mjpisat

I just got my TC back from the dealer today with all the options installed. I go the upgraded Pioneer radio with IPOD capability and Sirius Radio installed.

First off, there is a triangle shaped thing on my windshield near my rearviewmirrow. Is that the antenna?

Second, Sirius sounds pretty bad so far. I'm not talking about reception, but quality. I can have the radio on a volume of 35 and FM sounds very good and full. Then I switch over to Sirius at the same volume and it sounds like crap. Almost like switching from FM to AM. It's dull and lifeless.

Is this normal? Everything was from the dealer installed by the dealer.

Harmonic_tC

somewhat normal. Sirius has major compression noise. XM is a little better but overall youll just need to adjust your EQ to try and get it sounding as best as you can

SquallLHeart

that triangle thing is the antenna. where do you live? i dunno if that really affects anything, but so far i've seen no significant problems.

mjpisat

Wow, I feel like a dope. I didn't realize that when you switch to satellite, fm, cd or aux for the first time you have to adjust the eq's. The bass and treble were set to 0. I adjusted the eq's and the ssp button in the middle.

It sounds better, but FM still sounds better. I'm disappointed. I thought satellite radio was supposed to be so much better than FM.

How is the Scion stock radio? Is it supposed to be a good one?

2redgerm6

i got an aftermarket alpine $450 and external antenae and my sirius was a lot better sounding than my fm.

jetlounge

iTrader: (3)

satellite is like streaming mp3. poor quality and should be worse than CD, iPod and FM. That said, the receiver and HU will make some difference. My OEM XM radio in the Nissan is much better than my aftermarket one in the tC.

mjpisat

what do you mean by OEM? My stuff is from the dealer, not aftermarket.

What does the tuner look like that the dealers use for Sirius?

Is this Pioneer radio that Scion uses any good?

JocoJef

This is not true at all. My Sirius radio sounds crystal clear and better than cd quality. I never thought I would pay for radio, but man, after a day with Satellite radio I do not know how I have gone without it. I use to just use mp3 cd's but now I get a whole mix of music.

tekmunny

i totally agree with JocoJef...i installed the sirius tuner for our oem deck last week. i love it and it sounds supreme compared to fm radio.

matter of fact, i don't even have to turn up the volume level as high as i used to because the sound quality is SO much better now that i roll with sirius.

i may never listen to fm radio again...ever..."siriusly"!

HungSolo

My sirius sounds 10x better than FM.

Kilo6_one

i didnt like it, signal in my area sucks.

Hyghgynx

You also might want to adjust your SSP on the HU. The "tC" type sounds muffled. I have mine set to the "xB" type. Sounds a lot better! If you like a lot of 'highs' in your music, try the "xA" type setting. I also always have mine on "SSP Feel" too. If you don't know how to change these, just check your manual.

My Sirius and iPod sound much better since I hardwired them to the HU. (No more FM Transmitter! ) It may not be as good as CD quality, but its darn close.

mjpisat

I thought you can only adjust the SSP to neutral, Feel, and Hear.

What is more important with the sound of satellite radio, the tuner or the head unit? Mine doesn't use a fm transmitter. I think it goes from the satellite ready head unit to the tuner to the antenna. I may be wrong. The tuner looks like a little black box.

What do you guys mean by an OEM radio?

mjpisat

By the way. Mine sounds pretty clear. It just seems like it's missing something. Maybe some highs even with the treble set to 5. It's hard to explain

Hyghgynx

Nope, hold down the "SSP" button until it beeps. Then you can change it from "xA"->"xB"->"tC". Then adjust accordingly.

OEM=Original Equipment Manufacturer. Basically "stock".

jetlounge

iTrader: (3)

If it is from the dealer and a genuine Toyota accessory, it would be considered OEM.

actually it is true. satellite is streaming mp3.
CD/FM > MP3 > SATELLITE
but as i explained in the follow-up, the receiver, EQ and HU have a lot to do with it (and your ears too). Thats why XM in two different cars that I own sound completely different. While I would normally say that XM quality is better than Sirius because of the great sound in my Nissan, I was surprised how muffled XM sounded in my tC, and while Sirius sounds significantly better, I can't say that its sounds better than FM. But I have aftermarket everything.

Apparently your stock HU compensates very well, or maybe your volume **** goes up to 11. If it sounds better than FM, then you're doing better than me.