DocTL

I just got my '05 TL and I love the built in XM feature. I've personally installed the XM Roady in my other cars and the factory integrated unit sounds the best of them all. In my MDX (traded in for the TL) I had it wired in using the FM modulator and it sounded pretty good for what it was. In my NSX, I tried the tape deck adaptor and it sounded like crap. The main differences that I notice between the factory and aftermarket version is that there is no "tin can" sound with the factory version and the reception is also better.

bluenoise

This is being widely discussed on the XM forums as many people have noticed a drop in XM's audio quality. I have both Sirius and XM. I listen to Sirius in the house using a Kenwood receiver plugged into my home theatre setup. I listen to XM in my TL and in my wife's Yukon, which is equipped with a SkiFi2 receiver. The Sirius audio quality is clearly superior, while XM's low-bitrate graininess is evident in both receivers. Though I am an audio professional, my brother-in-law is not. He works in graphics, but he described XM's sound quality quite accurately: "It sounds pixelated."

Some channels are worse than others, too. For example, 11 is consistently better than 16, even on the same song. Likewise for 80 and 81. Today, channel 45 sounded pretty good, but 50 sounded quite bad. The most noticeable qualities are the ringing artifacts and the way high frequencies, such as cymbals, the letter S, and hi-hats are turned to digital hash which lack any definition.

Though I am very disappointed with XM's quality, I'm still going to subscribe once my trial period is up as it's another source of entertainment for my 2-hour commute. Of course, it's suckers like me that whine, but still pay, that will keep XM thinking they are "doing it right."

underdog_RENAMED2

OK, so now I'm really curious.....

http://www.polkaudio.com/xm/quality.php?p=

Polk is claiming excellent sound quality. Now, as we all know, you need to have a good source in order to get good sound. Garbage in -> Garbage out.

This unit might lead us to believe that XM's streaming may not be the culprit, but more the digital/analog converters (DACs).....

NFLblitze1

honestly...how can you argue in an age where weve just come out with satellite radio and are slowly leaving behind the FM/AM radio, not now...but soon it will slowly become less popular but how can you argue when XM's sound quality is 100x better then FM Radio....

Neko

Something doesn't seem right to me about that Polk component - just because a marketing glossy calls it an audiophile component doesn't make it one. You have to stop and think about why this is the first "component tuner" ever released for XM. Nobody else thought of it? I doubt it. More likely it is considered a waste due to the quality of the source in the first place. I would love to hear one, though.

I think it is generally agreed by folks outside this board that the XM stream in general is highly compressed even on music channels. So some of what we hear in the TL is due to that. Near CD quality is marketing hype. Sounds to me similar a 96kbps or 128kbps mp3. Fine for casual listening but clearly inferior to CD - there is very audible degradation.

I agree with those that say it is not the TL sound system per se, DVD-A's sound great, very little to complain about considering it is in a car (high end could be smoother, bass could reach a little lower and have more impact). Now I realize to some people that "better" means louder and more bass, that is not what I'm talking about.


As for XM sound quality being 100x better than FM radio: I'm not so sure about that. I have a vintage FM tuner at home that can sound wonderful, certainly better than what I am hearing from XM devices so far.

Newer/digital does not always mean better. Professional photographers in general do not use digital cameras. Snobs? When you compare side by side, even with the ultra high resolution digital cameras - analog cameras provide superior smoothness and resolution of fine details.

The same battle was waged with CD vs. Vinyl. CD's were supposed to be the ultimate since they were digital. There are people today that still swear that a decent vinyl system will beat any CD system. I have heard several high end vinyl systems and I definitely hear what they are talking about, vinyl has a smoothness and a naturalness that formats like DVD-A and SACD are just now starting to approach. However, I live in the real world, vinyl just isn't pratical - especially in the car.

bluenoise

It seems to depend on the channel. When I first got it, I was trying to listen to channels 10, 16, 44, 75, and a few others. I found the grating digital hash too hard to bear for more than 30-40 minutes and would switch to a CD/DVD or AM talk. It just hurt too much. FM is not worth the hassle as I'd rather just listen to my engine than anything on my FM dial. Now I've found a few channels that are better quality. I didn't realize there was such a difference from channel-to-channel. For example, in the Country genre, channel 11 is far better-sounding than 10 or 16. For Rock, channel 45 is quite good, too. While it's not "CD-quality" as many have claimed, it is tolerable and better than FM. Still, the high-frequencies are munged, but it's less harsh on those channels.

I wish they'd remove some of the music and talk channels so the remaining ones get more bandwidth and quality. For example, channel 16 is just country hits, but 11 is those hits mixed with hits from the past. You will hear the same songs on both, so eliminate 16 to reallocate its bandwidth.

bluenoise

Well said.

Regarding the Polk device, it's like having a component version of a microcassette player. No matter how good the circuitry is, the source data is where the quality limitations exist. The best such a device can do is provide the most faithful reproduction of the crap it's being fed.

1995hoo

That's what a CD recorder is for! At home I listen on vinyl whenever I can (picked up a Rega P3 with a Linn Adikt cartridge last summer), and if I want to be able to listen to the album in the car I just record it onto a CD.

I think it boils down to what the proper comparison is. XM is first and foremost another form of radio. When it is compared to AM and FM, I think there is no contest--I prefer XM any day for a large number of reasons, including no commercials, less DJ patter, usually better reception, song title display, and being able to keep the same station on for the whole trip. That last is one of the best things--no more having to have the signal break up halfway between DC and Charlottesville. On the whole I prefer the sound quality to that of FM as well, although there are a few annoying spots where the reception always drops out due to overpasses or buildings. (On the other hand, XM doesn't go to static in front of the Pentagon the way some of the FM stations do.)

XM can't compete with an LP on a good turntable, or with an SACD or a DVD-A, or even with well-recorded CDs, but regular radio can't either. It's unfortunate that some of the XM hype has led people to believe that it can. If it is viewed strictly as a radio service--for that is what it is, after all--on the whole I am quite happy with it.

(Now, the sound quality on the traffic channels does stink, but that's because they compress those further to save bandwidth. Makes sense if you consider that (1) those are not channels you listen to for any length of time because you listen to your report and then change the channel, and (2) all they are is someone talking and repeating the same info.)

underdog_RENAMED2

More information regarding the Polk.

http://www.time.com/time/gadget/20041117/

Here is a quote from the article....

"It certainly sounded good to me. I had been expecting the tell-tales of compressed audio: the faint swish-swish-swish, the shaky background instruments, or kind of a weakness in dynamics that are memorably powerful in music formats with stronger, broader signals. The genre of acoustic rock is a particularly good giveaway because acoustic guitars are always the first to sound off. Try as I might, all I heard was great music (which, okay, may have been partly the fault of Cat Stevens and Phoebe Snow). "

Do they sell these at Best Buy, Circuit City, Good Guys, etc? Can someone who knows quality sound check on of these guys out?