[radar2000]

Hi everyone.

I have a 2009 Santa Fe Limited and have the Infinity sound system with XM radio.

Just wondering what everyone thinks of their XM sound quality?

In my car:

- FM sounds great
- CD sounds fantastic
- iPod sounds amazing
- XM sounds like [email protected]

I find that the XM sound is too compressed. Is it because of the factory head-unit? Could there be something wrong with the antennae? Is there something that can be done to tweak the sound quality?

I was in my brother-in-laws Mitsubishi Outlander for a weekend trip. He has the Rockford sound system with Sirius satellite and his quality was near CD quality. It sounded really clear and not compressed.

I would love to hear what my fellow members are experiencing with their Santa Fe XM systems.

Thanks.

 

[lsutiger694]

I have the same issue with my 2010 Santa Fe... The genesis coupe I traded in was the opposite...

xm sounded great
ipod great
fm/am horrible


I wish they would fix it... Seems to me like it is (bad) internal processing being done to the sound...

 

[radar2000]

I wonder if this something that a Hyundai dealership can trouble-shoot?

 

[Pinto_Siftbean]

As a broadcaster.. let me explain...

MOST of the channels on XM and Sirius are highly compressed... it's all about bandwidth and sat costs. You will notice that some channels on XM sound better than others (pulse & 20 on 20) These are more popular, have a higher listenership. The classic rock stations, blues etc pay the price.

As far as iPods.. well... they depend on what you put on them.. if they are stripped down mp3's, they will sound like crap.. if you put music on from a CD (44:1 Broadcastt quality) then it will sound like FM or your own stereo. Same with burned CD's If you burn from wav or flac files then you have really good sound.. then there is your own ears.

Hyundai can't trouble shoot, XM and Sirius are too cheap for the rates we pay and if any other system sounds better than the infinity???... well.. that's just processing from the unit. I find in the Santa Fe system that you hear what it's really like.. adjust your bass, mid and treble ranges... it's all you can do

 

[BillMullineaux]

I think mine sounds great; but I mostly listen to the 40's, bluegrass, comedy and 60's channels. So the original recordings are probably poorer quality than the XM's bandwidth supports anyway.

I just wish XM had a "random shuffle" feature.

 

[torontonian]

QUOTE (IndyMGA @ May 21 2010, 10:45 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=325213

I think mine sounds great; but I mostly listen to the 40's, bluegrass, comedy and 60's channels. So the original recordings are probably poorer quality than the XM's bandwidth supports anyway.

I just wish XM had a "random shuffle" feature.

With my 2010 Santa Fe Sport....

XM is great
iPod is great
AM/FM sucks

 

[ehkewley]

QUOTE (Pinto_Siftbean @ May 21 2010, 05:31 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=325133

As a broadcaster.. let me explain...

MOST of the channels on XM and Sirius are highly compressed... it's all about bandwidth and sat costs. You will notice that some channels on XM sound better than others (pulse & 20 on 20) These are more popular, have a higher listenership. The classic rock stations, blues etc pay the price.

As far as iPods.. well... they depend on what you put on them.. if they are stripped down mp3's, they will sound like crap.. if you put music on from a CD (44:1 Broadcastt quality) then it will sound like FM or your own stereo. Same with burned CD's If you burn from wav or flac files then you have really good sound.. then there is your own ears.

Hyundai can't trouble shoot, XM and Sirius are too cheap for the rates we pay and if any other system sounds better than the infinity???... well.. that's just processing from the unit. I find in the Santa Fe system that you hear what it's really like.. adjust your bass, mid and treble ranges... it's all you can do

Same thing with "HD" tv. Most channels coming through cable/sat are pretty heavily compressed. If you have DVR you can pause and see the compression artifacts like a bad JPG. I find that the sports channels (ESPN) seem to have the least amount of compression.

 

[Don67]

I find both FM and XM a bit flat compared to CD, which is why I don't subscribe to XM. That, plus I'm cheap.

 

[Haith]

To the original poster, you should be getting the same CD quality sound from your XM.
Since your other modes are working fine, I'd suspect a bad antenna receiver, or even a bad connection somewhere in the antenna wire.
Contact XM, they might send a replacement antenna for you to try.

 

[radar2000]

QUOTE (Pinto_Siftbean @ May 21 2010, 05:31 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=325133

As a broadcaster.. let me explain...

MOST of the channels on XM and Sirius are highly compressed... it's all about bandwidth and sat costs. You will notice that some channels on XM sound better than others (pulse & 20 on 20) These are more popular, have a higher listenership. The classic rock stations, blues etc pay the price.

As far as iPods.. well... they depend on what you put on them.. if they are stripped down mp3's, they will sound like crap.. if you put music on from a CD (44:1 Broadcastt quality) then it will sound like FM or your own stereo. Same with burned CD's If you burn from wav or flac files then you have really good sound.. then there is your own ears.

Hyundai can't trouble shoot, XM and Sirius are too cheap for the rates we pay and if any other system sounds better than the infinity???... well.. that's just processing from the unit. I find in the Santa Fe system that you hear what it's really like.. adjust your bass, mid and treble ranges... it's all you can do

Thanks for your response and explanation...I'm fully aware of signal compressions and audio bit rates. I was more curious about other Santa Fe XM users experience with their units.

 

[radar2000]

QUOTE (Haith @ May 22 2010, 09:28 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=325435

To the original poster, you should be getting the same CD quality sound from your XM.
Since your other modes are working fine, I'd suspect a bad antenna receiver, or even a bad connection somewhere in the antenna wire.
Contact XM, they might send a replacement antenna for you to try.

Hi Haith.

Thanks for your response. This is a great idea. I'll give it a try and will let others know the outcome.

Cheers!

 

[orlzx6r]

I have a '07 and the XM sounds horrible (like a over compressed MP3 file). It's been my experience that every XM/Sirrius radio sounds this way. I'm possitive it's not a radio or antenna issue, if it was an XM reception problem it wouldn't work at all since it's digital unlike FM which is analog and will hear static if there's a reception problem.

 

[wymi]

I've had a chance to take a listen to XM again with the free trial that's going on right now. I have to say XM sounds pretty darn good on the 10 speaker 605 Watt Infinity system in my Santa Fe. Take advantage of the free XM trial, it's turned on in both our Hyundai's.