I started to write this as a reply on the thread about 70's on 7, but I figured I'd revive the subject and stay on-topic with a new post...
I noticed the audio on the NPR feeds (along with the BBC, WRN and other channels in that general vicinity) went to crap a couple of weeks ago. A friend of mine (who is originally from the UK) was riding with me on a long road trip and I was so proud to flip to the BBC only to be embarrassed by the digital artifacts and general lack of fidelity. I had to turn the AGC function on my Mazda stereo completely off and do major adjustments to make it listenable at a higher volume. VERY disappointing. At least XMU still sounds great. I have a lifetime subscription on that receiver, so I guess I'm stuck either way, but it really bugs me when "progress" leads to an inferior product. :-\
I noticed the audio on the NPR feeds (along with the BBC, WRN and other channels in that general vicinity) went to crap a couple of weeks ago. A friend of mine (who is originally from the UK) was riding with me on a long road trip and I was so proud to flip to the BBC only to be embarrassed by the digital artifacts and general lack of fidelity. I had to turn the AGC function on my Mazda stereo completely off and do major adjustments to make it listenable at a higher volume. VERY disappointing. At least XMU still sounds great. I have a lifetime subscription on that receiver, so I guess I'm stuck either way, but it really bugs me when "progress" leads to an inferior product. :-\