Sirius or XM

[tokenuser]

My wife just offerred to get me a years subscription to XM or Sirius.

I know they are about to merge, but pre-merger, do any of you have experience with either company?

Good? Bad? Indifferent?

Howard Stern, ESPN, and Baseball/Basketball/Football coverage are not a concern to me ... so what would you pick?

[joedubbs]

I would check out the content and go with whichever appeals more. While they might be merging there is real idea as to when/how they'll merge the two satellites to one receiver. For me personally I wish I could have XM mainly because of Opie and Anthony and Ron and Fez.

That being said I have Sirius and their selection is pretty good.

Just check out the content and go with whichever you feel you want most.

[berrex]

My dad and grandmother both have XM and it's pretty nice. I'm not sure if it really matters, though. Like joe said, I'd just grab whichever one seems the most appealing depending on offerings and price.

[comhcinc]

Sirius-NPR XM doesn't have it yet

[d1whowas]

I think that, overall, Sirius is better. However, the reason I voted for XM (and the reason why I subscribe to XM) is for one station: Cinemagic, channel 27.

All movie soundtracks, all the time. Sometimes they just play random pieces, sometimes they focus on one movie and play a segmented version of the score with quotes mixed in, and they also have a weekly interview with creators (not just composers. They sometimes have writers, directors, actors, etc. as well) and they are some of the best interviews I've heard: the guys behind the scenes really know their stuff.

I know it sounds foolish to pay 12 bucks a month for one station, but Cinemagic is so rad that it's worth it.

[oceancyc]

I recently cancelled my sirius account, mainly because I got bored with stern. The rest of the channels were actually pretty good programming wise. You really can't go wrong with either. My brother enjoys xm and from what I've heard its also varied as far as musical selection goes. Just be aware that if you use the starmate, sportster or other similar device the music will be compressed wich is ultimately why I cancelled without stern to keep my satisfied.

[isoprophlex]

i joined sirius when Howard Stern started. I love sirius, and usually have channel 26 LeftOfCenter (indie rock channel) on all day at work (after listening to Stern).

[skin87]

With Stern and sports factored out, the music lineups are pretty identical. I'd say start looking to see if one offers a piece of hardware you're more found of.

[gglynn00]

I have XM and am about to switch to Sirius b/c better Hardware and music selections...I have had XM for 5+ years and am sick of the crappy hardware choices they have for non-vehicle equipped units. I have the Delphi Sky-Fi 3 and it freezes up every time I turn my truck on and have to "reset" it. This is my 3rd one from Delphi as well. I like the Rock selection of Sirius as well. I don't care about Howard Stern or Opie and Anthony.

[satori]

Sirius has BBC, that's the only thing that's really making me consider Sat Radio at all.

[tokenuser]

Hmm. So if its the hardware that makes the difference,

I have a couple of quesitons:

1. My car stereo (Alpine CDA-9856), can take an add on module to receive Sirius content, and be controlled via the head unit. Anyone gone that route?

2. Does anyone have a unit that is portable - one I can drop into a car kit (with a hardwired FM modulator or a direct AUX input, and an external antennae) while I am driving, and drop it into a dock attached to my amp while I am at home?

I have done some looking, and am thinking of the Sportster 5 with Sirius.

[gglynn00]

Hmm. So if its the hardware that makes the difference,

I have a couple of quesitons:

1. My car stereo (Alpine CDA-9856), can take an add on module to receive Sirius content, and be controlled via the head unit. Anyone gone that route?

2. Does anyone have a unit that is portable - one I can drop into a car kit (with a hardwired FM modulator or a direct AUX input, and an external antennae) while I am driving, and drop it into a dock attached to my amp while I am at home?

I have done some looking, and am thinking of the Sportster 5 with Sirius.

If you have a chance, go with the most direct connection possible...If your head unit is capable, do it that way...the FM modulation on all devices stinks now b/c the FCC made all the manu. tone it down. So even if you are right near the source, it still sounds bad. If you do go w/ an external radio, make sure your car stereo has an aux port, preferably in the back so that it does not look tacky. My XM MyFi 3 has FM modulation and an aux out and the difference is night and day w/ the aux out having a sh*t ton better sound. I must also say that I like the PVR function that mine has, but the model that Sirius offers looks and works much better.

[royterp]

I chose XM solely because they have the ACC which, as a Maryland alum, was of primary importance to me.


BTW, XM has BBC World Service on 131.

[jait]

Hmm. So if its the hardware that makes the difference,

I have a couple of quesitons:

1. My car stereo (Alpine CDA-9856), can take an add on module to receive Sirius content, and be controlled via the head unit. Anyone gone that route?

2. Does anyone have a unit that is portable - one I can drop into a car kit (with a hardwired FM modulator or a direct AUX input, and an external antennae) while I am driving, and drop it into a dock attached to my amp while I am at home?

