Goodbye XM Radio (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein · Nov 25, 2003

You know, from day one I was a supporter of
XM Radio. I bought into the service early,
purchasing both an Alpine hardwired head unit
for the car and a Delphi SkyFi unit for my home.

For months I have been raving about XM radio
on this forum as well as other forums. I bought
XM Radio T-shirts and windows stickers. I even
sneered at those that even dared to mention the
competitor, Sirius radio.

Well, tomorrow I get rid of XM Radio and change
over to Sirius Radio.

I put a lot of thought into the decision. The
bottom line is, I don't want to listen to commercials
on satellite radio. Period. End of story.

When I first bought XM, the amount of commercial
play was negligable. I could handle it. But over
the past few months I noticed XM increasing the
amount of commercial play per hour. The latest
stats I heard is that XM plays 6 minutes of
commercials per hour. Honestly, it seems a lot
more than that.

I just couldn't take it anymore. Every 20 minutes
my music was being interrupted by commercials. What
made it worse was the fact that they played the same
commercials over and over and over again. You
either heard commercials filled with frantic
Onstar callers or Allstate trying to
pitch you its Safe Driver deal.

Another thing -- I listen to the 70s channel. It's
a great channel, but I'm sort of getting tired of
the station playing the same soundbytes from the
movie Oh God, Young Frankenstein and
M*A*S*H over and over and over again. I
also seem to be hearing the same songs time and
time again. My cable music channels offered more
70s rare tracks than XM does.

But let's get back to the commercials...

I wrote letters to XM Radio urging them to get
rid of their commercials even if it means raising
their prices. I couldn't convince any of my friends
to go with XM Radio after they found out that
Sirius Radio offers no commercials. You can
see how fast Sirius is growing just because
they advertise themselves as a commercial-free
service.

I want to listen to music. Not commercial any
interruptions.

Yeah, XM Radio saves you $3 a month over Sirius
Radio. But if having to pay $3 more per
month meants not having to listen to the increased
amount of commercial airplay, then I consider that
money well spent.

So what did I do?

I decided to get rid of my Alpine head unit and
bought the Kenwood X869 receiver. The Sirius
tuner is FREE with the purchase. I paid a minimal
amount of money for the antenna and install.

I'm selling my Alpine head unit, XM car tuner and
antenna, plus my Delphi SkyFi receiver and two home
kit cradles for about $300-$350 to anyone that
wants it. I'll post something in the FOR SALE area
shortly.

I hope that I'll be happier with Sirius than
I was with XM Radio.

Paul W · Nov 25, 2003

As someone who is sick and tired of commercials (and who has an interchangeable XM/Sirius harness in my new Audi), I am very interested in hearing how you like the Sirius service.

Please keep us informed!

ScottCarr · Nov 25, 2003

i recently completed a VERYVERYVERY long survey for sirius. a couple of times they asked about commercials. Each question pertaining to commercials were to the most negative response. I feel if they start popping in commercials I will gladly cancel my subscription at the end of my 1 year commit.

I can hear commercials for free on FM

Joshua Clinard · Nov 25, 2003

I highly doubt Sirius will add commercials. They just asked that question to see if their marketing is reaching out to new customers.

Chris · Nov 25, 2003

Ron-

Welcome. Some of the same reasons I had. That and the fact that Sirius plays completely uncensored mixes on all networks (yep, including Comedy, etc.) were big factors. This sounds foolish, but there are titles, even old titles, where when censored you get music that isn't as it was intended; especially for some 60s/70s rock (protest music, folk, etc.) where the occassional F'bomb was used for effect

I think you'll be happy. I think the more commercials XM adds, the more people, like you, will look to alternatives.

Shawn Shultzaberger · Nov 25, 2003

Thanks for the update Ron. I was going to go with XM after the beginning of the year but after reading your post I think I will go with Sirius. In the mornings when I'm driving home from work all I want to do is listen to music but out of the 12 stations that I like on FM all 12 talk talk talk. I want music! Not commericals and more talk! Choice is good, music is good, commericals are bad. Looks like there might be a Kenwood HU in my future.

Joshua Clinard · Nov 25, 2003

Ron, would you send me an e-mail. I have something to tell you. You will like it, but I can't disclose it here.

Thanks.

