Why do the DJ's all sound like they are underwater

[Don in CT]

Have a rental car with a nice system, every time I hear the DJ the compression is horrible and over processed. Why can't they make the Dj's sound better?

 

[TRG]

The UCONNECT radio in my truck doesn't sound that way (uses the XM satellites.) The radio I had in my VW sounded like a speaker in a washing m (used SIRIUS satellites.)

 

[harshness]

I've found that this is common when you're channel surfing. When you listen for a while, the problem subsides a bit.

I'm told that this has a lot to do with the Forward Error Correction (FEC) scheme that is used by Sirius and that it doesn't kick in immediately as you can't go back in time and retrieve old FEC data. It would seem that the FEC data is actually part of the data stream.

 

[TheKrell]

I think they overcompress in order to add more channels, and also use a statistical multiplexer. This results in moment by moment variation in audio quality, depending upon which channel on the transponder has priority. I have noticed truly abysmal (underwater) quality on speech.

 

[DJ Lon]

I would imagine that also contributes to the (what I call) metallic/swirly sound of a lot of the music channels? And I'm talking about Sirius in the car; streaming sounds great

 

[Howard Simmons]

Sounds to me like that nice system in that "rental" car wasn't set up correctly. The other posts went way over my head. TMI.

 

[Tampa8]

There I times I have to agree it sounds like too much compression or as the OP put it speaking under water. But it isn't all the time, it isn't on music channels, and it doesn't last long especially if you stay on the channel.

 

[TheKrell]

Agree with all but this:

it isn't on music channels

It occasionally gets bad enough to offend my ear, but it is much less frequent than talk shows.

 

[Don in CT]

Sounds to me like that nice system in that "rental" car wasn't set up correctly. The other posts went way over my head. TMI.

The caddy has the Bose system built in and it has the same crappy sound. Everything else sounds great, not the DJ's on Sirius.

 

[Don in CT]

How many DJ's broadcast from home locations? Are they just logging end from a computer using crappy equipment that isn't properly processed.

Even listening to Stern 'S's' sound washed out. And I know he is broadcasting from the mother ship.

 

[Howard Simmons]

How many DJ's broadcast from home locations? Are they just logging end from a computer using crappy equipment that isn't properly processed.

Even listening to Stern 'S's' sound washed out. And I know he is broadcasting from the mother ship.

The one I listen to is Classic Rewind which is broadcast from The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

 

[truckracer]

I have an xm ez radio on a boombox dock. It sounds better than any satellite radio I have ever heard. Oddly enough you cannot notice very much compression noise.

My f150 sounds decent.

I have a portable plug and play that sounds horrible.

Sent from our Pleadian star ship