Sirius or XM people
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Sirius or XM people
Where is your antenna mounted? I just picked one up for a great deal so I think the time has come to see what satellite radio has to offer.
I don't really want to put the antenna outside the car if I don't have to, I was thinking about perhaps putting it on my a-pillar or rear deck, but I don't know what that would do to the reception. Thing is we don't have Sirius in Canada so I am going to have to get my signal to the states. I do live near the Canada/US border so I know I can get a signal, but I don't want crap reception either way.
Anyway, let's hear whatcha guys got to say.
I don't really want to put the antenna outside the car if I don't have to, I was thinking about perhaps putting it on my a-pillar or rear deck, but I don't know what that would do to the reception. Thing is we don't have Sirius in Canada so I am going to have to get my signal to the states. I do live near the Canada/US border so I know I can get a signal, but I don't want crap reception either way.
Anyway, let's hear whatcha guys got to say.
35+ Years Driving Japanese Autos
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Rep Power: 309 I have my Terk antenna on a small pedestal on the back deck inside the car. I must say it worked better in my 00 Corolla but still works good in Ohio.
Not sure what the signal level will be in Canada, maybe better than here.
My system gave me the preview channel as soon as the XM unit was hooked up (no subscription). You can use that to tell if it will work and also experiment with the antennas placement, the location makes a big difference for mine. I tried several out,found a good one and made the pedestal custom.
Not sure what the signal level will be in Canada, maybe better than here.
My system gave me the preview channel as soon as the XM unit was hooked up (no subscription). You can use that to tell if it will work and also experiment with the antennas placement, the location makes a big difference for mine. I tried several out,found a good one and made the pedestal custom.
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: B.C., Canada
Rep Power: 787 well I figure i'll just do some testing..... no need to permanently mount the antenna right away, I can leave the cord loose and find a good spot
I had mine double-sided taped to the rear deck. Perfect reception, only time it cut out was when I was driving under thick trees. The technology should be better now so you shouldn't have a problem with reception due to mounting. Which tuner did you pick up?
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From: B.C., Canada
Rep Power: 787 I got the SIR-ECL1 it is the add on module for the Eclipse head units.
I got it working already, I get reception up here and it works pretty good. My question now about reception is as long I am getting a signal does the reception never change? Like is there only 2 states, reception and no reception, or can the signal quality vary from poor to excellent, instead of going from acquiring to working?
I got it working already, I get reception up here and it works pretty good. My question now about reception is as long I am getting a signal does the reception never change? Like is there only 2 states, reception and no reception, or can the signal quality vary from poor to excellent, instead of going from acquiring to working?
As far as I know there isn't any "signal strength" on any satellite radio tuners, not like a cell phone. So it should just be reception or no reception. If you do hit a bad area or are under a obstacle it will pop or hiss at you (like satellite TV in bad weather), but thats just what I learned from my old Panasonic Sirius tuner which is like 3 years old. I have the new Sportster at work and it works perfectly indoors with the car kit inside a large building, no cut outs at all.
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From: B.C., Canada
Rep Power: 787 ^^ how do you like sirius? what do you think about the sound quality?
I got my tuner working now but the SQ wasn't quite like I thought. I was expecting closer to CD quality sound but it is more like FM. But I do need to give it a chanc and drive around and see how I like it.
If anybody has used both services, what did you think about the sound quality (and other differences) between the 2 services??
I got my tuner working now but the SQ wasn't quite like I thought. I was expecting closer to CD quality sound but it is more like FM. But I do need to give it a chanc and drive around and see how I like it.
If anybody has used both services, what did you think about the sound quality (and other differences) between the 2 services??
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: B.C., Canada
Rep Power: 787 ^^ I listend to maxim radio when I was drivin around just now and they played music, didnt hear any talk or anything
I tell you one thing though, I am already sick of scanning thru 100's of channels trying to find the one I want. a +/-10 cahnnels button would be cool, would make searching a lot faster. I think I am going to have to strategize with my presets so that I can have them all somewhere in between so i can just go to a preset and go up/down from there as needed
I tell you one thing though, I am already sick of scanning thru 100's of channels trying to find the one I want. a +/-10 cahnnels button would be cool, would make searching a lot faster. I think I am going to have to strategize with my presets so that I can have them all somewhere in between so i can just go to a preset and go up/down from there as needed
I have my pioneer antenna mounted on the roof. Just paint it so it doesnt look funny. As far as leaving it inside the car, it SHOULD work but remember with XM theres 2 types of signals most antennas receive
Satellite
and
Terrestrial
Unforutnatly there are no "terrestrial repeaters" in Canada. They applied to install em in Toronto and were told no, the recent CRTC decision could change that, however for the time being if you dont have a clear view of the south west sky, your signals going to cut out. Mainly downtown but on the highways you should be fine.
