Satellite Radio: XM or Sirius?

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PurduePilot

New Member
Folks:

I need your help here. I'm thinking about getting satellite radio for my car. Which service should I get?

For those of you who have it, what do you think of it?

Thanks!
 
XM rocks. Sirius is about three dollars more a month, and since XM just went commercial free, there's really no huge difference other than station selection. For the most part it's the same, but I got a better $$$ deal on XM. Got the car kit, Roady reciever, and a home kit all for $129. Wasn't about to pass that up! Signal goes out whenever I go under a really thick bridge (or one of the crossing taxiways at MCO), but it IS line of sight. Other than that, I love it. They have local traffic and weather now, but only for certain major cities.
 
Our Tahoe came with an XM antenna & compatable radio factory installed. So we couldn't resist and went ahead and activated the service.

I LOVE it!

The music stations are commercial-free (the other stations, like BBC, CNN, etc) do have commercials. It works everywhere , with no fuzzy reception. We took it up to the boundary waters a couple weeks ago, and usually once we get north of Duluth we start losing radio reception, and by the time we're even remotly (100 miles) close to the lodge we go to, there is no radio reception at all. With XM we had our full selection of stations the entire way.

Also driving home to my parents farm I drive through a couple areas where the FM radio reception sucks. With XM, again, clear stereo sound!

Plus, XM just started traffic & weather for major cities nationwide, so we can get instant traffic reports whenever we want, without having to listen for 15-20 minutes on other stations. (Traffic reports are seriously necessary in Chicago.)
 
I have both. Sirius with the FM modulator in one car and the XM roady in the other. I am much more satified with the XM so far, as I have been etting wuite a bit of static in the Sirius unit and the XM seems to sound much bettter. I originally decided on Sirius because they are aommercial free, bu tnow that XM has gone that way and is three bucks cheaper, its really a no brainer...go XM
 
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Do you get Orlando Traffic on it ?

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XM Channel 229 is Orlando traffic
 
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all your responses. I, too, am leaning towards XM.

I'll let you folks know what I decide when I get it!
 
Yeah, it's got Orlando traffic. Kinda weird sounding though.
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I think they rely on people to call in and let them know on some of the traffic reports. At least ones that are minor and don't make it on standard traffic reports. I've used it to detour several times already. The weather is a real person reading it, and the display shows the channel name and the current weather conditions and temperature.
 
I second the aforementioned comments: XM ROCKS!

They have a deal with GM, where many GM cars come equipped with the necessary equipment. So XM might be a better bet than Sirius, only because it has a little more solid backing with GM.

The selection of music that is played is also astounding. You'll never hear the same song twice.
 
I bought a Sony CD player with an XM receiver built in about 2 years ago. I thought this would be great, until I found out that only Sony box/decoder units are compatibile with it. I still have yet to find the Sony XM box that receives the signal. I haven't found it at any of the major chain stores, so I'm beginning to wonder if I will EVER have XM. Otherwise, I hear its a great system!
 
Most of my friends have XM and they really like it. I have Sirius and I really like it. The deciding factor that made me go with Sirius is their broadcast of the NFL games. Sirius is currently running a special which brings the cost down to approx $10/month. I'm sure you'll be happy with either provider.
 
I'm leaning heavily towards Sirius. Seems they're more commercial free and there's a more 'usable' variety of channels.

If I did install the system, it would be because I'm escaping the evil of ClearChannel!
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Suck suck suck!
 
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Yeah, it's got Orlando traffic. Kinda weird sounding though.
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Their Chicago traffic reporting is the same way. You can tell it's not a 'local' reading the reports. They refer to the Ike as "I-290, the Eisenhower Expressway". Nobody in Chicago says that, it's just 'the Ike' or 'the Eisenhower'.

The reports are current and it's good information, it's just not being read by a Chicago native, that's all.
 
I shudder to think what it is doing with Houston traffic, then ... Texans love to name all their highways. Took me a week or two when I first moved there to learn all the names, but now that I do you don't ever catch me using the numbers. Every once in a while my GF will have to say, "Wait, what number is the Eastex again?" because she doesn't often hit that part of town.
 
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I'm leaning heavily towards Sirius. Seems they're more commercial free and there's a more 'usable' variety of channels.

If I did install the system, it would be because I'm escaping the evil of ClearChannel!
smile.gif


Suck suck suck!

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Check out 103.9 FM (here in PHX) they went independent a few years back when Clear Channel was threatening to close them down. Coolest programming they have on is M-Thur 9 - 10p.m. the Ska/Punk show. I'm not a huge ska/punk fan but it's something different.
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I support all independent radio ... even if it's Polka!
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I'm leaning heavily towards Sirius. Seems they're more commercial free and there's a more 'usable' variety of channels

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Only commercials that I've heard on XM (and this is including CNN and MSNBC) since they went commercial free were for other XM channels. I didn't even know there WAS an opera channel till I heard the commercial for it last night. Oh, and Radio Classics and Sonic Theatre rock! Nothing like listening to old re-runs of The Shadow and The Lone Ranger.
 
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Only commercials that I've heard on XM (and this is including CNN and MSNBC) since they went commercial free were for other XM channels. I didn't even know there WAS an opera channel till I heard the commercial for it last night. Oh, and Radio Classics and Sonic Theatre rock! Nothing like listening to old re-runs of The Shadow and The Lone Ranger.

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The NASCAR channel (144) has a lot of commercials. Fox news & CNN are comparable to regular radio/TV. It doesn't bother me.

I LOVE Radio Classics! I was checking out XMs website before we activated the service, and once I saw Radio Classics & Hank's Place (channel 13), I signed up then and there. There's just something about listening to those old radio programs that I can't get enough of! It makes the 3 hour drive to my parents farm a bit shorter too.
 
I got a chance to test out my roommate's XM radio when he got it two years ago (when it first came out). When I listened to the Fox News channel, it seemed as if it was a direct audio feed from their channel. I'm guessing CNN is the same.
 
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