XM Versus Sirius

m not a cat guy (never have been, never will be). Dogs rule… Related Content:How Not to get Fired for BloggingHow to Draw PeopleDraw or Draw NotHow to Draw CartoonsLockergnome Comic StripRock the VoteI’m on The Far SideAMD Cares About BloggersXM Versus Sirius

I have been able to listen to Sirius radio for free, since I am a Dish Network subscriber. I must say they have a lot of music genre channels to choose from. After listening to some of the channels regularly, I have been thinking of purchasing the service so I could listen to it in my car as well.

From the you heard it hear first department…
I spent quite a bit of time looking at both providers before eventually deciding on Sirius. Both providers have their competitive advantages; however, I believe Sirius will end up dominating the market.
First, they have three of the four major sports leagues. Sure XM wrapped up MLB but I don't think it is enough of a category killer to shift subscribers from Sirius.
Second, ALL Sirius content is covered under the subscription price unlike XM which charges add'l dollars for premium services.
Third, Sirius will revolutionize the portable handheld sat radio end of things. Sure XM came to market first but Sirius will trump this by fielding a device that will do more than just receive satellite radio.
Forurth, Sirius music channels sound better than XM. There is a tradeoff though, their voice channels are not as clear as one would like them to be but still listenable.
In the end Sirius will win. Hopefully XM will remain around though to give Sirius a good run for their money. Nothing keeps companies innovating like competition.
ocomik

I travel a lot, and rented several cars with XM. I loved it. I considered getting satellite after experiencing how great it is, and was about to pick XM over Sirius simply because I was more familiar with it, and knew there were at least a couple stations I really liked a lot (most notably a station mysteriously called “Fred”).
Then I tried the free 3-Day Pass that Sirius has, allowing you to listen on-line. (Actually, I got the free 7-Day pass they had as a limited-time promotion, but it's a 3-Day pass now). You don't get to hear the talk channels, but you get to hear all the music channels.
Sirius won me over.
XM had a few stations I thought I'd listen to, but Sirius has many stations I find myself switching between. And I didn't like XM's tendancy to give stations cryptic names like “Fred” and “Ethel” or “Chrome” or “Watercolor” leaving you to guess what they are. If I mention a radio station called “The Fish,” how long would it take you to figure out that I'm talking about a religious station?
Now I have Sirius, and I think it's great. Commercial-free radio is amazing. And the ability to listen to Sirius on-line is included with your subscription, so I can listen at work, too. (While XM's monthly subscription fee is less than Sirius, this feature – the ability to listen on-line – costs extra for XM, which makes the XM subscription fee higher than Sirius' for equal features).

I bought Sirius stock a mounth ago and already I have doubled my money. 400,000,000 shares traded today alone! I think sirius will win. Why, You ask, because they have Howard.

From the various comments about Sirius and XM I was considering Sirius… untill the last one…. I don't care how good the technology there's no way I'd give any money to a company supporting howard.

It's no competition for us geeks, Xm has the better tech. the Myfi is the first portable satellite player. If you have a first quality home system, polk makes a great home component . More car companies are including Xm in their cars (Big one is toyota next year), so this opens the future for the company.
Opie and Anthony (O&A) on Xm are the better “Shock Jocks” they talk about geek stuff (as well as the other “shocking” stuff).
The playlist on Xm are not as limited to Sirius 4 hour blocks. In other words a long trip of 8 hours you may hear the same songs repeating.
Xm is much more gooder

howard stern is not a shock jock, he will move to sirrus to have freedom of speech, if u listened to howard u would know he is a lot deeper than he is given credit for, howard moving to sirius will bring a flood of talent to sat radio, it will grow and take off like wildfire after he moves. sat radio is the future, and my money is on sirius over xm.

Howard is a lot more than a Shock jock, a complaining Shock jock is what he is. O&A rule (and any of the other anoying crap people say)

I was lucky enough to have friends and family who had one or the other, so I got a chance to listen to both. At first, Sirius looked like the obvious choice, since they had a great lineup of music channels, and Air America and NPR to soothe my savage liberal beast. But once I found out XM had a channel devoted entirely to my first musical love, movie soundtracks (Cinemagic 27), I was hooked. My choice was made, and since I live near DC, I can get several NPR stations, and Air America is sometimes aired on XM's lefty channel. It's also a DC company, so I can feel like I'm supporting the local economy :).
Highlights of my experience with XM:
-Interview with Brad Bird (director of “The Incredibles” and “Iron Giant”)
-Springsteen's concert series this fall
-Classic rap/hip-hop (I've never heard the Geto Boys played outside of a CD)
-A 24-hour DC-area traffic and weather channel
Lowlights:
-Some channels (including Cinemagic) have repeating playlists (however, the DJs listen to comments and suggestions via email or phone, which is nice)
-Almost too many channels, classic rock for instance
-Only (spotty) college and MLB coverage

Stern rules.

My brother has XM (for O&A), i listened to the other stations to see if id be interested in getting an add on account. I gave them a chance to win me over but they failed. The only good thing about XM is the price. But, if you like to listen to all the unknown tracks of artists you barely know or pay an additional $2.99 for semi decent O&A (ive never once heard them talk about anything geek related. Its mainly them trying to convince fat trucker bitches to get naked and rub a phone on their privates, wow thats very entertaining radio.)
Sirius on the other hand has their act together. Subscription is a bit more than XM but well worth it. Besides having Channel names where you can tell what genre is played, they also play decent music. Mainstream and even the not so popular music. Online feature is geat as well. Sirius is definitely the best bet this holiday season and even afterwards. They have their act together and I cant even imagine what they'll release next.
I also wanted to mention you shouldnt take anyones opinion into consideration when they actually use a made up word, gooder? XM is not “gooder” than Sirius. Thats public school for you though.

Howard Stern can go to hell..ooppss already is. The main reason I bought XM is because Stern is on Sirius and it's my freedom of choice. Like voting for our current President. XM also has NASCAR which I didn't see with Sirius. Really it's up to the progamming I guess so XM to me is “GOODER”. If you realize that the person who wrote that was kidding around then maybe you'd lighten up.
What I'd really like to know is what engineering aspects people have noticed about the two camps. A plus I see for Sirius is different manufactures. Kind of like IBM/clones versus Apple. The more vendors available, better models and lower cost factors arise. I personally like the Blaupunkt America model and it comes with the car kit.

O&A well the A part Anthony, actually plays Half Life 2, GTA/SA, and all the best games and he actually knows his shit (another words he actually plays it).
Stern cries like a diva for his IBM guy to plus in the speakers.

Stern sucks. All he does is hire stripers. XM has better talk stations anyway.

Sirius is the better choice if you like freedom of speech and better reception.
Why?
1 – Having Stern in the future will insure Sirius attracts free speech friendly content.
2 – Sirius has 3 satellites orbiting, which allows you to receive it from Mexico to Canada (Full coverage). XM has 2 satellites, which means you need a view of the southern sky.
PS – I'm NOT a Stern fan, but a free speech advocate.
Put your money on Sirius to win, XM to place ;)

Sirius Radio has IssuesI have had a Sirius Radio for over 2 years now, and I have 3 radios on my account. And just over the past 2 months I have had a lot of problems with Sirius's Customer Service, I was a faithful subscriber and thought there was nothing better than Sirius, but now having all of these customer service issues, I feel as though maybe XM is the way to go…Sirius overcharged me 135.00 dollars when 2 weeks before I had called them 3 times to tell them there was something wrong with my account, and told them what it was…and They didn't fix it until after I was overcharged…now my account was messed up again today, somehow my plan's were changed around…from a semi annual to a monthly….I think that Sirius has a lot of Customer Service Revamps to go through before being the superior Satellite Radio Provider…Content can only go so far…

Sirius stations are free on DISH Network so I've had a chance to listen to a few over the past several months. If I were to pay for radio, I would choose Sirius over XM for one reason:
Sirius has Richard Blade, Swedish Egil and Freddie Snakeskin on their First Wave station playing my favorite classic alternative music from the 80's. Listening to First Wave takes me back to the days when I used to listen to KROQ.
I'm not willing to pay for sat radio at the moment so I will continue listening to First Wave at home via DISH and while in the car, I will stick with my Treo 600 streaming my own private Shoutcast stream of
KJQ-FM Classic Alternative.
When they finally combine Sirius + iPod they will have an attractive offer that I may not be able to pass on.

my cou

XM is so much better. I had Sirius for 3 months. Too repetitious and the playlists are tiny like FM radio. XM is better reception, sound, and playlists. I can't believe anyone wound consider Sirius better for musical content. Plus XM have O&A. I feel sorry for Stern signing up with the pathetic satellite service.

Bottom line: if we are just talking about music content, Sirius is the best choice. I personally could do without the sports channels altogether (Nascar channel? Are you f&@#ing kidding me?). Sirius simply approaches the music channels with a more eclectic audience in mind. But if you like to listen to people talking about people driving in circles around a track, then go for XM. Seriously though, if you listened to Nirvana when they were popular, then XM is for you, if you would've rather listened to the Jesus Lizard or the Vaselines at that time, then Sirius is your winner.

i thought o&a only talked about girls and sex, and they did when they first came to xm. I tried listening to them when they first came to xm and it was terrible but then they were taken off of the premium station and i tried again. something must have happened in that 2 months because i now consider them to be the best thing on radio. i once considered myself a loyal howard fan but not anymore, he is old news. opie and anthony are on a whole new level. i'd listen to todays o&a over todays howard any day

i thought o&a only talked about girls and sex, and they did when they first came to xm. I tried listening to them when they first came to xm and it was terrible but then they were taken off of the premium station and i tried again. something must have happened in that 2 months because i now consider them to be the best thing on radio. i once considered myself a loyal howard fan but not anymore, he is old news. opie and anthony are on a whole new level. i'd listen to todays o&a over todays howard any day

XM now offers the on-line service for free to regular paid subscribers .

