Well, I just got done activating my Sirius radio, so I’m all set for Howard’s Debut. Just for shits and giggles, I threw on a couple of the music stations which honestly, I probably won’t listen to very much, but I figured since they were there, I might as well see what they have to offer.
The first thing that jumps out at me is the sound quality. And not in a good way. I thought this was supposed to be the next big thing in radio? It sounds like complete ass. Like MP3s encoded at 96kbps and 32kHz. I think normal FM radio actually sounds better. Oh yeah, and I’m directly connected to my home system, not using the FM modulator.
Selection is meh in some aspects, decent in others. Only five electronic music stations, and not one of them is a dedicated drum & bass station. 18 rock stations, though, so maybe there’ll be something good there. Dedicated 80’s station, too.
Still, no matter what the selection, I can’t even listen to music on it with the sound quality the way it is. I guess it’s Howard 100 and rip the knob off…
I have had it for about 1.5 years. I have the S50 now and it is pretty nice. I love being able to listen to it through the computer while I am at work. :tup:
XM for me. i wish there was more electronic music stations too, but noone in this county is into anything other than the comercialized trance and hiphop shit. im definatly digging the punk station tho…they play shit i thought noone but me liked. i actually thought the sound quality was decent with mine…could be the receiver you bought. Im completely satisfied with satelite radio. :tup:
The radio I’m using is a Starmate Replay (ST2R?). I wanted something small and portable I could use at home and in the car. With digital technolgy that exists today, there is no reason why this thing should sound this bad unless the satellite radio format just isn’t up to par. I’ve listened to streaming broadcasts on the internet and gotten much better quality than this. I was expecting similar quality from Sirius.
Again, keep in mind I’m not using the FM modulator (which I know would ruin the sound quality), it is directly connected through RCA cables into the back of my preamp.
I never used the starmate replay… anyway, go into the menu and see what your signal strength is. There should be a Sat signal and a Terr… The terr signal is not actual satellite signal, that is the same way that you get FM stations, so make sure you are actually using the Satellite signal and that it is good.
I have had it for a year, and love it, I have a Pioneer headunit with a tuner. Sound quality is much better than those receivers. Get a satellite ready h/u, and u will be much happier.