XM Radio or Sirius?

[MikeDoom]

My wife wants some kind of satellite radio for chistmas. I read up on both providers, but don't see a whole lot of difference between the two. Maybe some of you guys that have experience with the products could throw in your two cents? I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks!!

 

[madmatt]

From what I understand, they are about equal, just different sports stations between the two. Get on their sites and check the channels, see if anything pops up. Also, my dad has xm in his truck, its good. Id say buy sirius though, just cause I have their stock...lol.

 

[Hepcat007]

Ive been an xm subscriber since the beginning and love it. They both have good music selection. I chose XM because at the time all the sirius units weighed like 20lbs. and looked like garbage. They have come a long way though and their units are a lot better than they were, but XM is still ahead a bit IMO. XM also has some awesome Talk channels like xm202 with Opie and Anthony. Also, if you are an XM subscriber, you can listen to XM on the internet at no extra charge which is great if you work in an office. Either way you won't be disapointed, but i prefer XM.

 

[Shambles]

I just got XM in my Cobra. I bought a Dual deck and bought the antenna. Sounds great, and the antenna is nice and descreet. I can post pics of the antenna location if you want.

Best time to buy XM is now. THey have some NICE rebates going on right now. I bought my antenna for $50.00 and I get a $50.00 mail in rebate, so I didnt pay a thing for the antenna, and only paid $30 for install!

 

[MikeDoom]

I just got XM in my Cobra. I bought a Dual deck and bought the antenna. Sounds great, and the antenna is nice and descreet. I can post pics of the antenna location if you want.

Best time to buy XM is now. THey have some NICE rebates going on right now. I bought my antenna for $50.00 and I get a $50.00 mail in rebate, so I didnt pay a thing for the antenna, and only paid $30 for install!

Do you have to get an antenna if it's going in a vehicle? It would be going in my wife's f150, and I'd probably be getting the boombox it fits into as well.

 

[Shambles]

Yes, you are going to need an antenna, but the antenna is a thin magnetic thing, only about 1" by 1" by 3/4" or something like that. It attaches directly to the body. Youll end up getting the antenna plus the little receiver thingy. I replaced my whole deck so all i needed was the antenna.

This is what you are looking for:

http://www.xmradio.com/skyfi2/index.jsp

$79.99 after rebate and comes with the Antenna and the whole car kit! The tuner will run off of a frequency on your radio. Its wierd, but somehow it works. Mine just runs directly off of my deck, which is programmed for XM.

All in all, for 12.95 a month, its really worth it. If you get people at work to go in on it with you, you can do a family plan and pay like $7-8 a month.

 

[DaleM]

Got XM also. They had a good deal that came with the stereo package. I love my Fungis and 140 some odd channel selection. Occassional black out in the mountains but only for a short time.

 

[TheGord]

Ive only had the sirius, but it rocks. The selling point for me is that in Jan Howard Stern is going to be on sirius.

 

[makevelie187]

i work at best buy and listen to xm and sirius every day i pefer XM because there is a lot more music channels xm also gets about 2x better reception and has about 60 more channels for the same price as sirius. not one is really better its more of what your looking for but i would recommend XM we sell XM about 4 units to every 1 of siruis. thats a good place to go is best buy and listen to bolth of them that way you know what your in for.

 

[Top_Fuel]

I was thinking about XM because of the ability to record programs with the Delphi Portable XM receiver That device looks pretty cool.

What's the cheapest XM service you can get? Is it still $9.99/month???

 

[Shambles]

$12.95 a month with a $9.99 one time activation fee. If you get lots of people on your plan (i.e. Family plan w/ coworkers instead of family), then you can pay around $7/8 a month instead of $12.95. Thats what im doing with most of my coworkers here.

 

[Top_Fuel]

Wow...that's the only way to go, because I'm too cheap to pay $12.95/month! :-D

I just checked out XM's subscription rates. I'm suffering a little sticker shock from those 4/5 year deals.

For some reason, I thought there was something like a $300 lifetime subscription you could buy. I guess not... :shrug:

edit - It's Sirius that sells a lifetime subscription for $499.