A friend of mine recently got XM to put in his over the road truck.He likes the “Open Raod” channel.I asked him how he liked it and he said he loved it.Truthfully,They both make claims about who they have and who the other doesn't have.It's all about what you want to hear.Personal preferences.XM changed recently.They now let subscribers listen online for free,have only one premium channel (Playboy),and they dedicate channels to each major city for their traffic channels unlike Sirius who partners two cities on one.If you are in Atlanta,you don't desire to hear about Boston and so on.The other big thing about the XM Vs.Sirius thing is the price.I just got an XM Roady 2 at Wal-Mart for $49.The cheapest Sirius unit I saw was $100.The XM unit came with everything from mounts to the antenna to the power cord and all in one unit.It even has a built in FM transmitter in case you don't have a cassette player or direct audio hookup as I suspect some of the Sirius units do.Main thing is this…..It's up to what you want to listen to and where it's at as well as how much you are willing to pay for the gear.After that,they are about the same.In fact,look at their channel listings and see how many channels on there that they both have(CNN,ESPNradio,etc.)Me?I think I'll go with the XM unit I just got.If I later don't like it,I'll find someone to sell it to and get Sirius.Besides,I can listen to my fave MLB teams and NASCAR on XM.Go Ryan!#12 is the Rocket. – K.

I think XM has the edge in 90% of the things that matter. I bought an XM 2 Go about 3 months ago and couldn't be happer. My friend has Sirius and once we heard XM and went channel surfing he sold his sirius to his brother and got on the XM bandwagon.
More Subscribers = More attractive for advertisers (on the channels that do have advertising) which in turn will pull more content XM'x way. Those other sports that Sirius has took a gamble and I am sure they will switch as soon as their respective contracts allow. Stern is a non-issue.

I think XM has the edge in 90% of the things that matter. I bought an XM 2 Go about 3 months ago and couldn't be happier. My friend has Sirius (he was pushed into it at BestBuy) and once he heard XM and went channel surfing he sold his sirius to his brother and got on the XM bandwagon.
More Subscribers = More attractive for advertisers (on the channels that do have advertising) which in turn will pull more content XM'x way. Those other sports that Sirius has took a gamble going with them and I am sure they will switch as soon as their respective contracts allow. Stern is a non-issue, he might spike the subscriber base for a while but I don't think it will matter in the end. Quality always rules! GO XM!~!

Obviously sirius is the way to go, who cares about Howard, he's a great asset sure, but whatever, if ya don't wanna hear Howard, its not a reason to deny yourself the exceptional sirius experience, XM and their broadcasting of the music as a compressed file, as compare to sirius broadcasting as an actual full fledged song. Sirius and their 3 satelites provide better coverage. and with the online player, sirius had it since the start, it was only after XM realized that it would attract customers that they added theirs. and nascar, well nascar is gone to sirius the end of next year. the partners two cities on one, and sirius still has the same if not more channels then XM, that says something there don't ya think? all the sirius plug and plays have built in fm transmittors, and there are radios for 49.00 some people making posts here really aren't informed

Ok,
I've read everyone's opinion here one who is better and who is not. I'm a DISH Network subscriber, so I have a sampling of Sirius' programming channels. I've liked what I've heard thus far from Sirius. The channel line-up, to me, looks to be stronger on the Sirius-side of the camp, and several above claim that Sirius has the edge on technology with better sound.
That said, XM is clearly dominating of the two mediums. XM is everywhere, and endorsed by far more product. XM subscriber base is (from last statistics I've seen) over triple the Sirius subscriber base. Whereas Sirius is posting revenue increases compared to some of XM's loss the last quarter, can that be attributed to re-vamping of thier systems to improve quality? I feel that XM would definately win the attrition war given the clear dominance in subscriber-base over Sirius.
I think back to my childhood, and I can't help but think of another product debate. VHS vs. Beta. Sony's BetaMax was the be-all-end-all product in regards to picture quality and features, and VHS was clearly the underdog in technology. However, VHS quickly took the numbers control of the market (why? I don't know, like I said it was my childhood), and fewer and fewer Beta content options where becoming available. Eventually VHS won, and BetaMax was no more.
XM vs. Sirius, VHS vs. BetaMax; which way do I go?
I live in the Chicagoland area, and my favorite Hard Rock Alternative radio station, 94.7 The Zone, just abruptly changed programming formats at noon on Monday, Sept 26. The final song was Metallica's “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, then they switched to this adfomercial about Chicago radio, and the classic oldies rock roots it has. BLAM! Here come the 60's Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds, etc. Everytime a good hard-rock station is on the airwaves in Chicago, some corporate suit decides that they can make more ad sales revenue by switching to classic oldies rock. 95.5 WMET, 106.7 Z-Rock, 103.5 The Blaze, 96.7 Will Rock, and now 94.7 The Zone. I'm tired of format changes, and at 12:05 yesterday I decided that I am going to take control of my airwaves, and subscribe to satellite (and no longer be subject to what some suit thinks will sell more ads).
Sorry, I'll get off my Chicago radio soapbox.
To me, it's a numbers game. When I look at the numbers, XM is definately in the lead. Will Sirius go the way of BetaMax, and we'll end up with a useless hunk of hardware? Or will Sirius co-exist peacefully with XM, like DISH Network co-exists with DirectTV? Are both likely to remain on the air, and the choice is really up to the user to pick what they want in satellite radio?
Though, personally, I may find it hard to subscribe to a company that endorses and supports Martha Stewart (i.e. Sirius). :/
MD

Si®ius has a contract with the NFL® for 7 years, I sometimes miss some of my favorite games because of work, I drive a lot.

Sirius has a contract with NASCA® as well, Im not a NASCA® fan, but I do know they have a pretty big following and loyal customers.

Howard Stern… Im not going to boycott a satelite provider because they have a relationship with Howard. I would not have given up Di®ecTV which I Purchased soley for the NFL® Sunday Ticket just because they had other programming that made me uneasy. Si®ius hands down has the better programming and Im not going to miss out on it because I don't like a small percentage of their other programming. That's is just plain stupid. Besides, I actually like listening to H®wa®d, I cannot wait to hear the change in the show once it is uncensored on sattelite radio. I will also like to hear the other channels that will come with him.

Analysts still view the company as a riskier investment than XM~ because of the large debt and smaller subscription base, but I like it when analysts term something risky. I bet those analysts do not listen to sattelite radio and do not know the true potential of sirius. Fact is when they term it risky it makes the stock unattractive driving the price down until it is undervalued, that is when I buy and ride the rollercoaster back up to the top. Chi Ching. Im Looking to buy before year end 2005 hoping it will keep dropping until christmas.

Si®ius will be able to increase its subscription rate substantially because of H®wa®d Ste®n alone. Howard has a listener base of 20 million, and even if only a small percentage buy into Si®ius, it will cause the subscription base to rival, if not surpass, XM~s

Subscriber revenue is the asset Si®us will need to break even (they currently file a loss) and really make the stock rise making me money. Im confident with superior programming and the market for real talk and NFL® Programming Si®ius will eventually dominate the market place and gain more listeners.

BTW wtf is shock? I do not view Howard as shock, I view him as real. Real people talk about whatever the F^@% they want to, just turns out real talk radio and left wing type programming can take advantage of this and that is what I want to hear, raw programming, uncut, uncensored, bangin.
SIRIUS ROX

Howard Stern Sucks A$$. Opie and Anthony feat. Jim Norton is way better. Hell even Ron and Fez is better than Stern. The High Voltage station XM 202 is the best. Real talk about real issues and funny.

Oh what to do, what to do? XM has Air America but Sirius has Howard. And they're both essential listening.
Does anyone know if cars set up with one system can be converted to the other if you change your mind? Have just ordered a new car with Sirius solely because of Howard. But just realized today that means no Air America.

I am a die hard Howard Stern fan. I have been planning to get Sirius for the last year, but decided to get XM because of the Delphi MyFi. Sirius recently released the S50, which I considered buying, but it doesn't allow, “live” programming, which is a joke! Besides, I really need the portability. I got a MyFi new for $159.00 and I signed up for a two-year plan at a reduced rate, because another family member already has the service.
In two years, IÂ’ll re-evaluate the technology and if Sirius has a product similar to the MyFi, I'll definitely switch to hear Stern.

One more comment(I'm the Anon of the last message)
I like Left of Center(Sirius) better than XMU(XM), but I like FRED(XM) better than 1stWave(Sirius). I also like “Lucy” on XM.
I listened to the Music of Fred more than what they play on 1st wave..
If I had to make the decision over again, I may have opted for XM… but I've already got Sirius now.
I understand CM has a new $50 rebate without requiring a 6 month purchase. My wife wants a portable unit, and I've seen the XM2go complete kit for $189 with a $50 rebate… if the rebate goes with the Roady would be free after rebate.. not bad to try something month to month… However I doubt I would switch due to my inventment in Sirius and , and the NFL stuff.

