mele63 Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 The satellite radio set up on my old car used the cassette adapter. I always thought it looked cheesy with the wire coming out of the cassette deck, but the sound was CD quality. With my new set-up, (FM modulator with METRA connectors), the music does seem to have a "broadcast" feel to it. In fact, the Satellite sound quality is WORSE than some of the local FM radio stations. I thought the Satellite signal would be at least EQUAL TO OR BETTER THAN the best FM broadcast signal, but it's not. What gives? Anyone else have the same observation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John M Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 It's not the satellite radio quality that you're experiencing -- it's the FM modulator. Some are good; some are not so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundBoy Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Well.. its pretty glaringly obvious. You are taking the digital quality of sat radio, and pumping it thorugh an FM transmitter. and your suprised it sounds no better then normal radio? Its all about the weakest link... and yours is the FM transmitter. Until you get a direct input (line in, etc) then you will always have this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RADON Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Satellite sound quality: Direct Connection > Tape adapter > FM modulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mele63 Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 It's the Sirius Starbase; everything comes with the kit, including the FM modulator. So you think it's a POS? Darn, I wasn't even trying do it on the cheap -- I selected it because the controller unit fits in the cubby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mele63 Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 RoundBoy, your tone is somewhat condescending. If you read my post carefully, you'll see that I am really comparing apples to apples; that is, FM modulation to FM radio. I thought the satellite would be equal to FM radio, not better but not worse either. At least John M understood (and addressed) the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmanus88 Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 roundboy does have the right idea; i don't think you do or you would not have asked teh question. you are pumping this signal through more than one variable, it will only degrade as you transfer the signal through more components (especially since you are going from digital to fm transmitter. second, i reckon you are using the stock subaru system to listen to the music? (the stock amp) that will give u shitty quality. i have the avic-n2 unit and ran the sirius sytem through its superior amp. i get much better quality. in fact, the only 'problem' wiht my curren setup is that its not as loud as, lets say, fm broadcast or cds. quality is there enough. i jsut up the volume and i'm golden. i don't beleive satellite radio is all its cracked up to be in terms of cd qulaity in the first place. i've read that users with direct connect or similar don't experience the advertised cd quality. but i'm still loving satellite radio, so i personally don't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundBoy Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 RoundBoy, your tone is somewhat condescending. If you read my post carefully, you'll see that I am really comparing apples to apples; that is, FM modulation to FM radio. I thought the satellite would be equal to FM radio, not better but not worse either. At least John M understood (and addressed) the issue. I understood you just fine. I was pointing out that you had all the information to answer your own question: The satellite radio set up on my old car used the cassette adapter. I always thought it looked cheesy with the wire coming out of the cassette deck, but the sound was CD quality. *** HARDWIRED -- not the best, but closer to digital quality music With my new set-up, (FM modulator with METRA connectors), the music does seem to have a "broadcast" feel to it. *** FM radio is a 'Broadcast' medium as well. In fact, the Satellite sound quality is WORSE than some of the local FM radio stations. **** FM stations put out a hell of a lot more power then the dinky little fm transmitter for your sat radio. and it can (usually) only broadcast on an unused station. I thought the Satellite signal would be at least EQUAL TO OR BETTER THAN the best FM broadcast signal, but it's not. *** Again.. you are only ending up transmitting your SATELLITE RADIO signal over FM TRANSMISSION (designed for < 15ft range ) again... how can sound better then an FM broadcast at 1.21 gigawatts over many miles? RoundBoy, your tone is somewhat condescending ** Possibly, but the internet is a scary place, and I'm not paid to hold hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringFellow Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 It's the Sirius Starbase; everything comes with the kit, including the FM modulator. So you think it's a POS? Darn, I wasn't even trying do it on the cheap -- I selected it because the controller unit fits in the cubby. The Sirius Starbase comes with an FM out and a set of RCA outs. I am thinking about installing a new wired FM modulator and running the RCA outs into the new FM modulator and see if that makes a difference. But I agree...the modulated sound from the Sirius Starbase's FM modulator isn't perfect by any meanings, but it is a hell of a lot better than a wireless FM transmitter. -S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mele63 Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 "Again.. you are only ending up transmitting your SATELLITE RADIO signal over FM TRANSMISSION (designed for < 15ft range ) again... how can sound better then an FM broadcast at 1.21 gigawatts over many miles?" Actually, with the long-awaited Metra connectors, I thought I had a "hardwired FM modulator" as opposed to a "wireless FM transmitter". Maybe I have a problem with "pretty glaringly obvious" concepts, but I thought that by bypassing miles and miles of atmosphere, my [formerly digital] satellite signal would sound better than the local radio stations. "the internet is a scary place, and I'm not paid to hold hands" I wasn't aware you were being paid at all for your input here, but good luck with that. You are obviously so gifted and/or knowledgeable in your chosen profession that people are willing to pay you despite a lack of interpersonal skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz-0 Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Well, gear aside, there's some basic rules for patching stuff in. A direct aux in is the best input, there are degrees of good, but it's top of the line compared to any other options. I have no idea if any heads offer a digital AUX in. In theory, next up is a wired FM modulator. I say in theory because if what I am reading is correct a to-spec FM signal has wider frequency response than a cassette adapter, but not necessarily where you want. after that is a cassete adapter. I believe this is because they introduce noise and don't have the full range of an actual audio cassette in your tape deck. Then comes wireless FM modulators. They vary GREATLY in quality, and none of them are really good. On top of that, satellite radio is LOSSY, COMPRESSED digital audio unlike a CD. IT uses psychoacoustic compression algorithms, and that requires pulling tricks with frequencies. This can cause issues if your connection mechanism causes incompatible frequency degradation. As for your transmitter sounding as good as a radio station? well, all that stuff I glossed over above... they have someone who knows the math behind it, and they also probably have a million dollars of gear to get the best sound given the medium's limitations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundBoy Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Actually, with the long-awaited Metra connectors, I thought I had a "hardwired FM modulator" as opposed to a "wireless FM transmitter". Maybe I have a problem with "pretty glaringly obvious" concepts, but I thought that by bypassing miles and miles of atmosphere, my [formerly digital] satellite signal would sound better than the local radio stations. FM transmitter usually implies that you are using a wireless (fm!) transmission to your radio... you are actually using a device hooked *into* the fm transmitter. In re-reading your first post.. I now see 'metra'.. so..I'm the ass for that one.. But... unless you can establish some 'baseline'.. you will have no way to test your connection. Can you hook a cd player through the metra (line out) to test the quality... it might be your sat system not getting a good signal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexjapan2 Posted July 1, 2005 Share Posted July 1, 2005 I have tried and failed to improve sound quality on a friend's car in the US. He had it dealer fitted (hard wired) and was desperately disappointed, but I could not find any glaring issues with the install. I've been in a few cars w/satellite radio (by no means reflecting the whole installed base ), and heard widely different results even though all of them were hard wired installs AFAIK. Most were OK, one very poor (in a Range Rover!). None were as good as a CD though, and only broadly "about" as good as local FM, so caveat emptor I guess... Hope you get it sorted to where you are happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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