Satellite radio sound quality.

[SketchMaster]

I just got Sirius today and I must say, It sounds like CRAP. Tin, gargle, you name it.

I have been reading that XM may sound better, Is this true? I do not care about who has the better line-up, I want to know if it would be worth it to switch over to XM for better sound quality or if it's even worth it at all. (I'm kinda picky about sound)

Edit: I have it hooked into the Aux on my head unit.


Update: Got rid of it, I couldn't take another moment of that ear abuse. When I took it back the guy tried to tell me that it sounds better than CD and that I must have hooked it up wrong. Even went as far to tell me that he had audiophile friends that thought it sounded great.

I have no idea what CDs that guy plays or who he hangs out with but I do know I'm not paying $12 a month for that crap. And XM does sound better but after trying their three month trial I found they didn't really play much I liked.

Now I need to decide if I want to buy a new MP3 player or finish my Car PC.

 

[keeleysam]

XM can be slightly better, but really, if you think one sounds like sh!t, they both will to you.

 

[saymyname]

Originally posted by: SketchMaster
I just got Sirius today and I must say, It sounds like CRAP. Tin, gargle, you name it.

I have been reading that XM may sound better, Is this true? I do not care about who has the better line-up, I want to know if it would be worth it to switch over to XM for better sound quality or if it's even worth it at all. (I'm kinda picky about sound)

How do you have your system setup?

I think I have my XM hard wired since I remember paying an extra $50 for a modulator rather than using the built in wireless modulator. It sounds great but I'm a bit fuzzy on my exact setup since it's been a while.

My buddy has the same setup as me but uses the stock wireless modulator and it definitely doesn't sound as good. You might be SOL if you have a whole bunch of strong radio stations around the presets.

 

[brtspears2]

They both sound like junk, but the talk shows come in nicely since the talk format doesn't need high bitrate.

 

[BillGates]

I listened to my friend's Sirius on a nice stereo system in his car and the music sounded...swishy...kind of like badly-encoded mp3s from years ago. Hard to explain - but it definitely turned me off to satellite radio.

 

[ProfJohn]

I had Sirius for over a year and never had any complaints about sound.

I did have a convertable though, so the amount of wind noise tends to effect what you hear and how loud you need to play system.

I am thinking the only real difference between line ups is sports, NFL on Sirius, MLB on XM, i think you'll find the music you want on either, unless you like something really out of the main stream.

 

[getbush]

I have sirius and in my room it is wired to a home theater receiver with the rca plugs. I can definately notice the compression they have to do, as music is a little muddled and isn't as dynamic as a CD. About like an MP3 at 128kbps, or worse. I think you get about the same with both due to the compression they have to do to fit the content into their bandwidth.

 

[I Saw OJ]

Compaired to a CD, its not as good. But I would rather deal with a slight compression issue that have to hear the radio crackle, pop, snap, fade in and out like with regular radio. I think its far better.

 

[Shawn]

It's only 128k or so. Still, it sounds much better than regular radio.

 

[0roo0roo]

kinda sad they chose such a low bitrate,, but i guess they are afraid of piracy or something. too bad.

 

[Spineshank]

It doesnt sound bad if you hardwire it.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: getbush
I have sirius and in my room it is wired to a home theater receiver with the rca plugs. I can definately notice the compression they have to do, as music is a little muddled and isn't as dynamic as a CD. About like an MP3 at 128kbps, or worse. I think you get about the same with both due to the compression they have to do to fit the content into their bandwidth.

Its more like a 64-48kbps WMA file.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: Gnrslash4life
It doesnt sound bad if you hardwire it.

Yeah, it does - sounds even worse even, really brings out the compression and artifacts that way.

 

[davew0670]

Originally posted by: Gnrslash4life
It doesnt sound bad if you hardwire it.

mine is hardwired and it sounds like crap. crappy sounding music is better than a good sounding commercial though.

 

[austin316]

Yeah, hopefully eventually they will boost up the bit-rate, but after driving a rental car this week and listening to commercial after commercial on FM, I don't know how you can drive a car without an iPod or Sirius.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: austin316
Yeah, hopefully eventually they will boost up the bit-rate, but after driving a rental car this week and listening to commercial after commercial on FM, I don't know how you can drive a car without an iPod or Sirius.

Exactly. I have Sirius and think it sounds fine. Some stations are kind of tin can sounding though. But I mostly listen to talk. I have my iPod hooked up to my HU if I want some good sounding music. Anything is better than FM though.

 

[BDawg]

From what I've heard lately, XM has improved their quality and Sirius has dropped some. I bet it's cyclical. They'll make some changes and XM will get a little worse and Sirius will get a little better.

 

[K1052]

I have XM in my car through the wireless modulator, not the best solution but I haven't got around to cracking open the console to get at the radio and the antenna adapter just came out a couple months ago.

Sound quaility is fair at best but the slection is great and no commercials. In a major city it can be a bit of a pain to find a clear preset but even then you can get a little interference. Once you are clear of the city it cleans up and is a joy to have rather than be forced to listen to ony country/western, light rock, or christian music.

XM saved my sanity when I was driving 200 miles to and from Chicago 3 times a week or so.

 

[aircooled]

Without having direct inputs on your head unit. I've found the best sound quality is the tape adapter vs. any modulator or antennae adapter (of course most cars do not come with cassete players anymore).

 

[Kindjal]

I second the tape adapter. I use the tape adapter in my car with the Streamer Replay and the sound quality is very good. As I mostly listen to Howard, sound quality is not that vital.

 

[FoBoT]

my XM sounds better than FM over the air stations

 

[SketchMaster]

I have it hooked into the AUX.

I went back to Car Toys and had a guy listen to it, he said it was one of the better sounding setups he has heard. He then went on to tell me that he does agree that satellite is not the best sounding thing in the world and to him it sounds "wavy". I blew his mind when I explained to him what veritable bitrate is and thats what is causing it.

It seems like every store is using the built in FM tuner on their display units so I can't really compare them side-by-side.

 

[aswedc]

They are both total crap. If you can't tell you are deaf. It's about 64kbps. But, I have XM anyway cause FM sucks so much...

 

[UNCjigga]

If you think MP3 at 128kbps sounds bad (personally I think its fine) then satellite will sound MUCH WORSE! I think satellite sounds the same as the 56kbps or 64kbps Internet radio streams.

 

[Sheep]

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
If you think MP3 at 128kbps sounds bad (personally I think its fine) then satellite will sound MUCH WORSE! I think satellite sounds the same as the 56kbps or 64kbps Internet radio streams.

This is 100% true, though I think XM is comparable to 96 or 112kbps MP3. As I've mentioned in other XM threads, 128kbps MP3 blows both Sirius and XM away. And I say that as a loyal XM subscriber.