I know the reader from Oct 5 is probably long gone, but Air America is on Sirius ch 125.
Moving on. I knew in the back of my mind that I would one day order Sirius the day Howard made his announcement, but didn't want to spend the money too early on first gen equipment, so I waited until last week to get the Sportster Replay. I also enjoy sports programming.. I pay for MLB GameDay Audio and NASCAR Trackpass, but wanted something similar for NHL and NFL. Sirius filled in the blanks quite well. Finally, I have two DVRs at home and have wanted instant replay for radio for years, and now I have it! I'm a little upset about NASCAR coming in 2007 as the customer service rep said 2006. It would also be nice if I could save the few bucks a month on the MLB.com audio package, but I don't get the feeling MLB is leaving XM anytime soon.
Other than that, the only content I really miss on Sirius is WCBS 880 New York. I travel a lot on business, and it helps me stay connected when I'm feeling a little homesick. I grew up on that station, and really enjoy their mix of programming (just PLEASE lose the Yankees!)

XM is a far better choice. I listened to Sirius is a friend's car and remembered why I chose XM. First off is the original pioneers of satellite radio talk, Opie & Anthony (and Ron & Fez) on XM 202. Stern isn't original anymore (Woo hoo, tell 'em Fred), just copying off of XM's success. Second is that XM has a more diversified content platform. I never get bored with what's on. XM no longer offers paid channels since High Voltage went to the regular side and the Playboy channel has been taken off. Now that Directv carries XM (the larger satellite tv co), they have even a larger base of listeners. And XM Canada is launching soon. With Canada, XM is adding Canadian and French language channels. And there's also my MyFi. I can record some of my favorite shows like O&A, R&F, and music so I can listen on a flight. Also XM is on AirTran and more airlines to come. Do you know any radio execs that will talk to the listeners? Eric Logan (aka E-Lo) talks to both O&A and listeners on air. How about that Sirius?

I own both because I like certain talk stations on Sirius. XM music quality sounds better and Sirius appears to be far more compressed. Neither is CD quality, but Sirius' sound inferiority when listening to music is so obvious that it surprises me that Sirius hasn't failed in the market as I would imagine most people listen to music. Nevertheless, there is a very nice station on Sirius called Chill. The most aggravating thing about Sirius is all the talking over the songs, the self promoting call outs and celebrity gossip on the “Hits” stations – that is outrageous. In this respect, XM is much more original and Sirius is more like FM radio without comercials. Now if you want talk then you need to compare content wise.

Tough call… I initially chose Sirius for what appeared to a music channel lineup that was more favorable to my tastes, NFL Radio and a higher Satellite orbit(better signal)
However, IÂ’m not quite sure anymore. There are a several things about Sirius that bother me.
- DJ Talk over the beginning and ending of the musicÂ… which is very irritating. They also tend to talk too much.
- Business Sense… When Sirius agreed to pay Howard Stern 100 million/year, XM said “sounds like a great deal for Mr. Stern�. Howard will attract more users than he drives away, they paid him too much. This is a gamble that they’ll close the gap in XM subscription numbers, but at what cost?
- While Sirius has NFL Radio(all NFL talk), your choice is NFL TALK or ESPN RADIO. XM offers three sports talk radio channels.
- From what I hear on direcTV, I feel that I like XMÂ’s music selection.
- The portable playersÂ… Sirius has lots of bells and whistles but no antenna, and an uneeded color display at a much higher costs. This is OK if you have a lower end model as well, but the XM2GO can be had for $79 after rebate, why pay $300 and have it your only option?
- XMÂ’s Sonic Theater is appealing to my wife an I.
- ACC Sports.
Pros to Sirius, I like the name and Dog emblem. NFL radio and timing of certain talk programs. The position Satellites(for better reception.. but at the cost of more repeaters).
Speaking of Repeaters, I believe this is why Sirius chose not to include an antenna in the mobile device. The satellite antennas in the mobile units are poor at BEST.. XM2GO is really only usable with live radio if youÂ’re in a location with repeaters. Since XM has 10 times more repeaters than Sirius(1000 vs 100), youÂ’re more likely to be able to actually use the antenna. Read the XM2GO reviews.. people in the city love the reception, people in the burbs and country complain

I am a great fan of classic, 40's and 50's country music. XM has a station called Hank's Place and Sirius has Roadhouse. Both are supposed to play this type music. XM does. Roadhouse does not. The difference is that the definition of classic to Sirius is a current release that they think will be classic in 20-30 years. In fact, Sirius has another station called Prime Country and it is supposed to play 80's and 90's music. The songs, for the most part are older and more “classic” on Prime Country than they are on Roadhouse. So…if you are looking for old time country XM is your only choice.

content, stern, sports, handhelds, first to market they are both so close neither has a clear advantage. Let the numbers speak for themselves. Sirius will eventually dominate.
NEW YORK, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI – News) today announced that it captured 56% of satellite radio sales at retail in September, the highest monthly share to date for the satellite radio broadcaster, according to figures released by The NPD Group.

You can't count out Stern. Not because he is Howard but the way the Sirius and Howard Stern marketing machines are marketing his move to Sirius. It will make those who can't decide and won't take the time to research it reach the conclusion Sirius is it. I agree with the last poster, Sirius will will on marketing alone.

You would think XM is the way to go: experience, more money better stock price. I am changing all three cars from XM to Sirius. I may or may not listen to Stern, but I do listen to sports and music and they are not only cheaper, but more pleasent to deal with on the phone. Customer service is nearly a vintage concept with many coorporations (such as XM and Cox Communications). But Sirius remembers who makes a business strong, customers. For xmas, I am getting Sirius in all three cars and will add the house too. Thanks Sirius.

faggot

I'm shopping for sat radio. Howard Stern ? No way. Let's not support social pollution. I'll go with XM.

I was a previous owner of both systems and I have completely made the switch to Sirius.
First off, I got tired of XM nerfing my favorite channels and replacing them with empty channels. XM may claim they have more channels than Sirius but nearly all of their sports channels (27 MLB channels, the various college conference channels) are offline 20 hours out of a day and they play the following annoying message “The programming for this channel has not started yet”.
Why should I pay to have my favorite channels being relegated to internet only and be given empty programming. Also, Sirius truly covers College Sports, unlike XM. Sirius has 10 – 15 college football games covered every weekend… XM has their ACC game of the week or whatever… I'd rather have the larger selection of games to choose from.
XM's tendency to eliminate non-mainstream channels has become highly annoying. They remove XM Liquid Metal (Very hard rock) and made it internet only. The removed Special X which was the channel for non mainstream items like William Shatner sings, Leonard Nemoy sings Christmas Carols, Wesley Willis, etc… I believe Special X is now internet only. The also cancelled Discovery Radio, Playboy Radio and replaced them with Golf and Tennis channels.
It just seemed that XM was becoming this SAFE radio medium… which is the same as terrestial radio. I enjoyed XM at first because I could hear genres of music that I can't hear otherwise, but they continually kill risky or experimental channels.
Sirius has all of those experimental channels and they even have multiple channels of the most popular genres of music. Not to mention, they have more celebrity power in my opinion… it seems that everyone has a show on Sirius… Lance Armstrong, Phil Jackson, Bam Margera, Tony Hawk, Jason Ellis, Jimmy Buffet, Eminem, Martha Stewart, Howard Stern, Jim Breuer, Marky Ramone, Dave Mirra, Bode Miller, and Kelly Slater. These are just the host that I'm aware of, they are always having guest hosts in the studio… Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, Rolling Stones, etc.
On a side note, Sirius has reunited the original MTV VJ's from the 80s and they DJ the Big 80s station… Nina Blackwood, Martha Quinn, Mark Goodman, and Alan Hunter.
Sirius has also made a large investment in Radio Drama as seen on Cinematic Radio for Oscar winning filmakers, Charlie Kaufman, Joel and Ethan Coen to create 2 “made for radio” plays starring the likes of John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Meryl Streep, Marcia Gay Hardin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Hope Davis, and John Slattery.
For me, I want to support a medium that is seizing the moment and opportunity to air cutting edge, experimental and risky programming that I can't hear anywhere else… so Sirius radio was the obvious choice.
For those who want to pay for terrestrial radio, go buy your XM radio. Also, I could care less about the “technology” behind XM vs Sirius. I bought my Sprint cell phone because they are one of two carriers with “next generation” technology… and you know what, it freaking sucks. Unless I'm in a major city, I dont get a signal.. yet my friends with Billy Bob's cellular phone service continue to get a signal in the middle of bumblef*ck. So don't come at me with that lame “technology” argument.

anyone have suggestions on receivers? i mainly want to use it in the car and work. should i purchase a plug-and-play unit, or should i go with a portable unit? any suggestions on units for either one? thanks.

The only way to justify sirius is if you must have howard, they obviously can not match xm prices having to pay all that money to howard.

I activated my sirius radio last night and listened on my drive to work today. I really liked the Raw Comedy channel. I do not know if XM has that feature. The music was pretty good and sports was decent. I bought the radio, like about 2.5 million others, because of Howard. I have a feeling that it will be a major war between XM and Sirius, overpaying talent with, of course, us idiots paying the price in the end…and like sports, we will keep paying the price and bitching about it…
I did notice the reception wasn't that great this afternoon. I was driving right up the middle of Ohio, are there areas that the reception isn't so good? Also, is there a chance the reception is dependent on the weather? And lastly, can I expect some periods of the day that there is a “load” of users and could get poor reception?

