The sound level when I switch to XM is a good 2-3 bars quieter than the FM/CD/Music box inputs. I don't understand why the volume is so different, it's been like this since I bought it. 2012 g37s sedan. Any tips to tell the dealer or any idea what it is? I don't want them blindly ripping apart my car looking for an issue. Anyone else have this issue?

 

Have the same thing in my 2010 G37xS sedan. Don't think there is anything that can be done about it. I have driven several cars with XM and they all seem to have the same issue. I also do a lot of aftermarket radio installs and even those have it. My friends Lexus is the only car I have been in that didn't seem to have the same problem. I have never really gotten a good answer for what causes XM to be quieter, but it never really bothered me enough to spend a lot of time on it. I would be curious to find out tho. But, I doubt there is anything actually wrong with your car.

 

The signal from XM is really compressed so it negatively impacts sound quality and volume. One of the bad parts of the Sirius-XM merger....especially if you were a legacy Sirius subscriber because they didn't compress their signal as much so the sound quality was much better. Think of it like the difference between a low bit rate MP3 (which is more compressed) vs one with a higher bit rate (closer to cd quality and less compressed).

 

Same problem here...the quality is disappointing.

 

it's odd because my g/f's 2006 accord with the stock xm radio sounds great on XM, sounds really similar to a CD.

On my 07 Tundra with the JBL system the FM radio was quieter than all other inputs and the bass was almost non-existant, switch it to a CD or ipod and it'd be great, didn't have XM on the truck though.

I was concerned it might be the tint the dealer put on the car, mine was a "showroom floor model" so they put tint on it to show off the option to people. I like the tint so I wouldn't get rid of it as the issue isn't that annoying, just seemed odd to me when my g/f's XM sounds so much better on the "base model" radio.

Guess I'm glad to know I don't have a one off dud, but its disappointing to hear in general the quality isn't good. I'll probably drop the service after my "6 month for $25" promotion expires.