radio gets far less bandwidth than
the music channels. It's more evident on Sirius
where talk radio sometimes sounds like it is coming
out of a soup can. However, you'll hear IMPROVED
audio quality on the more popular music channels
simply because the bandwidth is being intelligently
diverted.

I and everyone else wishes that satellite radio
would offer High-Definition music. It's sort of
funny that commercial radio is doing it -- but let's
face it -- who wants to hear high definition music
followed with DJ banter and commercials? I would
much rather listen to commercial-free satellite radio
with its wider playlists (especially evident on XM).

Besides, I could see other problems if satellite
becomes high-definition. Imagine how outraged the
music industry would be if people could record
high definition audio right off of satellite.
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post #3 of 13
9/8/05 at 10:10pm
Considering I primarily listen to XM in the car, high def radio is kinda a waste for me. I'd rather have the content, and there is plenty of channel ideas not covered by satellite currently for it.

I'd like XM to upgrade their online stream, but since the firewall has tightened up at work, that's less important than it used to be.

Jason
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post #4 of 13
9/9/05 at 9:36am
I have XM in both vehicles- soon in the house. I know in the Vehicles FM does not even come close too the sound quality of xm. My XM is almost as good as CD. I cant say anything about Sirus...I have no experience...Just on XM.
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post #5 of 13
9/9/05 at 10:48am
I read people knock satellite radio
sound quality quite often.

Here's my take....

Satellite Radio sounds best in a car with
a decent sound system that includes a subwoofer. You
need to tweak the audio output to your liking. I find
adding bass and loudness helps immensely.

I burn music to CD on a regular basis from YAHOO
UNLIMITED. That service provides their music
downloads at 192kbps. If I understand correctly,
a CD is around at least 320kbps. The CDs I make at
192kbps sound a little better than XM or SIRIUS radio.
For that reason I would estimate that both services
compress their music below 192kbps.

This is STILL better than FM radio -- especially
for the fact that satellite provides crystal-clear
audio with absolutely no background noise that you
normally hear on FM broadcast. Depending on your
car stereo and the way you hook up your unit
(factory install or direct connect is the best
solution), it would be difficult for non-audiophiles
to distinguish between satellite and CD.

If you are using the FM transmitter to listen to
satellite -- well, it's gonna sound only like a
strong FM station.

Satellite radio also sounds amazingly good on
boomboxes and through computer speakers. However,
if you try to push satellite radio through an
expensive home system, you may not be happy. The
best solution for home stereo systems is to
integrate a satellite receiver that has optical
output.
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post #6 of 13
9/12/05 at 9:03am
Ronald...I'll let ya know when I get my Yamaha Home reciever going with XM here shortly.

I agree...If your using FM modulator...then what is the point IMO- The sound will only be as good as the FM tuner in your radio.
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post #7 of 13
9/14/05 at 6:58am
Quote:
If I understand correctly, a CD is around at least 320kbps.
The digital audio on CDs is uncompressed and far exceeds 320 kbps.
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post #8 of 13
9/14/05 at 9:37am
Tom,

Thanks for the clarification
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post #9 of 13
9/14/05 at 10:05am
CD rate is around 1400Kbps, quite a lot more data.

But the important thing in compressed audio is the perceived quality of the playback since psychoacoustics are involved when the compression algorithm is deciding what data to throw away.

I still wish that XM had a better perceived playback quality than it currently does; but -- as Ron knows -- I'm still a fan of the service for its convenience and the taste and intelligence of its programmers.
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post #10 of 13
9/19/05 at 9:51am
Thread Starter 
I have a pretty good system in my car (I hope - cost $1400 LOL) and Sirius very very rarly has a dead spot. I just went on a vacation and it really only cut out once or twice.

I think it's a bandwidth problem. The more I tweak my car system the better I can get it but still, not perfect.

With all that said - I'll never go back and am considering a lifetime contract for Sirius which I think is way better then XM bang for buck. Just better rock and more of it. (just my opinion).
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post #11 of 13
9/19/05 at 12:40pm
Quote:
I have a pretty good system in my car (I hope - cost $1400 LOL) and Sirius very very rarly has a dead spot. I just went on a vacation and it really only cut out once or twice.


I guess it depends on where you are, but half the time, it would cut out when I went under overpasses. It did it every time on one I go under on my way to work. XM is more localized and seems to cut out where they don't have good repeater coverage.

Quote:
With all that said - I'll never go back and am considering a lifetime contract for Sirius which I think is way better then XM bang for buck. Just better rock and more of it. (just my opinion).


Different strokes for different folks. I tried Sirius first, and while initially excited, the lack of depth really killed it for me. Also, there wasn't much beyond the Rock genre that really interested me. There is just more for me to listen to on XM. Not to say XM doesn't have its problems as well, but I much prefer it to Sirius.

Jason
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post #12 of 13
9/21/05 at 1:24pm
Thread Starter 
I'm basically 95% rock, thats why I picked sirius, plus the fact that friends here in Madsion have big time XM reception problems and also since I have DISH Net I'm familier with it.

He can't even us XM in the city - maybe it's because Sirius is higher in the sky??
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post #13 of 13
9/22/05 at 6:43am
Brian
They already have its called Polk XRt12 for in-home use. Check it out if you have an opportunity.
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