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Sirius Doesn't Sound As Good As I Thought?


M500

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Anyone feel the same way? I thought Siruis Sat Radio show blow way regular FM with comparable CD quality sound but its not. It just like FM without commercials. I swear they sounded so good in Circuity city or Best buys. Also the reception sucks. I get no reception when I park in my garage or park inside mall parking builders. Am I expecting to much out of it? I find myself listening to my CD more then Sirius.

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How is the system installed? Is it the OEM Lexus kit? The sound is good, but its not as high quality as CD. It can't be if you think about it because its compressed to be transmitted via satellite data stream, its similar in quality to an MP3. Better than FM though. If it isn't the OEM Lexus kit then you probably are using an FM modulator to route the sound and thats whats killing the quality.

As for the reception, you're just going to have to get used to that. Unless you're in an area with a lot of terrestrial repeaters its going to loose reception whenever it can't get a signal from the satellites, i.e. when you are in parking garages. Think about it, a TV satellite dish won't work inside your house will it? No it has to be put on the roof with a clear view of the sky. Satellite radio is not different.

The real draw of satellite radio isn't the quality, its the programming. You have SO much programming on Sirius you will never listen to radio or CDs again, I don't. Every type of commercial free music you could imagine, talk like Howard Stern, all of the news outlets, weather and traffic. Anything and everything you could ever need.

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How is the system installed? Is it the OEM Lexus kit? The sound is good, but its not as high quality as CD. It can't be if you think about it because its compressed to be transmitted via satellite data stream, its similar in quality to an MP3. Better than FM though. If it isn't the OEM Lexus kit then you probably are using an FM modulator to route the sound and thats whats killing the quality.

As for the reception, you're just going to have to get used to that. Unless you're in an area with a lot of terrestrial repeaters its going to loose reception whenever it can't get a signal from the satellites, i.e. when you are in parking garages. Think about it, a TV satellite dish won't work inside your house will it? No it has to be put on the roof with a clear view of the sky. Satellite radio is not different.

The real draw of satellite radio isn't the quality, its the programming. You have SO much programming on Sirius you will never listen to radio or CDs again, I don't. Every type of commercial free music you could imagine, talk like Howard Stern, all of the news outlets, weather and traffic. Anything and everything you could ever need.

I believe its an OEM kit, since it comes with the car from Dealer. It ugly with that big Dealer lock-box like receiver right next to my rear view mirror. Its this the way it suppose to be?

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I believe its an OEM kit, since it comes with the car from Dealer. It ugly with that big Dealer lock-box like receiver right next to my rear view mirror. Its this the way it suppose to be?

I though the OEM method was done by adding a control box to the nav screen, and it should play through the car speakers and display the Sirius info on the nav screen? It sounds like they added an aftermarket tuner to your car which isn't bad, but I'd bet the OE setup is better.

I have XM, and I'll never go back to regular radio! I don't really even listen to my iPod anymore. The hardwire kit for mine will be here today; it sounds pretty good with the wireless mod, but I hear this is even better!

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I believe its an OEM kit, since it comes with the car from Dealer. It ugly with that big Dealer lock-box like receiver right next to my rear view mirror. Its this the way it suppose to be?

Thats the antenna, you don't have to use that specific antenna.

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yeah it really just depends on what kit you get, i have heard a few and the one i like the most is xms roady kit....it's weird it is an fm transmitter but it's so powerful anc crystal clear, and we drove throught the tunnel in mobile alabama and we didn't lose signal then so i don't know guess it all just depends

by the way there is an ipod interface car kit i've been at my hamron kardon or something like that but it has a screen that looks just like the ipod and the a small control knob that you can actuate and control just like the ipod only thing is that i don't want to get rid of my factory stereo because it works so good but i'm gonna have a dislplay for my satellite a display for my car kit a display for the ipod.......i wonder how that would look? maybe like this

untitled.bmp

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How do you expect to get a signal in your garage? You need a nearly clean line of sight to the sky..

Not to sound mean, but it really makes me wonder how people this clueless end up with new cars like this..

If you been to Bestbuy then you'll wonder how they received the signal. I'm just assuming if they can receive the signal inside their warehouse without any windows then clearly from my garage where my car is park 2 feet away from the 4' x 6' wide window should yield enough clearance for it besides the garage is open when I was trying to get use familiar with it. Also, from the way you describe doesn' this mean that home kit its a rip off because it'll never work as it will not be looking at the sky at all. :chairshot:

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How do you expect to get a signal in your garage? You need a nearly clean line of sight to the sky..

Not to sound mean, but it really makes me wonder how people this clueless end up with new cars like this..

Becouse sales pepole don't tell the truth, and the advertising tries not to clue you in about the negative side :chairshot:

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How do you expect to get a signal in your garage? You need a nearly clean line of sight to the sky..

Not to sound mean, but it really makes me wonder how people this clueless end up with new cars like this..

You do sound mean and what does having a nice car have ton do with how smart you are :chairshot:

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Please remember that the salespeople job is to sell. Our job as buyers is to read in the net ( or elsewhere), which is a great resource to find the negatives of any products. It is usually good to read both sides before you commit. The statement whether a smart or else has a Lex I believe is out of place here. I always was told that the only question which is a bad question is the one that you do not ask. I feel as many people on this page that here you can ask a question and the members which answer are objective about their responses, since they do not drive money from giving their input. Salespeople on the majority are trying to sell you their merchandise, since usually the ones that have to deal with returns are other departments. Like when you buy the car the sales do not have much to do with the service department, it be nice if the were the same division, but they are not.

