XM Quality ? - Never had Serius / XM before. - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

FNG · 08-15-2011, 06:07 PM

Is it just me, or do FM stations sound 100x better than XM? Everything sounds muddy and digitally muffled on any station I would enjoy listening to on XM, but when I switch to FM it's super loud and almost as clear as my iPod.

Is this true for all XM receivers, or just the one in our Camaros?

sxty9GTO · 08-15-2011, 06:13 PM

Mine sounds great

denny2188 · 08-15-2011, 06:26 PM

Love my satelitte radio...especially when we are going thru the mountains on our way to Florida for the winter!!!

steeleshark2 · 08-15-2011, 06:57 PM

Mine sounds fine. You may need to adjust your EQ from FM to XM to get the best sound. I think XM sounds better over all.

chopper · 08-15-2011, 07:20 PM

I definitely get a lot more bass in my verts sub behind the seAt in my vert when listening to xm thus meaning xm is better quality than fm but as mentioned above I'd change my eq settings to adjust the mods treble etc

liquidsmoke · 08-16-2011, 12:14 AM

Truth be told, xm radio audio quality isn't the best and has been on a downward trend for years. Ive had a subscription for a long time and I remember when the quality was a lot better than it is today.

More bass does not mean better quality. Xm radio is heavily compressed and more bottom heavy than top.

It sounds ok in most stock cars, but that's cuz most stock cars have sub par speakers.

So it's not just you, xm is at the bottom of the barel compared to CD,USB,and FM

And not just in the camaro. I've seen the same thing with the portable units, multiple hondas, Audi, Acura and other chevy's.

I mostly just adjust my setting to make it sound as good as possible.
I only put up with it cuz I hate fm radio and all the commercials.

Agent WD-40 · 08-16-2011, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by liquidsmoke

Truth be told, xm radio audio quality isn't the best and has been on a downward trend for years. Ive had a subscription for a long time and I remember when the quality was a lot better than it is today.

More bass does not mean better quality. Xm radio is heavily compressed and more bottom heavy than top.

It sounds ok in most stock cars, but that's cuz most stock cars have sub par speakers.

So it's not just you, xm is at the bottom of the barel compared to CD,USB,and FM

And not just in the camaro. I've seen the same thing with the portable units, multiple hondas, Audi, Acura and other chevy's.

I mostly just adjust my setting to make it sound as good as possible.
I only put up with it cuz I hate fm radio and all the commercials.

+1. I got rid of XM because the sound quality wasn't as good as other sources (and I stopped driving as much). It does sound compressed. I had an aftermarket system in my last vehicle so it was MUCH more obvious.

IMO the variety is the main benefit.

km9v · 08-16-2011, 01:38 PM

Some ch. sound better than others. Some sound rather flat & low bit rate, others are higher. I keep it b/c of variety.

Partick · 08-16-2011, 01:47 PM

XM seems to have better sound quality to me than FM. jmho

08-15-2011, 06:07 PM	#1
FNG Tampa Bay Camaros Drives: Rally Yellow 2012 ZL1 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL Posts: 658 View My Garage	XM Quality ? - Never had Serius / XM before. Is it just me, or do FM stations sound 100x better than XM? Everything sounds muddy and digitally muffled on any station I would enjoy listening to on XM, but when I switch to FM it's super loud and almost as clear as my iPod. Is this true for all XM receivers, or just the one in our Camaros? __________________ My '12 ZL1 \| old build \| Tampa Bay Camaros

08-15-2011, 06:13 PM	#2
sxty9GTO VEGAS 11 Drives: 2011 Camaro LS Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Corning, NY Posts: 1,290 View My Garage	Mine sounds great __________________ Keep On Trucking

08-15-2011, 06:57 PM	#4
steeleshark2 Drives: 2010 Transformer 1SS Camaro Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Kingsland, Ga Posts: 2,553 View My Garage	Mine sounds fine. You may need to adjust your EQ from FM to XM to get the best sound. I think XM sounds better over all. __________________ Build page:http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...77#post3083477 Last edited by steeleshark2; 08-15-2011 at 07:43 PM.

08-16-2011, 12:14 AM	#6
liquidsmoke Two Miles An Hour Drives: SIM 2LT RS Join Date: May 2010 Location: chicago Posts: 1,209	Truth be told, xm radio audio quality isn't the best and has been on a downward trend for years. Ive had a subscription for a long time and I remember when the quality was a lot better than it is today. More bass does not mean better quality. Xm radio is heavily compressed and more bottom heavy than top. It sounds ok in most stock cars, but that's cuz most stock cars have sub par speakers. So it's not just you, xm is at the bottom of the barel compared to CD,USB,and FM And not just in the camaro. I've seen the same thing with the portable units, multiple hondas, Audi, Acura and other chevy's. I mostly just adjust my setting to make it sound as good as possible. I only put up with it cuz I hate fm radio and all the commercials. __________________ expect nothing, but take everything

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08-15-2011, 06:26 PM	#3
denny2188 Drives: 2011 IBM Camaro 2LT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 393	Love my satelitte radio...especially when we are going thru the mountains on our way to Florida for the winter!!!

08-15-2011, 07:20 PM	#5
chopper Drives: 2011 camaro 2ss convertible Join Date: May 2011 Location: moving camaro to las vegas nevada Posts: 87	I definitely get a lot more bass in my verts sub behind the seAt in my vert when listening to xm thus meaning xm is better quality than fm but as mentioned above I'd change my eq settings to adjust the mods treble etc

08-16-2011, 01:38 PM	#8
km9v Drives: 2011 Camaro SS/RS M6 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Beaumont, TX Posts: 418	Some ch. sound better than others. Some sound rather flat & low bit rate, others are higher. I keep it b/c of variety.

08-16-2011, 01:47 PM	#9
Partick Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: NorCal Posts: 958	XM seems to have better sound quality to me than FM. jmho