XM radio - is it really CD quality?

[jaberwocky6669]

I'm sure that as well as data compression, the XM is volume compressed as well. Essentially there are no extremes of volume. Every sound has the same loudness. The jazz stations make this immediately apparent. Highly compressed music sounds best through cheap, small speakers but not hi-fi speakers. The Best-Buy salesperson was probably just repeating some gimmick that "home office" came up with one day. I'm old fashioned I guess but I prefer analog over cd because in the old days there wasn't a race to see who could mix the loudest album. However, a digital recording can 'exactly', yes exactly, recreate an analog waveform. Argue all that you may. It is fact.

[mannydingo]

I'm old fashioned I guess but I prefer analog over cd because in the old days there wasn't a race to see who could mix the loudest album. However, a digital recording can 'exactly', yes exactly, recreate an analog waveform. Argue all that you may. It is fact.

Ofcourse it's a fact. Not only is that true but my first "Don't Look Back" album by "Boston" on CD I purchased in 1983. Yes, it was one of the first rock albums put on CD and it sounded better than the vinyl album I had owned for a few years before. Later versions of the same CD could only have gotten better.

[me19875]

NO it is not cd quality. it is great in every way except they use a very low bitrate encoder. If you get good fm reception it is better quality. the only problem is that you never do get very good fm reception lol.

i would totally go for satellite radio if it were a decent bitrate, and if there were ZERO commercials. If you are paying for it, any commercials are unacceptable. one of the biggest reasons to get it is so you're not listening to 1/3 commercials and 2/3 music like you do on fm.