Sonic Tap (DMX) is here! What do you think?

[ThomasM]

As previously announced, XM has been replaced with Sonic Tap as the digital music channels which are really DMX (Digital Music Express).

So what do you think of this change? A lot of DirecTV subs were very unhappy when XM replaced Music Choice (myself included) some years ago. But I love DMX and when Time-Warner dropped it on my local cable system 9 years ago, I was so irked I switched to DirecTV. And now it's on DirecTV. Imagine that! ;)

[dcowboy7]

idk since theres only been like 8,769 comments about it already:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=170168

[Araxen]

I wish there would be some 10-20 seconds bumpers to give it a little bit better feel. I feel like I'm at the store listening to the generic store music. I listen to Internet radio at home anyways so it doesn't really matter to me. I do like the Irish channel though.

[krock918316]

idk since theres only been like 8,769 comments about it already:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=170168

But there's only 479 comments. :D :lol:

[Birdieman30]

What with the lack of a Barber Shop Quartet channel, the excessive compression on the Polka channel, and the apparent waste of bandwith on the Lennon Sisters Channel, I know of no other remedy than to pour myself another Knob Creek, pop a valium, and just retire for the weekend. Maybe in a few days the music gods will have figured all of this out and nirvana will once again be with us.

[subeluvr]

To anyone who appreciates music Sonic Crap is audio waterboarding.

Compression corrections won't fix the lack of content Sonic Crap suffers.

I want my DEEP TRACKS

[bwaldron]

So what do you think of this change?

It's quite awful, IMO.

[Richierich]

It's definitely different and more like Muzak!!!

[jal]

Its ok. I mostly listen to 70s. I do miss xm's replays of historical American Top 40.

[bills]

question? does anyone know what satellite the music chanels come from? i still cant get what i pay for. regards

[Impala1ss]

I only listen to Bluegrass and HonkeyTonk. Both new channels suck. The "Bluegrass" is less bluegrass music and more Americana, Folk, and other crap. The Honkeytonk is just old country. Very little real honkeytonk, Texas swing, etc.:mad:

[manxiemaxx]

The switch sucks.

[sigma1914]

I could care less because I sub to Directv for.......wait for it........TV. If I want music, there's my 40 GB with 7,800+ songs available or I'd get a Sirius/XM sub.

[fifa1234@gmail.com]

I hope it should be fine. Let's wait

[PatrickGSR94]

Holy crap, I just discovered this last night. It looks like the change just came about yesterday, because I listen to 857 Chill pretty much every night, and I just noticed the change last night.

So far it sucks. I used to always listen to Chill, Area, or BPM pretty much every night, especially Area while working late at night. Whatever is on 858 now, Subterranian, WTF is that. It's certainly not good trance music like Area had. Where's my Ferry Corsten mixes, Arman Van Buuren mixes, etc??? Dance is okay I guess, Zen is somewhat tolerable.... but still, I think it's sucking so far.

[djrobx]

Dance is not OK, not by a long shot. There's almost nothing current. I'm not just comparing it to BPM, but to the charts provided by billboard and Promo Only. You'll go for hours and if you're lucky one or two songs will be on a current chart somewhere.

The dynamic range compression needs fixing too. It's way too aggressive.

[subeluvr]

I could care less because I sub to Directv for.......wait for it........TV. If I want music, there's my 40 GB with 7,800+ songs available or I'd get a Sirius/XM sub.

I subscribe to DirecTV... wait for it... all the services they offered and XM-Sirius was one of them.

With the price increases we are paying more and getting less... hardly a business model I appreciate as their customer.

Since you're willing to pay more and get less you are their ideal customer :rolleyes:

[Richierich]

I could care less because I sub to Directv for.......wait for it........TV. If I want music, there's my 40 GB with 7,800+ songs available or I'd get a Sirius/XM sub.

Me too as I have a Yamah MuciCast with a 750 Gig Hard Drive in it so I can store about 3,000 CDs on it in PCM Quality and not MP3 Lack Of Quality.

[sigma1914]

Me too as I have a Yamah MuciCast with a 750 Gig Hard Drive in it so I can store about 3,000 CDs on it in PCM Quality and not MP3 Lack Of Quality.

I'm happy with mp3...but you PCM guys are hardcore.

[sigma1914]

I subscribe to DirecTV... wait for it... all the services they offered and XM-Sirius was one of them.

With the price increases we are paying more and getting less... hardly a business model I appreciate as their customer.

Since you're willing to pay more and get less you are their ideal customer :rolleyes:

We all pay more to get less...no one watches/listens to every channel they sub to.

[GP245]

As with XM, the information concerning what is playing on the two classical channels is woefully inadequate. I'm sure that people who have no idea about classical music are the ones who are programming the data. At times there is no way of telling the title of the music. Dreadful!

So, no difference to me. Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber!

[subeluvr]

We all pay more to get less...no one watches/listens to every channel they sub to.

WE is a pretty general assumption, but OK...

WE pay to listen to and watch the channels that interest us.

When WE get a price increase and those channels are removed or replaced with inferior programming WE are getting less and paying more.

When WE accept paying more and getting less businesses will continue to do it to us and you get what you deserve.

I'm sure your tune would change if a channel you watch was dropped or replaced with an inferior channel with less or different content.

[homebase]

The music is so compressed that it makes CBS radio online feeds seem like high quality.

[gibson.guitarman]

Seems like XM strategy here was like the free trial to new cars, and they may get more subs now that there are those that liked their format and it got removed from D*. I didn't sub for my car simply because I'm not into their format, neither their audio characteristics or their gabby format.
As far as the switch goes, it seems like a mixed bag. My preference is for the decades, classic rock, jazz, and country. The 60's sounds okay for the most part, but the rest of the channels seem to suffer from lo-fi, auto volume control (AVC), compression, companding, or bit-starving - I can't tell which. The volume seems to pulsate in response to some song beats which is quite annoying (AVC?). As far as the content goes, I don't find myself switching channels because I just heard that song 20 minutes ago, only to have to change the channel 3 more times just to get away from gabbing. I can always find something to switch to on Sonic Tap, but sometimes have to change the channel because of poor audio. Another thing I'm noticing is songs often don't have the last note played due to another song starting too soon on top of it, and missing the Pink Floyd and similar type content.

[marker101]

DirecTV a TV service!!!!


I do like the addition of Sonic Tap though. As a paying XM subscriber, I was against DirecTV adding XM in the first place.

[gibson.guitarman]

Actually, per Wikipedia,
"DirecTV is a direct broadcast satellite service based in El Segundo, California, which transmits digital satellite television and audio..."

It is part of the service we pay for, but I no longer see them advertising it as "CD-quality" (which it never was, but now has been degraded even more). Improving the audio is probably really, really far down on their to-do list, but who knows.

[billsharpe]

I consider Sonic Tap to be a step down rather than a step up for the music service.
I presume the change saves DirecTV some money.

[wilbur_the_goose]

AQ is about a 2 on a scale of 1 to 100.

I sent D* an e-mail complaining about compression and lack of stereo separation.

[Nicholsen]

MAJOR disappointment with Sonic Tap. Weak content, poor sound. The sound is poor enough it generates "listener fatigue" over time. My days of using the D* receiver as my primary "radio" are over.

I found XM to be a major plus, thought the sound quality of the Deep Tracks channel was very good (others varied), and thought it added real value to my overall programming package.

Dropping the superior XM service as they raise prices is also pretty bogus. Prices up, value down. :icon_lame

[wilbur_the_goose]

I'm so irked at D*. DirecTV just sent me a reply to my complaint about the audio quality:

My note: Hi- I've found the audio quality of the SonicTap channels to be very bad compared to the old XM channels. Will it ever get any better?
-----------
Response (Christian D. - 100231420) - 02/12/2010 11:35 AM Dear Mr. ***,

Thanks for writing. Its good to hear from one of our loyal and valued customers!

I understand your concern about the SonicTap's quality of audio. Thanks for bringing that information into our attention. While we are unable to comment on upcoming programming decisions, we are always reviewing our programming options to make sure we bring you the best possible TV experience. We value your opinions about our programming, so I have forwarded your request to DIRECTV management, who review every suggestion, inquiry and complaint for trends from our most important customers to determine what changes should be considered.



Thanks again for writing and giving us an opportunity to respond to your concerns.

Sincerely,

Christian D. - 100231420
DIRECTV Customer Service

---------------------------------

Do these CSRs even read the e-mails we send? Sheesh!

[gfrang]

For me i would say it's the same,if i could listen to them at the same time i could probably tell a difference.

[bidger]

What do I think about Sonic Tap? Not much. My listening of DirecTVs audio channels will go from sporadic to nil since I've found better alternatives, i.e.- Internet radio through Squeezebox Duet.

[dishrich]

Do any of you guys remember the home audio equipment made by DBX back in the 80's/90's? One of their products was a compander (compressor/expander) noise reducer, that was made to compress audio for recording on tape decks - the recordings were then played back thru it to expand the audio back to it's original dynamic range. This process (similar to Dolby B or C) was to keep the noise out of tape recordings, primarily on cassette tape decks. If you tried playing back one of these such encoded tape recordings WITHOUT the proper decoder, it basically sounded like total $hit!

Anyway, back to this so called "music" D* is foisting off on us - I swear that it sounds like the idiots@D* has taken all of the DMX feeds, & are actually sending them thru a DBX compressor! They actually sound like a cassette tape that has been recorded as compressed thru the DBS compressor, but is NOT properly being played back thru the expanded. Seriously, all of the pumping you can hear on these channels sound about like an undecoded DBX tape! :p

[kevinturcotte]

I just gave it a listen, and WOW! Compressed isn't even the word. I've listened to MP3s encoded at 64 Kbps that sounded better. I think this is intended for the "Average" Joe and Jane six-pack who are THRILLED to watch/listen to their Directv service on their D12 receiver connected to their SDTV via coax cable.
Glad I never really considered the audio channels as part of my subscription, or I'd be MAD right now! This would be like if they decided to encode the HD channels in 480i and try to sell it to me as HD.
http://www.sonictap.com/Contact.aspx Not sure if this is any different than contacting Directv though.

[Eagle Shadow]

It's not up to XM standards. Audio seems harsh. No screensaver or bouncing titles in the 900's

[BlackHitachi]

I just gave it a listen, and WOW! Compressed isn't even the word. I've listened to MP3s encoded at 64 Kbps that sounded better. I think this is intended for the "Average" Joe and Jane six-pack who are THRILLED to watch/listen to their Directv service on their D12 receiver connected to their SDTV via coax cable.
Glad I never really considered the audio channels as part of my subscription, or I'd be MAD right now! This would be like if they decided to encode the HD channels in 480i and try to sell it to me as HD.
http://www.sonictap.com/Contact.aspx Not sure if this is any different than contacting Directv though.So true! This is very insulting that Directv would give their customers such low quality services. When i had friends and family over i could not only be proud of my service and let them demo it. They would join under my account. Now i can not in good faith recommend Directv to many people. The only ones i can somewhat recommend are the ones with charter but that is it. Even that lead is growing smaller since they have added more HD channels and have our LOCALS in HD!

[Game Fan]

Sonic Tap is a horrible. I could go on and on berating this change, however, I'll leave it at this: DirecTV should be ashamed!!!

[loudo]

I miss the DJs, especially on the 60's Channel. I also think the channels could be grouped together a little better. Types of music are scattered around, instead of being all together in a row.

But in time we will get used to it. Some people are very resistant to change, and now like when DirecTV switched to XM from the old service, and some are complaining about the change. Probably a lot of the same people are complaining now that were complained about the change when they went to XM.

[schlagle]

I'm so irked at D*. DirecTV just sent me a reply to my complaint about the audio quality:

My note: Hi- I've found the audio quality of the SonicTap channels to be very bad compared to the old XM channels. Will it ever get any better?
-----------
Response (Christian D. - 100231420) - 02/12/2010 11:35 AM Dear Mr. ***,

Thanks for writing. Its good to hear from one of our loyal and valued customers!

I understand your concern about the SonicTap's quality of audio. Thanks for bringing that information into our attention. While we are unable to comment on upcoming programming decisions, we are always reviewing our programming options to make sure we bring you the best possible TV experience. We value your opinions about our programming, so I have forwarded your request to DIRECTV management, who review every suggestion, inquiry and complaint for trends from our most important customers to determine what changes should be considered.



Thanks again for writing and giving us an opportunity to respond to your concerns.

Sincerely,

Christian D. - 100231420
DIRECTV Customer Service

---------------------------------

Do these CSRs even read the e-mails we send? Sheesh!

That's the electronic version of a form letter. Substitute HD programming for Sonic Tap, and it is almost word for word what I received in reply to my inquiry about new HD channels.

