Quality of satellite radio.

[jsbush]

What does to quality of satellite radio (such as Sirius and XM) comepare to?

I've heard it a couple times and found it had pretty bad quallity, worse then 192kbps encoded mp3.

 

[mugs]

If you want CD quality, buy a CD.

I think the quality would depend on whether you have a Sirius/XM headunit, or a receiver with an FM modulator or tape adapter.

 

[jsbush]

Hows the quality using proper equiment like a Sirius or XM ready headunit?

 

[OMG1Penguin]

The quality is similar to MP3, probably a little better than 192kbs.
The programming, however, is brilliant. After owning XM equipment for a year, FM sounds like trash and is always playing commercials.

If you're curious, I'm using an Alpine deck with an Alpine XM box, so there's no signal loss between them.

 

[imported_smilingcrow]

Originally posted by: jsbush
What does to quality of satellite radio (such as Sirius and XM) comepare to?

I've heard it a couple times and found it had pretty bad quallity, worse then 192kbps encoded mp3.

In the UK the bit rates used vary a lot. Commercial rock stations might be 128 kb, whereas the BBC will use up to I think 256 kb, at least for Radio 3 which plays classical music. Other BBC stations use lower bit rates.
I'm suprised to hear you suggest 192 kbps MP3 is pretty bad? I'd have thought that bit rate would be considered good for a radio station? Certainly better than FM.
In Europe the audio standard for digital audio trasmitted by satellite is not MP3 compatible. As I seem to remember, if you record a radio show it will be saved in mp2 or mpa format. It has to be re-encoded if you want an MP3 file. It'll play in your favourite media player no doubt, but you don't get the ID3 tags.

As a side note, DAB generally uses lower bandwidth per station than Satellite, at least in the UK. The BBC will broadcast the same programs on DAB as Satellite, but generally at lower bit rates.
It's digital terrestrial radio, which has a larger potential audience, hence the interest is higher and companies are choosing to broadcast larger number of lower bit rates stations with their bandwidth. There isn't much free bandwidth in that part of the spectrum which puts pressure on bit rates also.

 

[TubStain]

I have a Sirius plug n play hooked up directly to my logitech Z-560 speakers and the sound quality is as good as MP3's on the music streams.

As said already, it's largely dependent on the connections. Use the fm modulator or tape adapter and quality goes down.

for a car the clearest will be a direct RCA connection for a plug n play unit or a sirius tuner + headunit combo.

satellite radio rocks.

 

[vi edit]

I've found that it's highly station dependent too. Some of the stations have less bandwith allocated to them and thus have a bit of that "washed out" sound to them that lower quality MP3's have. Sirius claims to have "on demand bandwith allocation" but I think it's more marketing hype than anything. I regularly listen to Hard Attack and it definitely has less bandwith dedicated to it than other stations like Octane or Faction.

 

[QuietGuy247]

Satellite Radio is mostly for truckers and rental car agencies. It's nearly impossible to mass produce radios stations that can match or surpass the quality of established local stations. HD Radio is the real future.

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/learningcenter/car/hdradio.html

 

[vi edit]

Lacking in quality? As in sound or programming? Because if it's for programming then I think you are absolutely wrong. Name me one "established" music station that I can follow on a two hour drive that is uncensored and commercial free.

 

[VWhed]

our company owner just got XM radio and it is absolutely sweet. We used to listen to a different channel every day (because of repeats) now it's like every two or three days. PS: The game where you are the first to name the song and artist is much cooler with XM than broadcast radio. It is a little more difficult because the playlists are much bigger than broadcast.