2008 CRV -- XM sounds awful?

[fraction]

I bought a 2008 EX-L CRV last Saturday. I didn't know it came with XM for free for 3 months. pretty cool.

i listened to it on the drive home from the dealership ... to my surprise, it sounded AWFUL. Most of the channels have digital noise on them -- it sounds like 32kbps. Some of the channels sound ok, but most sounds like it's reduced bitrate.

I had a tech geek at work (our CTO) have a listen and he confirmed that it sounded bad (so it's not just me). We had a perfect line of sight -- no buildings or power lines around us.

His suggestion was that the decoder that came stock is crap and i should upgrade. But since I'm just *trying it out* right now, that seems like kind of a hassle. any ideas?

Thanks.

[dvanthull]

I have an CRV-EXl bought in December. XM radio seems superior to everything else I have on the car. Must be something with your car or your area. I live in Tucson.

Dave

[Honda 367]

While driving to Pittsburgh suburbs and back, I didn't encounter any problem except for when I entered a tunnel. I like my XM so far. I know I am going to renew for a year even though I mostly listen to AM talk radio anyway. But it does give me more options to have XM radio capability. I hope yours works out.

[ecarfar]

I bought a 2008 EX-L CRV last Saturday. I didn't know it came with XM for free for 3 months. pretty cool.

i listened to it on the drive home from the dealership ... to my surprise, it sounded AWFUL. Most of the channels have digital noise on them -- it sounds like 32kbps. Some of the channels sound ok, but most sounds like it's reduced bitrate.

I had a tech geek at work (our CTO) have a listen and he confirmed that it sounded bad (so it's not just me). We had a perfect line of sight -- no buildings or power lines around us.

His suggestion was that the decoder that came stock is crap and i should upgrade. But since I'm just *trying it out* right now, that seems like kind of a hassle. any ideas?

Thanks.

Bought my CRV EX-L on Saturday and, like you, tried out the XM radio (I didn't know it would work!) and it sounded great. I tried it later in the day and it didn't work at all but it worked this morning. I guess it's dependant on your reception, which, I thought, was the whole purpose of getting sat. radio to begin with. When it works it is kinda nice.

[Kennyyoli]

We just got our V last Tuesday. It's a new 2007 EX-L that was leftover, and the XM sounds great. Definitely something wrong with yours. Not to state the obvious, but I'd take it back to the dealer.... :o

[Gordon Parr]

Take the vehicle back to the dealer and ask them to check and all connections -- you might ask someone form the shop to get in and listen. XM is great and no one should have to listen to it sound like CRAP!

[Westgate]

I have yet to hear an XM broadcast that is even 1/2(obviously a very subjective number that I cannot back up scientifically, but just bare with me) as good as an FM broadcast. 32kpbs sounds about right to me for some of the broadcasts. This bitrate drop/compression is most apparent on the sports broadcasts/talk-shows, sounds like the voices are under water or something.

But music sounds pretty vanilla, and very undynamic and unrealistic. I'd guess XM would be great in a rual area w/o many FM choices, but I'll keep my dial on the local Jazz station most of the time, I'm guessing (I get my CR-V on Wednesday:) )

However, most people aren't picky on how their music sounds, so most people don't care/can't hear the differnce in quality.
I bought a 2008 EX-L CRV last Saturday. I didn't know it came with XM for free for 3 months. pretty cool.

i listened to it on the drive home from the dealership ... to my surprise, it sounded AWFUL. Most of the channels have digital noise on them -- it sounds like 32kbps. Some of the channels sound ok, but most sounds like it's reduced bitrate.

I had a tech geek at work (our CTO) have a listen and he confirmed that it sounded bad (so it's not just me). We had a perfect line of sight -- no buildings or power lines around us.

His suggestion was that the decoder that came stock is crap and i should upgrade. But since I'm just *trying it out* right now, that seems like kind of a hassle. any ideas?

Thanks.

[fraction]

thanks everyone.

i finally got my wife to hear the problem -- by turning to the talk-radio stations where the digitized "S"'s are far worse.

it's not a reception issue -- i know what that sounds like. i guess my only option is to go back to the dealer (again) and sit with someone until they hear what i hear.

bleh. what a pain in the ass.

[Florida_Keith]

Yep. XM sounds awful. Too many channels, not enough bandwidth per channel I guess. I would rather listen to FM or my IPOD.

[tayjenn]

I have to agree with the original post - I didn't renew my XM because of the sound quality - it didn't seem as rich as FM or my iPod (which sounds GREAT). I just was not impressed with XM - why pay money if I can listen to music for free on FM?

[X-Brawn]

I have an CRV-EXl bought in December. XM radio seems superior to everything else I have on the car. Must be something with your car or your area. I live in Tucson.

Dave

As do I...

I had XM a few years ago on a different vehicle, and didn't have any problems. XM signals, like satellite TV, can be effected by environmental factors. I only listened to the comedy stations and a few others when I had it, and I didn't care for it. I went to my iPod for my music, and the FM for more random music.

Sorry to hear about the pain in the ass. The only pain in the ass I have is literally a pain in the ass due to an arthritic hip.