[gfrang]

Yesterday i posted that i thought it sounded the same as XM but after reading all the negative post here i decided to check it out better.

So i listened to it carefully on both the tv in the bedroom with a sound bar and the tv in the living room with a AVR and so so speakers nothing special.

And now i have to agree with every one that Sonic Tap really sounds like dogie do warmed over.

[wilbur_the_goose]

schlagle - amen!

That's why I shared it - I get the feeling they don't understand.

[jimmyv2000]

AM Radio Sounds Better!:D

I noticed a huge difference.I did a side by side test with my XM ROADY2 hooked up to my home kit(that may see alot more use) Pumped through my yammaha system.
XM is way better:D
Sonic Tap just sounds like a low end radio station with poor equipment:(

The classic rock channel sonic 837 (formerly big tracks xm 49) was 1 of the channels i tested listening to a RUSH Song.
XM wins hands down.

The bass on the sonic tap was all distorted like a badly worn cassette or 8-track

My 2¢

Jimmy

[kevinturcotte]

My 2¢

Jimmy

Which is about what Sonic Tap is worth lol

[wilbur_the_goose]

I'm actually a bit of a D* fanboy, although I do complain about the hockey issues.

But this SonicTap thing is a joke - something a crappy local cable company would do. D* - you're too good for this! DO SOMETHING

[Jtaylor1]

D* should've gone back to Music Choice. Technically, I'm starting to like SonicTap even if audio quality is very poor. I listened to Malt Shop Oldies, 60s' Revolution, 70s Hits, Silver Screen, and Classic Rock.

But I hate it when a song gets cut to the next.

[Davenlr]

I like their selection of music, but DAMN it sounds bad. Ive tried everything from my surround sound system speakers to bringing in a pair of Cerwin Vega's designed for Rock, and the audio is so bad, I cant listen to it for more than a couple minutes. They did increase the dynamic range on Classic Rock, but now its distorted terribly. Ill give it another week, then Ill make that two hour call to DirecTv to complain.

[kevinturcotte]

I like their selection of music, but DAMN it sounds bad. Ive tried everything from my surround sound system speakers to bringing in a pair of Cerwin Vega's designed for Rock, and the audio is so bad, I cant listen to it for more than a couple minutes. They did increase the dynamic range on Classic Rock, but now its distorted terribly. Ill give it another week, then Ill make that two hour call to DirecTv to complain.

Problem is, you already KNOW what you'll get lol "It must be YOUR system. We haven't had ANY complaints. EVERYBODY'S happy with the new change." lol

[jsmuga]

I do not understand why they put most of the new sonic channels that was not already an XM channel like 807, 815 etc... on sat 119. So everyone with a SL3 does not receive them. I have premier but do not get all the music channels. Hopefully this is corrected in the future.

[Lethrneck4]

i have to say im disappointed in this switch. i liked the XM stations, and the ones i really liked...the clone stations on sonic arent as good...i used to love the XM Lithium grunge and 90s alternative station. the sonic tap equivalent, Reality Bites..is not even as close to as good

[Jeremy W]

Aside from the crappy audio quality, their music selection is complete garbage. What a joke, DirecTV should be ashamed to be broadcasting this disaster.

[RaMMaN]

I want Sirius/XM back !

[mweathers]

A few days ago I sent an email to DirecTV complaining about the sound quality of Sonic Tap. They actually reponded. Their advice to make it sound better was to reboot my receiver. What a line! But I tried it anyway. Exactly the result that I expected. Nothing different. Besides the programming being pretty bad on each and every station, the sound quality is pathetic! Why would they want to put out such a bad product, when at the same time they trumpet how great they are? This is a very disappointing situation...and we don't seem to have but two options: Live with it or leave. Wonder how many people will now look at different options? I've heard AT&T Uverse is great. I may have to start looking into it. And I've been a DirecTV sub for over 10 years. Would I leave just for the music choices? No. But that with the price increase and the lack of new HD channels makes one think. Plus, I've noticed recently that the picture quality on the HD channels doesn't seem as crisp as it once did. I remember watching Lost in seasons past thinking how incredible the picture was. This year it doesn't seem so incredible. Maybe I'm just getting spoiled. But this music thing is just an awful stumble by them......

[loudo]

A few days ago I sent an email to DirecTV complaining about the sound quality of Sonic Tap. They actually reponded. Their advice to make it sound better was to reboot my receiver. What a line! But I tried it anyway. Exactly the result that I expected. Nothing different. Besides the programming being pretty bad on each and every station, the sound quality is pathetic! Why would they want to put out such a bad product, when at the same time they trumpet how great they are? This is a very disappointing situation...and we don't seem to have but two options: Live with it or leave. Wonder how many people will now look at different options? I've heard AT&T Uverse is great. I may have to start looking into it. And I've been a DirecTV sub for over 10 years. Would I leave just for the music choices? No. But that with the price increase and the lack of new HD channels makes one think. Plus, I've noticed recently that the picture quality on the HD channels doesn't seem as crisp as it once did. I remember watching Lost in seasons past thinking how incredible the picture was. This year it doesn't seem so incredible. Maybe I'm just getting spoiled. But this music thing is just an awful stumble by them......
Before you jump ship, check out the music channels of Uverse, they use URGE, which I believe is a service of MTV. I have never heard any of their music so I can't comment on it.
I would also wait to see what new HD content is coming on line when D12 get in operation within the next couple of months.
If there is a loss in picture quality, it could be your TV, or if you have a DLP set you might be reaching the end of the life of your lamp. Actually the picture quality of DirecTV has improved over the last couple of years. A few years ago they were uploading, what was referred to as HD Lite, like DISH is currently doing, to add more HD. As new satellites we put in service that practice went away.

[Impala1ss]

Just realized that the music comes out of ALL my 5.1 speakers at the same volume. It must be broadcast in Surround Sound? :confused::confused::confused:

MY BAD, I'm listening to XM radio.

[wilbur_the_goose]

It's probably all mono. I'm not hearing any stereo separation.

[GregLee]

The channels differ considerably in fidelity, as did XM-Sirius channels. Some sound pretty good, to me.

[Jon J]

I sent an e-mail to DirecTV expressing my displeasure and received a canned response. I responded and got another canned response from another CSR. I responded again and got another canned response from another CSR. Get the picture? ;)

[Boston_bill]

The music info is horrible. I have the Rat Pack Channel and nearly half the songs come up blank.

[Cyber36]

Seriously, whatta ya expect? Better quality & more options for a higher monthly bill? Get with it! This is 2010............

[loudo]

The music info is horrible. I have the Rat Pack Channel and nearly half the songs come up blank.
By blank, do you mean no music or no screen?

[sailermon]

When listening to music sound quality is everything. I thought XM was pretty poor but this is an absolute joke! If DTV can't give us CD quality music channels, use the bandwidth for something else and stop pretending to be giving subscribers something of value.

[Stuart Sweet]

Well, what do I think?

Music is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. There is an emotional attachment to music. People all have opinions, but I think the comments that SonicTap doesn't know what they are doing is wrong. They have been in the music programming business for 40 years as a global distributor of music. Now, their selections may not be what some listeners want to hear, but that doesn't mean they don't know music.

There will continue to be modifications and tinkering with the audio and even the channels.Any time channels (audio included) are launched, there is a learning curve for awhile to get it dialed in, especially on the quality of the audio.

Of the 84 Sonic Tap channels, 14 of them are in Mono and I believe all but one of them are on the 119 slot. These channels were available in the past to just commercial customers but now they have been opened up to residential customers. Commercial properties don't need stereo, that's why they are in mono. So there will be a sound quality difference there on those 14 in comparison to the other 70, but since residential customers never heard they are probably confusing the difference.

The channels broadcast on 101 are at the exact same bit rate as the XM channels so there is no compression difference whatsoever, even if people are claiming they are "hearing" a difference.

The way I hear it, there is already one channel that may get switched out for a more "related" channel to the old XM version.

Yes, there have been some complaints about the change, but that's like any changes. You always hear from those upset and never from those that like it or don't care. The way I hear it actually, there were quite a few positive remarks from those that were happy with the switch.

[dcowboy7]

There will continue to be modifications and tinkering with the audio and even the channels.Any time channels (audio included) are launched, there is a learning curve for awhile to get it dialed in, especially on the quality of the audio.

But directv had XM for years & still had never fixed the sound level on the channels in that some were alot louder than others.
For example "BPM" was always way louder than "The Pulse".

Years is a long learning curve to not have a problem fixed.

[MikeW]

I honestly feel DirecTV did not do their part in ensuring the channel lineups were comparable. Since they published a chart in December, they should have had somebody within their organization perform a side by side comparison. Although I can find similar options, they are not close enough. Most of the channels insist on having current music inserted into it. This includes the "Prime Country" replacement as well as "8-Tracks". I heard a song from 2003 on "8-Tracks", where the description specifically states the music is from the 60's and 70's.

The audio quality is another issue I simply don't understand. How can it take any time at all to reproduce a digital quality signal? Why wasn't this work done between December and Februrary? Are we, the customers, now the guinea pigs?

This complete changeover was poorly executed and I do hope that the issues are resolved in a timely manner.

[Stuart Sweet]

But directv had XM for years & still had never fixed the sound level on the channels in that some were alot louder than others.
For example "BPM" was always way louder than "The Pulse".

Years is a long learning curve to not have a problem fixed.

Let us hope that their recent commitment to systemwide sound leveling pays off here as well.

[texasmoose]

My wife & I like the fact that there are no longer any DJs talking in between songs. My wife seems to be happy with the new audio channels. Usually I encounter some wifey aggro whenever D* makes changes, but none encountered on this one...........

[djrobx]

Well, what do I think?
The channels broadcast on 101 are at the exact same bit rate as the XM channels so there is no compression difference whatsoever, even if people are claiming they are "hearing" a difference..
The complaints about compression are not about bitrate. They are about dynamic range compression and that is something completely different than the compression technique used to encode the audio data. Please don't insinuate that we don't know what we're hearing, when it seems you're not even sure what we're talking about.

Dynamic range compression is used primarily as an automated way to normalize the volume of audio. Compressors have a large variety of choices, but the most important ones are the the maximum adjustment applied, and the attack and decay values (speed) at which the gain can adjust.

The values selected by DirecTV and/or SonicTap are set so aggressively that vocals sometimes cut in and out with every beat of the music. Dynamic range compression can be a good thing when you're listening at low volumes, but these are simply poor choices no matter what environment you're trying to listen in.

[loudo]

When I saw the original release with the comparison chart for the new and old, I never expected the same exact type of music with Sonic Tap, as XM played. Even land based radio stations of the same type can vary, with the music they play. I know we listen to a 70's station here and their mainstream of music is different than the 70's station where we have our summer home. One plays more upbeat 70's music where the other plays mainly light rock 70's hits.

[pbg]

Well, what do I think?

Music is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. There is an emotional attachment to music. People all have opinions, but I think the comments that SonicTap doesn't know what they are doing is wrong. They have been in the music programming business for 40 years as a global distributor of music. Now, their selections may not be what some listeners want to hear, but that doesn't mean they don't know music.


I wasn't noticing a huge difference in the quality of the stream, the issue for me is in the programming.

I'm beginning to think that Sonic Tap and XM are really two totally different services geared toward different users. It feels to me that their programming isn't really designed (programmed) for the home listener, with their stations being more geared towards an office environment, or a store at a shopping mall; maybe something you'd hear in the GAP. There's no sense of adventure, just the same old, some old. This probably works well for stores. Go in, hear something nice & familiar, whip out credit card, and then leave with bag in hand.

You are correct, they've been around for a long time. I wouldn't argue that they know how to program very well for those type environs, and know how to make folks feel comfortable. I just think their programming isn't geared for folks that are just listening to the music, (if that makes sense at all)

I think for most casual listeners, Sonic Tap will work fine - But I suspect the majority of the folks that are posting the negative feelings are passionate about their music, and for those folks there is no comparison, XM is so far ahead.

[Nicholsen]

Stuart:

I greatly appreciate your post.

For what its worth, I thought XM was a big improvement just as soon as it arrived. There is a reason XM/Sirius is able to charge roughly $10 a month for their service. It was, for me, effectively a $10 reduction in my D* bill. Very cool!

Also, the compression many people are complaining about seems to be good old fashioned compander technology (perhaps even analog), similar to what is used by many commercial FM stations. They dynamic range is compressed, with little difference between the loud and the quiet.

I don't think it is a lack of bandwidth, which most of us would hear as low bit-rate MP3 like sound (distortion). This may be required to optimally utilize very lower bit-rates for music, but sounds really awful to my ears.

Even if they can fix the sound, the content is just not as appealing.

