Does anyone have XM radio? I am thinking of replacing my stock CL stereo with an XM ready system as well as new speakers. Does anyone have XM and if so, whaddya think?

 

I used to have it, only had one rap station so I got rid of it (free trial), its gotten better though, go to circuit city and try it for yourself

 

A friend of mine has it and I enjoy riding in her car because of it. I plan on getting it when I decide which head unit I want to buy that is XM ready.

 

What is the difference between XM & Cirrius? And can we install them in addition to our stock stereo?

 

My understanding is that XM has more geosynchronus satellites than Sirrius. And while Sirrius seems to have more pure commercial free content, XM has more variety, or so I have read. Delphi and Sony have units that can be installed in addition to your existing stereo. The Delphi unit plugs into your cigarette lighter, which in my opinion i kinda cheesy. I'm not sure if it can be hardwired in. The Sony unit can be removed, taken into the house, and used with your home stereo.

All of these systems require a unique antenna that mounts on the roof, and from what I've seen on some cars that have had it installed locally, the antenna wire must have to go under the rear glass, all the more reason to at least get a professional to install it.

 

isn't it like $10/mo? i think i'll just stick to burning my own mixes on cd. besides, i don't drive to and from anywhere far enough to justify paying another monthly bill...

 

Do you know anywhere in the Detroit/Ann Arbor Area that would install the systems?

Let me know what you go with, and how good it is

 

As far as I know on sat. radio, XM is probably the way to go. It's starting to be supported by more makers of HUs and it seems like it's more widely accepted. XM also has 3 sats up in space, while the other I think has either 1 or 2. Doesn't sound like much, but when it comes to getting reception in tunnels, or where you're in a not so great area, XM has a chance of coming through more. I'm not exactly sure on price, but I want to say that XM is cheaper also. Since they have 3 sats, they will also be able to bring you more programs since they have the capacity and they also have more of a chance of not taking a dive due to tech difficulties since there are more sats to take over just in case.

As for installing them in conjunction with the stock stereo, I'm almost positive that both companies sell external units that can be plugged into any radio with an FM modulator (through the antenna jack on the back of the radio, you tune your stereo to a certain station and it picks it up). The only problem with this method is you lose some quality. It sounds like a good radio station. The real way to do it, is to hard wire it in or to replace the stock radio.

I don't have either by the way. Haven't decided if I want to pay for it.

Just my $0.02

 

I agree with sswany. And to add this twist...I heard that the FCC is going to allow broadcasters on a wider scale to use existing satelitte networks (like the semi-useless Iridium sats) to send out their signal. I would guess that companies like Clear Channel would leverage this to dilute their regional broadcasts..."It's INSERT LOCAL TIME here in beautiful INSERT CITY NAME and now we're back to more INSERT TYPE music!" If this moves with the stunning speed of HDTV, then we all have time to decide. I think in the interim, I'm going to get a car kit for my Minidisk player.

P.S.: The only Premium Content on XM is the Playboy channel. How exciting can it be listening to naked women?

 

My friend had XM for awhile then he got a CD player that play MP3.....we dont even listen to XM anymore. We have a bunch of tight MP3 all on one CD.

 

I see... Thanks!

I'll look into it some more...

P.S. I don't understand why anyone would pay extra for the playboy XM channel??? How desperate can you be?

 

haha, listening to naked women doesn't sound like fun to me either, but have you heard about how much people spend on phone sex lines? Maybe it's just like universal phone sex? LOL. As for the FCC thing, from what I've heard, they are now allowing local stations to broadcast digitally. They said that it will increase sound quality in the coming years with new HUs coming out that can take advantage of it, but still won't increase the range, so XM and Sirius still have an advantage if you want to listen to the same thing for a long trip, however, MP3 really will put a strain on that. You can be your own DJ instead of paying someone $10/month to do it for you. The digital radio thing they think will put like the artists' picture on your HU or something like that. I have a feeling it's going to be like internet radio in your car. Doesn't sound that exciting to me. Sounds like more of an opportunity to put more advertisements into our already over-advertised lives.

Sheesh.

 

Yeah, brning CD's is pretty good, and who needs an extra bill?

P.S. I never understood phone sex... anyone here ever do it? I haven't.

 

mrateb...if I have it done, I will go to Radios, Knobs, Speakers and Things in Waterford. From what everyone has told me, they do an excellent job of making all of their installations look factory. No misaligned panels or cracked trim.

I got a Minidisc player with a car kit, so I'm going to give that a whirl until the spring. Then I'll revisit the XM thing.

 

I have XM and I absolutely love it. I have the Alpine in dash TV (cva-1003) and the XM tuner is hidden in the trunk. I installed everything myself and it works great and looks fine. It was really easy to install also and you can paint the antenna too. I paid 130.00 including the activation for a full year’s service. I even got the Playboy Channel. Why did I get that you ask? Because I can! The same reason that I have a Playstation and a DVD player installed in my car. I don't need either of them nor do I ever use the Playstation myself - but I have it because I can. The sound quality is phenomenal and the reception is 100 times better than the clearest regular radio station reception. The lack of commercials is the great! I also DJ too so I am really into music and sound quality. XM gives me all of that. I love it and would recommend it to everyone - in fact - i already do that!

 

DjPharmacy... what's on the Playboy channel?

 

Have you ever seen the "NightCalls" on Playboy tv? It's the same girls i think - its just geared for XM - it's really funny actually - it's like a radio version of a sitcom. The people that call in are freakin hilarious - most of them lack a full set of teeth i think! They say the most fukd up things and act like its no big deal. Quite entertaining when you've had a few drinks already!! It cost an extra 20 bucks for the year to add it to the regular channel lineup - if I can't afford 20 bucks then theres a problem! Also - there are so many channels that I havent even listened to them all nor could i tell you what they are! I have had XM since July too. I was thinking about getting another reciever for my home theatre system for Christmas.

 

I have Sirius in my car. Actually, Sirius has three sats. and XM has only two sats. in orbit. Sirius has 100% commercial free and has better sound quality since it was released later, it has better technology and a broader bandwidth.

 

I DO KNOW THAT IF YOU GET A NEW STEREO IN YOUR CAR IT TAKES ALOT . WIRIN AND EXC... I DONT KNOW TO MUCH BOUT THE XM .BUT THEY HAD TO RUN AN AMP TO THE WHOLE INSIDE DUE TO THE OMS CAUSE IT COMES STOCK WITH BOES..... HOPE IT HELPS


LASLO