XM Radio (or Sirius)

[MATCHBX]

I don't know if we went thru this before or not. Does anyone on here have XM or Sirius? Just wondering what you think of it, good and bad. Does anyone subscribe to any of the premium channels?

I am kicking around the idea of buying an XM unit. We had one on the way down to Texas this weekend and it was really nice. We listened to Opie and Anthonie on there. Those 2 are funny as hell!!!!! Monster Rain!!!!!!!!!

[JET]

The only bad part I have heard is that you lose the signal when the weather gets bad, basically like Dish TV.

[SuperSleeper]

I used to sell Sirius and XM radio units, and I must say that I'm very satisfied with them both. You'll find that Sirius has a little bit less commercials, but that's mainly because they have less of a captive audience due to a higher subscription cost.
I've been a fan of the Delphi headunit that XM offers, due to its versatility. But recently Sirius released a new transportable headunit that seems to be equally good. So it's really a toss-up. Both choices are better than the boring, repetitive alternative of FM radio.

[Alpine TSi]

"The only bad part I have heard is that you lose the signal when the weather gets bad, basically like Dish TV."

Wrong. Either system relies on two types of signals, straight from the satellite or from a series of ground repeaters that rebroadcast the signal across the surface of the planet. It allows nearly flawless reception, I can get XM in the Lowry tunnel in Mpls, during rush hour while I sit in the middle.

I have XM and have had Sirius. I personally like the selection on XM and they have a killer comedy channel(uncensored). They also will be carrying MLB next season and they currently have just about every college sports game too. All their music is commercial free. They run 9.95/month. I don't have any of the premium channels(Playboy or Opie and Anthony).

Sirius also offers commercial free music, but they have the NFL and NHL(if they ever start a season). Not many college games. They cost 12.95/month but will match XM's rate if one were to pay a year in advance. They also let you listen to the music channels online for free as a subscriber, XM will be soon charging for that service. Sirius also plans on within a year or so to launch a video service. They anticipate having an introductory lineup of 4 channels, a couple being music videos and then movies.

Both have Traffic and Weather stations dedicated to every major metropolitan area. Either service has hardware that enables the service to be heard ANYWHERE, you ca take it from your car to your home to your office and even to the beach with a boombox style unit. XM even has a completely portable Walkman style unit that is great. All in all it is a great service, digital quality sound, commercial free music, coast to coast reception(no need to change channels every state), and a choice of professional sports without any blackout concerns. The prices have really come down since it came out about 2 1/2 years ago, it is really cheap to get into it.

I sell and install both services at the Circuit City Roadshop I run, if you, or anyone, have any questions or want prices on hardware, just let me know.

But like I said the general Sattelite Radio service is just awesome, I don't even listen to FM because of the commercials and shitty quality. Just ask JDM, he seemed to like it a lot when he was in my car.

[Jacek]

I have the XM radio erik. i like it alot. its especially great in big cities and on long trips. the music is up to date. pretty much you just pick the type of music you are into listening to. when i was in downtown chicago i was supprised to be picking up signal with full bars. in the very small distant towns, the signal can get cut off between tall buildings. i have the older style smaller unit i picked up with everything for 75 bucks so i cannot complain. my antenna is the older bigger bulb looking crap and i have it in my rear dash instead of mounted and it picks up signal great from there because i did not want to mount that ugly shit. the music is crystal clear to cd quality if not better depending on your sound system in your car. for 10 bucks a month i am satisfied with the XM. your only choice would be to choose which service you want. look onto the we sites to see which has what you want to listen to and choose from there. i say go for it. :)

[AJ]

I plan to have Sirus by next year for the NFL games alone, but if XM gets NFL I will get that for the Games and the comedy. I have been in several long trips with people who have sat radio and I loved it!

[1Fst14B]

i have sirius at work...the antenna is right next to the building on a 4 ft pole. never had a problem with signal, suprisingly. i like it alot. i spend most of my time at there...so having it in my car wouldnt be as good....
there is alot of channels that i like, and finally, im free of the shittyest station possible. KDWB.

[ACRucrazy]

What I dont get is... Id rather WATCH NFL then listen to it.
Just me.

[AJ]

Still like to listen to it on long sunday drives.

[MATCHBX]

I'm looking at a Roady 2 by Delphi. Pretty good bang for the buck. Has a FM modulator built in. That way it can be used without having to plug it into your stereo or have a cassette adaptor. They have them for $128 at Walmart.