Sirius - XM: 10 Years Late and $3.4 Billion Short!

[admin]

A merger between Sirius and XM satellite radio was finally approved by the FCC. Sirius then purchased XM for the sum of $3.3 billion after both companies agreed to pay a $19.7 million settlement for various violations. The companies have now combined to become one – the newly minted Sirius-XM Satellite Radio.

Discuss "Sirius - XM: 10 Years Late and $3.4 Billion Short!" here. Read the article.

 

[wnmnkh]

The real questions to us audiophiles here are "can satellite radio be another high-def audio source for our audio equipments?" and "will this become competitive against other sources (CDs, DVD-A, Studio Master downloads, etc) we already have enough to lure us to use it?"

I have never heard how satellite radio sounds, so I will wait for some inputs here.

 

[Wayde Robson]

I have heard that standard Satellite Radio (XM or Sirius) is the equivalent to a 68bit MP3. It is absolutely horrible on any equipment designed for accurate playback.

That said, there is an HD version from XM, maybe Sirius has an equivalent. I've never heard an high res audio feed from satellite radio but I have hooked up a standard satellite radio receiver to my home stereo and it was shoddy compared to CD. I wouldn't use satellite radio to listen to Jingle Bells on Christmas Day!

Okay, except maybe in the car.

 

[Matt34]

The real questions to us audiophiles here are "can satellite radio be another high-def audio source for our audio equipments?" and "will this become competitive against other sources (CDs, DVD-A, Studio Master downloads, etc) we already have enough to lure us to use it?"

I have never heard how satellite radio sounds, so I will wait for some inputs here.

It's not all that great but for some of us it's our only option when the selection of FM and AM channels is dismal. I think it's a step about a decent FM reception but currently it's no where near CD quaility.

Having subscribed to XM for three years now so I'm going to follow this closely and see where this merger takes things.

 

[GlocksRock]

Mel Karmazin did an interview on the Stern show yesterday and was talking about the merger. Sounds like it was definitely in the best interest of both companies to merge. Hopefully things will start getting better, starting witih the sound quality of satellite radio, as I've never heard any quality audio from it.

 

[Dan]

I have XM. The sound isn't very good although the programming is generally good. I usually listen to comedy, sports and old music and don't sweat the sound. You're in a car after all. I get my great sound at home. What I don't like is how the prices will probably go up dramatically after an initial low price incentive. I DO NOT wish to subsidize Howard Stern and his outlandish contract, yet I'm sure I will even if I don't get a package with him on it. It has to float to him one way or another.

 

[gene]

The real questions to us audiophiles here are "can satellite radio be another high-def audio source for our audio equipments?" and "will this become competitive against other sources (CDs, DVD-A, Studio Master downloads, etc) we already have enough to lure us to use it?"

I have never heard how satellite radio sounds, so I will wait for some inputs here.

The sound quality of XM sucks IMO, hence one of the reasons why I wrote this article:

Dumbing Down of Audio

It's hard for me to even listen to talk shows on XM b/c the voices sound very metallic and compressed. I also tried Sirius and Howard/Bubba just don't sound like themselves. I guess its ok for casual background listening for most people but I have a hard time tolerating it for long periods of time.

The one redeeming quality of Satellite radio is its an alternative to the croonies at Clear Channel.

 

[hifiman]

I DO NOT wish to subsidize Howard Stern and his outlandish contract

You absolutely did subsidize it. You subscribed to XM who had the cavalier attitude that they were the only game in town in the satellite radio market. Stern went to them first. They used that attitude of theirs to drag their butts and stall in signing him. Sirius made the right move to grab him by any means necessary. It worked. XM crumbled.

I think this merger will be great. I see people complaining about sound quality, but the service is not about audiophile sound quality - something only the tinniest portion of the audience cares about - it's about convenience, quantity, and usability. Once these companies can stop fighting each other and this "format war" is done with, this should be a viable medium. Terrestrial radio certainly thinks so.

 

[gene]

I think this merger will be great. I see people complaining about sound quality, but the service is not about audiophile sound quality - something only the tinniest portion of the audience cares about - it's about convenience, quantity, and usability.

When XM first came out, it was touted as "CD Audio Quality". I notice they don't claim that anymore. In addition, how convenience also must be portable which Satellite radio currently isn't. Lack of portability, and poor sound quality are two major strikes againt these services IMO.

