Which is better: XM or SIRIUS radio??

[shaniqua6392]

I am going to purchase one of these, but can not decide which one. Can anyone help by giving me their opinion? Thanks so much.

[sweettater]

1. We have both..........................

I would say XM.

[itsmesgd]

2. I'm gonna say XM, but not with too much authority

I say this because I've had xm for 2 years, and they have air america. I have had no technical problems with the service.

[shaniqua6392]

4. Air America is awesome.

I think that might be one thing that sways me over to XM. Thanks for your help.

[Nite Owl]

5. Same here, it came with my car so

that's what I got. I've hed it almost two years. I like it because it does get Air America. I have had no problems at all and got a good price for signing up for three years ($6.50ish a month).

[CueST]

3. If Sirius buys AAR,

that might sway my decision. I'm a big fan of the good 'ol terrestrial AM, though. Talk and sports are two of the biggest reasons I'm going to be getting one. I'll have to see who carries Coast to Coast AM, as well, and make sure my receiver has recording capabilities.

[shaniqua6392]

6. Sirius might buy AAR????

I did not hear about that one.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

8. Are you

series? They are screwn.

[CueST]

11. Really nothing but rumors, but interesting reading...

From SIRIUS Backstage Blog

Rumor is that SIRIUS was supposed to be a founding partner in Air America back in 2004, earning the satellite network the opportunity to offer the progressive programming exclusively.

SIRIUS offered to front startup costs, studio space and even the chance to sydicate content in select cities. Instead, Air America decided to go it alone, and ended up bringing XM into the loop. SIRIUS did not carry Air America at launch; and for months, refused to give Air America it’s own channel as a punishment for that move.

While it makes sense for XM to buy Air America, SIRIUS may be hungry enough to firm up their liberal talk lineup on the cheap.

From the Detroit Free Press Industry Report, Nov 1, 2006

MEDIA: Deal foreseen for network

Air America Radio is talking to several parties about a possible sale and is hopeful of reaching a deal before Thanksgiving, a lawyer for the liberal talk radio network told a bankruptcy hearing Tuesday.

Tracy Klestadt told the court that the privately held company was in discussions with seven different parties about a sale and was very hopeful of reaching a deal by Nov. 22, saying there was a significant amount of interest.

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. Sirius carried AAR for a year or so in the beginning

Then XM got it. I have had both. I got Sirius in 2004 just because they had AAR. Then they dropped it and when I bought a new car a year ago, I had XM put in.

[Ian David]

26. If XM stops carrying AAR, and Sirius starts carrying it, I'm switching.

[Rosco T.]

43. No. Gonna. Happen.

[XOKCowboy]

55. Hey Rosco T ol' buddy!

I was wondering if you'd jump in on this thread. Good to hear from you again.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

7. I prefer Sirius

although I say that as someone who hates talk radio of any bent and couldn't care less if its offered or not.

One observation about both Sirius and XM is that although they have alot of different generes - the playlists on the individual stations don't seem any better than standard OTA radio.

[Buzz Clik]

19. No commercials, and minimal dj blithering

[Patchuli]

21. We love Sirius

Jam On 17, The Vault 16, Serious Disorder 24, All Rolling Stones 99, All Who 10...

We turn on the local a.m. for left talk.

[tkmorris]

70. I'm gonna have to disagree with ya there

I have XM, and while the more standard stations are quite similar playlist wise to OTA stations (sans commercials and much of the horrid DJ'ing) the more esoteric stations offer music you will NEVER hear on a commercial station. That's the reason I love the thing, the music I can hear that I'd never have access to with normal radio.

You see, I love music but have the same problem many others do; OTA radio doesn't PLAY any. They just play the mind-numbing garbage they are told to play, over and over. So, how do I gain access to new music that isn't commercial, or older music that I am unfamiliar with? XM solves this problem. When I listen to it I average about 1 artist per hour that though I've not heard much of, is nonetheless impressive enough to write down their name and seek out their CD's etc. This has opened up new worlds for me and I love it.

Add that to everything else they offer, like several news and specialty stations (various brands of talk radio), plus two comedy channels and it adds up to a great package. Who ever thought stand-up comedy would work on the radio? It does though.