Sonic Tap has nothing like Bob Dylan or Tom Petty doing their weekly shows and playing their favorite records, or the truly great programmers at Deep Tracks. XM/Sirius is not perfect, but Sonic Tap is a clear step down.

I think the posts in the thread are running 5 to 1 negative regarding the change to Sonic Tap. I think that indicates some real dissatisfaction by the people who heavily use, and therefore care most about, the music service.

[Nicholsen]

When I saw the original release with the comparison chart for the new and old, I never expected the same exact type of music with Sonic Tap, as XM played. Even land based radio stations of the same type can vary, with the music they play. I know we listen to a 70's station here and their mainstream of music is different than the 70's station where we have our summer home. One plays more upbeat 70's music where the other plays mainly light rock 70's hits.

I don't expect all of the new channels to be near perfect replacements for the old. However, some of the old channels (Deep Tracks!) effectively have no replacement channel.

Deep Tracks is one of the XM flagship channels for a reason. Those of us who were Deep Track fans have essentially been abandoned. Suggesting the new 8 Track channel is roughly equivalent is a truly bad joke.

I suspect that by someone in marketing was told to simply line up a new channel with each of the old channels, and no one really bothered to see (or cared) if they were really comparable

[billsharpe]

Seriously, whatta ya expect? Better quality & more options for a higher monthly bill? Get with it! This is 2010............

Can I borrow your whip to use on the DirecTV personnel responsible for this change? :D

If confused, go back and look at message #59

[Formula-350]

I feel like I'm at the store listening to the generic store music.

To anyone who appreciates music Sonic Crap is audio waterboarding.

It's quite awful, IMO.

It's definitely different and more like Muzak!!!

The switch sucks.

Holy crap, I just discovered this last night. It looks like the change just came about yesterday, because I listen to 857 Chill pretty much every night, and I just noticed the change last night.

So far it sucks. I used to always listen to Chill, Area, or BPM pretty much every night, especially Area while working late at night. Whatever is on 858 now, Subterranian, WTF is that. It's certainly not good trance music like Area had. Where's my Ferry Corsten mixes, Arman Van Buuren mixes, etc??? Dance is okay I guess, Zen is somewhat tolerable.... but still, I think it's sucking so far.

Dance is not OK, not by a long shot. There's almost nothing current. I'm not just comparing it to BPM, but to the charts provided by billboard and Promo Only. You'll go for hours and if you're lucky one or two songs will be on a current chart somewhere.

I subscribe to DirecTV... wait for it... all the services they offered and XM-Sirius was one of them.

With the price increases we are paying more and getting less... hardly a business model I appreciate as their customer.

Since you're willing to pay more and get less you are their ideal customer :rolleyes:

I just discovered with in the past few months BPM and Underground, and listened to BPM quite a bit. "Dance" on SONC just does NOT compare at ALL. Everything I quoted is just from the first page, but reflects exactly how I feel. What is in bold though perfectly reflects my opinions on the two channels I listened to. It literally is "quite awful" and what DJRobX said in regards to nothing current being played, it's absolutely spot on the mark! Totally opposite ends of the spectrum as far as quality of the content goes. I tried listening to it again today while surfing the web, and it just sidetracks me too much to even be able to have it on in the background, it sucks THAT much! :nono2:

Shame on your D* for not polling your customers first! :nono:


WE is a pretty general assumption, but OK...

WE pay to listen to and watch the channels that interest us.

When WE get a price increase and those channels are removed or replaced with inferior programming WE are getting less and paying more.

When WE accept paying more and getting less businesses will continue to do it to us and you get what you deserve.

I'm sure your tune would change if a channel you watch was dropped or replaced with an inferior channel with less or different content.

I agree with all that, and I'll also agree that unless we stop giving them money, they'll just keep doing what they want if we don't retaliate in a way they will understand: By not giving them money! We (my family) were a Dish customer for many years and when we moved we switch due to a package deal. There were many many things I just hated about D* when we got it, and I never could get used to it. After almost a year now, I've gotten used to some things and just put up with others. Getting HD receivers and HD-DVR with D* Mover made things quite a bit nicer though, and gaining things has sort of made me forget about the other smaller things that still kinda annoy me :P While I still don't listen to the audio stations all that much, and more recently than ever since I don't have my desktop computer setup in our new house here, where all my audio is on.

[subeluvr]

I don't expect all of the new channels to be near perfect replacements for the old. However, some of the old channels (Deep Tracks!) effectively have no replacement channel.

Deep Tracks is one of the XM flagship channels for a reason. Those of us who were Deep Track fans have essentially been abandoned. Suggesting the new 8 Track channel is roughly equivalent is a truly bad joke.

I suspect that by someone in marketing was told to simply line up a new channel with each of the old channels, and no one really bothered to see (or cared) if they were really comparable

Bingo... right on the money... exactly right!

Deep tracks was where DJs worked cause they were knowledgeable and were there when that music hit. The content was well thought out and seamlessly integrated. You'll hear no Seatrain or Phil Ochs or Firefall or Renaissance or King Crimson on 8-Tracks.

Suggesting that 8-Tracks is an acceptable replacement for Deep Tracks is like suggesting that a scroller at the bottom of the screen showing sports scores is an acceptable replacement for ESPN.

I WANT MY DEEP TRACKS

[MikeW]

Singers/Songwriters to replace "The Loft"
Channel Description - "As good as the lyrics are on paper, they're even better when they come alive in song. Intellectual and thought-provoking, these are the great songs from the greatest singer-songwriters of yesterday and today."

Now playing - Lady GaGa / Lovegame

Lyrics -

let's have some fun, this beat is sick
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick
don't think too much, just bust that kick
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick

[dcowboy7]

Singers/Songwriters to replace "The Loft"
Channel Description - "As good as the lyrics are on paper, they're even better when they come alive in song. Intellectual and thought-provoking, these are the great songs from the greatest singer-songwriters of yesterday and today."

Now playing - Lady GaGa / Lovegame

Lyrics -

let's have some fun, this beat is sick
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick
don't think too much, just bust that kick
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick

I dont even work in radio & yet i know a remix of that song (which hit #1 btw) should be played on "dance" not "singers/songwriters". :D

[dishrich]

Of the 84 Sonic Tap channels, 14 of them are in Mono and I believe all but one of them are on the 119 slot.

But 4 of the stereo (non-comm) channels in the 800's ARE, in fact on 119 & are not dupes of the commercial ones in the 9500 range:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=2360921#post2360921

Note the following channels are not broadcast from 101 so customers need multi-sat equipment to receive: 807, 815, 824, 852, 853, 855, 861, 865, 870, 873, 876, 877, 880, 881, 882, 883 and 884

These channels were available in the past to just commercial customers but now they have been opened up to residential customers. Commercial properties don't need stereo, that's why they are in mono.

While true most of them are on 119, 2 of them (9570 & 9571) are actually duped on 101 on ch 960 & 962, which makes even less sense.

I personally verified each channel & it lines up exactly w/RobertE's post

The channels broadcast on 101 are at the exact same bit rate as the XM channels so there is no compression difference whatsoever, even if people are claiming they are "hearing" a difference.

They may be, but as others have told you, there is a VERY serious compression problem with most of the stereo stations. Unless you have a tin ear, you can hear VERY exaggerated compression or "pumping" on these stations. As I said in a previous post, it sounds like an undecoded DBX cassette tape. And yes, it is MOST definitely a DirecTV problem, as I know DMX is NOT sending out a product like this!

[Kentstater]

Finnaly had some time to listen to Sonic Tap.

Wow, it sucks.

My wife who loved clasic vinyl and deep tracks ended up going to Media Share, and that's a first in our house.

[Formula-350]

I wasn't noticing a huge difference in the quality of the stream, the issue for me is in the programming.

I'm beginning to think that Sonic Tap and XM are really two totally different services geared toward different users. It feels to me that their programming isn't really designed (programmed) for the home listener, with their stations being more geared towards an office environment, or a store at a shopping mall; maybe something you'd hear in the GAP. There's no sense of adventure, just the same old, some old. This probably works well for stores. Go in, hear something nice & familiar, whip out credit card, and then leave with bag in hand.

You are correct, they've been around for a long time. I wouldn't argue that they know how to program very well for those type environs, and know how to make folks feel comfortable. I just think their programming isn't geared for folks that are just listening to the music, (if that makes sense at all)

I think for most casual listeners, Sonic Tap will work fine - But I suspect the majority of the folks that are posting the negative feelings are passionate about their music, and for those folks there is no comparison, XM is so far ahead.

PERFECTLY put, sir! SonicTap is great for people who have music on, not to listen to it, but to just have some background noise. XM is more for people who listen to the music, even if it's on in the background, because they ENJOY it or like to listen to music by artists who are good! Yea, SonicTap has music by artists who are known, but those played tracks are seemingly far and few between... Seems like D* went with a cheaper service to cut back on costs, and SonicTap is cheaper because they don't have to pay all the high dollar licensing fees for the pop artists :\ And thus, we're going to be stuck with this crap for awhile, as I'm sure ST and D* signed a contract.

[wilbur_the_goose]

Singers/Songwriters to replace "The Loft"
Channel Description - "As good as the lyrics are on paper, they're even better when they come alive in song. Intellectual and thought-provoking, these are the great songs from the greatest singer-songwriters of yesterday and today."

Now playing - Lady GaGa / Lovegame

Lyrics -

let's have some fun, this beat is sick
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick
don't think too much, just bust that kick
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick

Dar Wlliams is so proud.

Stuart - Is there any way we can get D* to label the mono channels so I can block them?

--------------
Stuart - like dj noted, the issue isn't digtal compression - it's that SonicTap is dynamically compressing the lows and highs together. It's really, really horrible today and it's really got to stop.

I'm not about to leave D* over this, but it shocks me that my dad's TW cable has a much better audio service. D* was once the leader in everything. Can't say that now, unfortunately. Instead of widening their lead, they've backtracked to the point that cable is something to actually consider.

Somebody at D* should be reassigned quickly over his/her decision here (I don't want anybody fired in today's economy!)

[MikeW]

Somebody at D* should be reassigned quickly over his/her decision here (I don't want anybody fired in today's economy!)

It seems that DirecTV has been headed in a different direction since Chase Carey left. I am really beginning to miss that guy.

[mweathers]

In addition to posting here, I think we should all be emailed directly to Sonic Tap. Couldn't hurt!

[Steve]

It seems that DirecTV has been headed in a different direction since Chase Carey left. I am really beginning to miss that guy.Haven't read through this thread, so don't know if it was mentioned, but the funny thing about all of this is that Liberty Media, John Malone's "other" company, took an equity stake in Sirius in May of last year! Very odd they couldn't come to an equitable renewal deal.

[MikeW]

Never Been Any Reason by Head East reached #68 on the Billboard Charts in 1975. It is now playing on "Classic Hits Blend"

"Solid classic hits from the major artists of the '70's through today". This is definitely a "Deep Tracks" or "Classic Rock" song.

The next song played is Des'ree singing You Gotta be, then Kool and the Gang with Celebration, then "Never Gonna Be Alone" by Nickelback and now it is Johnny Rivers with "Rockin' Pneumonia".

This is my main complaint about DMX. Although defended by some that they have been doing this for 40 years and they know what they are doing, how do these four songs make any sense in a flow of music? A fan of "Head East" probably doesn't like Des'ree or Kool and the Gang. A fan of Kool and the Gang is probably not into Nickelback. This forces the user to either listen to something they don't want to hear or surf the channels on a regular basis. This wasn't the case with XM.

This hold true for many of these channels. "Love Songs" and "Soft Hits" tend to throw some bizarre song into a mix and it completely changes the landscape of the music.

[mweathers]

Has anyone been to Sonic Tap's web site. It's the strangest thing I've ever seen. Seems it's just a bunch of 13 song playlists strung together. No thinking required! I can't imagine a worse way to program music!

[MikeW]

Has anyone been to Sonic Tap's web site. It's the strangest thing I've ever seen. Seems it's just a bunch of 13 song playlists strung together. No thinking required! I can't imagine a worse way to program music!

Based on the list I just posted, it seems their idea of programming is to throw a bunch of MP3s into a computer, click shuffle, and hope for the best.

Here's another. Back to "8-Track" which played "Funnel of Love" by Wanda Jackson, a "Girl Group" song as described in Wikipedia.

""Funnel of Love" is a 1961 song by Wanda Jackson, written by Charlie McCoy and Kent Westberry and recorded on April 10, 1961.
The song contains a guitar solo by Roy Clark."

The next song..Runnin' with the Devil by Van Halen.

I honestly don't know what is worse..this, or 20 minutes of commercials on a Clear Channel programmed station.

