Modeler

Personally, I don't like XM. I find that it:

1. Has poor selection of songs that I like. I have to jump channels a lot more than with FM stations. We have several great FM stations in DC area.

2. Related to 1: has good songs spread accross multiple channels. They simply don't have the staff (DJs) to put together good songs selection on a single channel. How hard would it be to have a good "oldies" station instead of one for 60s, one for 70s, one for 80s, etc.! I find myself CONSTANTLY changing channels. :banghead:

2. Has inconsistent tonal quality from one channel to the next (some stations have too much base and too little treble) AND inconsistent volume. I keep making very large adjustments to volume from channel to channel. Combined with having to switch channels frequently to hunt for a decent song, this is extremelly annoying! :banghead:

3. Takes too long to switch from channel to channel.

It does have its advantages, like the ability to see the artist/song name. I've already learned some of the new information about songs I like, but didn't know who wrote them or what they were called. I feel like it would be nice to have XM for those times when FM is in 100% commercials mode (from 25 to 35 and from 55 to 60 minutes of every hour). But I don't feel it's worth more than couple bucks a month.

Anyone else feel the same way?

youngmic

Well, I agree about the song selection. It's not as good as I had hoped. I do think it's worth the extra couple of bucks though.

bradjs

its all personal preference. I havent listened to FM radio more than 5 times since i've gotten XM. and im usually only on 1 XM channel for most of my drives. to me its one of fav things about the car

acuraddict

Those of you who are on this website trying to decided whether or not to get the the TL, please excuse this thread for not providing a reasonable review of XM. Like many other threads, this one is just some guy who needs to complain, but can't take the time to talk about the good things as well. He's just your basic "glass is half empty" type of person. Here are a few cool things about XM...

Most cities have only a few FM radio station that appeal to any given listener. XM has over 70 to choose from, and that vast majority of what is being played on XM is rarely, if ever, heard on FM radio. What is heard on XM is some of the most creative, interesting and eclectic music on the planet, and unlike FM you will hear ALL kinds of music, and songs from the depths of the most critically acclaimed music ever recorded. XM will be commercial free in another two weeks. XM is a digital satellite signal, so regardless of where you go, you will always get the same stations. XM is free for three months, then it only costs $10 per month.

youngmic

OK, I have to agree with acuraddict. I like XM. I should have been more specific in my initial response. I'd like to see a couple more Jazz and Classical stations with more specific focus - i.e 20th century classical.

XM is worth it.

RJC RSX

i love XM, but I have to agree with his first three complaints. btw, radio stations in our area do broadcast the song and artist name, but can only be displayed on some cars

zexi

I love it ... its excellent,some channels have better tonal quality than others though.

jabba9

maybe i'm not as particular as you guys, but the adult comedy channel (151) all by itself is worth the monthly charge...throw in a few music stations (40 & 46), a couple of news channels (124 & 166), and i'm all done

the only qualifier is my location, up in the mountains, out in the sticks...AM/FM reception is not very good

XM is critical to me, wouldn't consider a car without it!

nickpoore

I 2nd the vote for 151...

However, the thing to also consider is that XM works EVERYWHERE. When you take a trip, or go out of town, your favorite channels follow with you.

I agree with the volume problem; the the TL solves that problem with the thumb of my left hand (steering wheel volume control.)

princed

While I don't think XM sucks, I also agree with some of the points raised. I am ALWAYS switching stations as there are no music channels that really keep me in one place. And the quality is not what I'd initially hoped, but I really only notice if I switch directly from a CD or DVD-A.

The diversity of selection you get with XM, though, is amazing. Because there is so much content, it takes some time to filter through everything. You can flip from news to listen to a few brief stand-up routines on 150, and then listen to whatever genre of music you like. I'm hoping that with time and some strategic presets, I'll get to the point that I can flip with ease to what I want.

Formula 350

I agree with the original poster.

I do not think the channels play a good selection of what I would consider popular songs. There will be a few and then a few of what I would call 'bad' songs. I also will switch between a few stations (I think most are not to my taste) and FM. I do not leave Houston much in my car, but that is what CDs are for, or just do a search on the local stations.

For $10 per month, this is a waste of money.

Z Factor

Anyone else feel the same way?

No, I like XM.