[XOKCowboy]

9. I still like XM...

but I've used it mostly to listen to AAR when I'm on the road. I have 2 more years on my subscription so I'll just have to spend more time listening to the music channels IF AAR goes away.

I've listened to both and both have their good and bad points. I'm glad I purchased XM 3 yrs ago since I drive over 30K miles a year. I like their uncensored XM Comedy channel, Deep Tracks, Top Tracks, the blues channel, several of their country channels. I am a satisfied customer.

Go to their respective websites and check out their programming. XM is still the #1 player in the market but Sirius is growing fast. From what I've seen there are no plans to go to a single sattelite radio format in the near future. If AAR goes out of the picture then I'd say it's pretty even between the formats.

[Hokie]

10. XM, but it depends on your tastes in radio

I have XM and my son has Sirius because he is a Howard Stern fan. I would rate the music a toss up. I think the talk is better on XM because they have Air America and some other talk channels that at least make a lame attempt to be balanced. The Sirius progressive channel is Sirius Left. It is just short of awful. (They call their right wing channel Sirius Patriot if you need to know where they stand).

The XM receivers are significantly better but Sirius is catching up. My sons radio will switch to Wifi is a wireless router is available and it cannot receive over satellite. I think that XM uses geosynchronous satellites and Sirius uses low earth orbit satellites. I think this is an advantage for XM but I will leave it to someone more technically competent to explain why.

[CueST]

13. Without reading to make sure I'm not completely wrong,

using geosynchronous satellites would negate the neccesity of constantly having to reassociate the radio with the stongest satellite in view.

[Buzz Clik]

20. You are 100% correct.

You can drive coast to coast without ever having to change channels.

[Rosco T.]

45. XM vs Sirius Sat orbits...

You are quite correct in the differences in the orbits... a picture is worth a 1000 words.



the weird "chinese fire drill" of the Sirius sats is why some people get dropouts (even their homes) and periods (up to 30 minutes) of not begin able to get a signal at all.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

48. weird...

Why wouldn't Sirius use a geostationary orbit with a conus beam?

[Hokie]

64. Wow, that is a cool animation

I think XM has 4 sats up now. They are Rock, Roll, Rhythm and Blues. Two are active and two are spare. I think one of the early ones (Rock or Roll) had defective solar panels. I get good reception on XM in a 2 story from house with a SkyFi 2. My sons portable Sirius would not work but it has a cool feature that switches to a wireless router if available and it receives most of the channels over the internet. I see why they need this from the satellite orbits. Neither will work in a metal building. XM will work if you have a south facing window in some cases.

[Rosco T.]

68. Actually...

Rock & Roll are together in orbit (west coast I think), each operating at (effectively) 1/2 power (solar panel fault) to make 'one' whole bird, Rhythm & Blues are on the other coast, Rhythm doing all the work, Blues is the 'in-orbit' spare.

Personally, I wanted them to name the second two birds "Shake" and "YerBooty".. but then who listens to me..

[lithiumbomb]

12. i have Sirius

Carried more international news channels than XM, two NPR channels, and also BBC Radio 1 which has some specialty shows that I like. I would check the channel lineups of each and pick whatever suits your tastes. The price for each is pretty similar. I have zero interest in shock jocks or talk radio, from the right or left, so that wasn't a factor.

[johnfunk]

14. A tough call; for now, XM

XM carries Air America; I also like their classical programming -- and more esoteric music choices -- a bit better than Sirius.

But I will admit that I enjoy the politically incorrect locker-room humor of Howard Stern and Bubba the Love Sponge on Sirius.

[high density]

15. XM sounds like total crap

but I've heard Sirius does as well, so I guess that's just something you need to accept with satellite radio.

I bought XM because it had Air America (though to be honest I don't listen to them much) and the decades channels (which I listen to a lot.) The hardware was also really cheap when I bought it and it also generally seemed to be better than the Sirius offerings. The music programming is pretty good and vast, but to be honest I couldn't recommend it to anybody because of the lousy sound quality. They have recently added another 3 or 4 Christmas stations through December so now the sound quality is even worse than before. XM's marketing department is hell bent on having the "most channels" slogan so we get quantity over (sound) quality. Every time the sound quality gets worse I think of ending the subscription, but before I do that I try to find decent music on FM and I'm reminded as to why I bought the subscription in the first place.