[wilbur_the_goose]

Sonic Tap's phone number is 800.345.5000 (or 512.380.8500)

I think a few calls are in order.
---------------------------
I just sent the following to feedback@sonictap.com :

Hello,
Please look through this thread on the #1 DirecTV blog: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=172689

People are really upset at the audio quality and poor programming of the SonicTap channels (me included)).

For example, since when is Lady Gaga a "singer/songwriter".

And the audio quality sounds like a bad AM station. It's mono, has no dynamic expression, and is just plain horrible.

Please - fix the audio quality and the programming. It's a joke.
Sincerely,
Dan Herrmann
(and I included my address)

[wilbur_the_goose]

I wasn't noticing a huge difference in the quality of the stream, the issue for me is in the programming.

I'm beginning to think that Sonic Tap and XM are really two totally different services geared toward different users. It feels to me that their programming isn't really designed (programmed) for the home listener, with their stations being more geared towards an office environment, or a store at a shopping mall; maybe something you'd hear in the GAP. There's no sense of adventure, just the same old, some old. This probably works well for stores. Go in, hear something nice & familiar, whip out credit card, and then leave with bag in hand.


Hi you're absoluutely right about ST being for people that don't listen to music - it's supposed to be a mood setter. Read this from their website:

Sonic Tap is a DMX project. DMX, the first music service to license and program original artist music, has been creating unforgettable brand experiences for commercial environments since 1971. DMX's music services can be heard in tens of thousands of locations every day, including adidas • Betsey Johnson • Restoration Hardware • H & M • Burberry • Tiffany • Williams-Sonoma • Abercrombie & Fitch • Nordstrom • Nike • American Eagle Outfitters • Jimmy'Z • The Container Store • Guess? • Coach • The Buckle • Bebe • Wilsons Leather • DKNY • J. Crew • Pacsun • Sigrid Olsen • Pottery Barn • Tully's • Saks Fifth Avenue • PF Chang's • Olive Garden • Baja Fresh • The Cheesecake Factory • Hooters • Panera Bread • Choice Hotels International • Marriott International • 24 Hour Fitness • Bodies in Motion • Ladies Workout Express • Gold's Gym • Equinox • Victoria's Secret • Jamba Juice • Kenneth Cole • LA Fitness • Liz Claiborne • Lucky Brand Jeans • Levi • Nautica • Pei Wei • Polo • Ralph Lauren • Reebok • Swarovski • Talbots • Tommy Bahama • Tommy Hilfiger • and many, many more.

000000000000000
I'm so happy we're getting Talbot's music at home now! This is a very bad joke.

[bills]

i called directv again, finally got someone that new what the problem was with the music. i was supose to get with my package, come to find out i need the 5lnb. the are going to switch out the 3lnb with the 5lnb. buy the way i had dmx back in the late 80's,and liked the music. i had my own receiver and dish 120 chanels. loved it..regards

[wilbur_the_goose]

bills, don't bother - IMHO, the music isn't worth your effort.

[pbg]

Hi you're absoluutely right about ST being for people that don't listen to music - it's supposed to be a mood setter. Read this from their website:
I'm so happy we're getting Talbot's music at home now! This is a very bad joke.

Well there you go - At least it explains what's going on. It's probably also explains MikeW's gripe about how they switch on a dime (""Funnel of Love" > "Runnin' with the Devil") Keep people moving along and appeals to all demographics that are shopping in the store. See, they are good programmers - But for a Talbots, not my living room.

[mweathers]

I'm beginning to think DirecTV got this service for free!

[Avder]

today is the first time I've tuned to the music channels since the switch, and f*ck...my ears hate it. I used to listen to Lithium on XM, so Ive been giving some of the alternative channels a try to see if any of them are close enough to that to be listenable, so far theyre at most getting close.

In addition, the tracks are not the same volume between songs, and within the songs they are horribly compressed. I can hear some clipping and other distortions..it sounds like I'm listening to a radio station, compressed to stream over the internet and then fed through one of those first generation FM transmitters.

I'm going to hook up my computer to my stereo and just use my mp3 collection, which I laborously normalized a few years ago to make it very listeanable on random.

[Jeremy W]

For example, since when is Lady Gaga a "singer/songwriter".
She writes a lot of the songs she sings, actually.

[MaxFan]

today is the first time I've tuned to the music channels since the switch, and f*ck...my ears hate it. I used to listen to Lithium on XM, so Ive been giving some of the alternative channels a try to see if any of them are close enough to that to be listenable, so far theyre at most getting close.

In addition, the tracks are not the same volume between songs, and within the songs they are horribly compressed. I can hear some clipping and other distortions..it sounds like I'm listening to a radio station, compressed to stream over the internet and then fed through one of those first generation FM transmitters.

I'm going to hook up my computer to my stereo and just use my mp3 collection, which I laborously normalized a few years ago to make it very listeanable on random.

I hooked up my XM Radio and now have too pay more but its worth it.
the Sonic umm crap channels are awful. Directv should get lots of complaints would serve them right.

[Satelliteracer]

Hi you're absoluutely right about ST being for people that don't listen to music - it's supposed to be a mood setter. Read this from their website:

Sonic Tap is a DMX project. DMX, the first music service to license and program original artist music, has been creating unforgettable brand experiences for commercial environments since 1971. DMX's music services can be heard in tens of thousands of locations every day, including adidas • Betsey Johnson • Restoration Hardware • H & M • Burberry • Tiffany • Williams-Sonoma • Abercrombie & Fitch • Nordstrom • Nike • American Eagle Outfitters • Jimmy'Z • The Container Store • Guess? • Coach • The Buckle • Bebe • Wilsons Leather • DKNY • J. Crew • Pacsun • Sigrid Olsen • Pottery Barn • Tully's • Saks Fifth Avenue • PF Chang's • Olive Garden • Baja Fresh • The Cheesecake Factory • Hooters • Panera Bread • Choice Hotels International • Marriott International • 24 Hour Fitness • Bodies in Motion • Ladies Workout Express • Gold's Gym • Equinox • Victoria's Secret • Jamba Juice • Kenneth Cole • LA Fitness • Liz Claiborne • Lucky Brand Jeans • Levi • Nautica • Pei Wei • Polo • Ralph Lauren • Reebok • Swarovski • Talbots • Tommy Bahama • Tommy Hilfiger • and many, many more.

000000000000000
I'm so happy we're getting Talbot's music at home now! This is a very bad joke.

They also provide music for DIRECTV Latin America, cable television, a number of global entities as well. That listing doesn't come close to covering the music they provide around the world.

[subeluvr]

She writes a lot of the songs she sings, actually.

Using crayons?

[MikeW]

She writes a lot of the songs she sings, actually.

By their own description, Singers/Songwriters is about thought provoking music. Since when is "dancing on my disco stick" (meaning, um, you know what) anything other than just vulgar lyrics that don't belong in this category.

[homebase]

My wife and I both took the plunge with phones with data plans (iPhones). Using Slacker or pTunes app (Pocket Tunes) we will often quiz each other on songs from our favorite years. Simply plug in the iPhone to the stereo provides wonderful sound w/o the ugly compressed sound processing muck.

Really, an iPod Touch (read: no contracts) with a wi-fi connection and Pocket Tunes has far more capabilities than either the collapsed-selection XM now Sirius/XM or Sonic Tap.

Sad to see this opportunity to go from Sirius/XM to Sonic Tap just become a flat offering from D*. There's GOT to be better offerings than what we just came from or what we have now. :(

[Davenlr]

My letter to feedback@sonictap.com

Hello,
I do not know if this is an issue with DirecTv or your service. All the channel sound like they are coming from a 1965 Chevy's mono in dash speaker after sitting in the sun for 10 years in a junkyard. Sorry. I actually went up to my attic to dig out my old antiquie RG Dynamics XG15 Dynamic Range expander which I havent had to use since the days of cassette tapes, and even then, I couldnt listen to any of your channels for over 5 minutes. The sound quality is terrible. Distortion, no dynamic range, no stereo separation. I wont even go into the music mismatching the catagories, since I like just about any kind of music.

I am not complaining because they replaced XM with Sonic Tap. I have a lifetime sub to XM, and have it on my computer desktop fed to my surround system, as well as in my work truck. I was looking forward to your service to supplement my home listening, but like I mentioned above, its unlistenable.

PLEASE fix this, or get Directv to fix it.

Thanks,
Dave Dennett
davenlr@yahoo.com
501-xxx-xxxx

Further comments available: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=172689

[ub1934]

Do any of you guys remember the home audio equipment made by DBX back in the 80's/90's? One of their products was a compander (compressor/expander) noise reducer, that was made to compress audio for recording on tape decks - the recordings were then played back thru it to expand the audio back to it's original dynamic range. This process (similar to Dolby B or C) was to keep the noise out of tape recordings, primarily on cassette tape decks. If you tried playing back one of these such encoded tape recordings WITHOUT the proper decoder, it basically sounded like total $hit!

Anyway, back to this so called "music" D* is foisting off on us - I swear that it sounds like the idiots@D* has taken all of the DMX feeds, & are actually sending them thru a DBX compressor! They actually sound like a cassette tape that has been recorded as compressed thru the DBS compressor, but is NOT properly being played back thru the expanded. Seriously, all of the pumping you can hear on these channels sound about like an undecoded DBX tape! :p

Having cut many of those DBX masters at A&R in NYC i have to say your 100% right on , the sound (HA HA ) S**ks

[homebase]

In regards to the DBX-like nature, I agree 100% I had a DBX CD Player that I loved to use as it was fun to adjust many of the not-too-well-produced early CD's with the compression features.

That was 20 years ago. 20 years later, those old Maxell metal-oxide type IV cassettes sound BETTER than a digital offering nowadays is really pathetic.

May as well just rebroadcast AM talk radio stations from across the country rather than try to have this music service offering.

[Davenlr]

I just listened to them on C band for a while, and its NOT DirecTv. The music sounds horrible on C band with a dolby digital FTA receiver too.

[dishrich]

I just listened to them on C band for a while, and its NOT DirecTv. The music sounds horrible on C band with a dolby digital FTA receiver too.

You can't then be listening to the feeds that come directly from DMX then, as their direct feeds are encrypted on Ku band & require a DMX proprietary receiver such as this one: (BTW, this is the ONLY way to get the entire lineup of 100+ DMX channels via satellite, such as the many D* is broadcasting)

http://www.dmx.com/files/library/dr501ss.pdf

Are the feeds you are listening to the ones on AMC18 per chance? Those are reuplinked for the Comcast HITS platform, & are not direct DMX feeds.
If this is not the feed your one, could you please tell us which sat/xponder it is?

[Marcus S]

Sonic Tap is probably a less expensive alternative for D but I also think it makes D start to look cheap as a satellite provider. I like Sirius XM because I receive it in my car and could pick it up when I got home. Now gone are the top 40 70's, 80' weekends and DJ banter which actually gave you some history on the music and artists. I was actually hoping D was going to add some Sirius XM news channels.

If Sonic Tap where a subscription option I would opt out and save a few $'s. I will probably get a Sirius XM receiver for home once the snow clears. I was very very disappointed that D made this decission. It's no better than the prior Music Choice which was the equivalent to Muzak.

I emailed D about this and received a canned response about the new and exciting Sonic Tap channels. No it's old, it Muzak, and has a poor music mix managed by a computer that repeats every 4 hours radomized but it is the same songs over and over. The Sirius XM DJ's shake this up allot. I rarely heard a repeat within 12 hours unless the DJ changed, plays where under DJ control.

So far D is treating this like Toyota. We will ignore our customers with a canned email response and down play the subscriber deaths associated with our poor decission. By the way, we saved $'s, raised your package rates and took the Family Pak underground at the same time. -DirecTV Bank Trust & Stock Broker

I think this question is worthy of a Poll in the sticky list.

[Jeremy W]

By their own description, Singers/Songwriters is about thought provoking music. Since when is "dancing on my disco stick" (meaning, um, you know what) anything other than just vulgar lyrics that don't belong in this category.
I didn't say she fit Sonic Tap's description of that channel, just that she is actually a singer/songwriter.

[wilbur_the_goose]

Jeremey W, you're right, of course. But I think DMX may be the first programmer to consider her in a genre that's usually reserved for people like Dar Williams, Lucinda Williams, and even some of Neil Young's stuff (like the Harvest Moon album).

It's an incredibly strange service.

[Davenlr]

you can't then be listening to the feeds that come directly from dmx then, as their direct feeds are encrypted on ku band & require a dmx proprietary receiver such as this one: (btw, this is the only way to get the entire lineup of 100+ dmx channels via satellite, such as the many d* is broadcasting)

http://www.dmx.com/files/library/dr501ss.pdf

are the feeds you are listening to the ones on amc18 per chance? Those are reuplinked for the comcast hits platform, & are not direct dmx feeds.
If this is not the feed your one, could you please tell us which sat/xponder it is?

g17 3929 v 7250

[gfrang]

I just listened to it this morning,to me it sounds like it is way over compressed.To many of the high's filtered out.