2 cents
I've used both, I find XM has a much stronger signal, I can get a usable signal INSIDE the house, through walls and roof, and I live in the woods(the north is clear, the south is heavily forested). I HAVE to mount Sirius outside to get a signal, and even then it fluxuates with the satellites orbit. XM would give you better coverage in most situations… unless very close to the north side of a large hill/mountain. I would have bet money that the higher satellite angle would be the best solution, but this is not the case. The weaker Sirius signal is possibly related to the higher orbit and moving satellites. (and no, I do NOT have a repeater in my area)
I feel that XM sounds a little better, has more available channels(they don't get prempted for sports). The channel to channel time is also more responsive(less lag time between channels). I would say that XM easily has the better technology.
HOWEVER, I feel that Sirius has MUCH better programing. I see just as much repetition with XM, and since most of their channels are automated, there is less personality.
I feel that Sirius offers much better options for Rock being the stuff you know or Indie rock. XM may have deep playlists, but their stations are too diverse. There are channels on Sirius I can stay on all day, I'm always jumping around on XM, and most of what I DO find on XM is stuff I hear on FM.
One problem with Sirius is that their only mobile option is the S50, and I can get three MYFIs for the price of an S50 and a Dock. I wish they had more affordable solutions.
The perfect system would be Sirius programming on XM technology but that's not what we have. Since you're probably getting Satellite radio for the programming rather than mobility(or you would be looking at IPODS), I would have to recommend Sirius.
If I were to keep only one.. it would have to be Sirius.

As for reception areas, I've seen a link somewhere that shows the Sirius Satellite orbits. They're at a higher angle, but they MOVE. The orbit looks like a big bowling pin, which loops over manitoba and circles all the way down to south america for the base. The orbit is FAST around the base, but they slow down over the US so that at least two of the sattelites are OVER the us as one time(similar orbit to Russian Spy Satellites). If you live in Manitoba or North Dakota, they would be directly overhead… but to get to the loop, they must fly up from the SE US and out through the SW.
In other words, there are times during the day that you have one over North Dakota and the other over Arizona. At another time it will be over Georgia and Manitoba. What does this mean? It means that reception will always vary based on the satellites location. Where you got spotty coverage one day, you may get great coverage the next, and visa versa.
The signal also appears weaker than XM. I had expected a that I would get poor XM coverage at my home due to a poor view of the south sky, However I can get a decent singal IN a north room of the house shooting through the walls/attic and roof. I can't get a signal on Sirius in the house at all, despite a window with an open view to the north sky, I had to mount the sirius antenna outside.

XM is going down, and it's all because of howard.

HOWARD STERN SUCKS….?
People! If you don't like Howard, then don't keep ranting about him. Don't listen to him.
It's so funny though…so many people claim to hate him, but you know what? You know you all still listen just to hear what he'll say next.
Anyway…Sirius clearly seems to be the dominant force in satellite radio according to the news reports and public opinion. Sirius.com has also just recently made it into the top 1000 most visited websites on the Internet. It's floating between 800-900th place. XM is around 1300-something.
HOWARD MADE SIRIUS WHAT IT IS. Thank you Howard.
We love you!

OK, I've had both services long enough to argue a couple myths and offer my review of both.
Myth #1: Sirius repeats music, but XM has deeper play lists:
It's of my opinion that XM repeats just as much if not more. I keep hearing the same songs on XM, sure some are more abscure, but I keep hearing the same songs.
Myth #2: Sirius has better coverage due to a higher sattelite orbit
OK, so the orbits are at a higher angle, and yes, Sirius does offer a larger footprint, however the XM Signal is much stronger. I frequent roads with lots of trees, on Sirius, I get lots of drop outs, on XM I have yet to get a dropout. For fun, I put my MX2GO on the dash witht he built in Antenna, and it doesn't drop out much more than Sirius. XM also has a stronger signal indoors. Reception is much better with XM.
Myth 3: XM plays less “FM” style music.
Actually, I find that XM plays mostly FM type music, sure they'll go a deeper with Fred and Ethel, but in gerneral, MIX is your general Rock Station, Ethel is your new rock, Lucy plays the hits you've heard a million times over the last 15-20 years. However, Sirius is really not much better, I just feel that they offere more of a selection of channels.
Review:
XM Strenghts: I like the coverage and the equipment. The XM2GO can be had for $130 with a $50 rebate, that's $80 for a portable radio with home and car kits, antenna, the whole works.
For sports, I like the ACC coverage and the fact that they have three sports talk radio channels. They have Three Comedy channels. I like Sonic Theater and my friend loves Cinemagic. Quick station to station time(as long as the channels are close together). Good repeater Coverage, I don't have one in my area, but I've kept an eye on the Antenna Aiming and seen several across town, even in the suburbs. More available channels. I think it sounds a little better than Sirius. Sports scores/stock ticker(though is available on some Sirius)
XM Weakenesses: I don't like their Rock selection, however my wife loves it. I feel like I'm paying for FM radio without comercials. Unsigned is no longer unsigned, it's the Canadian Rock, you hear songs by the Tragicly Hip and Our Lady Peace, these guys are hardly unsigned, The Hip has been around since the 80's, they have 10 albums and havn't had a release since 2002, Our Lady Peace has 7 releases and have had many hits in the US. XMU is too eclectic for my taste, they need to leave the hip hop to the hip hop channels and much of their stuff, I feel is better suited to “the loft” or “XM Cafe”. There is not enough good Indie stuff and what they do play isn't the stuff I like. XM also has more comercials than Sirius on the Comedy Channels, etc. They'll run three in a row. Sirius usually runs just one. XM plays way too many station identifiers and too many of the stations have an automated feal.. with little DJ input which takes away from the personality. Station to Station time can lag if you jump from say… 46 to 165. XM Kids is a mirror of Disney Radio, aimed at preteens.. what's the point? How you change channels(on XM2GO, some on guys, an up/down channels button would have been nice)
Sirius Strengths:
I find their Left of Center Channel superb, I could listen to this station ONLY and it would be worth the subscription. The Rock Channels are similar to XM, but you have more variety of choices. It's especially deep for Classic Rock. They have NFL, NBA and soon Nascar. NPR is good. Kids Stuff is surpisingly good for what it is, it's great for Younger kids, they play the Wiggles, Trout fishing in America(quite a clever kids band.. fun for adults and kids) and Schoolhouse rock, Muppets and misc Toddler songs.. no pop tunes whatsoever, and that's GOOD. DJ's are good and add character to the channels. Fewer Station ID's and comercials. More Personality.
Sirus Weaknesses: Poor Signal/reception compared to XM, much fewer repeaters. Equipment(more later), DJ's sometimes talk over music. Fewer available stations mean that some are prempted for sporting events. Sound seems a little worse tha XM overall. I could do without channels dedicated to Rolling Stones/Springstein/Elvis and Buffet. Would like a scrolling sports/stock ticker. Poor afforable mobile equipment(the S50 is neat, but it's $300 and $100 for the Home Dock. For $400, after rebates, you could buy 5 XM2go units.. OK, you only get the rebate on the first 4)
Conclusion: XM's service/technology is better, but I prefer Sirius for the Content, so much so that I would choose to live with the limitations.. it's the content that we're paying for, and overall, I'm not nearly as impressed with XM. If you DO prefer the XM content, then you can have your cake and eat it too. If you're like me and prefer Sirius, you have little choice but to deal with it… and hopefully they'll come out with better options down the road. If your on the fence, and don't have any channel preferences, personalities(stern) or sports(NFL).. Go with XM.
FYI: Both my wife and I have XM2gos and I have a Sirius Sportser. At this point, I'm returning my XM2GO and sticking with Sirius. My wife will probably stick with XM.

I am so sick of people saying sirius is better just because of howard stern. has it occured to you stern worshipers that this is a GIMMICK?! sirius needed a break, and so they signed stern. have you noticed that the world does not revolve around stern? look at what the equipment costs, then add the subscription costs, and then see what youre paying for a guy who does nothing but rant about his personal problems that he finds commonalities with political events. No, i dont like him, and no, i dont keep listening to hear what he says next. stern is a fad; he'll be old news soon
having subscribed to xm for almost three years, i think i have the right to defend it. xm has 2 satellites, yes, but geosynchronous orbit satellites give you an advantage over sirius: constant strength. sirius's birds fly in a pattern like the russian spy sats did during the cold war. as a result, your signal is spotty in a service that claims to be perfect at any given location in america.
the bottom line, sirius started too late. xm has more subscribers than sirius at the current time (go checki msnbc if you dont believe me). it doesnt matter if sirius has stern. their programming is terrible (yes ive listened, and was not impressed a bit), the signal strength is terrible (i get perfect xm inside, and my dorm is a concrete building), and just because they 'got stern' is no reason for people to bury xm. if i hear another person say sirius is better cuz they got stern, i swear im gonna hit them. (and i mean say to my face, so you stern disciples come find me).
sirius sucks. stern sucks. xm is prevailing. siruis's days are numbered.
oh and by the way. i only pay 10 bux a month for my subscription, compared to sirius's 13. know how? cant tell you. but i can say that it has something to do with my using xm for a long time.
sayonara sirius

From wut im seeing no body really no's which is the better, but they throw in there 2 cents in the mix. So Im not saying which is better cause i don't no. Please, learn from my example and emit when you don't no. This not directed to any 1 in specific but to every 1.
Thank you.

who cares who has what (or who). 99%of people find 1 station that plays the good stuff and stay there barring the odd jaunt to their sports play by play…………..cost, service, quality. if you don't like howard stern oh well listen to xm or don't listen to him better yet send an e-mail to sirius if theres enough protest he goes away, wait isn't there better things to worry about howard stern, like gettin good country tunes with out a load of junk in the middle. yea ha

A previous post stated that XM has only two satellites, but they actually have three. The third was launched Feb 28, 2005 and is named Rhythm which coincides with the first two, Rock & Roll.

