It's not...

 

Is XM any better?

 

In California I cover some long distances in the middle of nowhere. I enjoy having Sirius and the different listening options. I get all the NFL games, Raw Dog can be funny, news, weather and tons of music. I am satisfied and will continue to subscribe.

 

Gosh, I like SIRIUS and think that the quality is fine--at least close to CD. But, I have heard others, from areas other than mine, complain about the quality. I don't listen the to stations you do so I don't get commercials--well maybe some kind of very infrequent SIRIUS promos. They are so infrequent I never really notice them. If something comes on I don't like, well, I have 11 other presets in quick proximity.

 

I just want to chime in here:

Sirius (and XM) are *not that freaking bad*.

I mean, it's not like a normal person would be listening to this and go, "OH MY GOD, THIS SOUNDS HORRIBLE, PLEASE KILL ME NOW!"

To most ordinary people, Sirius music channels sound just as good as any other music format they might listen to. Some music types (e.g., classical, acoustic guitar) will suffer more from compression than others (hip hop, rock).

Also, a system as good as Logic7 really does reveal all of the imperfections in music. But the point is, to anyone who hasn't heard satellite radio, it's not as bad as some people make it sound. In fact, I think it sounds wonderful, and in the last two years I've had satellite radio, I haven't touched FM radio or inserted a CD. (An iPod holds my own music, but that's the only thing other than satellite that I use.)

 

I think this is a bit harsh--anyone who opted for satellite without knowing about the signal quality simply didn't do the necessary research. Likewise, neither XM or Sirius make any claims about commercial free programing other than with the music channels. Finally, if you're really interested in hi fidelity, the premium sound system available in the E60 doesn't cut it. The sound is good--pretty good for factory--but it doesn't come close to what is possible.

I think the programing on Sirius is outstanding. The blues and jazz channels both have staff who know what's up. NFL coverage is over the top.

 

I agree, I've had XM and my wife's car has Sirius so I've spent time with both. Some channels are compressed, but in the main they are the talk channels. The available bandwidth is focused on the music channels, most of which sound pretty good to me. Plus they have BBC Radio 1 on Sirius (that day's UK show timeshifted to the US so we get the UK morning show in the morning here) which as an expat works well for me!

 

I used to get XM radio on my wife's MDX and thought the sound quality was bad so I didn't renew the subscription after the initial free 3 months. I think some channels were more compressed than others and the ones I listened to were the ones that were.

The MDX now has an iPod as music source.

 

Perhaps Rodney should have read other people' posts here before spending is $$. I got my sirius for CONTENT not quality. Sirius and XM's sound quality is similiar. Neither is great but it's good enough for NHL, NBA and NFL broadcasts. Do i really need hi-fi quality to listen to Fox News or NHL games? Not really.

The commercials on Non-Music Channels are annoying but that's not what they sell. Their primary service is music with no commercials and they delliver that (both Sirius and XM). Comedy Channels, Talk Radio and sports programming is just like cable TV.

 

I like two of the Jazz stations, the new-age station, one of the electonic-music stations, the new dance station, the 80's station, the 90's station (Bridge, I think), the Coffee-House station and two of the classic rock stations especially well. I have two stations set to keep up with what's new, but I don't listen to them much so I don't remember what they are (Hits may be one).