Does anybody know what is going to happen now XM and Sirius have merged?

I had Sirius in my '04 Murano and loved it. As well as missing a few channels that Sirius had that XM doesn't, I seriously miss the better sound quality that Sirius provided.

To say I'm disappointed with the sound quality of XM channels would be a serious understatement.

My 3 month free trial expired 2 days ago and I'm not sure what to do. It reminded me that I had actually forgotten to call Sirius and cancel my subscription with them for my Murano...so whoever bought that is still enjoying it courtesy of me! I probably can't switch that subscription to my EX yet, I doubt their systems will be that integrated for some time. However, my Sirius account has 2 units on it (the second one for half price annual fee) which a friend uses. If I cancel my Murano one then my friends will surely go to full price, and I'll also have to pay full price for XM in the EX.

Does anybody know why XM sounds worse than Sirius, and even sounds worse than FM? I had the upgraded Bose in my Murano, and all the Sirius channels sounded great. The EX has a better Bose system, but XM sounds worse in it. It really bugs me to have an expensive car, with a great sound system, but for the main source of what I listen to (satellite radio) to be so terrible.

I have listened to both, I don't thing one sounds better than the other. I personally love XM, I have had it since 2003. The merger is supposed to be completed by next spring. They already show a new programming plan on XM where you can get Sirius channels in addition to the XM line-up, no one is certain if the Nissan/Infiniti radios are compatible with this feature.

I assume you have Navigation on your EX, if you didn't, I believe you could purchase a Sirius tuner, and remove the XM tuner, if you DO have Navigation, then your tuner is integrated into the Audio Control Unit, and cannot be changed. I love XM, so I would say stick with that, but that is just my opinion.

The XM in my EX sounds great!I am really enjoying it.Is your issue just sound quality or reception as well?I

Same thing for me: XM sound quality is poor in my EX.And this is not a signal quality issue (Satellite signals are digital...).

I was thinking along the lines of antennae issue.thanks.

Its the sound quality that isn't up to scratch. Signal is average (a couple of sections of the hwy i drive every day to work which is more tree lined than the rest of it and I lose the signal, but didn't with Sirius).

It definitely sounds worse than Sirius did in my Murano. It definitely sounds worse than a lot of the FM stations around Philadelphia. It sounds worse than any CD I play. It sounds worse than any music I've copied to the music box. I rent a lot of cars from Hertz, most of the ones I get come with Sirius, and I can tell a difference. XM sounds more hollow, less vibrant, quieter and just not as clear.

Ever listened to the traffic and weather channels on XM? They must have compressed the signal, reduced the sound quality or whatever they do to get as many channels as possible, because just listen to those traffic reports, they're hideous- they sound worse than an AM broadcast. My thoughts are, have they done that to the rest of the channels but to a lesser degree, to squeeze as many in as they can.

I do have navigation, so had no option to get Sirius installed instead.

The XM sound quality in my EX just plain sucks, and it has nothing to do with the antenna or signal strength. Either the XM receiver is a poor/cheap design, or XM just sounds bad. There is little to no dynamic range and almost no stereo imaging.

FM, CD, etc all sound great. It's a big disappointment.

i think some of you might have antenna problems....XM sounds great in my car.

most channels broadcast at 4-64kbps....sports channels and the like will naturally be on the lower end of that scale.

turn to XM Pops or XM Fine Tuning and tell me if you still think the quality is bad.

Sirius probably DOES sound better due to the fact that they still use the higher quality PAC codec. XM switched away from that a long time ago so they could squeeze more channels in. it remains to be seen if the merged company will go all PAC or aacplus. But I do know that the HD Surround on XM Fine Tuning or XM Pops sounds really good. If they did that on just their popular channels I think it would be a good compromise.

I am currently leasing an M35X and will be changing over to the EX this week. I had Sirius installed in the M35 put see where XM is in the EX. I called Sirius to find out what was happening, due to the merge and was told that you will need a converter (cost about $35) to change the XM to Sirius. I prefer Sirius plus the fact I'm paid up for 3 yrs. I believe this converter is some sort of wire but I don't think it's something the average consumer can do.

My dealer is contacting his XM rep to see what is going on. I'll report back when I hear this week.

due to the fact that XM seems to be integrated into the nav system, I'm not sure that you can just do a $35 swap.

I just let my XM trial run out. my music collection on CF card is much more compelling and consistent than what I can find on XM. If XM had a feature where it could switch to a channel when my favorite artist was playing I'd dig that.