ACTUALLY, the company I work for does business with XM and, working in the finance department, its my job to keep an eye on them and keep tabs on their revenues and financial strength.
XM is getting a run for their money because of Howard Stern. Many business analysts have written about the topic. It will probably pass once the fans that are going to convert do so but for the time being Sirius is definatley giving them a run for their money because of Stern.
My personal opinion, if you're against buying a radio because of one guy and one station, I think you're an idiot.
Obviously if the man has such a strong fan base he can actually affect the financial stability of a company and sell out sirius equipment for the holiday season he diserves credit where credits due.
I have sirius, I think its great. I can't compare to XM because I've only had Sirius.

I've looked at both services, and decided on Sirius. One reason and one reason only-The National Football League (WHAT-NOT HOWARD?) That's it! 24/7 NFL talk is definitely cool, and I'm amazed at the on-air talent and interviews they get. The rest of the programming is fairly equal I think. If I were a diehard baseball fan, XM would do it for me. Either way, sat radio is a great new technology and I hope it keeps growing.

I felt a need to chime in here. I have had Sirius for about a year and a half. I did a lot of research into both XM and Sirius before buying, mainly because I thought I was an XM guy and I was confronted with a great deal on Sirius. I had friends who were very big into XM and they had me sold on it. It turns out that I was simply sold on the idea of satellite radio.
I was driven to get satellite radio when my favorite independent radio station was bought by a larger company and the programming was changed to the typical rock sound, with a few good tracks mixed in. (Thankfully the original still broadcasts online, though. woxy.com, check it out!)
Well, I was shopping for alternative music, mainly, and additional content after that. Left Of Center blew away XM's closest competition. On top of that they had Alt Nation. Classic rock also came out ahead for Sirius. Sirius, though, has been collecting legends of rock and roll broadcasting to DJ their stations. This is a genius move! I can't get enough of listening to Pat St. John. Comparing talk channels seemed to be about the same when I got into satellite, and sports went to Sirius, despite my passion for Baseball, which towers over all other sports in my world. It was just not enough to win me over. I have not had any regrets. In fact, those two friends that used to be big XM supporters made the switch to Sirius, and it was without my sales pitch.
Bottom line, XM is partly owned by Clear Channel, the evil giants of radio that are homogenizing music and suppressing actual talent in favor of pitch-corrected kiddie pop. I don't trust them to bring good music to the four Clear Channel music stations in my market, so why would I pay money to hear the same stuff? More than half of the XM music channels are a waste and unlistenable. I find that almost every Sirius music channel plays something I like, and with great variety. I have heard of a good number of former XM subscribers that have fled to Sirius after hearing a friend's radio. If you are in high school, XM will suit you fine. If you have more refined tastes in music, go with Sirius.
I don't want to bash XM. After all, there was a time when I was in love with them. My eyes were opened to greater possibilites, though, when I really looked into the differences between the two companies. Take the time to really choose, if you have not already. I think most people will find that Sirius comes out leaps and bounds ahead.
Oh, and I've never had any trouble with my reception. I read people saying that Sirius gets weak reception, but I have driven from one side of the country to the other with my lone companion being my Sirius receiver, and it never once failed me in any part of the country.

i had xm , the channel i lisen to (music lab) seem to constantly play the band phish, i like phish, but i love the dead , and they get ignored on that station , hopefuly “jam on ” provides a “dead frendly” selection , sure play the phish …. but who built this house?

Hey
All i want to say Is XM is shit ….i had it for 3 months and its the worst thing in the world…..Sirius has a wider variety of music,talk,sports and comedy…….
the music is second to none…….it plays my favorite songs from ever genre ……..talk u have howard ( Duh ) Bubba the love sponge …..Now Playboy& maxim …..and u have the comdey Ch. …….and hey if ur gay they even have the gay and lesbian ch….Sports Sirius got u coverd they have great sport coverage ……..Now what does Xm have OaA wow 2 half ass knock offs of howard stern …….Doenst seem that hard of a choice
Sirius is the way to go !!!!!!!

First of all XM has the better technology, period. They won top awards at this years CES, and their portable technology keeps getting better and better. Truly portable, not like the dock and record versions sold by Sirius who shadily claim portability and forget to mention that their units are not live unless docked.
Financially Sirius, despite its recent addition of 2 million subscribers, is really lagging. This might have something to do with, oh maybe paying an elderly washed up man $100 million dollars a year. They were recently panned by Barons, being one of the most important and most respected financial magazines in the world.
Howard is a non issue. His show has done nothing new since his arrival at Sirius, and he is still complaining about censorship. Wah Wah as Artie would say. Rolling Stone depicted him as virtually a non-entity. If you listen to XM's O&A you will see that they are bombarded by calls every day of people who were once Howard fans, until they heard O&A. As Howard's show continues to ride off into the sunset, those looking to subscribe to sattelite radio for the uncensored live comedy of so called “shock jocks” will be moving to XM. That is the end of the “Howard Factor”
As for other programming, each has its own positives and negatives. Here is where you make your decision. Balance it out, but don't waste your money on a Stern bill just because you are used to him. Check your other options.
On a personal note, I do not currently own either radio. I download my talk radio daily and listen to it on a mp3 player. However, when I did own a Sirius, I found that the reception in my car was terrible. The signal was constantly going in and out, and I live in Philadelphia! A friend of mine, who has had factory installed XM in his car for years has never had signal problems.

Sirius is much better than XM. XM is fighting a losing battle and the funny thing is they just don't get it. I just heard today they they decided to hire Ophrah Winfrey after Sirius has added Martha Stewart and Howard Stern. Can you say XM IS BORING! Honestly there programming reminds me of being stuck in a elevator forced to listen to elevator music all day. On top of that Ophrah's salary 3year 55 mil is pretty much the same as Howards 5 year 100 million deal equal to 20 mill/year. I truly doubt Ophrah will be able to influence subscriber addition as Howard has. O&A is better than Howard Stern, thats like saying a knock off cd player is better than a Sony. I don't think XM's technology is that much better than Sirius especially if WSI is using Sirius technology for Aviational communication. No doubt, Sirius is just plain BETTER!

I had the opportunity to explore both XM and Sirius before buying – I listen to XM at work, and at first it seemed like the natural choice (especially since my CRV was preconfigured for it). But when I had an opportunity to compare the programming and give Sirius a try, Sirius won out no contest – I feel like the music channels on XM are more broad and generic than those on Sirius – and the talent paired with the music seems better. (example: a predominantly music station appealing towards action sports fans with regular shows by Tony Hawk, Lance Armstrong, etc… it seems like there's a channel on Sirius that's tailored for everyone.) Furthermore, I thought that the talk content (aside from howard who I'm not interested in) was much edgier – everything you expect (CNN, etc.) and more that you wouldn't – npr, international public radio, and my favorite – CourtTV.
I think that Sirius is finally gaining significant ground and moving in on XM. But hey, they'll probably merge sooner or later anyway :)

Switching from Sirius to XM-
I’ve had Sirius for a month and after being totally thrilled with the idea of a Dance/Techno/Elec etc channel I was hooked. Alt Nation is cool, and I love the NFL, but I listen to electric more than anything and I'm in the car for a good part of the day.
Anyways, after a month Sirius seem to be playing the same stuff over and over again. Yeah, the weekends are cool coming from the clubs, DJ's and what not, but the weekdays kinda suck now. I think request are awesome and after reading the reviews XM doesn’t really offer that (I've only trialed XM online), but if it’s a lot of request during the day on a Dance/Elec channel most people request the same stuff. I've heard “Rocket in the Sky” about 6-8 times in the course of 18hrs. I dunno I just like more of a mix, but since Dance/Elec is less common in the US, most of the time having request don’t really seem to be the right idea. Also, I've heard on two to three occasions users calling up and saying, “Well I wanted to hear this song by this guy but you don’t have it in your database, so let me hear this!” Only heard this pertaining to Area 33 (Sirius) channel.
After listening to XM for free online, the Trance/Dance/Elec channel, The System, is WAY better than Area 33. Kinda sux that I got Sirius. My headunit is XM ready and my Mom wants Sirius for NPR, so I guess I'm doing the switch. I believe Sirius may have better programs, but I never really gave them a chance and nor would I. I got Sat Radio for the techno stuff…
So, if you like Trance/Techno/Elec get XM. If you like Drum & Bass get Sirius.
As for the Howard thing, I’ve listened to him for a LONG time here and my girlfriend likes him, but I really don’t listen to it like I planned before I got Sirius. I’ve heard O&A too, not enough to say one is better than the other. For me, when Stern was on terrestrial radio with limits and pushing/breaking those limits, that’s what made listening a bit more appealing.
But no censorship can be fricking funny as well.
Bottom line terrestrial radio BLOWS in comparison music wise. Either one is worth it on that alone.

xm rules , shit dick!