As far as XM vs Sirius, I got XM, im happy. You can debate back and forth forever but you have to make a decision at some point. XM offers better hardware period. Other then that sat radio is sat radio and the music really depends on what your opinon is good and what the dj plays.
As far as channels go, your only going to listen to about 2-6 channels the rest you wont need. Its easy to scroll through and on my pioneer deck I can also sort channels by genre.
With quality, I got a pioneer deck w/ pioneer XM tuner w/ Pioneer antenna so im pretty much as line in as you can go, quality is good but im into a lot of electronic music so its not quite that of CD. It seems a bit bassy at times but not at all that bad, overall since i got XM havnt burnt one cd. WHats that tell you?
I could be wrong on this but its hit or miss with satellite, either its working great or its not. I dont think theres varrying levels of quality, cuts in and out around tall buildings just be prepared for that
Satellite
and
Terrestrial
Unforutnatly there are no "terrestrial repeaters" in Canada. They applied to install em in Toronto and were told no, the recent CRTC decision could change that, however for the time being if you dont have a clear view of the south west sky, your signals going to cut out. Mainly downtown but on the highways you should be fine.
As far as XM vs Sirius, I got XM, im happy. You can debate back and forth forever but you have to make a decision at some point. XM offers better hardware period. Other then that sat radio is sat radio and the music really depends on what your opinon is good and what the dj plays.
As far as channels go, your only going to listen to about 2-6 channels the rest you wont need. Its easy to scroll through and on my pioneer deck I can also sort channels by genre.
With quality, I got a pioneer deck w/ pioneer XM tuner w/ Pioneer antenna so im pretty much as line in as you can go, quality is good but im into a lot of electronic music so its not quite that of CD. It seems a bit bassy at times but not at all that bad, overall since i got XM havnt burnt one cd. WHats that tell you?
I could be wrong on this but its hit or miss with satellite, either its working great or its not. I dont think theres varrying levels of quality, cuts in and out around tall buildings just be prepared for that
Last edited by AggressiveAdam; Aug 7, 2005 at 02:51 PM.
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Rep Power: 0 the satellite radio is streamed digitally, so you either get the signal or you dont. If i'm driving under a bridge or something, once the buffer runs out, I'll hear a little bit of static as the decoder runs out of information until I exit from under the bridge.
If you wanna compare XM to the sirus you have now, visit listen.xmradio.com You can sign up for a three day trial free of charge to see if you like the content.
Dont worry about strategizing your presets. I've had xm for about 3 years now and I stick to about 6 channels. Squizz, the 90's, Ethel, Lucy, Comdey 150, and 20 on 20. The SQ isn't to bad, I believe its encoded around 96 Kbps. Not exactly CD quality, but its pretty close
Some channels mess with the amplitude of their output to "enhance" the music, mainly the top 20 channels and rap stations.
I have to agree with agressiveadam, since I've installed my XM, I havent copied a CD or bought a CD of my own. I just dont have a need to anymore.
If you wanna compare XM to the sirus you have now, visit listen.xmradio.com You can sign up for a three day trial free of charge to see if you like the content.
Dont worry about strategizing your presets. I've had xm for about 3 years now and I stick to about 6 channels. Squizz, the 90's, Ethel, Lucy, Comdey 150, and 20 on 20. The SQ isn't to bad, I believe its encoded around 96 Kbps. Not exactly CD quality, but its pretty close
Some channels mess with the amplitude of their output to "enhance" the music, mainly the top 20 channels and rap stations.
I have to agree with agressiveadam, since I've installed my XM, I havent copied a CD or bought a CD of my own. I just dont have a need to anymore.
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Originally Posted by WildRice
As far as I know there isn't any "signal strength" on any satellite radio tuners, not like a cell phone. So it should just be reception or no reception. If you do hit a bad area or are under a obstacle it will pop or hiss at you (like satellite TV in bad weather), but thats just what I learned from my old Panasonic Sirius tuner which is like 3 years old. I have the new Sportster at work and it works perfectly indoors with the car kit inside a large building, no cut outs at all.
What u said is perfectly correct. There is either reception or no reception.
I have mine mounted about 3-4 inches back from the lid of my trunk and the only thing that would effect my reception would b my spoiler getting in the way which has never happened yet. I have the Alpine add on which should b exactly the same as MegaHurtz Eclipse add on direct tuner. I've listened to many of my friends XM's b4 but I really just like the Sirius so much better. It has about the same selection of music but the DJ's r awesome and they really make the difference. However it's recommended that the ant be mounted on top of ur car 4 the very best reception but my location works just fine...
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Originally Posted by grenloch101056
the satellite radio is streamed digitally, so you either get the signal or you dont. If i'm driving under a bridge or something, once the buffer runs out, I'll hear a little bit of static as the decoder runs out of information until I exit from under the bridge.
