XM sound on an XM-ready Onkyo not great (1 Viewer)

[Joe Pick]

I have a new Onkyo TX-SR603, and for the most part, it works great for me in my living room. I picked up the XM Connect and Play antenna, since my 603 is XM-ready, and I'm disappointed with the sound quality. DVDs, movies, even my iPod and regular FM radio sound better than the XM quality! I was really surprised. It sounds nowhere near as full or detailed as the other sound inputs.

I connected it using the XM port on the back of the 603. Is so-so sound normal? Anything I can do to improve it? Is there a chance the antenna is defective or something? I tried all the various sound options with no real improvement.

 

[Eric-S]

I don't have the XM service, but I do get it throuth DirecTv. I have had the same experience. I am less than impressed with the sound quality.

 

[Brian L]

I am a big fan of XM, but the best you will get out of it is MP3 sound quality, and maybe not first rate MP3 on top of that. It does vary be channel.

I have on only one occasion connected my XM receiver to my main HT rig, and was seriously disappointed.

For me, XM is all about hearing great music that I would otherwise miss out on....it is not a high fidelity medium.

Brian

 

[Joe Pick]

Maybe so. I still don't get it, though. In my car, XM sounds as good or better than CDs, so why so bad on my Onkyo?

 

[mylan]

I've had XM for about a month and it varies between MP3 to FM quality on my factory car stereo. I think it depends on the age of the song and what channel you are listening to. I think XM devotes more bandwidth to more popular channels.
I have been both underwelmed and very satisfied depending on these factors. You have to admit, it beats FM radio.

 

[mylan]

Sorry, I missed your reply there. What is happening is the fidelity on your car stereo is no where near what your Onkyo can do. I got the new Nickleback CD, which sounded great on my car stereo, and played it through my home system and it sounded horrible. The better your home system sounds, the more the limitations are reveled on a more accurate system. Same goes for XM.