XM Radio

Emil · « **on:** 14 Jul 2008, 04:21 pm »

Just purchased a new car that came with 3 months of free XM radio and all I can is WOW

I'm thinking of getting a receiver for work but I'm concerned about possible reception problems. I work near computers, have fluorescent lighting and am no where near a window. Currently, I'm unable to get AM reception and only a couple of lame local FM stations.
Does anyone have XM reception in a similar or worst reception area?

ohenry · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 04:38 pm »

You are going to need a clear shot at the satellite to get reception, so at least a window opening is needed to have a chance of it working for you. I have a portable sat. radio that has an wired antenna pod that you can position in a doorway or window.

You'll notice that your car will lose the signal when to go into a parking deck or garage (at least mine does).

Emil · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 04:47 pm »

Thanks Henry
So what you are saying is that I would need an XM antenna placed near a window and then have it transmitted to the receiver. Is this done wireless?

ohenry · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 05:09 pm »

Emil,
The only antennas I have seen are wired. That's not to say there isn't an antenna transmitter/receiver out there. You may need to fight harder for that office with a window!!!

EDIT: This could be what you (and I) need...
http://digitalmediaoutlet.com/Delphi-SA10116-Indoor-XM-Signal-Repeater/M/B000A0GQUI.htm?utm_campaign=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle

JLM · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 05:14 pm »

I don't understand why home based XM or HDFM hasn't taken off more. IME its a waste to have hi-fi radio in the car and low-fi at home. But I'm in the small minority that consider myself somewhat of an audiophile. OTOH doesn't anyone listen to the radio at home?

Emil · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 05:30 pm »

Henry

So there is hope.

Look at the customer reviews. One say it works great and another says it doesnt work at all

Emil · « **Reply #6 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 05:32 pm »

Quote from: JLM on 14 Jul 2008, 05:14 pm

I don't understand why home based XM or HDFM hasn't taken off more. IME its a waste to have hi-fi radio in the car and low-fi at home. But I'm in the small minority that consider myself somewhat of an audiophile. OTOH doesn't anyone listen to the radio at home?

JLM
Radio will always be about background music. Something to listen to while doing something else.
XM Radio is more about quantity and variety than sound quality although it does sound better than FM

ohenry · « **Reply #7 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 05:45 pm »

Quote from: Emil on 14 Jul 2008, 05:30 pm

Henry

So there is hope.

Look at the customer reviews. One say it works great and another says it doesnt work at all

Like just about everything in life, the truth lies in the middle.

byteme · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 09:28 pm »

As a subscriber you can stream many of their channels over the internet as well, which, could provide a workable solution for you.

Danny Richie · « **Reply #9 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 10:57 pm »

I get XM radio bundled in with my Direct TV service. I really do like it.

You can also get something similar streaming into you computer just by going here: http://music.aol.com/radioguide/bb

I often use it now as I have to have music going while I work.

And it's free.

doug s. · « **Reply #10 on:** 15 Jul 2008, 08:48 pm »

Quote from: Emil on 14 Jul 2008, 05:32 pm

JLM
Radio will always be about background music. Something to listen to while doing something else.
XM Radio is more about quantity and variety than sound quality although it does sound better than FM

xm radio sounds better than fm?

who are you kidding? you either have an extremely lo-rez system, are deaf, &/or have never heard what a good fm tuner & quality broadcast can sound like on a hi-rez audio system. not only does fm rival the best sound you can get from hi-rez digital and analog sources, but xm sound quality is so bad that it gives me (and others) a headache after 15-20 minutes, even when used as background music. for critical "sweet-spot" listening, it is intolerable for even 30 seconds.

i can see the use of xm in a car, w/high levels of ambient noise, where the serious sonic degradation due to data compression may not be so noticeable... i can sit in the sweet spot in front of my rig & listen to good ol' analog fm broadcasts for hours on end, when the stations i like are playing music i like...

doug s.

doug s. · « **Reply #11 on:** 15 Jul 2008, 10:51 pm »

emil, i noticed your system. while not my cuppa, it is certainly not lo-rez, imo. (or is it? it really astonishes me that anyone could actually sit & listen to xm on even a mid-fi system.) so, that leaves only two other choices...

giving you the benefit of doubt that you are not deaf, you really owe it to yourself to get a quality fm tuna, & tune it to a quality signal. read: not a commercial dynamically compressed rock station. (dynamic compression, btw, is completely different than data compression practiced by serius/xm/etc...) a quality fm tuna is not expensive, btw, tho you can spend a boatload on a truly top tuna...

doug s.

low.pfile · « **Reply #12 on:** 16 Jul 2008, 12:31 am »

Quote from: byteme on 14 Jul 2008, 09:28 pm

As a subscriber you can stream many of their channels over the internet as well, which, could provide a workable solution for you.

you are right byte' ...you get online access as part of your subscription, but the online streamed version is pretty low quality. I listen occasionally to the online stream when in my office (the link I use : http://xmro.xmradio.com/xstream/index.jsp ) There is obvious compression. I am guessing the bitrate is around 64kbps. Which is just OK for low volume background music. funny I am listening to XM now while sitting out on the patio via office system.

On the other hand, in my car, the XM quality is much, much better-which would be similar to having a home XM receiver. I'd say is it about a 1/2 point higher quality than standard FM. I listen to XM in my car 50% of the time.....can't beat the commercial free aspect, the variety, and knowing what band/song is playing. I frequent XMU and The Verge channels.

