Mac Slocum
02-28-07, 02:53 PM
Open Letter to Sirius/XM: Sound Quality Matters
With a Sirius/XM merger on the horizon, audio expert John Caldwell says it's time for satellite radio to improve its sound.
We became an XM family a little over a year ago. I bought my wife a boom box unit for her office and its portable tuner module moves back and forth between our two cars on weekends. But the home docking station hasn’t found its way out of the box.
Based on my sub-par ownership experience and the emotionally unsatisfying sonic performance, I was really starting to feel that XM, while useful for things likes out of town sports broadcasting and some commercial-free narrow-format channels, wasn’t part of my listening future. However, last week’s XM/Sirius merger announcement caused me to rethink my position: Maybe there’s hope for satellite “radio” yet.
http://www.electronichouse.com/images/uploads/sirius-xm-merger.jpg (http://www.electronichouse.com/article/open_letter_to_sirius_xm_sound_quality_matters)
My ownership experience got off on the wrong foot when I had to return the boom box unit and tuner to Delco for a modification. My wife pointed out an irritating buzz and a secondary ticking sound at low volume. As the resident audiophile, I felt ashamed. I originally demo’d the XM tuner at high volume and only for a few moments. My wife listens to music at very low volume so she won’t disturb anyone in the next Dilbert-like cubicle at work. Sure enough, there it was. Buzz, hum and ticking. A real turn off.
For more of John’s thoughts on the XM experience, check out
http://www.electronichouse.com/article/open_letter_to_sirius_xm_sound_quality_matters
With a Sirius/XM merger on the horizon, audio expert John Caldwell says it's time for satellite radio to improve its sound.
We became an XM family a little over a year ago. I bought my wife a boom box unit for her office and its portable tuner module moves back and forth between our two cars on weekends. But the home docking station hasn’t found its way out of the box.
Based on my sub-par ownership experience and the emotionally unsatisfying sonic performance, I was really starting to feel that XM, while useful for things likes out of town sports broadcasting and some commercial-free narrow-format channels, wasn’t part of my listening future. However, last week’s XM/Sirius merger announcement caused me to rethink my position: Maybe there’s hope for satellite “radio” yet.
http://www.electronichouse.com/images/uploads/sirius-xm-merger.jpg (http://www.electronichouse.com/article/open_letter_to_sirius_xm_sound_quality_matters)
My ownership experience got off on the wrong foot when I had to return the boom box unit and tuner to Delco for a modification. My wife pointed out an irritating buzz and a secondary ticking sound at low volume. As the resident audiophile, I felt ashamed. I originally demo’d the XM tuner at high volume and only for a few moments. My wife listens to music at very low volume so she won’t disturb anyone in the next Dilbert-like cubicle at work. Sure enough, there it was. Buzz, hum and ticking. A real turn off.
For more of John’s thoughts on the XM experience, check out
http://www.electronichouse.com/article/open_letter_to_sirius_xm_sound_quality_matters