If you wanna compare XM to the sirus you have now, visit listen.xmradio.com You can sign up for a three day trial free of charge to see if you like the content.
Dont worry about strategizing your presets. I've had xm for about 3 years now and I stick to about 6 channels. Squizz, the 90's, Ethel, Lucy, Comdey 150, and 20 on 20. The SQ isn't to bad, I believe its encoded around 96 Kbps. Not exactly CD quality, but its pretty close
Some channels mess with the amplitude of their output to "enhance" the music, mainly the top 20 channels and rap stations.
I have to agree with agressiveadam, since I've installed my XM, I havent copied a CD or bought a CD of my own. I just dont have a need to anymore.
If you wanna compare XM to the sirus you have now, visit listen.xmradio.com You can sign up for a three day trial free of charge to see if you like the content.
Dont worry about strategizing your presets. I've had xm for about 3 years now and I stick to about 6 channels. Squizz, the 90's, Ethel, Lucy, Comdey 150, and 20 on 20. The SQ isn't to bad, I believe its encoded around 96 Kbps. Not exactly CD quality, but its pretty close
Some channels mess with the amplitude of their output to "enhance" the music, mainly the top 20 channels and rap stations.
I have to agree with agressiveadam, since I've installed my XM, I havent copied a CD or bought a CD of my own. I just dont have a need to anymore.
Sirius is higher than CD quality and as far as I knew XM was also...
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Rep Power: 0 heres a post from xmfan.com about the bitrate and SQ of XM:
XM has plenty of low-end. I also have a competition-level audio system in my Honda Insight hybrid (it won first place in a state-final IASCA sound-quality event a couple years ago on my first try). Some of the XM seven-note station signatures can be down-right earth shattering in the low-end, say on Beyond Jazz for instance. XM has excellent dynamics and stereo separation. The noise floor is similar to a CD to my ears.
What XM is missing is anything above 14kHz. CDs roll off at about 18kHz, so were talking far less than an octave. In a moving vehicle, you probably won't notice this unless you play the system excessively loud with overly bright tweeters. XM can have compression artifacts. It usually takes a trained ear to hear them. They are more apparent in certain music more than others. For example, you might hear a high-pitched watery sound faintly on top of the breath of some female vocals.
I have an iPod loaded with 128 kbps AAC files (AAC is the format XM claims to use), and 196 kpbs MP3s. Those are the levels where I, personally, cannot tell the difference between uncompressed original and compressed in double-blind testing.
Some of the time, XM doesn't sound as good as a 128 kbps AAC. It sounds about like a 128 kbps MP3. It is significantly better than common FM reception. I consider a replacement for AM/FM radio, and sometimes very close to CD sound. It is not a replacement for CDs or quality MP3/AAC rips.
Audio perception is a funny thing, and like other perceptual skills, it is easily manipulated by suggestion, expectation, alertness, mood, etc., intentionally or not.
Go listen to an instalation, or borrow a friend's SkiFi. If you enjoy the music, then you're good to go. If you're more the type to obsess over minor details more than enjoying the music, it may be a tougher issue.
XM has plenty of low-end. I also have a competition-level audio system in my Honda Insight hybrid (it won first place in a state-final IASCA sound-quality event a couple years ago on my first try). Some of the XM seven-note station signatures can be down-right earth shattering in the low-end, say on Beyond Jazz for instance. XM has excellent dynamics and stereo separation. The noise floor is similar to a CD to my ears.
What XM is missing is anything above 14kHz. CDs roll off at about 18kHz, so were talking far less than an octave. In a moving vehicle, you probably won't notice this unless you play the system excessively loud with overly bright tweeters. XM can have compression artifacts. It usually takes a trained ear to hear them. They are more apparent in certain music more than others. For example, you might hear a high-pitched watery sound faintly on top of the breath of some female vocals.
I have an iPod loaded with 128 kbps AAC files (AAC is the format XM claims to use), and 196 kpbs MP3s. Those are the levels where I, personally, cannot tell the difference between uncompressed original and compressed in double-blind testing.
Some of the time, XM doesn't sound as good as a 128 kbps AAC. It sounds about like a 128 kbps MP3. It is significantly better than common FM reception. I consider a replacement for AM/FM radio, and sometimes very close to CD sound. It is not a replacement for CDs or quality MP3/AAC rips.
Audio perception is a funny thing, and like other perceptual skills, it is easily manipulated by suggestion, expectation, alertness, mood, etc., intentionally or not.
Go listen to an instalation, or borrow a friend's SkiFi. If you enjoy the music, then you're good to go. If you're more the type to obsess over minor details more than enjoying the music, it may be a tougher issue.
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