My tuner just died and in looking for a replacement I noticed the Marantx ST-7001 which offers XM in addition to the usual AM/FM. This is for my Parasound/Thiel system so I'm looking for decent sound quality.
Looking at the XM website I see that it features CT-aacPlus audio encoding with Neural Audio optimization which uses a "stereo transcoder" algorithm. Like Wow, sounds like it was created by ex-high end cable designers. I wonder if it aligns quantum flux too?
They do claim that it offers "superior sound quality remarkably close to Compact Disc". I'm very impressed by the 'remarkably close' claim.
I do like the idea of having a lot of commercial/yak yak free music to listen to, if the sound quality is indeed decent, but my system is unforgiving of poor sources.
So my question to the forum to anyone who has been using XM at home through a good system. How good is the sound actually?
Yes, the algorithm is similar to what is used for MP3's and MiniDisc. Masking is relied upon to remove bits of information you "don't hear". M-Peg type stuff.
The sound quality is reasonable for both XM and Sirius. Dish Network offres Sirius music channels as a part of their midline package of channels. For use while doing other things around the house, the quality is sufficient. It is not really what you want to sit down and listen to, however.
Do you know anything about the Marantx ST-7001 as compared with other tuners in its range. I do have some very good Jazz/Blues and Classical stations local to me.
As I need a new tuner anyhow, what I was thinking the value of XM in addition to the FM would be the background music, as you point out, and as my tastes are somewhat eclectic, being able to sample different styles and generas easily given the broad variety that they broadcast.
XM should allow for that use. Sorry, I don't know the Marantz tuner you've mentioned. Separate tuners never sold well in the US and certainly not outside the FM rich NorthEast section of the country. Many manufacturers don't even release separate tuners in the US any longer. I can't say I'm a fan of digital tuners and would tell you to search out a good analog design from no later than the early 1980's. You are free to ignore that suggestion, of course.
Sure JT. Just steal the little tuner thingy, then steal a credit card to prepay 3 yrs service and fence the stolen credit card to an online card number dealer.
XM & Sirius both sound crumby, like bad MP3s, dead, lifeless. The attraction to me is the programming. Either is good for non-critical listening, like offices & cocktail parties.
I owned both, I stuck with XM because I'm a baseball junkie, plus I've been on a Dylan bender the last few years, and wanted to listen to his Theme Time Radio show (which is getting kind of old, IMHO). I also enjoy listen to channels that dig deep into musical genres and turn me on to music I might not otherwise listen to. When I do find something I like, I'm never content until I get a "hard-copy".
Consider: Much of the XM programming (including Dylan's show) is available FREE on AOL Radio, which itself has some great programming, like a channel dedicated to rock cover songs.