[tpsbmam]

38. Interesting......

I only listen to it in my car and it sounds fine to me. But maybe you have a more finely tuned ear than I do.

[MrSlayer]

16. Sirius is better.

Not just because of Stern and the NFL, the music stations are better too. I have XM on my Satellite and the variety of tunes just isn't as good as those offered on Sirius.

[Ian David]

27. The only reason I bought XM was for Air America and Keith Olbermann

The only stations I listen to at all are:

Air America
Local Traffic and Weather
CNN
MSNBC (For Countdown with Keith Olbermann, which is temporarily gone now)
C-Span Radio
BBC
NPR
Kid's Music
Radio Disney
The two Comedy Stations

In about that order.

When Countdown switches to CNBC, I'll be able to listen to it on XM Radio again.

In fact, I called XM Customer Service, and told them to block all of the right-wing and so-called "Christian" stations. They were confused, but accommodating.

"You want to block Fox Sports? But not the Adult Comedy? Okay..."

[Berry Cool]

54. You are going to be disappointed in that Countdown is NOT switching to CNBC.

I posted about this earlier; maybe I should again. The rumor that Countdown might move from MSNBC to CNBC proved to be just that--a rumor. Therefore it is not coming to CNBC, which means that unfortunately we will still no longer be able to hear Countdown on XM.

Of course, you can still get an hour of Keith Olbermann on Dan Patrick's radio show on ESPN Radio, but that's carried by both XM and Sirius.

[Loge23]

17. Good question - I'm with XM and have wondered

...how Siruis sounds.
Not that I'm unhappy with XM. It has plenty of everything - talk, comedy, sports (all of the basball games), and great music.
One big plus for XM is Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio show which is terrific. Each week he takes on another theme. Dylan sounds great on the radio and it sure sounds like he's enjoying being a DJ. Don't expect to hear his music on his show though - he plays stuff you will not hear anywhere else.
I also appreciate the some of the more edgy protest music I hear on the Loft and The Village stations.
Satelitte radio has restored radio in my life.

[Buzz Clik]

23. I have no complaint with Sirius sound quality

But, I don't try to listen on audiophile quality electronics. Needless to say, the sound quality is radically different between a CD in my car stereo and satellite radio.

One's satisfaction with satellite radio would depend upon one's expectations.

[Ian David]

28. I haven't been listening to The Loft or The Village. I'll give them a try. n/t

[Buzz Clik]

18. We have both -- multiple receivers of each.

My kid has XM in his car, as does the wife. I have Sirius in my car and we have a Sirius receiver in the home.

When I take my other kid to school (11 hrs one way), I take my wife's car because she has more room for stuff. I ALWAYS take my portable Sirius receiver because both my son and I think XM is horrible. Here are the pluses and minuses:

Pro XM:
-- Opie and Anthony. Replayed four times daily, if you like them.
-- Excellent tween radio for young girls.
-- The best NCAA basketball choices.
-- Exclusive contract with major league baseball; every game for every team.
-- Broad array of music stations that suit a lot of preferences.
-- Some NCAA football

Pro Sirius:
-- Howard Stern, if he floats yer boat
-- Exclusive NFL contract; every team for every game
-- Many NPR programs, but does not include All Things Considered or Morning Edition :(
-- Some NCAA basketball, some NCAA football.
-- NHL games
-- Excellent array of music: jazz, blues, oldies from lots of decades, several alternative rock stations, pop, Top 40, two kids channels (little kids and tweens)


My kid has problems with XM coverage near buildings. That will be specific to the geographic location; I ran into the same problem in the mountains of West Virginia. I have had no such problems with Sirius.

FOR ALL SATELLITE RADIO: reception is line-of-sight to the satellites. No reception inside homes or buildings without a wired connection to an external antenna. The signals do a good job of penetrating trees and I have had luck putting an antenna in my attic. However, the antenna must be mounted outside your car. Both XM and Sirius have developed portable models that record and have capabilities to receive signals (outside only!).

