calvin_hobbes

Is everyone happy with sound quality of XM and ripped cds at 136kps?

Playing a cd in the demo car i am driving sounds awesome.
Cant rip one in this car.
But sound quality of XM doesnt seem much better than FM.

Based on 30 minute drive.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

XM sound quality is poor IMO, some stations better than others. Ripped CD's are so so at best.

Mike P

iTrader: (1)

XM depends on the station. In years past music was compressed. So on XM's older music stations the songs are more mid-range and thus sound muddier. A ripped CD sounds great as does an iPod.

calvin_hobbes

I wonder why XM quality is inferior?????
If it is this poor, i see no reason to have a subscription beyond the trial period.
Also the demo car i am using doesn display the whole song. that is ANNOYING.

Mike P

iTrader: (1)

The interface is limited in the number of characters it displays, it sucks. iPod shows whole album and song. Much better. I like the sports when I travel with XM and I like the NavTraffic. Has helpped me miss some major road blocks over the last few months. Set the destination and then regularily ask for traffic conditions along route. Great stuff.

DJ Hellfire

I always thought satellite radio sound quality was crap. I remember when it first came out, people were saying it sounds better than FM or like a cd. To me it sounds like a low quality MP3, like 96kbps. I think FM sounds better personally. I haven't listened to the ripped cd's yet. I just ripped my first cd on the way home from work today!

KLB

XM is good for the variety of stations you get. When I first had a car with satellite radio, I did not think I would pay for it after the trial. After having it for a while, I won't be without it. It makes the 2 1/2 - 3 hours each day I spend in the car a bit easier to deal with. Sports, news, music, humor.

As for the actual quality of the music, I am much less picky than many others here. It sounds ok to me.

Remo101

iTrader: (3)

I can hardly stand the quality of XM. I mostly listen to MP3 discs ripped at 320 bit rate. When I listen to XM it's mostly for news and other stuff. OK yes I'm not in my 20's anymore .

Mike S.

XM/Sirius....so so sound quality. I think that a clear/strong FM station is better. CD's sound great in the bose. Ipod (depending upon what kbps) sounds very good...just a notch below CD's.

The sirius in my 06 Altima with bose sounded SO muddy. The xm in my G sounds better than the altima. For the record, CD's in the Altima sounded great so the bose was a good system.

Dunno if XM setup was better quality from the get go over Sirius. I know the content is the same now since the merger but the equipment is still seperate i belive.

DJ Hellfire

This Bose system is awesome. I am still debating on whether or not to throw my 10" Type E in the trunk. I want the trunk space though. That new fiberglass box is looking promising though!

Also, did XM and Sirius merge or something?

KLB

Yep. They merged their corporate structures and programming, but they are still separate from an account and hardware standpoint. We have a Dodge truck with Sirius and the G with XM. I have to have two totally separate accounts, sadly.

Mike P

iTrader: (1)

Yes, over a year ago they agreed and the FCC approved. You can purchase the XM and the best of Sirius (the stations in the Sirius line-up that XM does not have, ex. NFL, Howard Stern, etc.) subscription very easily on-line, I spent around $600 for the 3 years and NavTraffic approximately $17 per month. I like the service around town and when on long trips, especially when I get tired of my iPod. I like having the NHL and other sports too. I have not used the flash drive or ripped many CD's. CD's do sound the best, though.

klossfam

Really need to use the iPod connection for the best sound...XM does suck (on all car stereos in reality > FM is better - even though FM rolls off the highs at 15 KHz)...

I use a good ole' iPod Gen I Nano and have most everything at 192 bit rate or higher. That provides the best sound test of the Burr-Brown-Bose system.

upperdecker

Apple lossless files sound pretty good, too. I'm probably wasting space on the iPod, though, as the difference between 192k or higher mp3 files and lossless probably can't even be detected on a car stereo, particularly given the ambient noise associated with driving. Either way, it's the best car stereo I've ever had, so I'm happy. A USB port would have been nice though...

Tom

Mockenrue

Does the iPod connection pass digital or analog? In other words, does the G37 DAC do the digital to audio conversion, or does the iPod? If it's the latter, than the 24 bit burr-brown DACs are only active with CDs in the player and yeah... lossless is not going to help much.