Satellite radios

[Ken G]

I guess i will start it . I have been with XM for 2 years and would not trade it for any MP3 or other ipod type device . It has more music choices than i can get to .
I do wish XM would pay more attention to their products like ipod does . XM`s tuners are great but there portable boom box type products are not great .
I ended up getting a Altec Lansing im7 ipod boom box and plugging my XM tuner into it . These im7`s sound real good .

 

[uofmtiger]

I do wish XM would pay more attention to their products like ipod does . XM`s tuners are great but there portable boom box type products are not great .

I agree. XM does not have the market dominance of iPod, so companies like Altec do not seem to be lining up to make devices that fit them.

Personally, I use a T-amp/AR Box/Presidan speaker setup for my XM MyFi at home. I also use a Tivoli Pal for more portability. However, I almost never need to make my music portable with anything but headphones.

I do not think we will see a huge number of boomboxes for XM right now. The shape and sizes of their hardware is changing every minute, so while you can continue to run an old device like a Delphi boombox, you may want to upgrade to a Myfi-style portable in the future. When you upgrade to a new XM device, the old one becomes obsolete unless you want to carry an extra monthly subscription for it.

In other words, I have a 2nd Gen 20GB iPod I bought many years ago and it is still being used around the house. I also have an XM Delphi that I bought about a year later that is in a drawer because I got a MyFi for a present a couple of years ago. If I had a Delphi Boombox, it would also be unusable. The lack of a monthly subscription gives the iPod units a longer shelf life than an XM unit and that also makes it more desirable for manufacturers.

 

[JimmyNeutron]

I just purchased an XM radio for my home and car. I freakin love it. Period.

Jimmy

 

[cosmicdust]

XM radio huh? OK!

 

[Negotiableterms]

My problem with XM is that it just doesn't sound very good compared to a decent CD. It's ok (at best) for the car, but not for the listening room. I tend to think that this medium is going to wait until better (meaning lossless) compression becomes available. That's going to be hard because it'll conflict with their current stuff.

 

[uofmtiger]

My problem with XM is that it just doesn't sound very good compared to a decent CD. It's ok (at best) for the car, but not for the listening room. I tend to think that this medium is going to wait until better (meaning lossless) compression becomes available. That's going to be hard because it'll conflict with their current stuff.

I am not sure when they will have bandwidth to accomplish lossless streaming. I would settle for 192kbps of a good codec for home use. However, they may be a long way from that, too.

Right now, XM is not, generally speaking, for the audiophile that dissects every note to be sure it sounds like the actual instrument in a live setting. It is about getting a lot of variety with little commercial interuption. In that endeavor, it has succeeded. Personally, I only listen to it at home in compromised situations (kitchen, outside), but at work and in the car on long trips it is invaluable.

 

[jaymanaa]

I've got Sirius in my work truck and would agree that sound quality is only tolerable. Well worth the 100bux a year though, just not having to listen to Kansas City DJ's. I heard all their stupid jokes in high school.

 

[Negotiableterms]

I have to agree about XM and Sirius for anyone who drives a lot. I drive very little, so home matters most.

I really miss quality FM for home. It sounded better than either satellite, and I liked the way it continually introduced me to new music. Yeah the current DJ chatter is awful.

Doesn't it seem unfair that we can't get quality sound, simple announcing, and variety, even when we're willing to pay?

 

[spartanmanor]

Satellite, fills the void for me. Since FM pretty much sucks. I am able to listen to XM at work and in the car and yes like the old FM it has turned me on to some new music. The sound quality is not that great but that is not why and how I listen to it. That's what my albums and CD's are for.

 

[nathanso]

As an XM subscriber of several years, I have to say the sound quality has been disappointing, particularly for home use. When you're out and about, either in your vehicle or otherwise, there really aren't many options. But if you car has a decent stereo system you will definitely hear the difference between a good CD and XM.. XM sounds flat and lifeless in comparison.