Brian L · Nov 26, 2003

I am slowly inching my way toward your course of action, Ron.

As I have mentioned to several friends, get Sirius for the sole reason that I consider ANY commercials too many.

When I bought in, it was known that XM was NOT commercial free, but like you, they are intruding way too much on my music (The Boneyard, primarily).

I don't know which service's business model is the one that will survive (if either!), but as you suggested, I would happily pay $3 a month more to get rid of the damn commercials. I like the programming on XM, but I just HATE, HATE, HATE commercials.

Seems to me that the buzz on XM is going the wrong way. They may feel that they need the commercials to survive, but I have a feeling that there is going to be an exodus of subscribers unless they rethink things.

Good look with Sirius, and please post your impressions.

BGL

Robert James Clark · Nov 26, 2003

I don't like commercials either, but Sirius just doesn't have the channels I love the most on XM:
XMPops, Cinemagic, and Sonic Theater primarily.

Sirius' lineup just seems to me to be more like a glorified Music Choice...

Ronald Epstein · Nov 27, 2003

Thus far, one day into the service, I have mixed
feelings about Sirius.

First, I noticed that the sound quality is a
small step up from XM Radio. The audio has more
bass to it, and vocals no longer take a backseat
to the instrumentals. This may not be a fair
assesment of the two services due to the fact
that I changed the head unit in my car. I now
have a Kenwood 869 (instead of an Alpine 7894).

The first thing you notice is that there are no
commercials on the music channels. It's one song
right after the other with ocassional banter from
the DJ who seems to be very respectful to the music.
Last night, I only heard the DJ announce music artist
birthdays.

Sirius has a terrific EASY LISTENING channel
(channel 4) for adults. It plays some of the best
easy listening tunes from John Lennon, Herb Alpert,
Lionel Richie, Phil Collins, etc. It's a really
relaxing mix of popular favorites old and new.
To my knowledge, XM Radio had no such channel.

The bad points....

The Sirius Totally 70's channel has very
little of the "fun" music that made up that decade.
It has turned into more of a classic rock channel
as of late. I know this because I was surprised
after listening to it yesterday, I saw the same
complaints I found posted on the SIRIUS BACKSTAGE
forum. It doesn't have the charm of XM's 70's
decade channel.

Sirius also lacks the personality that XM Radio
had. Though I am only into my second day of
listening, I don't hear any of the movie and
TV soundbytes nor countdown shows that defined
that particular era. Perhaps I need to listen more.

I really want to listen more to Sirius before I
write a huge report here and compare both services.
So far, however, I am leaning more towards SIRIUS.
The audio quality sounds slightly better on my new
Kenwood system, and the fact that there aren't any
commercials popping up every 15-20 minutes makes
my choice a no-brainer.

Will post more after I have had more of an
opportunity to listen and compare.

Chris · Nov 27, 2003

One of the things my wife noticed is that the 70s channels have become very.. segregated. IE, there are other areas within Sirius that play a heavy mix of 70s/early 80s "soul" "funk" etc.. and they don't really trend into the "70s" channel as a whole, whereas the "70s" has pretty much become 70s rock "Backspin" has pretty much turned into early eighties/late seventies funk/etc.

It's taking me a whiel to get used to those kind of things as well, though, and I agree I wish it were more mixed.

As far as banter, I'm pretty glad there is, basically, none. Some channels have absolutely none. Why bother, the title comes up on your display, I don't need a DJ to take the time away.. especially useful on the children networks

Joshua_JO · Nov 28, 2003

Hey Ron,

Sirius seems to be really good about taking in customer feedback. I would definitely drop them a line about what you think about their 70's station.

Michael Cucka · Nov 29, 2003

Ron -

I think you'll be happy with Sirius - I love the content and the occassional DJ comments - usually pertinant instead of lame.

My only beef is I have trouble with my home unit with dropouts as the satellites move around - planning on doing some attenna placement work this weekend to eliminatte this.

You have choosen wisely...

Ronald Epstein · Nov 29, 2003

Hi, Michael!

Good to hear from you.

Let me put it this way...

I left XM Radio for Sirius hoping to
find Nirvana.

Unfortunately, Sirius ain't the Nirvana
I was hoping for.

As far as music is concerned, XM Radio
has its act more together than Sirius does.

The fact that Sirius has no commercials
has made my car traveling a far more enjoyable
esperience. On the other hand, I don't find
the music on Sirius to be as good as XM Radio.

I am planning to put together a report for
the forum in about 5 days. Would like to put
something together that will hopefully help
newcomers with no clue about satellite radio
decide what is best for them.

MatS · Nov 29, 2003

Maybe I'm listening to the wrong stations or flipping at just the right times but I just don't hear this commercial issue being raised.

Yes if just one commercial is an issue (since Sirius claims to be 100% commercial free) then I guess you have a point. However, I just sampled the Sirius streams via the net and I heard more dj/'personality' banter in around 15 minutes then I have heard in hours of XM listening. This to me can be just as intrusive.

I'd like as little commercials as possible but I am also paying for a greater bredth of choice, something ~~commercial~~ Clear Channel radio does not give me.

I have had XM for one year now and am very happy with their service. I have nothing against Sirius and think any and all competion is a good thing. The only thing that has even made me consider switching formats was Sirius' new contract with the NHL.
I am a huge NHL fan but even that looks like it will not sway me.

Brian L · Nov 30, 2003

Maybe I'm listening to the wrong stations or flipping at just the right times but I just don't hear this commercial issue being raised.

No question it depends on the station and the time of day.

I like the BoneYard, and that is the worst offender of the stations I listen to. I hear commercials during drive time (7:30am MST, and at lunch 11:30am MST).

And yes, I am of the "One commercial is one too many" school of thought. Its no way as bad as FM radio (what could be???), but when you are used to no commercials, any commercials are a real fork in the ear!

Having said that, the other stations I frequent (Deep Tracks, Luna, and XM Kids) play no commercials that I have ever heard.

Like Ron though, I would gladly pay $3/month more for zero commercials.

BGL

Click to expand...

Ronald Epstein · Nov 30, 2003

Here's the big problem with XM Radio commercials....

The fact that they play 6-10 minutes of
commercials per hour may not seem much
to anyone......

....but anyone that has been with XM for the
past year will tell you that commercial airplay
has significantly increased to the point where
it is noticeable.

This was not how XM Radio began when they
promised "limited" commercial play.

The major problem I have with the XM commercials
is the fact that they play the SAME commercials
over and over again.

Here I was sitting in my car or home -- listening
to good music -- when all of a sudden I hear this
commercial starring a frantic "Onstar" caller who
is screaming at an Onstar operator.

This follows with 15 minutes of music play.
Then, once again, we get another screaming "Onstar"
calling commercial followed by an Allstate commercial
that I have heard a dozen times already today.

It's cute at first, but it doesn't take long
until the commercials become downright annoying.
It was enough for me to want to rip XM Radio out
of my car and spend a few hundred bucks to get
Sirius.

Am I happy with what I did? Not exactly. I have
some issues about the Sirius programming, but at
least there aren't anymore commercials.

No service is perfect. It will be a tough choice
to make, and hopefully I can help clear it all up
next week when I post a report of what I found.

Sathyan · Nov 30, 2003

Can anyone comment on the classical channels? One complaint I have against my FM and cable classical stations is the tendency to play single movements/arias from symphonies/operas. Do either XM or Sirius play entire works? Is it a fairly comprehensive playlist?

thanks
Sathyan

Michael Cucka · Nov 30, 2003

Sathyan -

Don't know XM, but Sirius' classical content is excellent

Only three stations - larger orchestral, smaller chamber, and vocal - but the programming choices are varied and certainly beyond the normal fair of FM or satellite. All works are complete and often there's a theme of the day - based on anniversaries, etc.

Good stuff!

Joel L · Nov 30, 2003

I am glad you made this post as i too was about to get xm radio, now i will still hold off a bit longer.

Home Theater

Entertainment & Streaming Content

Physical Media

Home Theater Equipment and Hardware

Other Diversions

Bargains and Classifieds

Home Theater Forum

Archives

Goodbye XM Radio (1 Viewer)

Founder

Second Unit

Second Unit

Screenwriter

Supporting Actor

Screenwriter

Second Unit

Founder

Agent

Stunt Coordinator

Founder

Screenwriter

Founder

Second Unit

Stunt Coordinator

Auditioning

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread

Sign up for our newsletter

and receive essential news, curated deals, and much more

Forum statistics