Go to a place where they offer both. Read, read, read, read. Go to the websites and sample the radio stations for free. Make a choice based on your personal preferences.

[Ian David]

39. I got the XM Audio System Boom-Box to use inside the house

It has a built-in antenna, and it actually works inside the house-- so long as you don't touch the box, go near the box, look at the box, or taunt the box. If you do, it loses the signal, hunts around for a few second, and eventually (usually) re-acquires it.

What I've done is just plug-in an external antenna, and drop it onto the ground outside my window. Nothing fancy, and it works like a charm.

XM also seems to work better than regular radio inside some tunnels and parking garages. Sometimes it's downright eerie.

[Buzz Clik]

49. LOL!

(If you get XM inside tunnels or parking garages, it's because of terrestrial antennas. The only parking garage in which I've gotten Sirius reception is at the Indianapolis airport.)

[samfishX]

22. I would go with SIRIUS

Not only do they have Howard Stern, but pound for pound, they just play better music, in my opinion.

[waldnorm]

24. I Picked XM Back in December, 2002

after trialling both, and for the most part, I am happy with it. At the time, XM stations had deeper playlists on particular select stations, and it appeared to be more the "stable" at the time (stations were being dropped and added more often with Sirius). Later on, there was the exclusive contract with Air America, which I thought was too bad--should've been available on both . . .

Sirius has had improvements since then, but so has XM. For 80's alternative music (my favorite beyond all) and Special X, the novelty station still available online, at least, I'm still happy with XM. I would like to hear Mike Malloy and Stephanie Miller as well of the progressive radio hosts, however . . .

[Ian David]

30. I have to get Stephanie Miller on terestrial AM Radio

And it's impossible to do it on a portable radio in my area.

I can only hear her in my car.

So, sometimes I pick-up breakfast at the supermarket and eat in my car so I can listen.

[Ian David]

25. XM has Air America, BBC, Several NPR Stations, and CNBC...

And soon, CNBC will be merging with MSNBC, which means it will be carrying Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

Also, in case you're interested, (for some reason) Ed Schultz on on XM somewhere.

[Buzz Clik]

29. XM has one public radio station, and it is not NPR.

[Ian David]

32. Maybe it's regional, but I'm pretty sure I get a local NPR station on XM.

I could be wrong, though. I'll have to check.

I really don't switch off Air America very often.

[Rosco T.]

47. However the program supplier...

"PRI" IS the primary program provider to NPR. "PRI" has cut it's ties with Sirius and is now XM only.

NPR on Sirius DOES NOT have their most popular shows (ie. "A Praie Home Companion"), so it's really a 'watered down' NPR.

Expect to see more "NPR" shows move to XM (Garrision Keeler has said he want's to go to XM and his NPR contract is up next year)

[tpsbmam]

37. And C-Span radio! n/t

[chelsea0011]

31. You need to go to both sites and see which programing

is more to your liking. I got Sirius when they had AAR and XM didn't for that reason alone. If I had to make the change now, I would get XM because of AAR and now they have all the baseball games. But these things change with each contract. I do like sat radio a lot even with some of the plug and play issues of FM station interference.

[Speck Tater]

33. Personally, I'm a big fan of silence.

With some occasional live music. Too much radio, like too much "entertainment" of any kind just dulls the senses to real life. Unlike movies, real life doesn't need a constant soundtrack to make it seem more exciting than it is. I'd rather be able to hear the rain on the roof and the birds singing and the frogs down by the creek than to live in a synthetic bubble of machine-made noise.

FWIW, that's my preference anyway.

[Ian David]

40. That's because you hate freedom.

I'm kidding.

[jChicago]

34. Sirius has Radio Times and Diane Rehm .. can't live without them

As much as I would like to switch to XM for Air America (and yes, Sirius Left gets zero stars), I find myself listening to Radio Times, Forum (out of SF), and Diane Rehm a lot. Sirius also has CBC.

[tpsbmam]

36. Think about this......

If you're going to buy a car in the not too distant future, are you going to buy one with satellite radio in it? They're being put in even mid-level cars these days. Check to see which auto maker uses which satellite radio and if they come standard in the price range you're likely to fit into.