I had Sirius for close to a year and service wise, was very happy with it. I couldn't go back to my FM/AM dial after all the great programming. While visting a Best Buy a few months ago I wandered back to the XM/Sirius section to check out new recivers. I was shocked by XM's quaility of product v.s. Sirius. Sirius units were HUGE in compairison. After going home and checking out some reviews, I dropped my Sirius for a far superior XM product. I'm so happy I made the jump. XM's equiptment makes my old Sirius unit look like a boat anchor. That thing was garbage. Not only that, I've found the programming to be much better. Sirius seemed to play A LOT of the radio hits over and over again.. It seems very commercial radio'ish (In that payola/cram it down your throat sort of way). XM by leaps and bounds is the way to go!

Please just let it be known that O&A wouldn't be around without Howard. They are obsessed with him. I have had XM for awhile, and I use to listen to O&A almost everyday. But then they just kept talking about Howard so much, like they couldn't stop thinking about him, and it is true (regardless of what anyone thinks) that they constantly rip off Howard's old bits. They've made a career out of it. They can still be funny at times, but they are just a cheap imitation.

hahaha
XM already has commercial music stations
hahahah
game over, man.

The real debate should be with the car companies deceiding which service “I” should have. Yes, I am not obligated to “sign” up with XM (or Sirius) but why should I have to deal with navigating around the cars built in XM radio controls?
What would it be like if our radios had only one channel? I think the auto manufacturers should stop taking XM money for placement in their cars and let the consumer have the option (of course pay for it too.)

Well that I agree with. Most car companies have preinstalled a system, and refuse to put in the other. Daimler-Chrysler subsidiaries are installing Sirius as a package option, whereas European and Asian manufacturers are including XM. Personally I prefer XM, and I prefer Asian/European cars, so it doesn't affect m. However, friends of mine like their Jeeps and Chevys and don't want Sirius in their car. However, their manufactrers refuse to install XM because it's not in their contract. I wish that we had such an option.

Well that I agree with. Most car companies have preinstalled a system, and refuse to put in the other. Daimler-Chrysler subsidiaries are installing Sirius as a package option, whereas European and Asian manufacturers are including XM. Personally I prefer XM, and I prefer Asian/European cars, so it doesn't affect me. However, friends of mine like their Jeeps and Chevys and don't want Sirius in their car. However, their manufactrers refuse to install XM because it's not in their contract. I wish that we had such an option.

I for one am so FRUSTRATED with Sirius I want the world to know. I purchased a Starmate a coupld of days ago from Sirius.com. The unit worked for a grand total of 5 minutes in my home so I installed it in my car (this unit touts portability which was why I purchased it). It proceeded to NOT WORK AT ALL (continuously said “Acquiring Signal,” and after countless (okay FOUR) phone calls to Sirius yesterday (they did not know what to do to helpo me accept tell me to ship the antenna back, then the computer system went down, the next product specialist barely spoke English – you see my frustration yet?). I slept on the problem and sent an email to see if I could get satidfaction that way. They proceeded to give me the basics (dont I have a case history??) and then after two more emails provided an address to send the unit back (they responded to me as Melissa – NOT MY NAME). I thought perhaps I should call them today to make sure they knew the unti was coming and the 24/7 number is unavailable because I did not call during business hours (8 am to 10 pm). I called at noon. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHY I SHOULD CONTINUE TO USE SIRIUS OTHER THAN THAT I MISS HOWARD!!!??!!

ok seriously, if you think about it i tried them both. XM i will admite has alot to it that makes life so easy. One would be the fact that they have a huge supply of diffrent units to choose from. You can find everything you need. Where sirius is still collecting and if you went threw wut i did you buy a nice sirius ready deck and when you go to buy the reciever you find out you got 4 months to wait for that to come out?
To the person the said O&A was on the same time as howard they certainly where not. Howard has always been on in the morning. And o&A in the afternoon. I know this for a fact because they both where on the same channel. I loved them both because i love a good laugh when listening to the radio. But the sad fact is O&A would steal alot of stuff from howard. But when it comes to buy one or the other service for O&A or stern…. why is this a hard choice? I would love to have both but i cant. And i am sure as hell not gonna subscribe to XM and have to pay extra to listen to the reason why i would get XM in the first place. Where with sirius and buying for stern you not only get that ( and everything else under one cost.. the only add on channel is playboy radio and its free to add on it is just your choice is you want it) But howard has 2 friggen channels. and with enough shows to make you not feel like they are just repating the same thing over and over again but also give you a chance to catch a show you missed over the week is wonderful. Then you add in great people like bubba the love sponge i am in love with my sirius….

ok seriously, if you think about it i tried them both. XM i will admite has alot to it that makes life so easy. One would be the fact that they have a huge supply of diffrent units to choose from. You can find everything you need. Where sirius is still collecting and if you went threw wut i did you buy a nice sirius ready deck and when you go to buy the reciever you find out you got 4 months to wait for that to come out?
To the person the said O&A was on the same time as howard they certainly where not. Howard has always been on in the morning. And o&A in the afternoon. I know this for a fact because they both where on the same channel. I loved them both because i love a good laugh when listening to the radio. But the sad fact is O&A would steal alot of stuff from howard. But when it comes to buy one or the other service for O&A or stern…. why is this a hard choice? I would love to have both but i cant. And i am sure as hell not gonna subscribe to XM and have to pay extra to listen to the reason why i would get XM in the first place. Where with sirius and buying for stern you not only get that ( and everything else under one cost.. the only add on channel is playboy radio and its free to add on it is just your choice is you want it) But howard has 2 friggen channels. and with enough shows to make you not feel like they are just repating the same thing over and over again but also give you a chance to catch a show you missed over the week is wonderful. Then you add in great people like bubba the love sponge i am in love with my sirius….

yes i have acaully and i had no problems, i first did get someone that barely spoke english but i simply asked to speak with someone else and i was put threw right away to someone that speaks perfect english. They where able to help me with installing and activating and i have had no issues…. I only have had 2 sirius issues… one came from buying a deck at best buy… i asked for one that was ready to get going really fast and i bought one, installed it, and find out that i had to wait till april to buy a reciver ( i called sirius about it and they gave me a free month for in troubles) and the other one was the placement of the reciver. The hook up wire to the anttena is a pain in the ass, its very picky, and if you get the thing installed at best buy they put the thing on the roof, run it threw your winshield and put in on your panengerside on the floor. Near the top there… the issue is if the person sitting there puts presure on it where it connects you get a “att error” and you have to switch sorce on your deck and your all set again. I complain to sirius about this fact to and they told me was to fix that and another free month :D … so i love them and i am way happy with my choice

XM re-shuffles its lineups far too often. Now one of the most interesting stations on XM, Music Lab, is being discontinued. They do this all the time. Very frustrating; be warned!

Both XM & Sirius have impressive variety. But the QUALITY of the variety is better at Sirius. I had both for 6 month. After I cancelled XM, they continued billing me as a subscrber for another 2 months! They said my service was RE-activted the same day I cancelled! After arguing for 10 minutes they RE-canceled my subscripion & creditted my closed acount. I'll NEVER go back to XM!
The one thing I liked better on XM is “FRED” (80'S alternative).
It has a bigger library than Sirius “1st Wave”.

Wow. You guys sure are hostile over this stuff. Personally, I hope they both stay competitive so niether one has a monopoly on the market – like one poster said “They'll probably just merge anyway.”
That being said here are a few responses to posts I've read here and thoughts from a Sirius customer (I've never had XM but listen to it here and there on DirecTV.)
—SOUND QUALITY—
I'm not an expert or audiophile, so to speak, and suspect the majority of Sirius/XM consumers aren't either. I haven't had any problems with the sound. I've got a nice big stereo hooked up to my S50's home dock and it sounds fine to me. Does a CD sound better? Of course. But the sound quality is good enough for me to enjoy. XM may be better. But I probably wouldn't notice the difference.
—RECEPTION—
In my car – Have had zero problems in my car receiving a Sirius signal except when I'm stuck at one particular 8-lane underpass everyday on my way home (XM users: Does XM pick up in those situations?).
At home – I don't live in a big city. nor do I live in the “backwoods.” When I first hooked up my home dock it worked fine. Then when night came I did get spotty reception. To remedy this I traced the DirecTV wires to hook the antenna up outside and haven't had any drops since. This wasn't a problem for me because the routing was already there and it only took about 30 minutes to do. However, that might be a problem for some who don't want to deal with all that. From what I understand, XM doesn't have that problem
—CONTENT—
I listen to a LOT of different music (most of all jam bands, so the “Jam On” channel is great for me). Sirius covers all my moods and I'd guess XM would probably do the same.
I love the talk and entertainment options Sirius has to offer: Howard Stern (more on that later), Bubba the Love Sponge, Raw Dog Comedy, Blue Collar Comedy, Sirius Talk Left, Sirius Talk Right (which my lady listens to, go figure!), and all the usual suspects.
As far as sports go: I don't care too much about games and races on the radio because all my sports teams are local (TN Titans, Nashville Predators, etc.) and I can watch them on TV – although I do enjoy the NFL chanel from time to time. All NASCAR races are broadcast on tv so that's not a problem. If sports on radio are a big deal to you then check out the Sirius/XM websites and decide which sports you care about more and if that will be a deciding factor in your choice.
—HOWARD STERN/MARTHA STEWART vs. O&A/OPRAH WINFREY—
…STERN…I actually had never heard Stern before his move to Sirius so I can't contrast and compare for old-school Stern fans. But so far the show has been amazing. I'm usually in my car for the better part of the day so I usually get to hear the whole show. The “four hour” morning show usually last about 5 to 5 1/2 hours plus the 1 hour “Wrap-up Show.” If you feel Stern is for “lowlifes and bottom feeders” there's probably not much I can do to change your mind. I can assure you that I'm niether, but people will believe what they want.
…STEWART…I don't listen to the Martha Stewart channel and wouldn't notice if they took it off the air tomorrow. I have heard that her daughter – Alexis Stewart – has a mid-day show that people are calling the female Howard Stern show, which is kind of surprising for the Martha Stewart Channel. Other than that: If I find a need to learn the proper way to cut flowers or prepare a cake I'll tune in.
…OPIE & ANTHONY…
I have never heard an O&A show so I really can't comment on them.
…OPRAH…
I feel the same about Oprah's channel (Coming in August – I think) as I do about Martha's. I do have to say though to people considering buying XM for Oprah: Although there will be an Oprah themed channel, she will only be on once a week, for 30 minutes, 39 weeks a year.
———FINAL CONCLUSION———-
If you are looking into this for music: Both services offer a free online trial. Try both and decide for yourself.
If your looking because of sports, talk radio, etc.: Check out the websites of both and see which has the best programming.
Which ever one you pick is going to be better than sorry ass “terrestrial radio.”

