XM not = CD Quality?

[Spaceboy464 10+ year member]

I have factory XM radio installed in my Audi. The XM does not sound anything like my cds. Yes it is clearer than FM but it is lacking highs and lows (it sounds muddy). Could this be the factory (Bose) system. Again, CDs sound great! Should I give Sirius a try?

Click to read more...

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

No xm is not cd quality by any means. Most people describe it as a bit worse than a 128kbps mp3 file. As far as serious being better, people argue both ways, they are likely very similar.

 

[Spaceboy464 10+ year member]

Ah that sounds about right.

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

when i ran my xm through my aux inputs on my headunit it sounded very nice. very close to cd quality. a lot depends on the headunit s well.

 

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

when i ran my xm through my aux inputs on my headunit it sounded very nice. very close to cd quality. a lot depends on the headunit s well.

and your speakers. Higher end systems will reveal more flaws. I have described sirius(which i have had for a few years) as better than fm but not as good as cd. I can live with that considering when I listen to SIrius, it is usually on sports talk radio.

 

[KingDiamond 10+ year member]

I read that XM and Sirius have at least half of the stations at a lower quality because of bandwith issues. Also Sirius is supposed to have better sound quality according to comparison articles that I have read.

 

[OlogyAudio 10+ year member]

I read that XM and Sirius have at least half of the stations at a lower quality because of bandwith issues. Also Sirius is supposed to have better sound quality according to comparison articles that I have read.

I heard XM is 128 and sirus is 96 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif... just hearsay though I'd never subscribe to ethr of them... I mean with wimax being so close... why bother?

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

No Hi's No Low's, it must be Blose.

 

[brad 10+ year member]

Wimax????

 

[Spaceboy464 10+ year member]

No Hi's No Low's, it must be Blose.

Ya but the CDs still sound better.

 

[OlogyAudio 10+ year member]

Wimax????

Cost effective wireless broadband internet coast to coast... verizon wireless has a crappy version of it available now... I don't know what they are doing rly... wasting money if you ask me...

 

[MegaHurtz 10+ year member]

No Hi's No Low's, it must be Blose.

Hahahaha you beat me to it.

Sirius/XM are not near as high quality as they advertise. I expected literally CD quality when I signed up for Sirius, but was somewhat disappointed to learn that it is just glorified FM. From what I hear, Sirius has better SQ, but not having heard XM for myself I can't comment. If XM is lower quality than Sirius, then all I have to say is dear God. I think they are encoded around 64-96kbit though, definitely NOT CD quality... the lowest bitrate that you would want for MP3 is prob 128k, with 192k being quite acceptable, and 320k being basically a perfect match.

 

[brad 10+ year member]

XM online streaming is 128kBps, I know because I am listening to it right now.

The XM in my car seems to have acceptable quality, but I have it directly wired to the HU, no FM modulators; those really hurt the quality.

EDIT: Some channels have lower bitrate than others, especially the talk channels.