I have done some looking, and am thinking of the Sportster 5 with Sirius.

I went with the add-on module for Sirius and think it's the best thing. When commuting for a few hours a day, having the varied content made a bif difference. Then, I stopped needing a car...

[zedizdead]

Music wise, I think they are the same. I have Sirius but I have to say there is one thing that really bugs me about it.

Online Radio.

It's a really crappy stream, and if you want a good one you have to pay an extra 3 bucks a month. Meanwhile, you can listen to good XM streams for FREE on AOL Radio. But other than that it's really good and I'm happy with it.

[casually-drowned]

2. Does anyone have a unit that is portable - one I can drop into a car kit (with a hardwired FM modulator or a direct AUX input, and an external antennae) while I am driving, and drop it into a dock attached to my amp while I am at home?

I have done some looking, and am thinking of the Sportster 5 with Sirius.

I have the S50, and even though it is discontinued, the functionality is what you are looking for. I think that you should definitely get something that is along those lines because it is really handy. With that said, the customer service is lacking. I had to spend 10 minutes once convincing the rep on the phone that they actually do carry the model I had, and that I did in fact order it from them directly because they were the manufacturer. As long as you can deal with the frustration of uneducated employees, you should be fine.

[digital2d]

Stern on sirius

[mormonrage]

Sirius is worth it just for channel 26, Left of Center.

Sadly, I have XM. :(

[isoprophlex]

Sirius is worth it just for channel 26, Left of Center.
(

YES!!! I love channel 26 :)

[zedizdead]

YES!!! I love channel 26 :)

I never listened to it... What's good about it?

[mormonrage]

The Shins
The Arcade Fire
Spoon
Of Montreal
Andrew Bird
Sufjan Stevens

to name a few things.

[dotwaffle]

Sirius has BBC, that's the only thing that's really making me consider Sat Radio at all.
/me looks up.

Radio4 perchance?

[satori]

yeah, I'd like it more if it were Radio 4, but no, I think it's only Radio 1. Still, I'd get the Chris Moyles show daily that way.

[tokenuser]

BBC Radio 1 and the BBC World News Service (the only place to get an even remotely balanced new telecast of events in the US, and <gasp> happening elsewhere in the world - whether or not Americans were involved at all).

I think I am prett decided on Sirium, probably with the Sportster 5. Is that portable at all or down it require a dock to listen to? I couldn't get a clear idea from their website. The car kit comes with the unit, but I was wondering if I could use it more like an iPod as well (ie just headphones).

[njshadow]

BBC Radio 1 and the BBC World News Service (the only place to get an even remotely balanced new telecast of events in the US, and <gasp> happening elsewhere in the world - whether or not Americans were involved at all).

I think I am prett decided on Sirium, probably with the Sportster 5. Is that portable at all or down it require a dock to listen to? I couldn't get a clear idea from their website. The car kit comes with the unit, but I was wondering if I could use it more like an iPod as well (ie just headphones).

They do sell a portable "iPod'ish"/"MP3'ish" version that you can take around with you and listen to but I'm pretty sure the Sportster has to be taken around and docked to be listened to whether it be the boombox or the car dock.

[satori]

I'm pretty sure the portable version is drastically more expensive.

[tokenuser]

Thanks for the input. I suspected the Sportster needed the boombox dock (in my case it will be a receiver dock I can plug into the AMP my computer plugs into). The portable units look great, but do cost $350 ... which is too much for what it is.

[gglynn00]

My SkyFi 3 has a portable "dock" that allows me to get live XM via an antenna inside the headphones...It's not bad but of course it doesn't work well/at all in doors. In theory I like mine b/c it has a micro SD slot for MP3's and the PVR feature allows me to record any song that I want even if after the song starts I forget to start recording. It also has pause, rewind, etc. If only the thing wasn't so flippin' buggy!!! I think it has somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 hours of recording but I may be mistaken. The only reason I chose the SkyFi 3 is b/c the expandible SD Slot...I should have went w/ the Pioneer INNO or the Samsung Nexus.

[acidburn]

Hmm. So if its the hardware that makes the difference,

I have a couple of quesitons:

1. My car stereo (Alpine CDA-9856), can take an add on module to receive Sirius content, and be controlled via the head unit. Anyone gone that route?

2. Does anyone have a unit that is portable - one I can drop into a car kit (with a hardwired FM modulator or a direct AUX input, and an external antennae) while I am driving, and drop it into a dock attached to my amp while I am at home?

I have done some looking, and am thinking of the Sportster 5 with Sirius.

I had a Sirius sportster for a while. It was the portable one. I had a docking station for inside the house and then the kit for the car.

I can say that I used the FM transmitter and I never had a problem with interference no matter where I went. The signal was so strong that I could have the Sportster going in the car and the radio in my living room got the station clearly. I discovered that by accident once. :)

I was very happy with the Sirius programming. I never tried XM so I can't compare.