[dishrich]

g17 3929 v 7250

Those are definitely reuplinked, so I don't think using these is a fair comparison of the "real" DMX feeds.
Again, the DMX we had on cable NEVER sounded anything remotely this atrocious, (& they came via the reuplinked HITS feeds) so it MUST be on D*'s end. ;)

[bpaulson]

Pandora streaming through my bluray player kicks this crap...

[dcanesdbs]

I listen to 838 Reality Bites throughout the day and have been since the switch over and let me tell you, the sound has gotten a lot better since day one of the switch over... I agree, it could be better but honestly, it does sound a lot better....

...and yes. I DO MISS XM....

[MikeW]

Pandora streaming through my bluray player kicks this crap...

Just realized that I can do Pandora through the PS3. Works quite well. It's good to have choices.

[LameLefty]

I used to enjoy DMX back in the 90's when I was in grad school. It was the first non-mainstream radio/music service I ever had and it beat the tar out of the alternative. I loved XM with a passion; I enjoy the new "SiriusXM" much less so. SonicTap needs to work on genre/classifications for their channels and SOUND QUALITY. Over-compressed and lifeless. Yuck. :nono:

[spedinfargo]

I definitely picked a good time to get a Squeezebox Duet and hook it up to my whole-house audio system (which was previously being mostly served by DirecTV's XM stations). Squeezebox plays very nicely with XM/Sirius.

Here's a tip for you guys if you have XM/Sirius subscriptions - go over to Fatwallet and do a search in the Hotdeals forum for "Sirius" - it is VERY easy to get a 50% off plan if you pre-pay for a whole year. I called and it took about five minutes to get my one car radio paid for and they also threw in premium Internet streaming for free...

I think it's funny who when satellite radio first came out people were "glad to get music without interruptions" - but MAN, I hate listening to a batch of music that someone else picked out without having some banter from a DJ every so often... I don't even like Pandora and Last.FM compared to listening to XMU or other stations on Sirius/XM... I mean, DMX was cool the first time I heard it in 1995 on my cable box, but without a human element involved, it's just someone else's playlist... BORING.

[mweathers]

Listened to Coffee House Rock channel this morning. It was pretty good: a cross between Old The Loft and XM Cafe from a few years back. Sound quality is better, but still has a long way to go. Loft fans should check this out. It was good at least for 1 day. :)

[thestaton]

The music is so compressed that it makes CBS radio online feeds seem like high quality.

Exactly. I tried listening and it surprisingly sounded worse than XM, and that's a pretty hard thing to do.

[gibson.guitarman]

Sound quality is better, but still has a long way to go.

Not sure if they are working on Jazz this am, but the sound kept jumping in and out, like an FM tuner that kept losing the station, but with some weak audio during the 'out' time. Maybe the were tweaking it, or just some signal loss (or tape straying off the tape head).

Since it seems we are stuck with this mess, here's my votes:

Dullest - this is a tough category, lots to choose from, but my picks are 807, 809, and 812.
Worst volume control (pULsatING VOlume oN THe meLODy foLLOwing tHE BEat). 844.
Worst distortion 862.

[Steve]

[...]
Since it seems we are stuck with this mess, here's my votes:

Dullest - this is a tough category, lots to choose from, but my picks are 807, 809, and 812.
Worst volume control (pULsatING VOlume oN THe meLODy foLLOwing tHE BEat). 844.
Worst distortion 862.Seems incredible to me that those of who chose DirecTV for our programming are even having this discussion. They really screwed-up big time with this switch, IMHO. I'd love to know what the real story is that prevented them from re-upping with Sirius, because if it was a just to find a lower cost music provider and add a few more $$$ to the bottom line, it's a telling move. Just my .02.

[dcowboy7]

I was in shop-rite & they always had xm playing but now the songs run one after the other just like sonic does, with no bumpers like xm does, so wonder if alot of contracts ran out at the same time & werent renewed.

[MikeW]

Seems incredible to me that those of who chose DirecTV for our programming are even having this discussion. They really screwed-up big time with this switch, IMHO. I'd love to know what the real story is that prevented them from re-upping with Sirius, because if it was a just to find a lower cost music provider and add a few more $$$ to the bottom line, it's a telling move. Just my .02.

I completely agree. Not only the poor programming of the channels, but the horrible execution to ensure the audio quality was set. I remember many years ago when I was with Dish network. The day they put Sirius online I was blown away by the audio quality and programming. My subwoofer came to life on nearly every channel. XM didn't have the same quality when I switched to DirecTV, but it was acceptable. What we have now is not acceptable in sooo many ways.

[Steve]

I was in shop-rite & they always had xm playing but now the songs run one after the other just like sonic does, with no bumpers like xm does, so wonder if alot of contracts ran out at the same time & werent renewed.Could be. Or Sirius/XM wanted exorbitant renewal rates.

I just hope we don't wake up one morning and find that IFC has been replaced with YouTube. :)

[mgavs]

Forget mad, we are furious about this change! My wife and I listened to XM channels on our Krells, etc. equipment and the XM sound quality blows the doors off Sonic. Sonic sound quality is terrible, no disgusting. We are extremely disappointed and found that now the Internet stations from our AppleTV are far better quality and there is no way that should happen! I will write a letter to the DirecTV president but I know nothing will happen. For us, they just took away the music channels!

[wilbur_the_goose]

dcowboy7 - They may have been using D*'s XM feeds.

[Jeremy W]

I'd love to know what the real story is that prevented them from re-upping with Sirius, because if it was a just to find a lower cost music provider and add a few more $$$ to the bottom line, it's a telling move.
With all of the other moves DirecTV has been making lately, I have a strong feeling that this is the case. A once-great TV provider appears to be falling apart right before our eyes.

[jilardi2]

As previously announced, XM has been replaced with Sonic Tap as the digital music channels which are really DMX (Digital Music Express).

So what do you think of this change? A lot of DirecTV subs were very unhappy when XM replaced Music Choice (myself included) some years ago. But I love DMX and when Time-Warner dropped it on my local cable system 9 years ago, I was so irked I switched to DirecTV. And now it's on DirecTV. Imagine that! ;)


the sound quality isn't there on all the staions, mostly the old school rap and hip hop, really low and crackly

xm was almost perfect quality, even all the old school rap, and 40's,50's and so on it was just good quality.

but hey i guess d* needed to save some money for all the new hd channels we better get.

[loudo]

I like having the music channels available from DirecTV, but I am not that concerned about what we get and yes I did like XM better. But, my main reason for subscribing to DirecTV is for Video, so if they have to cut back expenses in the music department, to give us more HD channels, I really don't have a problem with it.

[wilbur_the_goose]

loudo,
I am concerned. To me this seems penny-wise and pound-foolish.

[bidger]

With all of the other moves DirecTV has been making lately, I have a strong feeling that this is the case. A once-great TV provider appears to be falling apart right before our eyes.

The Malone Effect.

[Jeremy W]

The Malone Effect.
As much as people want to say it's not the case, it's hard to argue against it. He killed TCI...

[Avder]

The sound quality is so bad I kinda wish they'd just drop it and see if the resulting free bandwidth could get us another HD channel.

[Jeremy W]

The sound quality is so bad I kinda wish they'd just drop it and see if the resulting free bandwidth could get us another HD channel.
There are many reasons why that wouldn't work.

[MikeW]

More HD channels are coming soon. The poor sound quality has nothing to do with bandwidth.

Currently listening to 107.5-Tucson's Classic Hits station. FM doesn't sound too bad compared to SonicTap! Not too many commercials, good playlist and good audio quality.

[Davenlr]

I bought a HD Radio. Several stations in my location have secondary channels with no commercials. What a relief. I finally have music to fall asleep to again now. Who would have thought in this day and age, Id have to go back to OTA FM to find decent quality.

[litzdog911]

DirecTV and SonicTap are requesting emails be sent to ....
feedback@sonictap.com

[cousinofjah]

Ever since XM dropped Chrome and the Old School Hip Hop channel in the Sirius merger, I've pretty much ignored the music channels, but I've become a fan again. Sonic Tap's 90's and 80's channels are miles better and I've got old school hip hop, a disco channel and a funk channel again.

[djwww98]

Sound quality is absolutely horrible. SiriusXM wasn't great but it was tolerable. This isn't even tolerable. I don't listen anymore.

[wilbur_the_goose]

This morning, starring on Singer-Songwriters: Janet Jackson, Billy Joel, Bob Seger, followed by Billy Joel again.

On Classic Hits Blend - No Doubt from 2009 (good song, but hardly classic).

On Love Songs - Waterwall by Oasis (good song, but not a love song)

At least reggae was playing reggae.

And, of course, the audio quality was the same when I did a stint* at KAOS, AM-530, Beaverton, Oregon's Nike radio station. (Yes, we did have a company OTA, extremely low wattage radio station). It was horrible there, and it's horrible here. Of course, Nike's business isn't radio, but DirecTV's business IS providing excellent entertainment, no?

DirecTV - you really messed up on this one.


* - I worked in IT there and did a weekly radio show - I'm hardly a professional radio guy!

[seern]

Well SXM seems to coming down to DMX's level. I listen to XM 78, Symphony Hall, and one of the reasons I do not like SonicTap is the lack of commentating about the pieces being played, we won't talk about sound quality. Starting last evening and again this am SXM is playing pieces back to back without any commentation. Don't know if it's a glitch or a trend with them to go elevator.

[MikeW]

DirecTV and SonicTap are requesting emails be sent to ....
feedback@sonictap.com

Thank you.

[dlt4]

As somebody who listens to '60s music quite a bit, I'm glad Motormouth and the other DJs are gone. BUT, there seems to be a lot of repetition.
But that's still better than Motormouth! ;)

[loudo]

As somebody who listens to '60s music quite a bit, I'm glad Motormouth and the other DJs are gone. BUT, there seems to be a lot of repetition.
But that's still better than Motormouth! ;)
I miss him and don't listen to 60's as much as I used to. Listen to more media share Internet radio now.

[thestaton]

I'll be leaving D* after my contract runs out in September, this is just straw that broke the camels back.

[Nitehawk^]

I noticed that the playlists are not real deep, alot of repetition. 24 hrs later I almost can see a pattern, same artist from same CD around the same hour as 24 hrs prior.
I have listened to about 4 stations with regularity.
Today, I listened to 830-Full Metal Jacket for about 2.5 hrs, in that time I heard 3 tracks from Triumph, 2 from Twisted Sister. Now XM Boneyard had enough variation to not ever have to repeat the same artist 3 times in 2.5 hrs.
Just my 2cents

[mweathers]

I suggest every send feedback to SonicTap. I have sent two and received personal responses each time. You can email them at feedback@sonictap.com. Below is my last email to them which I sent this morning, along with their response. Like I've said before, at least they respond with something other than an form letter.

"I hope someone there has been reading all the negative remarks about your new channels that recently replaced SiriusXM. You can view many of these at www.dbstalk.com. Go to forums, DirecTV general discussion, the look for the threads about Sonic Tap. I used to be very happy with the sound quality of XM then to a lesser extent SiriusXM channels. But since the switch, your stations sound pretty bad. Like bad AM radio sound quality. Or the worst sounded mp3. What has happened? Things sound so bad they are shameful. What is being done to correct this? Who’s at fault? How long will it be before this is taken care of? I’ve been trying out some new channels. Some are pretty good, but they sound really bad. My favorite channels on XM were The Loft and The Spectrum. You have a couple of stations that come close. I also listened to The Bridge and Deep Tracks. Deep Tracks was excellent! Nothing you have comes close…………But the sound is the thing that matters most at this point……Also a suggestion…..On the stations I’ve listened to so far, there is no silence between songs at all. I don’t like for songs not to end before the next song starts. I know you guys program a lot of retail stores, restaurants and such and can understand why this would be done there. But not at home. People that listen to music stations on cable or satellite are listening at home. We want a GREAT sounding experience as well as something that sounds more like a CD would. On a CD (or album) there is silence between songs. That’s the way it should be with your service as well.

I could go on and on with suggestions, but I’ll stop. I’m sure you’re receiving a lot of email about this change. Make the sound improvements and you’ll be half way there." Then their response:


"Thanks for your comments/suggestions. We are aware of the sound issues. I have read some of the threads and it can get quite unnerving as I am an employee here and cannot respond.

I can tell you that our broadcast center is working with DTV on the sound issues but for the most part any of those are DTV issues and not Sonic Tap. I speak with the Broadcast manager every day and we both pretty much hate the sound. I get our basic feed at my desk and it does not sound like what you hear on DTV.