Lets make the forum a friendly place that everyone feel at home to ask whatever they need info. If we make people afraid to ask, the page will be going out of favour with many. I want to add friends not subtract them. I am very happy to read the posts about Siri, because when I buy it, I will know what its limitations are. The advantage is that if you go across the country, you will not loose the station.

Lets welcome our new members and the old ones as well, in a friendly and frank fashion.

C. PR

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Please remember that the salespeople job is to sell. Our job as buyers is to read in the net ( or elsewhere), which is a great resource to find the negatives of any products. It is usually good to read both sides before you commit. The statement whether a smart or else has a Lex I believe is out of place here. I always was told that the only question which is a bad question is the one that you do not ask. I feel as many people on this page that here you can ask a question and the members which answer are objective about their responses, since they do not drive money from giving their input. Salespeople on the majority are trying to sell you their merchandise, since usually the ones that have to deal with returns are other departments. Like when you buy the car the sales do not have much to do with the service department, it be nice if the were the same division, but they are not.

Lets make the forum a friendly place that everyone feel at home to ask whatever they need info. If we make people afraid to ask, the page will be going out of favour with many. I want to add friends not subtract them. I am very happy to read the posts about Siri, because when I buy it, I will know what its limitations are. The advantage is that if you go across the country, you will not loose the station.

Lets welcome our new members and the old ones as well, in a friendly and frank fashion.

C. PR

Thank you. I was speech less when the post became a personal attack.

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Good thread M500! I'm completely lost on how all of this satelite radio stuff works and have been thinking about getting one soon. I haven't a clue what the difference is between XM and Sirrus? Are they different technologies in general, or just different "channels" of programming. Oh...I'm so lost.. :wacko:

Sorry M500.... those kind's of comments are very rare around here. You, clueless? I don't think so, especailly when you've got a top of the line new LS430 sitting in your garage! You've figured out something right!

My offer to fix those 3 wheel bearings for free still stands....I'll just need the car for a couple of years! :cheers:

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I haven't a clue what the difference is between XM and Sirrus? Are they different technologies in general, or just different "channels" of programming.

The programming differences are pretty much it. If you like Howard Stern and football, you are going to require Sirius while XM covers basball. I'm not a sports or Howard Stern fan, so I just picked at random (ended up with XM). If you like the dirty talk shows, XM has Opie and Anthony who are pretty good at what they do! LOL

I was told that Sirius has one more satellite over XM. Even driving in the rural parts of LA and MS, I've never had a reception problem with XM (antenna placement is crutial).

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How do you expect to get a signal in your garage? You need a nearly clean line of sight to the sky..

Not to sound mean, but it really makes me wonder how people this clueless end up with new cars like this..

If you want to remain a member here then you better not post junk like this again. Be helpful and polite or don't bother posting at all. I'm lodging a warning against your account.

If you been to Bestbuy then you'll wonder how they received the signal.

They have big antennas on the roof that recieve the signal and broadcast it down to the floor display units. The garage being open or being near a window isn't going to help your reception like it would say a cell phone. If there are no terrestrial repeaters you won't be able to get a signal unless the antenna has a clear straight line connection with one of the satellites.

Its just like satellite TV. Its creating a wireless link to the satellite unlike simply picking up airwaves like FM/AM radio or broadcast TV do.

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After having XM for 1 week for 2 10 hour road trips i can say the Delphi xm roady using an FM modulator truly sucks for audio quality. It sounds like crappy MP3's the normal FM radio has better quality.

Are you using the wireless or wired mod?? I switched to a wired mod last week, and I'm very pleased. It's not CD quality, but it's pretty damn good for what it is.

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I've had the VAIS Technology SLX model in my car for about 3 weeks now, and love it. The XM antenna (the extra small version) is mounted on my dash, where the a-pillar meets the dash (at the windshield). I haven't noticed any problems with reception.

My last car had XM built in as a factory standard feature, and I haven't noticed any diminished quality in sound or reception.

By the way, I'm impressed with the way that VAIS interfaces with the stock radio/nav system. They set it up as a MD (minidisc) interface, so you just press the CD button twice and it activates XM. The title and artist also show up on the screen, and you can program your presets which can be toggled with the buttons on your steering wheel (I think VAIS only works with 2001 and up).

They also hooked my iPod up to the AUX interface on the VAIS module (press the CD button a 3rd time), and it sounds even better than XM. It's hard-wired to the car, so it also charges when I have it plugged in. I have the wire coming out inside of the arm rest, so I can keep everything hidden. VAIS offers a dedicated iPod interface where you can control the functions of the iPod from your head unit, however if you use the SLX, you must control it from the iPod (except for volume of course), which is no big deal to me.

One final point....when I was researching Sirius vs. XM (I have had XM in my previous car for 2 years, but like Howard Stern so wanted Sirius), I signed up for a free 3-day trial on Sirius' website so that I could listen to their music stations online. I much prefer XM's music stations. Also, I was told by the dealer that installed the VAIS that the reception with Sirius can be somewhat spotty. He said that XM uses repeaters, which Sirius apparently doesn't use.?. Anyway, I'm happy that I stuck with XM... :-)

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  • 3 months later...

Consider yourself fortunate that you have the ability to connect directly.

There is a company making a gizmo that connects in line with the changer. VAIS Technology has some limited applications for XM. Nothing for SIRIUS yet.

I am using a tape deck thingy. The sould is better than FM modulation, but not as good as CD.

I had it in my armrest, but finally found an ashtray on ebay. I held my breath and let the rotozip fly. I like this much better.

post-18797-1153075853_thumb.jpg Hedge

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