Sorry you feel that way. Give it more of a chance, as it might grow on you.

adam209

i have to agree that i'm not too fond of xm but will pay the 10 dollars a month to have the option. it doesn't play the songs i want it to at the right time but i guess that's why i mostly listen to cds though.

Tripp11

Well, if you don't like the selection and you find yourself jumping channels and you have several great FM stations in the DC area, then just use FM and don't renew your XM subscription when your 3 month trial is up.

All of us will agree that we all, in some respects, disagree over one topic or another but I would just not use XM after your free trial if that's the way you feel.

I do agree with some of the posts on here and give it a chance as it offers an eclectic range of music.

RavenHwk

I like XM. Favorit channels are:

8 Eighties.
46 Top Tracks
22 MIX
27 Cinemagic

Also, XM will be commercial free on Feb 1st (for the music channels) which is an added bonus!

Modeler

Sure, I could've provided a more comprehensive review that listed positives, and not only negatives. You did that job for me. But I have to disagree with you on the music selection. "Eclectic music" is not what I'm looking for from a radio station. I'm looking for GOOD MUSIC and that's not what XM deliveres.

Sure, there are good songs that I like tuck away among the songs I've never heard, but there are about 80% of songs that I never heard on any given channel. And I find that I don't like majority of these songs. There's a good reason I haven't heard these songs in the past: most of them are not good. I listen to a lot of music and that's been the case all my life. I've been exposed to all sorts of music from jazz to rap and I like most of it.

What it feels like to me is that they allocate this pool of songs to each XM channel; songs that no DJ has gone through to weed out bad ones. And then they let the computer pick songs out of this pool at random!

Modeler

You COMPLETELY missed my point. I'd LIKE to like XM; it's a great technology and I'm a techno-geek. But XM has to realize that they have to put some effort into improving their songs selection and standardizing sound quality accross channels. As I mentioned above, it feels like computer is just picking songs at random from a big pool of songs that fit some profile. And no one has gone through this list of songs to weed out the crap.

emendez

I have listened to FM once since I bought the car over 1 month ago and after about 5 minutes I coulnd't stand it any more. Radio stations in south Florida have to be near the top of the most repetitive list. I now listen to CDs or XM only.

Is XM perfect? No, but it sure beats the alternative of listening to the crappy FM stations in my area.

Tripp11

Like I said, we agree to disagree. I don't think I missed your point, some people like XM and some don't.

"Improving song selection" - XM provides you with the best song selection available. I know I don't have a diverse CD selection to choose from like XM offers.

"Weed out the crap" - Personally, I don't like it when my local FM stations play the same songs over and over and over and over and over again. Hell, they might as well just eliminate DJ's entirely and just tape an entire day sometime and just play it for a month straight. There's only so many days in a row I can listen to the Top 10 for 10 hours straight.

svtmike

Way to make it personal, acuraddict. Make sure you keep it balanced by ripping the people who have nothing but praise as well. You know, your basic "half of the glass is completely full" type of person.

Mike

VTEC=happiness

I agree...its odd how the quality can vary a bit, but overall its really a great deal

RJC RSX

i definitely think XM is well worth the price, but the varying quality can be annoying and the song selection sometimes just isn't there. as the original poster mentioned, we are spoiled in the dc area with great radio stations, so that's probably the only reason why.

BigBluu

I have to give a thumbs down to XM as well. The sound quality is not quite there, imho. And like the original poster, I find myself switching channels constantly because the variety on them is so wide. My favorite is the Mix, but it just goes across too many decades and genres. And I hate the inconsistent reception. I'll drive through a tunnel and it'll work. But it gets no reception in my garage or on the lower deck of the San Rafael bridge. I'm in the SF Bay Area so I have a lot of radio choices. Plus I listen to a lot of local sports/talk shows, so I don't plan to renew my subscription after the introductory period. Just not worth my $10/mo.

Norse396

My major gripe is the Old TIme Radio play list is repeated too much. That type of radio was out there for decades, seems to me there should be plenty of content, I guess they need to sign more deals or something. Anyway, I like XM but feel much of the content is repeated too much.

dtchung

Hehe, most of those are my favorates as well. I also like 150 Comedy.

I personally like XM myself. I think they should give the radios away for free, like the cell phones. After all, we have to pay for the service...