On the "silence" issue. That is something we are taking under advisement. You are correct about the retail environments that we service. I am not sure if we will make the change you suggest but you and a few others have made this suggestion and we are weighing the options.

Thank you for taking the time to send your comments".

[Luck255]

I like putting on "smooth jazz" and pretending i'm in a department store!

[mdavej]

DirecTV and SonicTap are requesting emails be sent to ....
feedback@sonictap.com

{Sonic Tap's} response:

...I can tell you that our broadcast center is working with DTV on the sound issues but for the most part any of those are DTV issues and not Sonic Tap....

Let the finger pointing begin. DirecTV says email issues directly to sonic tap. Then sonic tap says the lousy sound quality isn't their fault but DirecTV's fault.

So if it's really DirecTV's fault, they're already ignoring us and passing the buck. That being said, I don't really believe sonic tap. I think it's more likely DirecTV passes the signals along the same as they got them, like they did with XM. Sounds like a case of garbage in, garbage out to me.

[Jeremy W]

I think it's more likely DirecTV passes the signals along the same as they got them, like they did with XM. Sounds like a case of garbage in, garbage out to me.
They didn't do that with XM, and they're not doing it with Sonic Tap. I've heard the original XM signal, and it sounds nothing like what DirecTV sent out. I'm siding with Sonic Tap on this one, although the crappy programming is definitely their fault.

[mdavej]

They didn't do that with XM, and they're not doing it with Sonic Tap. I've heard the original XM signal, and it sounds nothing like what DirecTV sent out. I'm siding with Sonic Tap on this one, although the crappy programming is definitely their fault.Any guess as to why they would compress the crap out of sonic tap and not XM, or is their new encoder a pair of tin cans and a string?

I've seen sonic tap on charter cable. Anybody out there with charter who can tell if it's any better or worse?

[homebase]

We're just not using Sonic Tap, period. No sense in using a sub-par product.

[Nitehawk^]

I've seen sonic tap on charter cable. Anybody out there with charter who can tell if it's any better or worse?

Charter in Northern Michigan has Music Choice

[xzi]

Ever since XM dropped Chrome and the Old School Hip Hop channel in the Sirius merger, I've pretty much ignored the music channels, but I've become a fan again. Sonic Tap's 90's and 80's channels are miles better and I've got old school hip hop, a disco channel and a funk channel again.

SIRIUS XM brought both those channels back a few months later due to complaints. Guess you never came back to check :)

[cousinofjah]

SIRIUS XM brought both those channels back a few months later due to complaints. Guess you never came back to check :)
wow. i guess not. score one for the aggrieved customer.

[Jeremy W]

Any guess as to why they would compress the crap out of sonic tap and not XM, or is their new encoder a pair of tin cans and a string?
I could come up with quite a few reasons, but none of them are really that good. I just don't know how anyone at DirecTV could be responsible for configuring the audio equipment and think that what they're sending out sounds good.

[wilbur_the_goose]

The part that bugs me to no end is the canned responses we get when we tell D* that somebody needs to look at their audio quality. It's the same response I'd get if I told them I wanted an obscure cable TV channel added.

They just don't get it.

[loudo]

The part that bugs me to no end is the canned responses we get when we tell D* that somebody needs to look at their audio quality. It's the same response I'd get if I told them I wanted an obscure cable TV channel added.

They just don't get it.
Canned responses are the way a large company like DirecTV can keep any type of consistency in their answers. It prevents guesses and assumptions by the people answering the responses.

[Jeremy W]

Canned responses are the way a large company like DirecTV can keep any type of consistency in their answers. It prevents guesses and assumptions by the people answering the responses.
It also prevents people from being able to get answers to anything.

[hasan]

It also prevents people from being able to get answers to anything.

:D

Thanks for brightening my evening....I like that one a lot!

[loudo]

It also prevents people from being able to get answers to anything.
Agree.

[mdavej]

I don't know what to make of this, but I've exchanged several emails with sonic tap regarding audio quality. They followed up a couple of times asking for more detail and said their broadcast center was working with DirecTV to correct the problems. The person I exchanged emails with was a "Product Manager". He seemed sincere, and the responses definitely weren't canned. They could be feeding me a line, but it seems hopeful to me. We'll see.

[mweathers]

I agree with you. I've also gotten a response (not canned) each time I've sent them an email about the sound quality. Something DirecTV has not done in a long time. Honestly, the sound is better than it was 2 weeks ago. But, it's got a long way to go. Like you, I remain hopeful.......

[wilbur_the_goose]

I'll agree - that person from Sonic Tap that's answering e-mails IS a breath of fresh air. I hope he has some clout to improve things.

[Boston_bill]

The sound is horrible especially on older recordings. Have to turn the volume up.

[DanSm]

:nono2: When compared to previous supplier XM, the technical quality of audio from SonicCrap via DirecTV seems very poor. I immediately sensed the degradation in music fidelity across a broad spectrum. I know I'm not alone. In addition, the artists list seem inferior to XM, despite the similar genre classifications.

Despite having been a DirecTV customer for 15+ years, this may be the final straw that pushes me to move to Dish.

Any feedback/comments from others would be appreciated.

Thanks

[wilbur_the_goose]

DanSm - I thought the same thing - Verizon Fios has much better music channels, and with the NFL headed to a work stoppage in 2011, it may be time to leave.

I can't believe D* messed up SO bad with the music channels. Just go with XM, or Music Choice, or whatever, but provide good audio quality.

Didn't they test these before they went live?

[seern]

Wilbur, keep in mind before you jump that the Verizon dvr has a very small hard drive, maybe 20 hours max hd recording capacity. That is, for now, the main reason I am still with D*.As far as the SonicTap mess, I just put an xm mini receiver on my XM capable tuner, turned on Neural Surround and away I go with great sound.

[billsharpe]

The sound is horrible especially on older recordings. Have to turn the volume up.

The sound is horrible, so you have to turn the volume up? :confused:

I could believe "The sound is soft, so I have to turn the volume up." :D

[gfrang]

DanSm - I thought the same thing - Verizon Fios has much better music channels, and with the NFL headed to a work stoppage in 2011, it may be time to leave.

I can't believe D* messed up SO bad with the music channels. Just go with XM, or Music Choice, or whatever, but provide good audio quality.

Didn't they test these before they went live?

It's all about money but i feel the sound quality is ok,just ok.

[Steve]

Finally got a chance to listen. I've got a pretty high-end audio set-up, and besides the low bit-rate distortion, you can actually hear the effects of the "Muzak-like" dynamic range compression in action. There's background hiss that rises and falls in volume, creating a strange "whooshing" sound. If it was there with XM, I never noticed it.

Based on these (http://www.dmx.com/files/library/dr501ss.pdf) specs, it appears DMX is capable of delivering better sound quality to some of their customers.

[GregLee]

Based on these (http://www.dmx.com/files/library/dr501ss.pdf) specs, it appears DMX is capable of delivering better sound quality to some of their customers.
Maybe, but I think the audio specs in that document refer to the capabilities of their satellite receiver, rather than the satellite signal being received. At any rate, I just checked to see if the Sonic Tap channels use Dolby Digital compression, and they don't, according to my AVR.

[gfrang]

I myself feel that Spinal Tap sounds almost as good as FM radio,distant FM radio.

[Steve]

Maybe, but I think the audio specs in that document refer to the capabilities of their satellite receiver, rather than the satellite signal being received [...]Good point. I hope you're wrong, tho. Otherwise, we may have no shot at getting better audio quality in the future! :)

[litzdog911]

I myself feel that Spinal Tap sounds almost as good as FM radio,distant FM radio.

Spinal Tap .... that's a great movie!
:)

[bidger]

I myself feel that Spinal Tap sounds almost as good as FM radio,distant FM radio.

So it goes to '11' then, right? It's one more than 10.

[gfrang]

Spinal Tap .... that's a great movie!
:)

No it's is a rock and roll band.:lol:

http://www.spinaltapfan.com/articles/intro.html

[gibson.guitarman]

Odd - thought I'd try an experiment by comparing the HR20-700 outputs of Sonic Tap:
1.) HDMI out to TV, and then optical out of the TV to my receiver
2.) straight optical out to my receiver.

I'm finding that the sound from HDMI to TV to receiver has considerable improvement of the audio. Could the optical out of the DVR be affecting the audio quality? Can anyone confirm or is this something in my setup? The receiver is using the same levels and audio formats on both inputs. I'm using Showtunes for comparison, but I'm noticing this on other channels as well. This may improve things if what I'm seeing has some validity...

[wilbur_the_goose]

gibson - that's pretty interesting.

[billsharpe]

Based on these (http://www.dmx.com/files/library/dr501ss.pdf) specs, it appears DMX is capable of delivering better sound quality to some of their customers.

That "spec" looks more like marketing hype than actual specifications for sound quality. :rolleyes:

[Corey140]

The playlist on the R&b channel is pretty tight. Repeats galore. Seems its the same stuff every 3 or 4 hours.

The funny thing is that they have songs in heavy rotation that were never hits or singles at all.

Aww well...:nono2:

[Avder]

Based on these (http://www.dmx.com/files/library/dr501ss.pdf) specs, it appears DMX is capable of delivering better sound quality to some of their customers.

Those specs tell me nothing useful. What would be useful is to know the exact codec being used and what the maximum bitrate is for a stream.

Even then, it would require the music to actually be sent in a form that avoids distortion, clipping, and compression for it to be really listenable.

Further, we would need to know what kind of processing, if any, D* does before it sends the signal back to us.

I still think they should drop it and find a better use for the bandwidth these channels use.

[matsayz]

bring XM back! i want my Alt Nation! just not Madison(moron...)

[Steve]

Based on these specs, it appears DMX is capable of delivering better sound quality to some of their customers.That "spec" looks more like marketing hype than actual specifications for sound quality. :rolleyes:
Those specs tell me nothing useful. What would be useful is to know the exact codec being used and what the maximum bitrate is for a stream [...]Of course.

I simply wanted to point out that DMX's satellite receiver specs were built with much higher quality audio in mind, and I wonder if they aren't providing that quality to some of their customers?

Compression: Dolby Digital
Sampling Rate: 44.1 kHz
Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz ± 1.0 dB
Dynamic Range: >90 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.015% typical, 0.05% maximum

[wilbur_the_goose]

Steve,
We're sure not getting lows down to 20Hz on D* today.

I checked this morning, and the sound quality was still very poor.

[subeluvr]

Getting tired of hearing the same song too often on 8-Tracks and the lack of a split second of silence between songs is getting annoying.

[mweathers]

I'm a big fan of The Loft on XM. After listening to a few of the choices, I've found that the Folk Rock station comes closest to the Wake Up Sets on The Loft. In the past 2 weeks I've noticed that the sound on this station has improved dramatically, though still not as good as The Loft sounded. Also, I've noticed that they are now putting about a second of silence between tracks. This is interesting. Could be coincidence, but I did email Sonic Tap and suggested they add the silence. I did get a response and they said MANY people had suggested it and they were looking into doing that. They seem to be on the Folk Rock station........

As for the sound, maybe we should be directing our complaints to DirecTV's technical department rather than Sonic Tap. Think that would help any?

[dhkinil]

They have this amazing invention, it is called a cd, you can choose pretty much exactly what you want to hear and the sound is mighty good. If you want you can even downgrade the sound quality a bit and record your own in mp3 format and put perhaps 200 songs (8-10 hours???) on a single cd and it will sound better and not repeat every three hours. I suggest those of you who are complaining should try these amazing inventions.

[mdavej]

They have this amazing invention, it is called a cd, you can choose pretty much exactly what you want to hear and the sound is mighty good. If you want you can even downgrade the sound quality a bit and record your own in mp3 format and put perhaps 200 songs (8-10 hours???) on a single cd and it will sound better and not repeat every three hours. I suggest those of you who are complaining should try these amazing inventions.Gee, I never though of that, Einstein. Same argument could be made for video. Should I cancel HBO and just start buying more Blu-rays? The point is the sound quality with XM used to be nearly as good as CD, and unlike CD, was essentially free. Now sonic crap sounds like my clock radio and I'm paying DirecTV MORE for the privilege.

So no, I'm not about to go out and buy a bunch of CD's. I'm going to complain until they fix it, or drop DirecTV altogether if they don't.

[gibson.guitarman]

Getting tired of hearing the same song too often on 8-Tracks and the lack of a split second of silence between songs is getting annoying.

Since the business model for Sonic Tap is for stores, they are not likely to insert silence between songs. The intent from a retailer's perspective is to provide music to aid in sales and to keep the buying mood going and moving from one area of the store to another. Breaks in the music would not be beneficial.