I say this from experience. I had Sirius, which I tend to prefer and a HATED the thought of giving money to Clear Channel. But then I bought a new Honda Accord about 2+ years ago (hopefully the LAST car I ever have to buy) and it came with satellite radio. Honda uses XM. Since I'm not going to pay for two satellite radio services (can't afford to do that right now -- new major medical bills among other things), XM wins. I can listen to AAR on the computer and in the car. Good enough for me. And I can find plenty of other stations I enjoy.

[Rosco T.]

44. You're not giving money to Clear Channel when you get XM..

any more than you're giving money to Clear Channel when you buy Sirius (Clear Channel provides some programming to them also)

Clear Channel PROGRAMS 5 XM channels. Their rights to that expire in '08

Please don't spread the false story that "Clear Channel owns XM" it's been LONG, LONG since debunked.

[Rosco T.]

41. XM -

- better quality hardware

- better deals to be had for equipment

- no 'termination fee' if you bail out before a year is up

- wider sports selection (NHL, MLB, Indy Car, College sports up the wazoo, ACC, PAC-10, Big Ten) (Opinion. NFL, Nascar are really too 'visual' IMO, NBA is tolerable)

- (to me) more interesting channels/personalities (AAR, Bob Edwards, Bob Dylan, Oprah).

- in house sports channel with DAMN good shows (XM Sports Nation)

- in house (mostly) Public Radio channel with DAMN good shows (Bob Edwards), this may get even better since PRI (Public Radio International) didn't renew it's contract with Sirius, NPR's "exclusivity" with Sirius ends this year, and Garrision Keeler has stated he want's Prairie Home Companion on XM, and his contract with PBS/NPR is up this year)

- FAR, FAR deeper music library and depth that Sirius

- Less DJ Yacking

- Still the MOST commercial free Music Channels (when Clear Channel pulled the shit earlier this year and forced XM to let them put commercials on the channels CC programmed... XM immediately added additional channels in the same formats sans-commercials to replace them)

- Coast to Coast AM (Xm exclusive.. gotta have my weekly Art Bell fix)

- XM is FAR more 'progressive' than Sirius, not only can you check this on 'BuyBlue', but the have AAR and other programs "Left Jab", "Broadminded"... Sirius does have Stephanie and Thom Hartmann.. but cut up in to sections and tape delayed.. the XM shows are live. (and a little bird tells me XM fans of Stephanie and Thom fans MIGHT have news to rejoice in the next 60-90 days... MAYBE (but hopeful).

- and the #1 reason..

You can BLOCK ANY channel from showing up on your receiver. No FOX News, No Clear Channel stations, No Crap channels whatsoever.

[Buzz Clik]

50. I'm really curious about all these definitive statements.

I listen to my Sirius probably 8 hours per day, and I couldn't possibly tell you about the level DJ chatter, depth of music libraries, or how interesting the personalities are on anything but about seven or eight channels. You've had the time to check this out on all the stations for both XM and Sirius? Damned amazing.

I can tell you this about the Sirius DJs -- they respond to emails. I sent an email to one of my two favorites, and he and I chatted back and forth for several days.

Regardless, it's all a matter of taste. You like baseball on XM, I couldn't live without the NFL on Sirius. You like Prairie Home Companion, I like the Car Guys. You like NCAA football? I was listening to the Florida/FSU, Oklahoma/Okie St, and Louisville/Pitt games this afternoon while cruising for a Christmas tree. The home and away broadcasts of Notre Dame/USC are on right now. I'll concede, however, that we didn't have the classic heated rivalry -- Duke/North Carolina. I had to follow that on ESPN Gamecast.

Look for the Honda CRV with the Sirius antenna snuggled up against the XM antenna with the Sirius receiver suction-cupped to the windshield. That's me. (That "low-quality hardware" has been with me for about 4 years with zero flaws.)

It's clear you enjoy your XM as much as I enjoy my Sirius. Ain't life grand?

[XOKCowboy]

58. It sure is... I just wish..

they'd merge, pick one damn standard and then we wouldn't ever have this discussion again. I loves my sattelite radio.

