I want to take the plunge and install satellite radio in my car. I have an 02 Accord (I know, not an Acura, but close enough). Anyway, I know that XM and Sirius both have different offerings. Which do you prefer? Can you give any specific reasons for it? Thanks for any help!

 

view the tons of other related threads by using the search tool.

 

Wow, thanks for the killer advice! I definitely haven't been around long enough to know how to SEARCH for things.

I was hoping for some updated information, since the services have been in an uproar over the past year or so. But really, thanks for your kind attempt to help me.

 

I just got Sirius a month and a half ago and I really like it. I listen to mostly rap and for rap music Sirius is much better than XM IMO.
I have friends who have both and they seem to also prefer Sirius also.

What type of music do you listen to?

 

my brother has xm, and i got sirius about 3 weeks ago....I think its better all the way around

 

I really listen to everything... I like a good mix of classic rock, blues, some country (if I'm in a cryin' mood), alternative/punk, some older R&B and rap. I don't like much contemporary R&B/rap/pop music, but some of it is good. I guess it really depends on what kind of mood I'm in, because I can appreciate just about all types of music. One thing I don't like too much is talk radio (i.e. shock jocks, news, weather, sports, etc). I have heard that one of the services (or both?) has a comedy/stand-up channel, and I would definitely listen to that.

What are the significant differences in programming between the two? I've heard that Sirius is gaining headway because of its NFL package, but I don't care about that at all...

 

sirius > xm


in my experience, xm seems more pop/top 40 kind of stuff. sirius has better variety, larger playlists, better talk/sports, and a lot of cool live events. the hip hop shows broadcast from nyc are great.

 

Sirius

 

sirius

 

wait a little bit though, sirius will start having some good deals from what I hear (Free units maybe)

 

^ why do you say that?

 

XM. I could care less about Stern and I like the programming on XM better. I did a 3 day trial of Sirius and wasn't impressed. Also, XM has MLB and every single game will be aired, which I really like.

IRC, both XM and Sirius from time to time offer free trials in which you can listen from your computer. Try them out and see which programming you prefer.

 

You can listen to Sirius online for free 3 day trials.

I heard that Sirius is more raw/uncensored while XM is more commercial. So figure out what you're looking for. I prefer the raw uncensored stuff more, but then again since I listen to rap, it gets censored a lot more than most music.

Also, I heard that XM raised there price to 12.95, just like Sirius. When I was shopping for Satellite radio then I almost went with XM, because of the cheaper price. But since they cost the same now, I would have went with Sirius no questions asked. Sirius has NBA, NFL, and Stern. Unless you're a big MLB fan, you seem to get so much more with Sirius

 

I just signed up with Sirius a few days ago. I love the music programming, and listened to their online trial for three weeks (some mixup, my trial didn't expire).

I find the sound-quality to be alarming, but I understand picky psuedo-audiophile types have the same complaints about XM. I not 100% sure on this, but I get the impression that Sirius can switch bandwidth between channels easier than XM can. Reviews I've come across gave me the belief that Sirius has some of the best-sounding channels, and some of the worst, in terms of compression--while XM tends to exhibit similar levels of compression across all their channels.

 

Getting good info on this subject (xm vs sirius SQ) has been difficult, and if anybody knows more specifics, please don't hesitate to correct me.

 

Seriously, do you think you'd use this? Just from our conversation about asking you if you wanted me to hook up your Ipod to your car, you said no, that you aren't in your car enough.

 

things i've read on various boards, people keep saying wait a few months and some godo deals will be comming through

 

XM because that's what comes with my TSX...

 

I have both Sirius and XM. Which programming is best depends on what the individual prefers.

As far as sound quality, it is not close in my opinion. Many of the Sirius channels are unlistenable to me. By far the worst are channels, such as news, that are primarily talk. There is a very gritty and restricted bandwith sound that I can not tolerate. It is worse than the worst AM radio I have ever heard. There are some opportunities to make A/B comparisons, such as on public radio, between Sirius and terrestrial FM. The difference is HUGE.

The same gritty quality exists, to a lesser extent on some of the music channels.

I was surprised, after getting my TSX, with integral XM, that there is such a large difference in quality, as I did not have the impression from looking around various boards. I find the XM quality just fine on all channels.

 

So you have factory XM, what kind of Sirius receiver do you have and how is it hooked up to the system?

I listen to mostly the music channels, rap mostly, how does the quality of those compare on XM vs. Sirius?

This is very interested because I know about 2 or 3 people that have both XM & Sirius and your the first person that I've heard that said that you like the XM better. I have Sirius myself, and I think it sounds great, but then again I have a lot of mods to my car stereo setup. I'm wondering if Sirius would sound bad on a system that isn't as modded as mine is.

 

Are you saying that your stereo upgrades have made a compressed signal sound better? The way I see it, the better the quality of your system the more likely you are to notice the difference between a CD and an overly compressed stream.

I'm sure the problems with satellite radio are less noticeable with stock stereos--but it's music lovers that are most likely to have good systems and subscribe to satellite. I would think that we (people who like car stereos enough to talk about it on the internet) are a big part of the target market for these two companies.

 

[QUOTE=Tsx536]So you have factory XM, what kind of Sirius receiver do you have and how is it hooked up to the system?

I listen to mostly the music channels, rap mostly, how does the quality of those compare on XM vs. Sirius?

I can't comment on the rap channels as I don't listen to them.

My Sirius system is a Ford Mach system with a Kenwood EZ500 HU and a Kenwood KTC-SR902 Sirius tuner feeding it directly.

It is not a great system but I think it is good enough to compare FM/CD to Sirius.

The factory TSX system is quite a bit better.

 

[QUOTE=PWguy] For a second there I though you said you listened to rap. I was like, holy shit, a 55 year old listening to rap


Oh, and sirius > xm

Sirius will have Stern. 'nuff said.

 

listen to them both all day long at work.. sirius all the way in terms of programming for my tastes. ( classic rock, Jazz, talk radio, and new age rock) In terms of sq xm has a bit of an edge over sirius on some stations, but, what does sq matter when it's playing crap?

 

But it's purely-defined crap! : )

I understand that Sirius uses some dynamic bandwidth system and different channels have different SQ depending on the bandwidth used. This is why Sirius will be able to offer video sooner than XM.

 

Well I think that having upgraded headunits/amps gives you more flexibility and control over the sound than just having a stock radio alone. You can compensate a little by tweaking certain EQ settings, gains, volume levels etc. For example, I use a different EQ setting on my Pioneer N1 for Mp3 discs/Sirius than I do when I listen to regular CDS.
With the TSX OEM deck I basically only have 2 settings, treble and bass. I'm not saying my system can work miracles, but I do feel like it has helped me tune the sound of the satellite radio to my liking more than just my OEM deck would have.

I think my positive experiences with Sirius is also a result of the stations I listen to. I really only listen to rap/r&b and 001 (Top 40). These probably aren't as compressed as many of the other stations. Some of the complaints I've heard is about the talk radio. I"ll have to listen to those too and see how they sound.

Actually, with Sirius or XM becoming factory standard with many of todays new cars, I think there a lot of people who have satellite radio with their stock systems. I'm not sure that we are as big of a part of the target market, as we were when Satellite radio was first introduced. A lot of the XM/Sirius units nowadays have integrated FM modulation. Even though the sound isn't very good it's really easy to install. This shows that they are also trying to target the non-audiophiles. No true audiophile would stand for FM modulation

 

Bump... Anybody else have satellite radio impressions to share?