[bidger]

They have this amazing invention, it is called a cd, you can choose pretty much exactly what you want to hear and the sound is mighty good. If you want you can even downgrade the sound quality a bit and record your own in mp3 format and put perhaps 200 songs (8-10 hours???) on a single cd and it will sound better and not repeat every three hours. I suggest those of you who are complaining should try these amazing inventions.

Good. You've got the concept of CD technology down. Let's move onto Internet Forums. You see, threads, much like the one you're in now, are started to generate opinions of board members on a given topic. This one happens to be on Sonic Tap and Thomas has asked us what we think about it. So far it seems more negative responses have come than positive, but that's not uncommon since the displeased tend to be more vocal in their displeasure. And everyone is free to either participate or ignore the thread altogether.

Since you can give snarky I believe you can take it as well.

[subeluvr]

Since the business model for Sonic Tap is for stores, they are not likely to insert silence between songs. The intent from a retailer's perspective is to provide music to aid in sales and to keep the buying mood going and moving from one area of the store to another. Breaks in the music would not be beneficial.

I've been riding elevators for 50+ years.

I know why they do it I just don't like it.

[billsharpe]

I've been riding elevators for 50+ years.



Aren't you tired?

I get your point, but I couldn't resist...

[dcowboy7]

....and the lack of a split second of silence between songs is getting annoying.

Why ?

[Avder]

Of course.

I simply wanted to point out that DMX's satellite receiver specs were built with much higher quality audio in mind, and I wonder if they aren't providing that quality to some of their customers?

Compression: Dolby Digital
Sampling Rate: 44.1 kHz
Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz ± 1.0 dB
Dynamic Range: >90 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.015% typical, 0.05% maximum


That still tells me absolutely nothing useful. You can use the most sophisticated codec available and it will still sound like crap if its bitstarved or if the source file is crap itself.

Case and point: Standard Def on D*. MPEG2 is still fairly modern, but D* has bitstarved it to such a point that some channels look worse than low bandwidth internet video. The same could very well be happening with Sonic Tap, and even if they up the bitrate they still have issues with clipping, compression, and distortion. Only one of those three has a real potential to be solved by upping the bitrate. The other two are related to the source input.

They have this amazing invention, it is called a cd, you can choose pretty much exactly what you want to hear and the sound is mighty good. If you want you can even downgrade the sound quality a bit and record your own in mp3 format and put perhaps 200 songs (8-10 hours???) on a single cd and it will sound better and not repeat every three hours. I suggest those of you who are complaining should try these amazing inventions.

Yeah, CD's are great. Ive got a few hundred of them, all ripped to my computer as good quality VBR MP3 files and connected to my stereo through good old RCA cables. Sometimes however I don't want to choose what I want to hear, or I want to hear something I don't have. That leaves basically two options for me. Local OTA Radio or the music channels on D*. Radio in this town is all country, all the time, and I do not like that genre. Internet radio might be viable, but my internet connection has issues with streaming anything (youtube is a hit and miss proposition for me, internet radio drops randomly despite my connection being completely idle). So that leaves D* if I want exposure to something new in a genre I actually like, and since they dropped XM for Sonic Tap my ears have been complaining.

[Steve]

That still tells me absolutely nothing useful. You can use the most sophisticated codec available and it will still sound like crap if its bitstarved or if the source file is crap itself.No need to repeat yourself. I already agreed with you in my previous post. :)

I'm simply wondering if Sonic is delivering higher quality audio to other customers. Period.

[dhkinil]

That still tells me absolutely nothing useful. You can use the most sophisticated codec available and it will still sound like crap if its bitstarved or if the source file is crap itself.

Case and point: Standard Def on D*. MPEG2 is still fairly modern, but D* has bitstarved it to such a point that some channels look worse than low bandwidth internet video. The same could very well be happening with Sonic Tap, and even if they up the bitrate they still have issues with clipping, compression, and distortion. Only one of those three has a real potential to be solved by upping the bitrate. The other two are related to the source input.



Yeah, CD's are great. Ive got a few hundred of them, all ripped to my computer as good quality VBR MP3 files and connected to my stereo through good old RCA cables. Sometimes however I don't want to choose what I want to hear, or I want to hear something I don't have. That leaves basically two options for me. Local OTA Radio or the music channels on D*. Radio in this town is all country, all the time, and I do not like that genre. Internet radio might be viable, but my internet connection has issues with streaming anything (youtube is a hit and miss proposition for me, internet radio drops randomly despite my connection being completely idle). So that leaves D* if I want exposure to something new in a genre I actually like, and since they dropped XM for Sonic Tap my ears have been complaining..

Well an XM or Sirius radio is not much money and I have accounts for both of my cars, it is about $10 per month and there is lots more than was ever on D* and I am pretty sure the home radios can be plugged into your receiver.

Good. You've got the concept of CD technology down. Let's move onto Internet Forums. You see, threads, much like the one you're in now, are started to generate opinions of board members on a given topic. This one happens to be on Sonic Tap and Thomas has asked us what we think about it. So far it seems more negative responses have come than positive, but that's not uncommon since the displeased tend to be more vocal in their displeasure. And everyone is free to either participate or ignore the thread altogether.

Since you can give snarky I believe you can take it as well.
Yes, I can handle snarky back.

In the end, I got D* for TV, if i want music (and I listen an awful lot) I have 400 cds. If I want background music, I do not care about the quality beyond a certain point.

[Jeremy W]

I'm simply wondering if Sonic is delivering higher quality audio to other customers.
You're also assuming that Sonic Tap is not delivering high quality audio to DirecTV in the first place, and DirecTV is not the one destroying it.

[Steve]

You're also assuming that Sonic Tap is not delivering high quality audio to DirecTV in the first place, and DirecTV is not the one destroying it.I'm not assuming anything. First step in debugging this is to understand what the capabilities are at Sonic Tap's end. If there's another Sonic Tap "re-distributor" delivering higher-quality audio to its customers, then my next question is "who dumbed it down"? Sonic Tap, or D*?

[mdavej]

I'm not assuming anything. First step in debugging this is to understand what the capabilities are at Sonic Tap's end. If there's another Sonic Tap "re-distributor" delivering higher-quality audio to its customers, then my next question is "who dumbed it down"? Sonic Tap, or D*?In all the emails I've gotten from Sonic Tap, they say D* did. They claim their master feed sounds wonderful. I'm inclined not to believe them, because I doubt the music channels take much bandwidth to begin with and I can't imagine D* going out of their way to compress the crap out of it. But that's pure speculation on my part. I just wish somebody would own up and fix it.

[loudo]

In all the emails I've gotten from Sonic Tap, they say D* did. They claim their master feed sounds wonderful. I'm inclined not to believe them, because I doubt the music channels take much bandwidth to begin with and I can't imagine D* going out of their way to compress the crap out of it. But that's pure speculation on my part. I just wish somebody would own up and fix it.
If DirecTV is using the same feeds that are sent to chain stores, most of that used to be just a mono feed that goes into speakers that are looped throughout the store. I used to install these systems in a major food chain and that is all it was. That was a while ago, but I don't think that has changed since then. A few posts have suggested this, but I do hear some stereo separation on some of the channels. It would be interesting if we could find out what is actually being sent out to DirecTV and what they are doing with it. I find it hard to believe they are intentionally degrading the quality of the audio.

[Jeremy W]

I do hear some stereo separation on some of the channels.
The only channel that I listen to regularly is 816, and it actually sounds very good. The dynamic range isn't too compressed (although pop music usually starts out heavily compressed already, they aren't adding too much additional compression) and the stereo separation is definitely there.

[MikeW]

The only channel that I listen to regularly is 816, and it actually sounds very good. The dynamic range isn't too compressed (although pop music usually starts out heavily compressed already, they aren't adding too much additional compression) and the stereo separation is definitely there.

There definitely are some channels that sound good.

837 has good bass, but the high end sounds very tinny.
833/880 is soft with no bass and a reverberating effect to it.
804/816/819 are good

Hope this helps whoever get this ironed out.

[Steve]

[...] I can't imagine D* going out of their way to compress the crap out of it. But that's pure speculation on my part [...]I had the same gut reaction as you. Why would D* expend any effort to further compress what are probably at best 128kbps tracks to begin with? Unless my math is wrong, 32-128kbps audio channels would only consume the bandwidth of half an MPEG-4 TV channel.

[Jeremy W]

Why would D* expend any effort to further compress what are probably at best 128kbps tracks to begin with? Unless my math is wrong, 32-128kbps audio channels would only consume the bandwidth of half an MPEG-4 TV channel.
You are getting two different "compressions" mixed up. This thread is talking about dynamic range compression, not bitrate compression. The two are completely unrelated.

[mdavej]

It's more than dynamic range. The frequency range sucks as well. No highs, no lows, clipping. I don't know what sonic crap has done to the data, but it's certainly screwed up in more ways than one, technically speaking.

[wilbur_the_goose]

My fear is that these channels are targeted to mono store speakers where people aren't really listening. Oh yeah - it's Muzak.

[Jeremy W]

It's more than dynamic range. The frequency range sucks as well.
I know, I was just referring to the term "compression," not giving a full overview of all of the complaints in this thread.

[Avder]

You are getting two different "compressions" mixed up. This thread is talking about dynamic range compression, not bitrate compression. The two are completely unrelated.

It could easily be both types. Overcompressing the dynamic range makes it sound like total crap, and then bitstarving it would make it even worse by distorting it.

[Jeremy W]

It could easily be both types. Overcompressing the dynamic range makes it sound like total crap, and then bitstarving it would make it even worse by distorting it.
I haven't heard any dramatic evidence of bitstarving on the music channels. But anyone with experience in this area can easily tell the difference between the different ways the audio is destroyed.

[Avder]

I haven't heard any dramatic evidence of bitstarving on the music channels. But anyone with experience in this area can easily tell the difference between the different ways the audio is destroyed.

For me on the alternative channels, Ive heard a lot of percussion distortion characteristic of a low bitrate CBR mp3's in addition to the dynamic range distortion present there and the buttload of clipping. Everything is wrong. I wouldn't be suprised if D* took the master feed from Sonic Tap, upped the volume a few dB, compressed the dynamic range, and then supersquished it with a very limited bitrate stream.

Maybe its all processed entirely differently channel to channel. That would explain the hit or miss audio quality so far.

[Steve]

I know, I was just referring to the term "compression," not giving a full overview of all of the complaints in this thread.Transcoding to a lower bit rate is considered compression as well. Unfortunately, these audio feeds suffer from both bit starvation and dynamic range compression.

[Jeremy W]

Maybe its all processed entirely differently channel to channel.
It definitely is. Like I said, channel 816, which is the one I listen to the most, sounds just fine.

[Jeremy W]

Transcoding to a lower bit rate is considered compression as well.
Yep, which is why I said
You are getting two different "compressions" mixed up. This thread is talking about dynamic range compression, not bitrate compression. The two are completely unrelated.

[Avder]

It definitely is. Like I said, channel 816, which is the one I listen to the most, sounds just fine.

Hm, listened to that one, and it sounded at least adequate. Some clipping, small bits of distortion. Cant comment on dynamic range because that genre is typically compressed naturally to begin with.

Tune to 838 if you want to hear what I am referencing, The compression is horrible, theres more than a little clipping despite the fact that its a bit lower in overall volume, and if you listen to the highs you should be able to hear some evidence of bitstarving.

[Jeremy W]

Tune to 838 if you want to hear what I am referencing
That's just painful to listen to. Wow. Whoever is allowing the audio to go out in that condition must be deaf.

[jackten]

yeah... 838 is horrible now. Used to love it.. can't stand the audio quality anymore.

[wilbur_the_goose]

I'm not even getting song information now.

[Avder]

That's just painful to listen to. Wow. Whoever is allowing the audio to go out in that condition must be deaf.

Well, now you can see why I think D* should just drop it entirely :)

[mdavej]

Well, now you can see why I think D* should just drop it entirely :)If they'd drop their price along with it, I'd agree with you. But that will never happen. So I'd prefer to have some decent music channels if I have to pay for them anyway.

[cousinofjah]

Well an XM or Sirius radio is not much money and I have accounts for both of my cars, it is about $10 per month and there is lots more than was ever on D* and I am pretty sure the home radios can be plugged into your receiver.

wow so does that mean that one cannot complain about a product one is paying for especially when the person providing the product changes the product? Is the answer always to go buy something else/something additional? that just doesn't make financial sense - especially in a recession.

[cousinofjah]

I'm not even getting song information now.
for me the track info seems to not come across as fast as with XM

[mweathers]

I sent an email to Direct's Technical Support (or at least that's where I thought I sent it). See my post, followed by their "response". How canned can a response become???!!!! Just pathetic!!!!!

