XM or Sirius?

[Aaron Hats]

My wife wants to get me satellite radio for Christmas which would be great. I've been looking at XM and Sirius and there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between the two. I was always under the impression that XM was better but then I found that Sirius has the deals with a lot of the car makers. Anybody have real life experience with either?

Thanks,

 

[Dalexs]

XM doesn't have Howard! (This is either good or bad, depending on your tastes...)

Dalexs

 

[Aaron Hats]

XM doesn't have Howard! (This is either good or bad, depending on your tastes...)

But it does have Opie & Anthony. :cheers1:

 

[jamespowers]

But it does have Opie & Anthony. :cheers1:

Get XM then. :cheers1:

Regards to all,

J

 

[SHARPETOYS]

I have XM.

Aaron,
Some facts as of 11-26-05.

Both companies charge subscribers $12.95 a month. XM offers about 150 channels of music, news, talk and entertainment. Sirius offers about 120 channels. They get customers from two major sources: automakers and retail stores.

XM, with 5 million subscribers to Sirius's 2 million, has a larger share of the automobile market, with deals to install XM receivers with manufacturers of nearly 60 percent of all U.S. cars, trucks and sport-utility vehicles. As of the third quarter, XM had a bigger share of the retail market, too.

But with Stern's debut on Sirius a little over a month away, Sirius is hoping to edge past XM, at least in the aisles of stores such as Circuit City, Best Buy and Wal-Mart.

I could care less about Stern so my XM with 30 more channels works for me.

 

[Aaron Hats]

Do you use it in your car, home or both? I want to be able to use it in the truck and the store.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Home and car/truck I never listen to cd's anymore.

 

[colleency]

I have XM. I'm not sure whether or not I'll renew when my current subscription is over.

I listen to the old time radio channel, comedy, Satellite Sisters on the woman's channel and a few shows on the NPR channel. The traffic reporting for LA/Orange County is helpful.

My music stations are set to 40s, Frank's Place, 60's, 70's, 80's, and the movie channel. I find the music to be hit and miss though. I like listening to the music (especially 40's & Frank's Place) when there's someone in the car with me, but most of the time I drive alone, and I have a long commute. They don't really seem to play enough music that I can sing along with, or something. I'm not sure what it is, but I find it to be just slightly off. I wonder if an MP3 player is a better option.

 

[Mycroft]

We have both, because one of the cars came with Sirius and the XM is from an older car. Sirus has better music channels in my opinion for rock. But, it is hard to tell the difference between the two unless you want spasific stations like Stern or what not. Pick by the stations that are unique.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I use my iPod for everything, so I am no help. But I do offer this: music can be found anywhere; an iPod for instance. But original programming is what is important. So, who has the best personalities, talk radio, news radio, and other content that you are interested in? -This is the way I would approach this problem.

BTW, Aaron, did you see the photo of I.S. wearing one of your hats in front of the mansions in Newport? She loves that hat and wears it all of the time. Here it is, if you missed it:


More here: http://homepage.mac.com/glickc1/HemingwayJones/PhotoAlbum34.html

SORRY for the digression! But I wanted you to know!

 

[Aaron Hats]

I hadn't seen the picture before. The hat looks great on her. Thanks for posting.

I think I'm gonna go with XM so I can listen to Opie and Anthony, though I don't know that I'll be able to listen to them with families in the store. :cool2:

 

[Panamabob]

If you are a sports fan you'd better make sure which has your favorite sport.

 

[Dalexs]

Good point Bob. If you're a sports enthusiast, satellite is the way to go and they both have their benefits.
Research Research Research!

 

[Aaron Hats]

I decided to go with XM so we went and picked it up last night. Installation and set up is a breeze for both home and truck. Sound is great. Being in the mountains I'm usually able to get 3-4 radio stations on FM so now I get 150 to choose from. I can listen to conservative talk radio, country, blues, news and anything else. I'm hooked.