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- Joe
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- #91
Some interesting info - thanks.Not an audiophile but I prefer Spotify Premium, and I can definitely hear the difference between Spotify's 320 kbps bitrate and satellite radio's average of 64 kbps. Select very popular channels might get 96 or 128, better but still not very good. Like an obscure channel? You're getting low bitrate for sure.
For those of you wondering what low bitrate music sounds like, it's all in the high frequency harmonics and complexity. Musical instruments that have higher frequency harmonics begin to degrade under a low bitrate because there's just not enough data there to accurately reproduce it. The sound gets grainy and dull, like a blanket has been thrown over your speakers. The detail that adds clarity and realism disappears. Music with high complexity - many instruments or effects playing at once, makes this stand out worse. It's even easier to hear a low bit rate in this case.
The situation with satellite radio will not improve. Bitrates have been selected for maximum profitability rather than quality. It's basically "How many channels can we have before people complain too much about low quality?" Satellite bandwidth is fixed because the architecture can't be expanded. Fewer channels with higher quality? They lose subscribers. More channels with much lower quality? They lose subscribers. It's a balancing act. Make no mistake satellite radio companies have an entire division dedicated to this balance.
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