 

[TLS Guy]

Mel Karmazin did an interview on the Stern show yesterday and was talking about the merger. Sounds like it was definitely in the best interest of both companies to merge. Hopefully things will start getting better, starting witih the sound quality of satellite radio, as I've never heard any quality audio from it.

It won't get better, like HD radio it's a technically flawed system. A good FM tuner with a roof antenna is still the way to go. A well set up FM system blows everything else out of the water by a miles.

 

[Wayde Robson]

the service is not about audiophile sound quality - something only the tinniest portion of the audience cares about - it's about convenience, quantity, and usability.

You're right about the first part. And I'm not sure what you mean by convenience, quantity and usability but you're certainly right if you're saying that Satellite Radio needs those things to compete with other forms of mobile entertainment.

If Sat-Rad penetration into new cars can keep going and if, in five or so years we can say ... wow, nearly every car on the road is hooked up for Sirius-XM, all they have to do is pay the sub fees. Then yes, it'll be convenient.

But it needs that penetration. The best way to do that is give away the hardware. It's part of the economics of free it's kind of a new thing.

 

[norm962]

Sirius

No question, the sound quality isn't great, but I think we're all missing the point a bit---its the content! I don't pay for the service, my employer bought it for the print-shop and we listen to the Grateful Dead channel religiously. I cannot think of another place to listen to entire Dead shows dating back to the early 1970s or listening to music that inspired and was inspired by the Dead. Obviously, this is a niche market (and 1 small example), but I really think the content is what is driving satellite radio.

 

[gene]

No question, the sound quality isn't great, but I think we're all missing the point a bit---its the content! I don't pay for the service, my employer bought it for the print-shop and we listen to the Grateful Dead channel religiously. I cannot think of another place to listen to entire Dead shows dating back to the early 1970s or listening to music that inspired and was inspired by the Dead. Obviously, this is a niche market (and 1 small example), but I really think the content is what is driving satellite radio.

I lost all interest in XM radio when they discontinued the Progressive Rock channel.

 

[norm962]

I lost all interest in XM radio when they discontinued the Progressive Rock channel.

when you were listening did you worry tremendously about the sound quality or were you focussed on the content? I doubt many subscribers actually care about the sound more than they care about the content.

 

[fmw]

I'm guessing the two of them merged because they couldn't get enough customers separately to make a profit and they hope that one company with one overhead will be able to make a go of it. If so, that is a strategy almost guaranteed to fail - at least it has failed in the very great majority of instances in the past. If either company couldn't make a go of it, then the problem is the business model, not the competition.

I get XM, or part of it as a freebie for my DirecTV subscription. I don't think I've listened to it more than 1/2 a dozen times. The sound quality is truly awful. It is bad enough that I'd rather sing to myself than listen to it.

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm guessing the two of them merged because they couldn't get enough customers separately to make a profit and they hope that one company with one overhead will be able to make a go of it. If so, that is a strategy almost guaranteed to fail - at least it has failed in the very great majority of instances in the past. If either company couldn't make a go of it, then the problem is the business model, not the competition.

I get XM, or part of it as a freebie for my DirecTV subscription. I don't think I've listened to it more than 1/2 a dozen times. The sound quality is truly awful. It is bad enough that I'd rather sing to myself than listen to it.

Agreed. It is a complete waste of time and a lot of expensive technology.

 

[Kevin P]

Declining Sales

I, personally, subscribed to Sirius after it announced the Howard Stern signing. I believe, in my opinion, that the deliningsales of radios (aside from those in cars) was due in large part to the merger and how long the process took. I am sure the same thing happened during the Echo Star & Dish Networks merger talks (ed. hope I'm getting the two companies correct). No one was sure how the merger was going to pan out, so they kept a holding pattern. I feel that now that the merger is comlpeted, you'll see an increase in the sales of the radios.

That said, I like the service. It's refreshing to hear broadcasters actually be 'human', letting a curse slip out every once in a while (depending on what you listen to). The comedy channels are uncensored, so you can hear a Ricahrd Pryor or Geogre Carlin skit the way it was intedned to be heard.

 

[moreira85]

i love my sirius radio and just recently hooked it up to my home theater unit, man does it sound like craq compared to my mp3s on my ipod that i play on the HT.

 

[footman]

Dave Van Ronk

I will never forget the first song I listened to on XM, Dave Van Ronk singing The

Alabama Song / Weill-Brecht. I enjoy XM everyday.

 

[yettitheman]

I'm just going to put a old C-Band dish on my car and set an old Houston Tracker box to receive Ku Audio....