yeah, xm signal gets sort of spotty when stopped under a bridge. I've never had it actually go out before…its all about antenna placement. Line of sight and stuff like that. When you get it aftermarket, just tell the you want the antenna here, or there, so you can at least have a chance of it never cutting.

Someone mentioned 'terrestrial radio'…. What's that ? (ha!)
I've enjoyed satellite radio so much that I forgot
terrestrial radio still exists. Remembering all the countless commercials & lame music formats, I really appreciate
satellite. As someone else mentioned “Which ever one you
choose, it'll be better than terrestrial radio.”- FOR SURE!

In 2 years Sirius will overtake XM. Sirius has the better programming (Sports & Stern).

Sirius wins because of Stern's reputation, close attention to their music programming, NFL, and NPR.
XM wins because of market penetration, MLB, better hardware and and stronger business model.
I own both.
I tend to favor some of the Sirius programming, but own stock in XM.

i am pretty sure sirius is the winner now, because xm had to give up their exclusive right to O&A and they acaully put them back on regular radio… lol.. just think for all those people that not only paid for xm but the extra like 2 bucks a month to only get 2 hours of their show uncencored now because they are doing 3 hours free on regular radio…. the crowd goes wild for sirius… 1.9.06 baby

you might not have to now but i know for a fact you used to have too, O&A's channel was like 1 or 2 bucks extra a month, they prolly went free seeing no one would pay that

Love him or hate him Howard PAYS THE BILL$$$$ AND EARNS HIS MONEY!!!!
Every MORON who can’t do simple math thinks Sirius over paid Howard. Furthermore many of these same people feel Howard is screwed or over with because he can “only� attract a couple million people to his new “station� What they forget is that these people are willing to pay $13 a month. Let’s run some numbers shall we.
Before Howard signed with Sirius their subscription base was about 650,000 it has now (04/06) topped 4,000,000. For the sake of argument let’s say Howard only attracted 1,000,000 of those subscriptions (his original contract target) @ $13 a month that equals $13,000,000 x 12 months = $156,000,000 a year! Subtract the $100,000,000 a year Howard is paid to host his show and program his two 24/7 Sirius stations and you have a $56,000,000 profit for Sirius (per year). Over the life of his 5 year contract Sirius stands to earn $280,000,000 in profits and that’s if he only generated and held 1 million subscribers. I don’t think it is unreasonable to say Howard has easily doubled that number in his first three months and it is still growing ($560,000,000 profit for Sirius in 5 years). Howard has so thoroughly exceeded Sirius expectations that recently he was allowed to sell some of his stock options early (as per his Sirius contract).
As for the Howard vs O&A controversy I’ll let Opie himself clue you in as to their value to XM
“And he's got pressure that we don't. If we fail, XM goes on. If he fails, Sirius goes with him.”
Ny Daily News January 26, 2006 http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/385778p-327365c.html
Simple math proves Howard is far from failing!

I think you're all a bunch of fuckers for having such a childish argument. Especially the exchange about GSM vs. analog and the movie soundtracks, and the elevator music..do you realize how stupid you all sound? And look at you! You're all hiding behind anonymous tags! You don''t have the balls to say who you are! You're all a bunch of pussies!

If what you seek is R&B, XM is the only way to go.
I had Sirius for 14 agonizing days, and was miserable. Living in Seattle, there is no R&B. Last night I got my XM receiver and today was blissfull.
Sirius plays a handful of the same songs over and over and over again, until you want to rip the unit off the dashboard. I got my refund from them tonight and I will never look back.

Picked up XM about 3 months after they went live. Been happy ever since. Particularly since XM has MLB and the World Cup. Would like to see some more traditional Christian music like EWTN. Although the lifetime subscription to Sirius almost won me over.

We went with XM last year and were pretty happy with the content and no screaming car commericals like you get on local radio. Recently XM has started putting commercials on some of their music channels. I guess the 100% commercial free music advertising was a lie. Here we come Sirius.

Siruis is way better than XM! I already have a subscription to Sirius, and just bought a GMC vehicle. I can’t wait to switch it to Sirius, XM is horrible! I can’t even figure out what kind of music each channel has because they have silly names. It’s like they stopped trying to name their channels and just picked words out of a hat. And music channels that you pay for that have commercials, give me break. Siruis’ subscriber base is growing exponentially, and will continue to do so through this year. XM reduces it’s subscriber target every quarter, you tell me which company thinks they’re doing better. Sirius will be the clear winner!

I writing this in the hopes that someone at XM is listening: If XM weren’t factory installed in my car there would be no way I would subscribe. The “rock music” category has about 10 stations and the music is completely BAD. I suppose they save money by playing terrible music — is it cheaper or do they just have no taste at all???

The MUSIC IS BAD.

Get a grip, XM, stop paying 100s of millions for 20 minutes of programming a week by silly people and just buy some good records. So simple. The music they play, for hours and hours on end, is unknown for a reason, worthless, and gives me a headache.

Ok,
i have had xm for almost 2yrs. My dad has sirius and xm. Well he had sirius. I kinda liked a few of the stations on sirius but over all they sucked. the sound quality is mono. And this is coming out of an alpine tuner unit not an fm modulator. he has since switched to xm on all his vehicles. i am overly satisfied with xm radio. Im not real big on talk shows so as far as howard and o&a go well they can do just that. i am a music lover and the selection on xm is impecable.

had xm for 3 yrs.disappointed they play commercials on 4 stations i like.tired of stern,o&a are are different,love jim norton,but can hear them for free,only 2 1/2 hrs unsensored on xm.love football,listened to sirus for 3 days,i like it,and i dont seem to change stations as much.will probably switch to sirus.

[...] The dealership gave us one sweet deal on “last year’s” model (2006). The only thing that’s missing is an audio-in jack for my portable media players. The stereo does MP3s and WMAs and DVD audio, though – on top of XM satellite radio. I pick it up on Wednesday, so I hope to have a video experience tour uploaded for you later this week. [...]

XM will contiinue to bill you even after you cancel your service. I recently learned teh hard way about the scam that XM uses to keep getting your money. They called me for 3 months, and claimed that they never had anything on record for calls, asking if I wanted to keep my service. 3 months later I recieve a bill from collections stating that I owe money. I tried calling the customer service department but they refused to assist and actually hung up on me. I spoke with 4 representatives and finally a supervisor who refused to provide any remedy for the service. My goal is to ensure 10,000 people know about my experience with XM so that I can ensure no one else gets the shaft from this customer service lacking organization. There stance is that the customer is always wrong unless they have it in their notes, even when someone hangs up on you!

Charlotte, NC

Siruis has fewer portable media gadgets available. However I tended to like their range of programming. That was until they hired Stern. With all due respect to Mr. Stern, his speech is not for me. Thus I’m exercising my free speech, by voting with my dollar. If he has enough supporters to make his show financially feasible without me (which I’m sure he does) then his speech will continue. That whats great about America, and free speech. On the other hand, I encourage anyone else with sentiments similar to my own, to exercise their voice, and signup on xm. Boycotting is not censorship, it is just the cruel reality of a capitalist based form of democracy. Boycotting is free speech.

