I've been with XM radio since day 2 or 3....yes it had it's advantages and flaws, but since the merger, things have changed. I was contemplating or thinking if for the worse....if it went terrestrial or became completely Sirius, I would quit as well with the other complainers on this board. But lately...they have been holding firm on keeping me from returning to the terrestrials.
I have observed the posts from the 2 mergers and viewed the positives and complaints. But I will mention the big improvements since it merged. And it is the sound. It's less compressed and better stereo separation along with slightly better programming. The decades were mostly left alone and that's a big plus. The 50's sound better and more rock n'roll. The jocks are better. I'm glad the Ken Smith's and "The Love Show" is gone. I hated it. Letting "Matt the Cat" go was a disappointment. He had the "Harlem Show" and that was a lost. but they still kept Bobby B.....The rest of XM 50's not much of a lost. A better oldies station within it's range. Concentrating on rock n Roll and less Patti Page, Theresa Brewer, Mario Lanza....hand it over to the 40's channel.
60's still sound good...left Plash Phelps and Terry on which was good. The only mistakes are Wolfman and Motormouth in the middle of the day (here on the west coast). They both belong at night....and kinda throws off the sound compared to Pat Clarke. Pat did the job the best he can especially filling the shoes of the best one on there (Cleveland Wheeler) and had good weekend features which i hope they can continue. We just need a good boss mid-day guy on and put a Canned Wolfman on weekends or late night like he was in the 60's. Bill Lee is a good addition , but he belongs more on mid-days then Terry. Terry's a night jock..for anything and that's where he belongs.
BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT....the 70's on 7. Finally reeeal 70's jocks. Magic Matt is great. When i drive to work...I feel like it's 1977 at times. Ron Parker would be a good addition on there, if he wasn't voiced track. Sounds definetly voice tracked...and too much caffeine. It sounds so obvious when he talks up intros.
When it was completely in XM's hands the station sounded like Magic. The had a bunch of AC jocks doing 70's...too many unwanted Brady Bunch clips and TV themes that took up 2 minutes of your time. All right, I got it already...it was the 70's. it sounded bland. They kept AT top 40 which is good...and the sound is much richer and better.
80's ....pretty much the same, but I believe they made some changes again.....only all Sirius jocks from MTV...not bad. I haven't noticed too much of a Sirius playlist yet. we'll see. The 90's still sounds like the 90's with jocks, and you still get the Top 40's. Pulse and the Blend sound the same, and the classic rockers , still sounds the same.
The processing is better, but it still can be more improved as far as spatializing and separation. All the other complaints are channels that are cultish, non mainstream, for meditators, soothing voices, goths, etc. get the point....channels that have a very limited listenership. I believe in variety covering as much as you can...but when you have so much limited frequency bandwidth to squeeze 500 channels in.....the worst the sound quality. It's better to have less stations and better quality sound. And if it means getting rid of some sub-genre stations....i'm all for it. Mainstream is still the most important....but without the corporate nonsense.
I have observed the posts from the 2 mergers and viewed the positives and complaints. But I will mention the big improvements since it merged. And it is the sound. It's less compressed and better stereo separation along with slightly better programming. The decades were mostly left alone and that's a big plus. The 50's sound better and more rock n'roll. The jocks are better. I'm glad the Ken Smith's and "The Love Show" is gone. I hated it. Letting "Matt the Cat" go was a disappointment. He had the "Harlem Show" and that was a lost. but they still kept Bobby B.....The rest of XM 50's not much of a lost. A better oldies station within it's range. Concentrating on rock n Roll and less Patti Page, Theresa Brewer, Mario Lanza....hand it over to the 40's channel.
60's still sound good...left Plash Phelps and Terry on which was good. The only mistakes are Wolfman and Motormouth in the middle of the day (here on the west coast). They both belong at night....and kinda throws off the sound compared to Pat Clarke. Pat did the job the best he can especially filling the shoes of the best one on there (Cleveland Wheeler) and had good weekend features which i hope they can continue. We just need a good boss mid-day guy on and put a Canned Wolfman on weekends or late night like he was in the 60's. Bill Lee is a good addition , but he belongs more on mid-days then Terry. Terry's a night jock..for anything and that's where he belongs.
BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT....the 70's on 7. Finally reeeal 70's jocks. Magic Matt is great. When i drive to work...I feel like it's 1977 at times. Ron Parker would be a good addition on there, if he wasn't voiced track. Sounds definetly voice tracked...and too much caffeine. It sounds so obvious when he talks up intros.
When it was completely in XM's hands the station sounded like Magic. The had a bunch of AC jocks doing 70's...too many unwanted Brady Bunch clips and TV themes that took up 2 minutes of your time. All right, I got it already...it was the 70's. it sounded bland. They kept AT top 40 which is good...and the sound is much richer and better.
80's ....pretty much the same, but I believe they made some changes again.....only all Sirius jocks from MTV...not bad. I haven't noticed too much of a Sirius playlist yet. we'll see. The 90's still sounds like the 90's with jocks, and you still get the Top 40's. Pulse and the Blend sound the same, and the classic rockers , still sounds the same.
The processing is better, but it still can be more improved as far as spatializing and separation. All the other complaints are channels that are cultish, non mainstream, for meditators, soothing voices, goths, etc. get the point....channels that have a very limited listenership. I believe in variety covering as much as you can...but when you have so much limited frequency bandwidth to squeeze 500 channels in.....the worst the sound quality. It's better to have less stations and better quality sound. And if it means getting rid of some sub-genre stations....i'm all for it. Mainstream is still the most important....but without the corporate nonsense.