For home use I just decommissioned my XM tuner in favor of Internet streaming audio. Hi-res audio streams are available from www.tuner2.com, www.shoutcast.com, and other sources. aacPlus is a fantastic sounding algorithm. High bit rate MP3s sound far better than XM, and there are quite a few Internet radio stations streaming MP3 at 128Kbps and above (a few at 320Kbps!). In fact, the hi-res streams put my CD player (a Rega Planet) and CD collection to shame.

Get yourself the free Winamp software! Get a hi-fi sound card! Use a notebook computer like me that won't accept a sound card? Then get the M-Audio Audiophile USB external sound card. There are thousands of streams out there waiting to be listened to!

FWIW, XM Radio does have a Windows-based player, and you can up the bit rate from 32K to 64K which makes a big difference. Two problems though: 1) The player times out and stops playing every hour or so due to "inactivity", even when you're busy at the keyboard; and 2) HughesNet satellite Internet service (my ISP) seems to block the port for XM's Windows player.

 

[JimmyNeutron]

In fact, the hi-res streams put my CD player (a Rega Planet) and CD collection to shame.

.

Are you saying that compressed audio that is streamed from the net sounds better than an uncompressed CD at full resolution? And better than your Rega CD player? If you believe that then you must have your Rega CD player checked out by someone. There is no way in hell that ANY compressed form of music will sound better than an original uncompressed source. Maybe you meant to say that the radio streams you were referring to sound close to a CD but better than XM?

 

[uofmtiger]

problems though: 1) The player times out and stops playing every hour or so due to "inactivity", even when you're busy at the keyboard

I usually use a program called XaMp on the rare ocasion that I stream it to my computer. Out of curiousity, I started XaMp at 5:30PM and it is now 5 hours later and it still has not timed out.

Since I have an XM Myfi for portability and can listen in my car and at work, I rarely want to stream it at home, but XaMp will at least solve the time out problem if it is an issue for you.

I have Time Warner and have never had them block a port on my computer. Usually firewall programs are responsible, but they usually give you the ability to open the port for certain programs.

 

[nathanso]

JN, Yup, you're right. My initial enthusiasm for Internet radio has waned somewhat, and I agree that most of my CDs sound better than the best streams. Still, I'm quite impressed by 96Khz aacPlus and the 160Khz and above MP3s.

Derek, I went to the XaMp site and can't quite figure out what it is they're selling/giving.

And in the mean time, I came across an FAQ on xmradio.com about my timeout problem.. seems it's cookie-related though I'm sure I'm not blocking cookies on my IE6. I've tried opening port 554 per info I found online but I still can't get the stream going.

 

[uofmtiger]

Derek, I went to the XaMp site and can't quite figure out what it is they're selling/giving.

I am not surprised, their website really does not tell you much. I found out about it reading one of the XM forums. It is just a program that enables you to sign on to XM similar to Windows Media player. The reason I use it is because it holds my password and for some reason the WMP version doesn't.

It does not cost anything unless you just want to give the guy a donation. Here is the link, but the website is pretty uninformative:

http://xampd.imomo.net/download/

Here is some info from a poster at XMfan.com:


..I like XaMp better than XM's online radio site because it's a stand-alone application. I don't have to have my browser or Windows Media Player open to listen. With XaMp, I get more presets, song and artist notify, and XM tracker. Plus, the XaMp delivers the music with less drops and buffering.

And besides all that, M0mo has done a hell of a job getting his program up and running. His updates are both timely and pertinent. He listens to his users/product testers. I like that.http://www.xmfan.com/viewtopic.php?t=44326&highlight=xamp

 

[JimmyNeutron]

I use XaMP on my DIY media server as a MEEDIO plug in. I can stream XM into my media center and control it all through MEEDIO and my remote control. MOMO has done a fine job and he actually wrote the plug-in for MEEDIO.

Jimmy

 

[streckfu]

I can't see expecting full CD quality from satellite radio. Sat radio isn't desinged to be full quality. They don't have the bandwidth to deliver all those stations with such quality. It's more about variety of music and all the specialty content.

If you need full quality music, SAT radio isn't for you.