So what kind of sound quality does XM Satellite yield? Has anyone done comparisons between XM and other sources? I tried a search and came up empty. I feel bad asking so many questions. But I have a lot of unanswered questions and I can't find a better forum than this for good answers by very knownledgeable people with accurate answers

I believe it is a variable rate and sample. Highly compressed and processed. The ones I have heard vary from good to awful. Seems to change depending on content. They are trying to cram a lot of info through a small hole so the quality will suffer. They advertise content not high quality. Some advertisements tout CD quality but from what I have heard it's more MP3 quality, maybe worse. Listenable but not for critical listening.

I used a Polk Audio XM12 XM tuner for a couple month's. I was not happy with the quality of XM radio at all. A few stations were good high quality. but most were pretty compressed.. and sounded very muffled to me.

I receive XM broadcasts via DirecTV. I think they sound infinitely superior to ordinary FM broadcasts, without the obvious compression FM has, and with a good deal more clarity. Still, I don't think it, or FM, for that matter, is a decent medium for serious listening: only a CD or an LP fit that category as the best XM (or FM) can possibly hope to sound is as good as the source being broadcast, regardless of the metehod used to do so.

I would have to disagree.. with a decent analog tuner from the 70's or early 80's, FM broadcasts can sound really quite good. I was a non believer till I got my Pioneer tuner. As soon as I turned it on, I was impressed. Analog tuners are the way to go IMHO, for FM music listening. Bump that up to a tube FM tuner and it might sound even better.

I´m with Danger Boy all the way, on this one.

I´m lucky to still have access, in this tiny country of mine, to a handful of really good, untreated, uncompressed FM stations, with great content, to boot.

I live on a rural area, on the outskirts of the capital, where I get really full strenght signals from all stations I like. One broadcasts classical music all day long, with the occasional interview, and another is focused mostly on Jazz / blues. A couple are basically vintage rock / Pop.

My great 1979 Rotel T-2100 tuned into any of them beats satellite radio hands down. Just like Al, I rediscovered the endless pleasure one can derive from FM as a free music source after I went back to an analog tuner, in the shape of an unexpectedly good Onkyo T-5000 tuner, which has found a new home at Clint E.´s in the meantime.

Jorge

P.S. - I do understand Emaidel´s point, though. FM, as a rule, is becoming really awfull.

That's exactly what i think too.

Great info guys! From what I have experinced with XM thru Directv thru my upstairs multi-channel system the sound qaulity to me was poor and not as good as MP3's thru my Directv HR20 receiver thru the cat5 hook-up feeding off my computer. Thanks to everyone for their input

would a xm reciever that is just for that purpose do better. how about in your cars?