How much longer before these new channels start sounding good, and are in stereo? If you read the Sonic Tap thread on www.dbstalk.com, under DirecTV programming, you will read many complaints of just how bad the sound quality is on these new channels. People are emailing them as well, me included. They say their stream is fine, but are aware of just how bad it sounds. (They emailed me with that answer). They say they're working with DirecTV to make sure the sound becomes what it should. So, how much longer. It's been a couple of weeks now. Didn't anyone TEST this before it went live. Most channels sound quality is really bad......Hope this is taken care of soon.


Thanks for writing. I see that you're one of our longtime customers and I want you to know that we appreciate your business.

I understand your concern with regard to the SonicTap channels. While we are unable to comment on upcoming programming decisions, we are always reviewing our programming options to make sure we bring you the best possible TV experience.

We value your opinions about our programming, so I have forwarded your request to DIRECTV management, who review every suggestion, inquiry and complaint for trends from our most important customers to determine what channels should be considered.

If you need technical assistance, since you have the DIRECTV PROTECTION PLAN, the best way for you to get help as soon as possible is to call 1-888-667-7463 and choose the option to speak to a technical assistant. Our Technical Support agents are trained to walk you through a number of troubleshooting steps which are too difficult to try to talk through over email.

You may also find some helpful information at the DIRECTV Technical Help forums on our web site. Just visit http://forums.directv.com/pe/index.jsp to find answers to your questions.

Sincerely,

Arlyn B.
Employee ID 100206360
DIRECTV Customer Service

[Luck255]

Wow, mweathers thats just a copy/paste job or an automated response from a computer program. Pretty sad. I still try to listen to these channels and I have to say they are better which isn't saying they are good. "Blues" (854 I think) is still pretty bad. I've started using pandora on my laptop which is also sad.

[homebase]

We tried listening to it again tonight, still sounds less than acceptable. :(

[wilbur_the_goose]

mweathers,
I got the exact same response early last week. Welcome to the club.

[cousinofjah]

mweathers,
I got the exact same response early last week. Welcome to the club.
I can imagine this is the same email sent for every problem ... i.e.:

Thanks for writing. I see that you're one of our longtime customers and I want you to know that we appreciate your business.

I understand your concern with regard to the Pirate Problem Off The Coast Of Somalia. While we are unable to comment on upcoming programming decisions, we are always reviewing our programming options to make sure we bring you the best possible TV experience.

We value your opinions about our programming, so I have forwarded your request to DIRECTV management, who review every suggestion, inquiry and complaint for trends from our most important customers to determine what channels should be considered.

If you need technical assistance, since you have the DIRECTV PROTECTION PLAN, the best way for you to get help as soon as possible is to call 1-888-667-7463 and choose the option to speak to a technical assistant. Our Technical Support agents are trained to walk you through a number of troubleshooting steps which are too difficult to try to talk through over email.

You may also find some helpful information at the DIRECTV Technical Help forums on our web site. Just visit http://forums.directv.com/pe/index.jsp to find answers to your questions.

Sincerely,

Arlyn B.
Employee ID 100206360
DIRECTV Customer Service

:)

[marker101]

Still loving having Sonic Tap/DMX (and still loving XM on my XM receiver). I've seen discussion of the topic of Sonic Tap's feed, and their music product sounds pristine (have Sonic Tap/DMX in ClearQAM on my cable). Definitely a DirecTV related tweaking issue.

I do note that they have replaced Contemporary Instrumentals with Beautiful Instrumentals...which they should have had in the first place, replacing XM's Escape channel. Much better.

[litzdog911]

I posted this earlier ....

DirecTV and Sonic Tap have requested that comments and feedback be sent to feedback@sonictap.com

[wilbur_the_goose]

It all boils down to this for me. We just need some way to get D* to understand that they have a problem that needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, there's no way to let them know - all we get is a form letter back which indicates that nobody other than the e-CSR is reading it.

It's just so frustrating, because I know they could fix it if they knew about it.

[mdavej]

It all boils down to this for me. We just need some way to get D* to understand that they have a problem that needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, there's no way to let them know - all we get is a form letter back which indicates that nobody other than the e-CSR is reading it.

It's just so frustrating, because I know they could fix it if they knew about it.If you email sonictap like litzdog says, you will get a response from a human being. Contacting D* is futile, as you've discovered. SonicTap claims it's feed is fine and that it's working with D* to correct the problems. Since I have heard no improvement so far, I doubt this is really true. I think the truth is D* simply doesn't care about the music channels at all and never intends to fix it, and that sonic crap has no idea what a good feed is supposed to sound like. If D* cared about the music channels, they wouldn't have switched to a cut rate provider like sonic crap.

[wilbur_the_goose]

I just called D* - talked to a very nice CSR who really seemed to be on the ball. I was calling for another matter (dropping MLB EI) and mentioned the audio quality.

She laughed and said that she had taken dozens of calls complaining about Sonic Tap. She recorded my complaint in their database, but kind of indicated that I shouldn't hope for much improvement seeing how the sound quality hasn't changed much since the service was rolled out.

I love and respect honesty. While I don't like the answer, I do respect the answer.

[dvdmth]

Still loving having Sonic Tap/DMX (and still loving XM on my XM receiver). I've seen discussion of the topic of Sonic Tap's feed, and their music product sounds pristine (have Sonic Tap/DMX in ClearQAM on my cable). Definitely a DirecTV related tweaking issue.

A few years ago, our cable system switched from DMX to Music Choice. This was back when DirecTV still had Music Choice (before XM). I remember comparing the sound quality between Comcast and DirecTV, and at the time of the switch DirecTV easily sounded better. Since then, when DirecTV switched to XM (and the audio quality was noticeably worse than with Music Choice), I went back to the channels on Comcast and they sounded better than they were the previous time (about as good as they sounded from D*).

I don't remember there ever being any sound issues with DMX when it was on Comcast here.

[MikeW]

I just called D* - talked to a very nice CSR who really seemed to be on the ball. I was calling for another matter (dropping MLB EI) and mentioned the audio quality.



Funny, I called in to cancel my MLB last week. When I was asked if there was anything else..I threw in my 2 cents regarding the music. The guy laughed at me and said he could do nothing about it and would put a note in my account.

Today, I'm still seeing MLB EI in my account online. Is it still in yours?

[wilbur_the_goose]

MikeW, Yeah, it's still in there.

[cousinofjah]

Tune to 838 if you want to hear what I am referencing, The compression is horrible, theres more than a little clipping despite the fact that its a bit lower in overall volume, and if you listen to the highs you should be able to hear some evidence of bitstarving.wow - that station bites :)

[scott0702]

If you email sonictap like litzdog says, you will get a response from a human being. Contacting D* is futile, as you've discovered. SonicTap claims it's feed is fine and that it's working with D* to correct the problems. Since I have heard no improvement so far, I doubt this is really true. I think the truth is D* simply doesn't care about the music channels at all and never intends to fix it, and that sonic crap has no idea what a good feed is supposed to sound like. If D* cared about the music channels, they wouldn't have switched to a cut rate provider like sonic crap.

I also emailed SonicTap and got a similar response. The individual replying is also a D* customer and admitted how bad it sounds. Still today there is no improvement at all. I think the best sounding channel at this point is Beautiful Instrumentals . The others all sound flat and some with faint vocals. I can't even learn to like SonicTap so far as it sounds so bad.

[wilbur_the_goose]

I'm amazed D* apparently didn't do testing on these channels. D* is almost always excellent with quality control, this being an exception.

[raott]

D* is almost always excellent with quality control, this being an exception.

Based on what track record? I give you the R15, which took a year to get stable and the HR2x series which took longer.

[wmj5]

This comming sept. 13th I will have been with D* 15 yrs. they go up ever year, and since they went hd I have yet to have a receiver that works right, now they come out with this sonic tap that ain't worth a s--- and I think I will just let them have it after sept!!!

[wilbur_the_goose]

Seriously - how does a customer let D* know they have a big technical issue? The CSRs, god bless 'em, don't seem to know what to do when I call or write.

[GregLee]

Seriously - how does a customer let D* know they have a big technical issue? The CSRs, god bless 'em, don't seem to know what to do when I call or write.
Here are things that have helped me -- others have more experience, I know. (1) subscribe to the protection plan, (2) when the phone robot asks what sort of thing you want to do, say "technical support" and repeat, until the robot connects you with technical support, (3) talking to a support CSR, report only facts, not your theories. And of course do without protest whatever diagnostics the CSR wants you to, even though you're sure it's a pointless waste of time.

[syphix]

I know Satelliteracer isn't probably in the same circle as the technicians that can deal with this audio quality deal, but perhaps HE can shed some insight as to why it sounds so compressed/gated, and whether SonicTap/DirecTV are doing anything about it?

Or, if he can't, can he get SOMEONE at DirecTV to respond to these complaints?

[wilbur_the_goose]

But we're really not supposed to contact him, so we can only hope that he stumbles upon this thread.

[tcusta00]

I turned on Sonic Tap for the first time while working today... very bad. VERY bad. Not good, DirecTV. :(

[Avder]

I know Satelliteracer isn't probably in the same circle as the technicians that can deal with this audio quality deal, but perhaps HE can shed some insight as to why it sounds so compressed/gated, and whether SonicTap/DirecTV are doing anything about it?

Or, if he can't, can he get SOMEONE at DirecTV to respond to these complaints?

Does satracer work for D*? If so he is mostlikely bound very strictly by what he can and cannot disclose, both by his employment contract and insider trading laws.

[ub1934]

They should put all the sonic tap on 101

[pbg]

I turned on Sonic Tap for the first time while working today... very bad. VERY bad. Not good, DirecTV. :(

its terrible...

so is this the scenario?

XM is its own company, or owed by someone - XM pays DirecTV to carry it.
At some point Liberty bails out, or invests in XM or its parent company.
DirecTV dumps XM for Sonic Tap
Liberty considers purchase of majority share of XM/Sirius

Does this indicate DirecTV dropped XM because it didn't want to pay itself, or lose a revenue stream - Make sense, I guess, especially if SonicPooh is paying them to carry their product...

Anyone know?

[wilbur_the_goose]

We need a Jimmy Olson Superman watch to page Mr. Racer.

I'm guessing it's an easy fix.

[MikeW]

its terrible...

so is this the scenario?

XM is its own company, or owed by someone - XM pays DirecTV to carry it.
At some point Liberty bails out, or invests in XM or its parent company.
DirecTV dumps XM for Sonic Tap
Liberty considers purchase of majority share of XM/Sirius

Does this indicate DirecTV dropped XM because it didn't want to pay itself, or lose a revenue stream - Make sense, I guess, especially if SonicPooh is paying them to carry their product...

Anyone know?

Neither XM or SonicTap would pay DirecTV to carry them. It would definitely be the other way around. Our guess is that SonicTap is a lower cost solution for DirecTV. The other possibility is that SiriusXM would prefer the revenue they would receive if more users purchased a home unit subscription vs. having it available via DirecTV. Bottom line is...we'll never know.

[huron77]

I wrote:
as a long time subscriber,{14 years} I want to express my disappointment with the elimination of XM as your music channels provider. It made DirecTV such an increased value over cable, Dish, etc. I've found its replacement to be lacking in depth and richness of content and music selection. I am not so naive to know that a request to reconsider the decision will fall on deaf corporate ears. Sure, XM is there for me to subscribe to, but I must spend more on equipment, subscription fees, etc., as well as further complicate my home stereo set-up.
I would hope you would consider the subscribers more in the future when making these decisions.

they responded:
Thanks for writing about your music channels. I see that you're one of our loyal customers. I just want to let you know that we appreciate your business.

Effective February 9, 2010, DIRECTV Music Channels feature music from SonicTap, replacing XM/Sirius. SonicTap offers DIRECTV customers more music channels than XM, with no interruptions. SonicTap provides the same range of musical genres previously available, with comparable channel formats. Please visit directv.com/music for full Music Channel listings, including a comparison between SonicTap and XM/Sirius formats.

We realize that our music programming is very important to you and we appreciate your feedback on the recent change to SonicTap. Based on the feedback we have received we are working with SonicTap to provide you with the best music experience possible.

While we are unable to comment on upcoming programming decisions, we are always reviewing our programming options to make sure we bring you the best possible TV experience.

We value your opinions about our programming, so I have forwarded your request to DIRECTV management, who review every suggestion, inquiry and complaint for trends from our most important customers to determine what channels should be considered.

my response:
blah blah blah. but I am starting to think more about Uverse, etc.

[wilbur_the_goose]

I was sampling the AQ today. Ran into marker101's "Beautiful Instrumentals". The sound sounded like a dusty old skipping CD was playing. It was embarrassing.