Has anyone tried Sirius?

Xzinkz

Its ok i guess. I rarely listen to XM , i'm usually listening to my burned cd. The times that i've listened to xm i found the song selections are OK. this is just my opinion.

dtrose

I had Sirius in my BMW 530i and this was a big concern moving to XM when I got the TL. I still (after 1 month with the TL) miss the sound quality of Sirius over XM.

I've still got a Sirius unit in my house which gives me my "Sirius" fix when I need it. I too find that I'm constantly changing the station with XM and did not with Sirius.

casooner90

I drive 35 miles each way to work every day. Listening to same old boring songs on local FM can literally put you to sleep at 5AM. I do listen to audio books (i.e. Coulter, Reilley, etc..), but they get costly and only good for one listen. The XM comedy 150 & 151 has made my drive interesting again and I say that without even having visited other stations yet. I guess $10/mo isn't too bad - for now.


'04 TL/Nav

achadha100

i usually listen to 80's,90's, top 20, espnnews, 81 is great dance mixes i usally on there or cnn headline news

acuraddict

Mike, lighten up. I like to keep the conversation lively, and I want to grab the attention of prospective buyers because I want everyone to experience the pleasure of owning this car.

I really didn't mean to make it personal. Heck, I don't know this guy from Adam, and I assume he's an intelligent guy, but I was a little harsh in my description of him, so I apologize for that.

BUT STILL, I am again frustrated to read the posts of people on this thread. This time its those who say they keep flipping through the stations because they don't like most of the songs. It also irks me that someone went on to say that he doesn't like the songs because he's never heard them before, or the reason he's never heard them before is because they are bad songs. I also disagree about the song selection. I find that they DJs are playing GREAT gems and seldom heard songs that are favorites for people who truly have a deeper appreciation for the content of many records that are out there, but never get exposure. I can't understand how some of you cannot grasp the fact that XM is giving your exposure to music you would otherwise never have heard. THIS IS A FIRST IN THIS OR ANY MEDIUM. Before XM came along, the only way you would be able to expand your musical awareness and education would be by sitting in the living room of a seasoned music lover who actually had the time to play you some of his favorites from his collection. Or maybe if you hung out in a really cool record store where the staff plays cool music throughout the day. Now with XM, you can have these types of experiences whenever you want to. Stuck in traffic? Driving to work? Bored on a Saturday afternoon?

XM is great. Period. If you don't get it, maybe you just have a narrow, instant gratification type of existence wherein you just don't have the patienced for anything that can't grab you from square one. Do you channel surf with your cable TV remote? Short attention span? MTV generation? Who knows?

Norse396

acuraddict,

What do you think about the repeated channels? Discovery, Old Time and even CNN played an older news show more than a few times. Is it that hard to keep content fresh or are contracts to blame?

svtmike

You shouldn't take other people's taste in music so seriously. Just like some people don't get the zen of math, or physics, or painting, some people don't get the zen of music.

There's a wide spectrum of people out there, and for everyone who thinks XM is great there are those who don't think so. That doesn't make either one of you right or wrong, and for the life of me I don't understand why such a thing would anger you or anyone else.

Peace.

Mike

Z Factor

That is for sure. I was trying to dial in a Rock station on 40 or 41 and went just 1 to far and wound up on 42 liquid metal. I just started to crack up listening to it. Song after song was like a person screaming in a deep voice that was unintelligible with drums and guitars blaring at a super fast pace. Now I'm not an old man, but I could believe people actually can listen to that on a regular basis and not go nuts.

But to each their own

Modeler

Here you go again, being a complete a-hole, insulting everyone who doesn't agree with your similarly narrow-minded perception!

I don't need XM to "expand my appreciation of music". I've been exposed to more music than you can imagine and I ALREADY know what I like and don't like. Can you get it through your thick skull that not all people on this board are teenagers who need musical education?

Again, I know what I like and the majority of the songs I hear on XM I DON'T LIKE! It's a matter of personal opinion and it's obviously shared by many other people on this board. They wouldn't be flipping from channel to channel, if they liked most of the songs they heard.

Majorhouse

I have to agree. SoFla radio blows! XM is a cure to the garbage we are subjected to down here. One would think that the FM radio would be pretty good with close to 4 million people in the Greater Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. Sorry to say, IT SUCKS!

