lupinia
Premium
join:2004-08-24
Harrisonburg, VA
| reply to roamer1
Re: Get ready...
You also lose the clarity of digital input. The PCR is digital, the new portable units they're pushing are analog, and if you have a high-end speaker system (like I have in my car and computer), you can really tell the difference.
They better offer 256kbps or higher for the online service. |
|
pike
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-01
Cleveland, OH
clubs:
 ·Vonage
 ·AT&T Midwest
| said by lupinia  :
The PCR is digital
Well, not exactly. While the service is digitally broadcast the XMPCR and most current receivers are equipped with standard analog ouputs.
There are some retailers selling modified receivers with TOSLINK outputs (such as www.myradiostore.com), including the XMPCR. There is also a Polk Audio home receiver that will be released shortly with digital out.
-Mike |
|
djrobx
join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
·PHONE POWER
 ·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T CallVantage
·Time Warner VOIP
 ·RoadRunner Cable
1 edit | reply to lupinia
I love my SAT radio ... don't get me wrong, but XM and Sirius sound quality is awful. It's probably not even as good as a 128kbps mp3. They also employ dynamic range compression ontop of the heavy digital compression in order to keep the audio level normalized for typical car audio use. The amount of loss caused by going through a line input on your sound card is going to be extremely negligible compared to the digital and dynamic compression that goes on before it even reaches your computer.
--
\\ROB - a part of the SCB local network |
|
lupinia
Premium
join:2004-08-24
Harrisonburg, VA
| reply to pike
Good, I'm tired of seeing all these analog units for sale. Hopefully I can save up for a new Pioneer hardwired unit before they're discontinued, my old one is getting, well, old, I got it from the Crutchfield here the day it came out. 
I currently have one of the original Sony portables sitting on my desk, and it would sound much better if I could run it through SPDIF or even optical. In addition to the reduced processing power of the standalone unit, it's also easy to layer music over my games, and I can even mute WAVE and still get my satellite feed [hugs his SP Audigy]
I've been a fan of XM ever since they came out, but crap like this is a tad unsettling. |
|
