[warnerwh]

If anybody has tried these I'd like to know what you think of the sound quality. Is it anywhere as good as cd? Also do they make these so you can use an outboard DAC?  Thanks

[SWG255]

Hi,

In a friend's car I felt the sound of XM radio to be less than "audiophile" quality. I thought the high frequencies suffered from compression effects which I've heard on much MP3 playback. I have purchased an XM unit that connects to the PC for channel selection, and routes the audio to an external device like powered speakers or line inputs to a receiver or amp. I haven't hooked this up yet, so I don't yet know how it sounds. i bought it for only $50 plus shipping, and i don't expect it to have 'CD quality". I'm going to use it to listen to music while i'm working at the computer at home, primarily to find new music to listen to since the FM radio in the D.C. area is so abysmal.

If anybody has tried these I'd like to know what you think of the sound quality. Is it anywhere as good as cd? Also do they make these so you can use an outboard DAC?  Thanks

[doug s.]

a buddy of mine has a sirius radio in his home rig - even on cheap background wall-mount speakers, the data compression makes for noticably hard unpleasant sound.  the monopolistic effects of this type of media means ultimate uniformity in programming, while the sound quality sucks - i hope it dies a quick painful death in the marketplace.

and, i must disagree w/poor audio in the dc area.  i love wpfw - 89.3, for their jazz, latin, world music, & for pacifica's slant on world news.  88.5 wamu has bluegrass, npr, and an assortment of eclectic folk-music programs.  90.9 has classical, & npr.  being outside of frederick, md, i also get 88.9 - wvep in martinsburg, wva, which has npr, classical, jazz, folk.  and 89.7 wshc, shepardstown, wva, which has alternative rock.  there's only one commercial station worth listening to in this (or any?) area, imo, & that's wrnr, 103.1, which is outta annapolis.  they play alternative rock, w/the best mix of new/old/unknown music of any radio ever.  no playlists.  unfortunately, it's a tiny station, & ya have to be really close to get it...

doug s.

[Carlman]

The radio sucks.  I like jazz from time to time, a little classical, etc.  I only like certain varieties, though.  I like modern alternative/pseudo folk/reggae/blues type stuff.  Jack Johnson, Pete Yorn, Bob Schneider, etc... people I've never heard on the radio.  I don't like NPR's editorialized news and I really don't like commercials.  Talk radio is not good either.

I bought a car that was 'Sirius ready' so, I figured I'd give it a shot.  I couldn't be happier for car use.  It's great while working in the garage.  I have the car playing in the driveway, while enjoying an endless number of excellent songs... with NO commercials.  The DJ's are awesome.. they only talk for a few seconds to let you know what you've heard and whether any of the bands mentioned are on tour.

I agree the sound quality isn't great.  It's kind of swirly in the highs... like small MP3 files.  However, while driving, I don't really notice or care.  It sounds as good as FM with a quieter background.

For home use, I'd consider it for background music.  But, I decided to just use the cable box for the music channels.  The SQ isn't going to be great through a very revealing setup.

What I really like is hearing bands that I think are incredible where I can put them on a 'must have' list.  Or, I hear music that other people talk about and decide what all the rave was about.    Since you get to see every artist and/or song displayed that is playing in real time, it's very easy to associate bands with their music.

The only other downside is that you lose signal under bridges (sometimes) and under big trees... inside the garage.... etc. With a home mounted antenna, I doubt you'd ever lose signal.

[doug s.]

i really don't like npr's *commercial*, corporate slant on the news either - which is why i find pacifica radio such a refreshing alternative news source.

for music, i like most all kinds of music, except for hardcore country western.  in the car, my daily driver (90-100 mile commute) doesn't even *have* a radio - i listen to toons made w/my right foot...     in the home, the fm quality of my chosen stations rivals that of my digital & analog rigs...  i do at least half of my critical listening w/fm.

doug s.

[warnerwh]

Thanks guys for the info. Guess that rules that out.

[SWG255]

Hi,

The problem with WAMU and WETA FM is that 1. I can't listen to WETA's classical music offerings during the morning hours at work, although i do sometimes catch their evening programming and 2. WAMU only has music on the weekends. I sometimes catch WPFW, and i agree about the mix of jazz, blues and Reggae. Again, though, I'm often disappointed when I tune it in. I'll have to break out the old Dynalab RF amplifier and try to catch the other NPR stations you mentioned, although I think they'll be too far away for serious listening. As for WRNR, I remember when it was WHFS, and that was a terrific radio station, as were WGTB and WAMU back in the 70's when FM radio was still mostly for good music.

I suppose i could listen to the music channels from Direct TV through my Tivo, too bad i can't record them like TV shows though.

I still think subscription radio may have a future. I can remember when folks said they'd never pay for TV broadcasts, and now most people have cable or satelite TV which they pay for. There's still a lot of good music out there, and i want some alternate ways to find it.

[Carlman]

I still think subscription radio may have a future. I can remember when folks said they'd never pay for TV broadcasts, and now most people have cable or satelite TV which they pay for. There's still a lot of good music out there, and i want some alternate ways to find it. ...

This is exactly why I decided to go with Sirius.  It's one thing to hear about CD's or records people bought in the Music Circle but, it's so much better to actually listen to it in my car.  There's a ton of music I haven't heard before that gets played that I like... like the Derek Trucks Band, Susan Tedeschi (sp?), and others I would never hear on normal radio.... it's great just to hear good music.  The lack of commercials a BIG bonus.

I never have to worry about grabbing CD's before I leave for a trip either.  Also, if I get tired of music, there's tons of other talk type stuff.

[JLM]

IMO the key to acceptable background listening for this type of source is the use of non-detailed musical speakers that commit "sins of omission, not comission".  These are the same kind of speakers that you can listen to any kind of source all day without fatigue, so they make a great match.