[bridgit]

42. XM...

[B Calm]

46. I would hold out and wait to see which one picks up Mike Malloy...

[LibraLiz1973]

51. Sirius all the way

I've had both-
I found XM to have crappy sound quality (IMHO) and too much deejay blah blah blah.
I'm very happy with Sirius~ I LOVE all the choices!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

52. XM

I've had XM for two or three years now and love it. I can hear many varieties of music from all over the world. They have 4 Spanish music channels and three French music channels. I LOVE the huge variety of music they have that I would never be able to hear otherwise.

I grew up with one ear in the Top 40 (60s-70s geezer rock) radio station and the other ear was in the classical station on FM, in case you are wondering.

They also have the Bob Dylan Theme Time Radio Hour which is like music education.

I got it for AAR because here in the fourth largest city in the country, the only liberal radio we have is Pacifica (Thank Vishnu, Gaia, whoever).

The signal is kinda weak and it's not in stereo that I know of, not as good quality as CD.

I know they have lots of sports and hockey and NASCAR, but I'm not into that stuff.

Coast to Coast AM is interesting too, if I'm up late.

[lonestarnot]

53. I don't have either, but everyone I have talked to says SIRIUS. Friends

are really pleased with it.

[soothsayer]

56. I love Sirius for Howard Stern, NFL, loads of other stuff.

[Kelly Rupert]

57. My vote's XM, nt.

[XOKCowboy]

59. Well you wanted opinions! You gottem! LOL

So after perusing all of these learned and thoughtful responses, what's your verdict? I'd be interested to hear.

[shaniqua6392]

63. I can't believe the responses!!

DU'ers are awesome. I am going to go with XM. The fact that they have Air America is one of the main reasons. We do have a progressive radio station here in Detroit area and they play a lot of the AA shows, but they are on at different times. For instance, they play Randi Rhodes at 6 p.m. instead of at 3 p.m. on XM. Listening at 3 p.m. is more convenient for me. So it is just a matter of timing for me. I looked at the time lineup for the AA shows and the people that I like to hear would fit into my schedule better. Both of the choices seem to have a lot of variety re: music. I do love talk radio and XM seems to have a better lineup for that. After reading all of the helpful responses, I know it is just a matter of taste. Each individual seemed to like one or the other based upon what types of music and talk that they like. There were not too many technical differences between them. So, XM it is for me! Thanks everyone for all of the wonderful responses. I never thought I would get so much help with this! Wow. I rarely post anything, but when I do the response is amazing. Maybe I should post another question that has been bothering me. Every time I click on Faux "News" the women are wearing short skirts, even if they are gigantic pregnant women. Are the women on that network allowed to wear pants???? They sit in chairs with a short table in front of them and they all wear mini skirts. What is up with that? LOL!!!!! Should I ask DU'ers that one?? Maybe I will get up the nerve to post that one someday. Thank you again for all of the help.

[otohara]

60. Radio Paradise

http://www.radioparadise.com

Awesome music, great website, listener supported - DJ guy Bill rarely talks.

[Buzz Clik]

61. Dude, that radio will lose signal on the drive to my mailbox...

... it certainly isn't gonna get me to St. Louis.

[otohara]

62. Yes, But It Will Make

your time on the net most pleasurable.

[Hokie]

65. XM has land based repeaters in major cities

I forgot to mention that XM has land based repeaters in many cities. This helps reception a lot in downtown areas with tall buildings. The receivers automatically switch so you do not have to do anything.

A good site for info on XM is www.xmfan.com

[minerva50]

66. Sirius has better Public radio coverage.

It has two NPR stations as well as CBC, BBC, etc. I got XM because of Air America, but their XMPR station stinks. I gave my Sirius radio to my mom because she missed her NPR shows when she moved to the beach in North Carolina with limited on-air reception.

[CRK7376]

67. My Wife and I

love our Sirius radios. I have not listened to commercial radio, except NPR in the past 2 years. I can't imagine driving without it. And I spend alot of time commuting to and from work. Go Radio Margaritaville!!! http://www.radiomargaritaville.com/

[Balbus]

69. XM = Ron & Fez show

Nuf' said.

[Zorra]

71. With XM you get AAR. That was why I decided on XM.

After having XM for a year, I love it.