Satellite Ratio Subscribers... Who do you ride with?

[JoLLyRoGer]

I'll go first. I'm a new Sirius subscriber for about 3 months now. It started with my brother-in-law showing off his XM setup. I kept hinting to my wife how I'd like to have something like that so for my birthday she bought me the Orbiter receiver and docking station for my truck.

Although I was elated, I thought the XM receivers had a much sleeker look. But I couldn't have asked for an easier install. The only wire I had to run was the antenna. The receiver gets power through the cigarette lighter and operates through and FM modulator on a range of frequencies.

Overall I'd say that alone is a fair tradeoff for having to contend with a bulkier unit than some of the XM offerings I've seen. The programming is great. My favorite channels are:

Raw Dog Comedy
Cracked up Comedy
Outlaw Country
Prime Country
Hair Nation
Classic Vinyl
Classic Rewind
The Vault
and The Pulse.

The Breakdown goes like this:

Looks = 5/10
Ease of Use = 8.5/10 (Menus take some getting used to, comes with a remote you can actually hold, not one of those credit card remotes)
Sound = 7/10 (some channels sound overcompressed, like a 128 MP3)
Programming = 9/10 (Love the NFL Sunday Drive, would like to see some more country stations and hurry up Maxim!)
Ease of Install = 10/10
Coverage = 10/10 (Drove cross country over Thanksgiving, AZ to IL, and had no dropouts)

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

 

[Rallispec]

i've got an XM skyfi that i use in my car and at work -- pretty much listen to Ethel / Squizz / and Lucy all the time with some Top tracks and boneyard thrown in at times.-- been listenign to the opie and anthony freeview as well.

XM rocks, couldnt do without it anymore

 

[BlueWeasel]

My fiancee picked up the JVC Sirius reciever and car kit for $60 for me as a Christmas gift. I've listened to both (a friend has XM and I tried the Sirius free 3-day stream). I decided to got with Sirus because I preferred the rock and alternative rock stations over the ones provided by XM.

Either way, you really can't go wrong with either, but I just found the programming on Sirius was more suited for me.

As far as hardware goes, I know that the JVC unit I am getting is one of the older ones, but as as long as it's functional and easy to switch between my favorite stations, then it being a little larger doesn't bother me.

 

[aircooled]

XM SkyFi

 

[Anubis]

XM, w/ pioneer head unit
Yoptracks
ethel
squizz
boneyard
comedy
fred
lucy
deep tracks

 

[Mr N8]

Just ordered XM last week. When it arrives, I'll find out if it's worth it. (Came with 3 month subscription)

 

[cloude27]

I have sirius with the audiovox plug and play reciever. I have had it for about 2 months.

My favorite channels are:
-raw dog
-nfl radio
-shade 45
-outlaw country
-alt nation
-espn radio
-hip hop nation

I know i have a different mix of favorite stations.

 

[jai6638]

i thought Sirius was a reciever for playing xm right???? so why are there 2 options :Sirius and XM?

thanks

 

[Digobick]

Originally posted by: jai6638
i thought Sirius was a reciever for playing xm right???? so why are there 2 options :Sirius and XM?

thanks

Sirius and XM are in direct competition with one another, and they each offer their own brand of satellite radio.

 

[Lvis]

I have sirius. I'm all over the dial. I love it. Long drives don't suck anymore.

 

[iwearnosox]

Ratio?

 

[dmurray14]

Sirius is the way to go - much better content than XM. Have had them for about 2 years now and love it...

Dan

 

[Zeeky Boogy Doog]

i'd like to get one of them, how much are each and which do you prefer? assuming youve used them both... anyone know of any comparisions between them? my dad rented a car once that had sirius in it and i loved it, i definetly like satelite radio, just not sure which one is better...

 

[Lorax]

is it me or are there more and more xm/sirius threads every day? must be good, indicates the people are getting more interested in the products (and the stocks will go up more).

edmunds.com did a comparison recently:

http://www.edmunds.com/ownersh...dmunds.features.1#news

 

[mkahn5]

pioneer avh-p6400cd
xm

66raw
ethel
squizz
punk channel 53
80's
top 20
cnn headline news sometimes
comedy sometimes
vh1 and mtv on roadtrips

 

[Black88GTA]

I just activated a Sirius account last night. I got this receiver w/car kit. I haven't received it yet, but I've been listening online. I haven't developed a list of favorites yet, but I find myself listening to Backspin, Hair Nation, Buzzsaw, Classic Vinyl and Classic Rewind a lot.

 

[vi edit]

Coverage = 10/10 (Drove cross country over Thanksgiving, AZ to IL, and had no dropouts

LOL! I did the same thing. Drove from Phoenix, AZ to Peoria, IL starting Monday the 22nd and getting in Tuesday night. Managed to rig up my Sirius "home" adapater and an FM modulator to get the receiver to work in a car that wasn't set up to have satellite otherwise.

Made the trip a lot less painful.

Favorite Channels are Hard Attack, Faction, and Buzzsaw.

 

[mpitts]

XM with a Delphi SkyFi2 unit that goes from car to home.

I love it. I like being able to get the national sports radio shows and I love the punk rock (53) and rap (65,66,67) stations.

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

Interesting, I figured more people here would be running XM (law of averages, you know).

To the other Sirius subscribers:
Is it just me, or do some of the stations sound a little over-compressed. It's quite noticable when you hear the cymbals track of a drumset. Sometimes I get that swishey sound like a poorly done MP3.

I'm wondering if I should try out a different receiver. Currently I have the Orbiter on an FM modulator.

 

[ironcrotch]

I'm not a big fan of Satellite Ratio.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: JoLLyRoGer
Interesting, I figured more people here would be running XM (law of averages, you know).

To the other Sirius subscribers:
Is it just me, or do some of the stations sound a little over-compressed. It's quite noticable when you hear the cymbals track of a drumset. Sometimes I get that swishey sound like a poorly done MP3.

I'm wondering if I should try out a different receiver. Currently I have the Orbiter on an FM modulator.

Octane and Hard Attack both suffer from this

Buzzsaw on the other hand sounds great. Judgements made based on FM modulator.

 

[Muadib]

I just got XM today. It came with my car, and they have a promo running now. $60 for a year.