 

[Gearhead-FMC]

Question....

If I have a "portable" xm radio or one that plays through the FM radio. will it work say if.....

I have the XM unit in one room and the FM receiver in another? I guess the real question is what kind of distances can seperate the FM receiver from the xm unit.

I was thinking to have a party. I have three pretty good stereos. So, I wanted to use the FM modulator from the xm, tune all three systems to the correct frequency and have the same music in three room. This way I won't have to blast a single unit.

Kind of crazy but...


Any input? :beer:

 

[MikeDoom]

Great answers so far, fellers. Thanks!!

 

[makevelie187]

if you want to use the xm in your home you have to buy a HOME KIT, there about 40-50$ they sell them for every unit. the entenna is best placed near a window because satalite radio is LINE OF SITE so it has to be pretty much visible to the sky. the entennas are water proof so you can put them outside. the FM transmision works ok but you can have a hard wire set up which is almost crystal clear(thats for your car only) . but no matter what you have to have a home kit for the use in a house. you could use a FM transmision but i never herd of anyone doing it like that and i wouldn't recommend it. if you have any more questions feel free to ask i can answer every1 of them.

 

[Bootbox]

I have Sirius, I'm a Hip-Hop fan mostly, and the music selection on Sirius' 3 Hip-Hop stations SUCKS. They play the same damn 15 songs on a loop and the DJs won't shut their ignorant mouths. I'm getting ready to cancel my Sirius subscription annnnyyy day now.

Satellite radio has this great opportunity to be something awesome and Sirius is squandering it. I am paying for a new radio experience, not FM radio without commercials. I wan't new music I've never heard before, songs off the albums that ARE NOT the hit singles, unsigned acts, underground stuff that has nothing to do with G Unit rap wars, and I want deep, DEEP playlists. I don't want to hear the same song in a 3 day period, let alone 10 friggin times a day EVERY DAMN TIME I'M IN THE CAR WITH THE YOUNG JEEZY SOUL SURVIVOUR ALREADY KNOCK THAT SHIT OFF.

Commercials and super shallow playlists aside, the worst part of old fashioned FM radio is the DJ chatter, Sirius lost the commercials but the damn DJs won't shut up. I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR WEEKEND OR WHAT YOUR SHITHEAD KID SAID THIS MORNING JUST PLAY A SONG.

So yeah, download Howard Stern from newsgroups, listen to it commercial free on your mp3 player and tell Sirius to suck it. It's a complete waste of money. I might try out XM. I want satellite radio to be good so badly.

 

[type911]

i work at best buy and listen to xm and sirius every day i pefer XM because there is a lot more music channels xm also gets about 2x better reception and has about 60 more channels for the same price as sirius. not one is really better its more of what your looking for but i would recommend XM we sell XM about 4 units to every 1 of siruis. thats a good place to go is best buy and listen to bolth of them that way you know what your in for.

thats funny. I have been researching both. (trying to decide which to invest in) called 50 plus best buy stores on the east coast and all said they sell serius 5:1 over XM. Are you heavily invested in XM or something? Because serius has 1 more Satelite then XM so I dont see how better reception could be had.

 

[fordracerguy]

I have sirius. I agree with the above as far as radio stations go. I don't like rap, but when I feel the need, I always hear the same 5 songs. The rock stations play about the same 30 songs a day.

Although I think XM has commercials on the radio stations right? Sirius doesn't...

The external XM units are smaller...

 

[Shambles]

I have sirius. I agree with the above as far as radio stations go. I don't like rap, but when I feel the need, I always hear the same 5 songs. The rock stations play about the same 30 songs a day.

Although I think XM has commercials on the radio stations right? Sirius doesn't...

The external XM units are smaller...

Depends on the station. The comedy stations have commercials, but the other music stations dont have commercials except for programming announcements.

 

[cobra_4]

I've said it before, I'll say it again. I've had both. I hated XM, Sirius all the way. XM screwed up and gave me free service in my mustang for like six months and I still never listened to it. Sirius all the way :rockon: