Need to Make A Decision!!!! (1 Viewer)

[WillG]

Ok, I know there are several theads on XM vs Sirius, but I was hoping withouy having to pour through threads I could just get some bottom line answers. I bought and signed on to XM the other day, but some of you people now have me second guessing whether I made the right choice. I guess I still have 28 days to return what I bought to Circuit City. What I am interested in is pretty much one thing Foremost. Which has the bigger/better playlists? The generes I am interested in the most are the Decade channels, The Classic Rock channel and most important of all, the deep cuts channel. How does Sirius Measure up to XM? I have heard that Clear Channel maitains some of XM's stations and hearing C.C. in the same sentence as XM scares me. About the commercials on XM, I'm not all that concerned, They are not very long, and it's not like you can't switch to a different channel while a commercial is running on another, so that is not going to be the deciding factor for me (unless commercials will eventually appear on every channel and will become oppressive). Also, What kind of equipment does Sirius have that compares to the Delphi Sky-Fi unit with FM modulation

If someone can summarize, I would appreciate it

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Will,

No need to second guess yourself.

XM is the biggest (and in my opinion) the BEST
satellite radio service out there. Consider
yourself amongst the largest subscriber base of
satellite radio users.

Trust me -- you'll be VERY happy with this purchase.

 

[David-S]

If you're interested in getting some ideas of Sirius' playlists, feel free to go to www.sirius.com , you can click on "listen now" and listen for (20 or 30, i forget) minutes free per day, so that would let you know which ones you like better....

I'm honestly not sure what types of receivers Sirius currently offers... hmmm, crutchfield says these are the stand-alone receivers... i have the Panasonic one, and it's easy to use, a friend installed his using the FM mod, and had no problems doing it... haven't had a chance to listen to it w/ that vs. direct inputs.... (the $100 rebate makes it fairly affordable, and you get a free antenna (normally $50!))

Sirius also has a new Kenwood unit that can be "docked" in your car or home (they're starting to offer a home service beyond internet streaming)

 

[Anthony Moore]

I cant stress enough that Sirius is the better product. They may not have the boombox yet, but the programming is BY FAR better than XM.. Ive had both.

You say you like Classic Rock and the decades channels. Well,those are really the only channels I listen to , and Sirius is the clear winner in my book for us.

But as David said, goto Sirius.com and try it yourself...

just my opinion...good luck

 

[Jeffrey D Smith]

As I posted in another thread I currently have XM and also am regretting it. After signing up with XM I discovered a friend of mine that had Sirius, I just much prefer it.

I'll admit it, the commericals on XM bother me. With their plans to increase commericals I'm thinking I'm going to dislike it even more. After all why the hell am I paying if I still have to listen to them?

Commericals aside, I would just look at the programming, and see what you would like best. Hardware wise I'm sure they will both be offering very similar products and features.

Just because XM is bigger frankly doesn't mean squat. Both companies are facing the same battle ahead of them, and niether are profitable at the moment. It's not like XM has money to burn on getting exclusive content, they are going to be just as careful as Sirius as to what they do. Don't let the user base determine your choice.

Choose based on content if commericals aren't a concern.

 

[Eric Kahn]

Think Clearchannel when you think of XM, DJ's and all
they have DJ's on Sirius, but none so far have been the "listen to me, I think I am funny" type that seem to be on all the stations that clearchannel has bought then ruined, the reason we are buying satellite radio in the first place

 

[Anthony Moore]

You can get ALL the equiptment you need for FREE until the 16th of this month from here:

www.siriusbackstage.com

just register to thier forum and read the announcements in the "Sirius Insiders" forum.

I got the Audiovox control, tuner, FM Mod (even though i dont need it), and ant. too. All free. They want subscribers.

 

[Jed M]

I'll admit it, the commericals on XM bother me. With their plans to increase commericals I'm thinking I'm going to dislike it even more. After all why the hell am I paying if I still have to listen to them?

Does your cable or dish not have commercials? Thats cool if so. Like it or not, both of these companies are going to be forced to either triple their subscription fees or start having commercials. If they could wait 5 years for their user base to grow maybe the commercials could be lessened but right now they are both hemorrhaging money (especially sirius since it doesn't use commercials) and to exist like they do now is not a viable solution, as it has been proved. Or maybe somebody has a better idea? Its pretty hard to have a small user base and no commercials, remember in the mid 80's when HBO was like 12 bucks a month for 1 channel? I'm not saying I am for commercials, but I don't see how either will survive based on their original business model.

 

[WillG]

"You say you like Classic Rock and the decades channels. Well,those are really the only channels I listen to , and Sirius is the clear winner in my book for us."

How so, What is Sirius Doing that XM is not. Do you have any examples?

 

[Anthony Moore]

well, ive had both....

and I just like the format, and the music that is played on Sirius better than XM.

Seems that XM is a little more "pop culture"..thats all..

but all in all, i like both services..i think they are the future..i own stock in both...

good luck

 

[WillG]

Can anyone tell me if Sirius has a good Progressive Rock Channel. One that is Similar to XM's "Music Lab" Station

 

[Joshua Clinard]

I agree that Sirius is the better procuct. A few here say XM is better. I would like to know one thing. Do those people know anything about Sirius? I have done extensive research on both, and I conclude that Sirius is better. While I don't sunscribe to either service, I would subscribe to Sirius in a heartbeat if I had the money. I have listened to the online streams of both services, and the Sirius programming is indeed better. I have also read reviews on the hardware of both companies, and Sirius's new Here2Anywhere compares very nicely, if not better than the Delphi. I reccomend Sirius.

 

[Jed M]

I have done research on both and I chose XM. Why? They have a much better sports department than Sirius. It all depends what you are interested in. I will put it this way, if you can't find a song you like at any given time of the day on either XM or Sirius, there is something wrong with you. I just got out of my car and ch. 40 on XM was playing "Fearless" by Pink Floyd and "Dire Wolf" by the Grateful Dead. I don't see how Sirius can have a deeper play list than that, unless they are playing unreleased, never-heard-before stuff?

 

[WillG]

Well there is one or two things that have disheartened me about XM so far. I bought the equipment and service a week ago. I don't have a tape deck in my car so I have to get an FM Mod installed. So in the short times I was able to use it, (in my home, using the cassette adapter to a Boombox or in another car with a tape deck) I have heard some repeated songs, which concerns me since I am only averaging like 30 minutes a day using this thing. I like "Deep Tracks" But very often, they are playing stuff on that station that is just the regular stuff you hear on FM. The even bigger concern with this is that there is already the "Top Tracks" station where all the more familiar hits are supposed to be. I also live in an area that is pretty forested in some parts and I get frequent dropouts in that area. I have heard that Sirius has three Satellites as opposed to XM's two. So it may be possible to get a badly needed stronger signal with Sirius. Also I have read that Cleal Channel is running alot of the programming and I have indicated that this also concerns me. I don't mind so much that XM does have breif commercial interruption on some stations because I can always turn to another, but I am worried that some people have indicated that the commericals on XM could become more oppresive over time.

I would try Sirius, but I was wondering If they have a good Progressive Channel like XM's "Music Lab" and I can't find a clear answer to that based on Sirius' channel descriptions. Plus the equipment I am looking for with Sirius is a bit hard to find right now. What I am looking for is a portable setup like the Delphi unit for XM. I know that Sirius has the Kenwood, but I am finding that an FM mod for that is readilly available.

So in light of all of this, would Sirius be a good choice for my preferences?

 

[TheLongshot]

I would try Sirius, but I was wondering If they have a good Progressive Channel like XM's "Music Lab" and I can't find a clear answer to that based on Sirius' channel descriptions.

I can tell you that they don't. I have E-Mailed them to lobby for one, tho. They do play some progressive occasionally on The Vault, but not that often.

I've been listening to Sirius for a week and a half and I'm mostly happy with it. I could use a Progressive Rock station, a Traditional Folk station, and I could use a Metal station that plays real music, instead of crap (from the description, XM's Metal station has the same problem.), but I'm happy with the 80s station, Big Rock (Tho I wish they'd tone down the hair metal), and the classic rock stations.

Jason

 

[WadeB]

The new issue of Sound & Vision magazine has an interesting review of the 2 services. 3 “music experts” spent time listening to both providers and gave their opinions. Sirrus got 2 of the 3 votes. The reviewers cited many of the same reasons for preferring Sirrus as are cited above, no obnoxious DJs, no commercials, more respect for the listener. The reviewer who picked XM seemed to like the range of music XM offered better. Really it seems to come down to personal preference. I don’t have either, but from what I read above, and from the article in S&V I would pick Sirrus b/c I want a real alternative to radio. I can hear obnoxious DJs and commercials for free, and I am sick to death of them.

 

[David-S]

In case you're wondering, the article Wade is talking about is online at Their website

 

[Joey]

A few here say XM is better. I would like to know one thing. Do those people know anything about Sirius? I have done extensive research on both, and I conclude that Sirius is better.

Oh, c'mon. I think it's a bit bold to imply that people who prefer XM are ignorant about Sirius. Please. I've listened to Sirius' live "streams" in the past and even today over the net - and I absolutely prefer XM's lineup. I enjoy XM's deeper playlist - and perhaps that may be a problem for people looking for more hits oriented radio. I like the fact that XM does give ample airtime to tracks that may not get any or much airplay on FM. One of the many reasons I stopped listening to FM was because of their limited playlists. Not that Sirius' playlists are narrow - but they're nowhere as wide as XM - and I appreciate that. It's a matter of taste. Other than that - one of the channels I do enjoy on XM is U-Pop, which plays popular hits from around the world - with an emphasis on Europe and the UK. Being that I spend a lot of time in the UK, it's nice to be able to keep track of some of the popular tracks from the UK. Unfortunately, Sirius doesn't have any channel like this at all. The only channel they have that even comes remotely close is Horizons - which is really closer to World Zone on XM, rather than U-Pop. But since Sirius seems to push more of what's popular in the U.S., I can see why a channel like U-Pop wouldn't be in their cards.

Every now and then - I still check up on Sirius' "streams" - but so far, I don't look back at all with my decision on XM. Of course, it's all subjective - but I've done ample research on Sirius to realize that XM is the right choice for me, thank you.

 

[Joey]

I have heard that Sirius has three Satellites as opposed to XM's two. So it may be possible to get a badly needed stronger signal with Sirius. Also I have read that Cleal Channel is running alot of the programming and I have indicated that this also concerns me.

WillG, Sirius uses three satellites, but only two of them are beaming on the U.S. at any given time. They are geosynchronous and not geostationary (like XM's are). And regarding the Clear Channel thing - all I have to say is that you have to take all of that with a grain of salt. A minority shareholder stake is what they have. That's all. If you will believe that they control a lot of the programming with that, well - what can I say. I've seen so many XM vs. Sirius battles and the Clear Channel thing always comes up as a favorite whipping tool against XM. The bottom line, though, is that despite Clear Channel's connection with the broadcasting industry - who's to even say that their effect (if any) on XM is even bad to begin with? (Unless you prescribe to the Clear Channel is Satan theory.) Whatever you decide, good luck to you. I am just glad that there is satellite radio (XM or Sirius) because either one of them is light years ahead of FM. It's just a shame that withing this community there has to be contention amongst the two competitors. If you haven't seen it yet... you will!