XM Radio Sound Quality
#1
Thread Starter
Pole Position
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 330
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From: CA
XM Radio Sound Quality
I just installed my XM radio and the sound quality isnt a lot to brag about...I thought it was supposed to be CD quality?
I installed my antenna near by 3rd brake light inside the car...would the sound quality get better if I placed it on the outside of the car?
How does everyone elses sound quality compare with say FM..AM..or CD.
BTW..I have the standard Pioneer Radio and not ML.
I installed my antenna near by 3rd brake light inside the car...would the sound quality get better if I placed it on the outside of the car?
How does everyone elses sound quality compare with say FM..AM..or CD.
BTW..I have the standard Pioneer Radio and not ML.
#4
I've had no complaints about the quality of my Lexus-supplied XM's audio.
If you're getting signal with the inside mount, you'll get as much audio quality as it's capable of. It's a digital data stream, and bad reception manifests itself as stuttering and outright dropout.
That said, it's probably a Good Idea to mount the antenna on the outside so that you get reception under marginal conditions; there's no reason not to. The antenna will survive getting washed with no problems.
If you're getting signal with the inside mount, you'll get as much audio quality as it's capable of. It's a digital data stream, and bad reception manifests itself as stuttering and outright dropout.
That said, it's probably a Good Idea to mount the antenna on the outside so that you get reception under marginal conditions; there's no reason not to. The antenna will survive getting washed with no problems.
#5
Lexus Champion
A lot depends on the quality of the original recording.....garbage in, garbage out. But if it is a clean recording the sound is as good as a CD, imo. I was listening to the '70's on 7' channel today and although most recordings made in that era weren't all that great I was quite surprised at the depth of the bass and clarity on many of the tracks. As good as a CD. My antenna is mounted outside, so don't know if that makes a difference. Overall I'm very pleased with the sound quality of XM.
#6
If you're getting static, alternator whine, etc., you may have a loose connection or even a bad tuner. Unless the music is cutting out totally on you, changing the location of the antenna probably won't do anything. Since the music is digital, you either get the signal or you don't.
Trending Topics
#9
#11
I hate the expression "CD Quality". It's a meaningless marketing term. Digital modulation does eliminate analog noise but in most cases it gets heavily compressed.
The XM system operates at 12.5MHz BW and has ~170 channels so the bitrates are adjusted depending on the channel. So the end result is you get mediocre to poor sound. But in this day and age of mp3 files, I don't think most people even know what good sound is.
The XM system operates at 12.5MHz BW and has ~170 channels so the bitrates are adjusted depending on the channel. So the end result is you get mediocre to poor sound. But in this day and age of mp3 files, I don't think most people even know what good sound is.
#13
If anything, it got worse IMO. The IS stock audio is much better than my '05 MDX's, but somehow I think the XM quality in my MDX was better. More compression maybe???
#14
CD quality usually refers to the sampling rate that the original recording was made (44.1 kHz). Satellite radio (XM and Sirius) does suffer from compression loss throughout most of their stations. If you know what you're getting (i.e. reduced sound quality) it's not such a big deal, but don't expect high-quality sound from satellite radio. FYI the DVD-Audio capability in the ML sound system has a 192 kHz sampling rate for comparison. Unfortunately the technology is just about DOA and limited to mostly classical recordings.
#15
I hate the expression "CD Quality". It's a meaningless marketing term. Digital modulation does eliminate analog noise but in most cases it gets heavily compressed.
The XM system operates at 12.5MHz BW and has ~170 channels so the bitrates are adjusted depending on the channel. So the end result is you get mediocre to poor sound. But in this day and age of mp3 files, I don't think most people even know what good sound is.
The XM system operates at 12.5MHz BW and has ~170 channels so the bitrates are adjusted depending on the channel. So the end result is you get mediocre to poor sound. But in this day and age of mp3 files, I don't think most people even know what good sound is.