:yack:

acuraddict

dulnev, you are too friggin' stupid to waste much more of my time with. My whole point is that XM is great if you can OPEN YOUR MIND, NOT NARROW IT. Your inablility to comprehend what you read is matched by your attitude toward music that you don't like, oh but I forgot, you already know what you like and don't like.

You already know what you like and don't like??? If you're saying that at this stage of your life you are finished with discovery. Finished with open-mindedness.

Are you married? Do you have a girlfriend? Either way, I feel sorry for the woman in your life (if there is one) because you probably never want to do anything she wants to do. You probably say no to anything you haven't already determined you like or don't like. You're a dullard, dulnev. You said it yourself, you're no longer a teenager, so I guess you basically stopped growing and learning and discovering the arts after the age of 20, once you stopped being a teenager.

I get annoyed with idiotic comments, and I respond to them. If you don't like me, fine. Stop writing to me. It doesn't mean I'm going to stop reacting to the stupid factor of reading comments like yours.

edmiller9999

In a nutshell, I won't renew my XM.

The content is okay, but not what I'd do if I have a hundred stations that I could control. The comedy station is downright nasty and I have to constantly keep my son monitored. There is way too much news. And weather? How ridiculous. Do I really need to know what's going on in twenty cities besides mine? The 'decades' stations are particularly bad. I'm a big fan of eighties music, but it seems like the XM guys have selected the absolute worst of the decade.

Also, I've griped in a previous post about the quality of sound. I think they've WAY overcompressed the signal. Sure, they claim it's the most sophisicated in satellite radio, but that really mean that it's better than Sirius.

Just my two cents. If you like it, that's your call. I don't.

shodog

I think XM rocks. I really like the ability to hear almost every genre of music out there. I aslo like the fact that they don't always play the most popular music from that era. it really allows you to hear songs you never heard before.

My favorites are 8,9, 20, 44, 81, 150

The comedy channel alone is worth the ten dollar subscription fee. sometimes I laugh so hard that really I should pull over.

sound quality is hard to pinpoint. I can hear differences between song but you also need to take into account that some songs were never recorded that well anyway.

Jim

Modeler

:thefinger Let me know when you grow up and are ready for a normal conversation.

MikeRadio

You guys that are fighting... weather you like XM is a personal thing...

Some people like FM radio... and there are alot of reasons TO LIKE FM. People that like FM...

1) ...can play with the nav or other features of the car while the 10 minutes of commercials play.

2) ... can always sing along with the short lists of about 8 songs that are repeated over and over

3) ... can go deep into thought trying to figure out how EVERY FM STATION seems to be able to play "THE MOST VARIETY" and "THE MOST MUSIC"

4) ... can have fun making sure the tuning knob is working when they are out of range of a station

I mean to each his own... but damn.. if you have a LOT of radio stations to choose from or just a few... NOTHING beats XM... I really NEVER turn to FM and now that XM has traffic never will for that...

My burned CDs are all great, but no time to burn CDs all the time, and you DO get tired of the SAME collection even if it is big... why do you go to the movies as well as watch videos at home...?

And everyone is entitled to an opinion.. but one or two folsk in this thread said...

"too much variety"

I mean isn't that up there with I have TOO MUCH money in the bank?? How can you have too much of a good thing that you don't get from regular radio!??! Yes, you tune around.. but that is EXCITING.

With FM....

I used to tune around and hear all sorts of different great songs, and stick with the one I liked the best...

THEN I would tune around to try and find my favorite song...

THEN I would try and tune around and find a song I LIKE..

and NOW... You tune around FM and you are LUCKY to find ANY song!


XM brings back that 1st feeling again.. tuning around and hearing something good and wondering if something better is on.. THAT is exciting.... having TOO MUCH to choose from? It's like having to much money!

The thread starter said XM sucks...

...The audio quality might not be the best, but its a hella lot better than FM....

... The selection is better than anything else you can get.. the DJs know what they are talking about... and as a subscriber for awhile they seem to ALWAYS improve and even make channel changes...

.. you can get it anyplace

So even in its WORST form, I do not know how anyone can say this SUCKS compared to what is out there....

Oh.. I am sorry this post is so long too.. I guess it has "too much variety"