It's about the music. truely.

low.pfile · « **Reply #13 on:** 16 Jul 2008, 12:51 am »

doug,

I've only compared XM to FM in my car with an aftermarket DLS system. like I said above what I hear is about .5 better than car receiver FM. Never had a home XM receiver so can't comment there.

More importantly, the problem for me is that I am not interested-in the least- in the FM programming in my area (SF bay area) so XM fills a big void there. It provides music I want to listen to.

ed

doug s. · « **Reply #14 on:** 16 Jul 2008, 01:13 am »

Quote from: low.pfile on 16 Jul 2008, 12:51 am

doug,

I've only compared XM to FM in my car with an aftermarket DLS system. like I said above what I hear is about .5 better than car receiver FM. Never had a home XM receiver so can't comment there.

More importantly, the problem for me is that I am not interested-in the least- in the FM programming in my area (SF bay area) so XM fills a big void there. It provides music I want to listen to.

ed

ed, i have never listened to xm in a car. in a decent home rig, it is completely unlistenable. i am surprised to hear that there's no decent non-commercial redio stations in the sf bay area that have programming worth listening to. you may wanna check this site for radio stations in your area:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/page?page=states

ymmv,

doug s.

Emil · « **Reply #15 on:** 16 Jul 2008, 03:51 am »

Quote from: doug s. on 15 Jul 2008, 10:51 pm

emil, i noticed your system. while not my cuppa, it is certainly not lo-rez, imo. (or is it? it really astonishes me that anyone could actually sit & listen to xm on even a mid-fi system.) so, that leaves only two other choices...

giving you the benefit of doubt that you are not deaf, you really owe it to yourself to get a quality fm tuna, & tune it to a quality signal. read: not a commercial dynamically compressed rock station. (dynamic compression, btw, is completely different than data compression practiced by serius/xm/etc...) a quality fm tuna is not expensive, btw, tho you can spend a boatload on a truly top tuna...

doug s.

Im sure what you say is true but it has nothing to do with my post. Thanks anyway for the effort

satfrat · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Jul 2008, 04:17 am »

Quote from: doug s. on 16 Jul 2008, 01:13 am

Quote from: low.pfile on 16 Jul 2008, 12:51 am
doug,

I've only compared XM to FM in my car with an aftermarket DLS system. like I said above what I hear is about .5 better than car receiver FM. Never had a home XM receiver so can't comment there.

More importantly, the problem for me is that I am not interested-in the least- in the FM programming in my area (SF bay area) so XM fills a big void there. It provides music I want to listen to.

ed
ed, i have never listened to xm in a car. in a decent home rig, it is completely unlistenable. i am surprised to hear that there's no decent non-commercial redio stations in the sf bay area that have programming worth listening to. you may wanna check this site for radio stations in your area:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/page?page=states

ymmv,

doug s.

Quote

xm radio sounds better than fm?

who are you kidding? you either have an extremely lo-rez system, are deaf, &/or have never heard what a good fm tuner & quality broadcast can sound like on a hi-rez audio system. not only does fm rival the best sound you can get from hi-rez digital and analog sources, but xm sound quality is so bad that it gives me (and others) a headache after 15-20 minutes, even when used as background music. for critical "sweet-spot" listening, it is intolerable for even 30 seconds.

i can see the use of xm in a car, w/high levels of ambient noise, where the serious sonic degradation due to data compression may not be so noticeable... i can sit in the sweet spot in front of my rig & listen to good ol' analog fm broadcasts for hours on end, when the stations i like are playing music i like...

doug s.

Doug, you've never actually compared XM vs a car FM tuner in a car but yet you feel the need to call someone deaf?

I can see how a good home FM tuner could easily outperform a XM tuner in a home system but I'm pretty certain Emil was comparing the 2 mediums from inside a car when he made his comparison statement and that's a whole different ballgame which you admittedly know nothing about. Pretty agressive post from yourself don't ya think?

Cheers,
Robin

K.C. · « **Reply #17 on:** 16 Jul 2008, 06:24 am »

I have owned a number of great FM tuners over the years and XM easily rivals their sound, minus the commercials.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/xmradio/xrt12/

I listen to a Polk XRt12, digital out through a Benchmark DAC-1 into a Music Reference RM-9 MKII powering Paradigm Signature S4s.

To answer the original post, you need a repeater.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=xm+repeater&x=0&y=0

doug s. · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 Jul 2008, 12:08 pm »

emil's post was specifically addressing "low-fi at home".

if anyone thinks that xm is listenable at home, they are deaf or have a lo-rez system. period. fm sounds so much better than xm/sirius at home, it's not even funny. even if fm couldn't come close to hi-rez digital or analog - which it can, it doesn't change the fact that xm is crap.

that's my story & i'm sticking to it.

doug s.

ohenry · « **Reply #19 on:** 17 Jul 2008, 01:36 pm »

Oh doug s., don't get your tunas in a knot. I think it was JLM that spoke of "low fi" at home. Poor Emil just wanted some advice about making XM function at his workplace.

Many of us value having music as a part of our lives regardless of sonic imperfections. If I relied on listening to bad FM in the sweet spot, I'd never listen to over the air music.

I do think you are right regarding FM being superior in sound, but my "tuna" dial is clogged with c&w, hip-hop, and worn-out classic rock.

Even my NPR station is all talk. Click and Clack do sound like they're in my room though.