First of all, I have had experience with both XM, and Sirius..It seems that this debate will go on forever, (I.E. Ford, VS. Chevy.) I work construction, and I need a unit that can withstand alot of weather..(dirt, water, etc..) I researched both companies whole-heartedly, and decided there were more options with XM..I didn’t get the chance to hear either XM or Sirius before purchasing XM. With saying that, most of you would think that I had second thoughts about my choice..WRONG!! I love XM…sure sometimes the music get repetitive, but it is that way always when you are listening to music! Someone is picking the songs for you, and you don’t have an input. XM holds up in the worst conditions..My coworker had Sirius, and I was amazed at the lack of technology. It had a suction cup that was about 4 inches in diameter..I had never seen anything like it! I was amazed to say the least..I mean it reminded me of an old movie where the thief used some of those to scale the glass walls in a bank! He had that unit for less than three months, mostly on the floor of the loader, because the super suction wasn’t so super…then the power cord mysteriously kept shorting out and blowing fuses..oh that’s perfect..satelite radio that you can’t listen to!! He then bought another Sirius that had a magnetic steel connector thingy..I was again intrigued! Another 3 months went by, and that one went out..(power cord probs again!!) All the while that he was without his Sirius, he borrowed my XM..He now has an XM..(He still says that the rock channel that he listened to on Sirius, OCTANE) Was way better than any channel on XM..I tend to agree…XM needs to get their stuff together on the music part of it all…But Alas, I still had a radio when he did not..The technology in XM is far better and there is a huge range of models to choose from compared to Sirius..My suggestion? ANY SATELITE RADIO IS A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER THAN TERRESTRIAL RADIO!! Stick with what ya got..When I’m in the middle of nowhere listening to crystal clear brilliance, I remember why I purchased one in the first place!! Howard who? Pay me 500 million bucks, and I could put on a way better radio show than him..He’s old, he took the money and ran with it..(can’t say that I blame him!) He only is on 3 days a week, and takes over two months of vacation a year…let’s face it, he’s calling it in..NFL? are the majority of the people driving on a Sunday afternoon? Hell, I’m home with my friends, drinking it up and watching the game on my Plasma Screen! The only sport that I have ever listened to on the radio is baseball..I think that XM made the best choice there…And NASCAR? forget about it! I’m home then too! XM has had that channel all along, but I have never listened to it..Dale Jr. has a show on there if I’m not mistaken..I’m not here to prove who’s right or who sucks…I just wanna let the terrestrial radio world know that they are missing out on a wonderful thing..Sure it costs a little bit, but hey..In my opinion, IT’S WORTH IT!!

I see that there is alot of Howard Stern fans, and as many as them there are alot of anti-Stern people out there..He’s not making as big of dent as he wanted to..I seen him on Letterman…That guy is really craving some attention..Besides being a cross-dresser, (what was with that outfit?) He completely lied about the Sirius radio statistics..he said that there were only 600 thousand subs before he got with Sirius..BOLD FACE LIE!! There were over two million subs..He’s never on, and he is losing more subs than he is attracting at this point in time because of that. (I THINK THAT HOWIE AND MARTHA STEWART HAVE A SECRET LOVE AFFAIR GOING!) Hey it’s a good thing! Another thing, if you look at the stats, Sirius does not have NEARLY 6 million subs. Another claim by Howie..(MUST BE THAT HOWIE MATH “HOO HOO , TELL ‘EM FRED..) The true pioneers are Opie and Anthony..Their talk is never stale, and they DON’T talk about Howie as much as people claim..and, it doesn’t cost $1.99 a month anymore!! Who is Bubba the luv Sponge anyways? Sounds like some funny name for a spermacide! O&A proved it to me..they are so good that they were asked back by the company that fired them over two years ago!! They are truly succeeding! We get over 5 hours of uncensored radio from those guys on XM..what they bleep out on terrestrial, goes right through my XM, so you never miss a thing! Let’s just state the facts here people!

I have listened to both and I bought sirius and it is so much better than XM. Bubba the Love Sponge is the best. O&A is just cheap ripoffs of Stern and Bubba. The best radio on radio is diffinitly Sirius.

Opie and Anthony true pioneers?

Thanks for the laugh.

By the way when Howard did sign his deal there was 600,000 in late 2004.

Dude, Travis…you need to get your fact straight..Howard is FINISHED! He’s old, and out to pasture..He has lost the edge..Do you look at stocks? Do you realize that Howie isn’t worth the money? Do you realize he takes almost 3 months vacation a year, and only broadcasts for 4 days a week? That’s WEAK RADIO..I used to listen to Howard..I used to love his show on E!..When O&A first came on XM..I thought that they ripped off Stern..All of the stuff that you hear from Howie, is the BEST OF..Thats the only good thing that he has left..When he left Terrestrial, he got his old bits, and all the good stuff…You can see a dramatic change in the way that he does things today..HE’S A SELLOUT..You can tell that he hates it, and is in it for the money..O&A are much different…They make good money…Millions so I hear…But they are fresh…They talk about stuff that makes sense…They are on XM and Terrestrial…The same station that sent them down the river years ago…HOWIE’S HOME FOR YEARS!! If that doesn’t tell you something, then you are as retarded as the rest of the Stern Fans…To put it into something that you can relate to “DUDE, GET LIVID” “I INVENTED EVERYTHING” Stern sucks now, and from now on.

Stern is washed up. He’s at the end of his line, and this is his last gig before he goes to live off his earnings (which he didnt even earn, he sucks so bad). Hopefully we won’t have to deal with him much longer

Stern is washed up. He’s at the end of his line, and this is his last gig before he goes to live off his earnings (which he didnt even earn, he sucks so bad). Hopefully we won’t have to deal with him much longer

It looks like everyone hoping Sirius would take over are in for a disappointment. It looks like XM will be merging with Sirius and will only keep the programming that doesn’t overlap with the current XM coverage. Check this website to see the differences between the two systems…
http://www.xmradio.com/whatisxm/programming/xm-vs-sirius.xmc

And here is some info on the merger…
http://www.xmradio.com/merger/news.xmc

What I would like to know is that XM claims people won’t have to change their radios, but will Sirius satellite owners? I’m certain that if they require Sirius owners to get new hardware they are going to lose a LOT of customers (even the die hard Stern fans!). What does everyone think about the fact that XM and Sirius are merging?

Merging wrote: “What I would like to know is that XM claims people won’t have to change their radios, but will Sirius satellite owners? I’m certain that if they require Sirius owners to get new hardware they are going to lose a LOT of customers (even the die hard Stern fans!). What does everyone think about the fact that XM and Sirius are merging?
What Do You Think?”

What do I think about the merger? I think it won’t happen. FCC, FTC, and DOJ wont allow it. They both have a good argument to merge and it would be nice but they wont let it happen. Dish and DirectTV treid to merge a few years agoa and got shot down. MONOPOLIES are frowned upon big tyme in this country. Oh and the argument of which provider is better. For music aficionados its Sirius. Better program better Deejays better niches…come on 1st Wave is the shit! You cant beat that!

I have had sirius for 2 years. I had given my first radio to my wife. The second week of decmber 2007 it was time to renew it. So we paid the amount of $309.40. Later that evening we decieded to cancel it so I called to cancel and the customer service person said no prob. well on Chirstmas EVE i recieved a call from sirius stateing that they made a mistake and charged me twice on my debit card and would have the money back in my bank account in two to three days. Well three days went by and I checked my bank account ballance and noticed that they had charged me $309.40 three times in the same day for a total of $928.20. Well I called and asked to get a refund imediatly. well they said o well try. i’m still waiting

I spent about 6 months researching satellite radio before finally making my purchase the month after Howard Stern started on Sirius (he did not factor whatsoever into my decision, I’m just giving you a timeline). I really, really, really wanted to get back into radio since all I had was my iPod and nothing else to introduce me to new and fresh music (I hadn’t listened to “terrestrial radio” since the last good rock station in Chicago [94.7] switched in the middle of the day to ANOTHER frickin’ oldies station, which another reviewer mentioned earlier). I had stayed at a hotel that offered XM satellite radio and just wasn’t at all impressed with the selection of music. I kept flipping from station to station and just couldn’t find anything I liked. I spent a couple more months researching radios and stations (the whole XM v. Sirius debate) and decided to go with a Sirius Starmate Replay. I’m really glad I made this decision! I’ve had this radio ever since (about two years now) and have not had one single problem with it. I use it in my car, at work, and at home. Although technology has improved and there are better options now (you know, two years later) this radio has really held up, considering the beating I give it (since I used to not have speakers in my computer, I would carry the unit in my purse so that I could use it both in my car and at work).
One of the best things is that the Sirius lineup is fantastic!!! I’m a huge fan of Sirius 20 Octane (modern rock)… I love the DJs, and I’m very happy that Sirius has chosen to keep the DJs more front-and-center than XM did (radio feels lonely without DJs) and plus the DJs keep me up-to-date on rock news and pending tours, which I really appreciate. I also love the other rock stations, which play such a variety of music from Jimmy Buffett (Radio Margaritaville) to classic rock (Buzzsaw) to hair bands (Hair Nation) to of course modern rock (Octane) and much, much more. I also LOVE the Blues channel!!! They keep the playlists fresh and don’t overplay most songs (there are, of course, exceptions). They have two comedy channels, one “clean” and one uncensored, which has countless times really picked up my work day. Another really cool feature of Sirius that I know of is the Octane Airforce, which you can sign up for and receive surveys including samples of songs that you can rate, and they choose the playlists on Octane partially based on how people rate the songs. I’m not sure if other stations have the same thing, but I would imagine that they do.
I listen to my Sirius satellite radio at least 8 hours per day (I use the online program to listen at work now and the receiver to listen in my car) and I’m very glad I got Sirius. I’m really nervous about this whole merger deal between XM and Sirius because there is talk that some of the Sirius channels will be pulled, and I don’t want to lose my favorites!
Although I prefer Sirius, I’m going to agree with what other people have said… if you don’t have satellite radio right now, get with the program!!! $13 a month is well worth ditching terrestrial radio. Once you get satellite, no matter what kind of music/talk radio/comedy/sports you like, you’ll wonder what you ever did without it!!!

I recieved a notice from nco financial(a collection agency],about a$31.18 balance for not canceling after my 1 year.I was unaware that I had to cancel,luckily I paid by check or these cretins would have already deducted this.Needless to say they can wait forever for me to pay them.