sirius versus xm

[walkonby]

not sure if this topic's been covered or not, but what is the general consensus?  i'm new to sirius, and one of my friends (omg, he has friends?) claims xm destroys.  sirius is more expensive, all around, from the equipment to the activation, but i know quite well that sometimes you can never go serious by the price tag.  mikey tyson sure is now aware of that hardened truth.

[jb1677]

I dont own either, mostly because I am torn on which to get.  I have a few friends with XM, they swear by it and when I ride with them I have no complaints, though none of them have ever had Sirius so they cant do a true comparison.  Whenever I am traveling and rent a car from Hertz I get Sirius and enjoy it.
 
 Quality wise I can not tell the difference, Ia m sure some audiophile here will start rattling off technical specs on which is bes but personally I cant hear a difference.
 
 Music selection is a matter of taste but both seemed to hit on what I like, so basically I am torn on which to get.  For now I just settle for my MP3 player in the car!

[RatBastard]

I have XM and like it.  The best thing to do is look at the channel list that each has and see which matches yoru taste better.  As far as quality goes they are about equal as far as i can tell.

[hitman]

rumor has it, there are talks of a merger between the two...i don't know how they would get past being a monopoly...but come 6 months to a year from now, you may not have to worry about any differences between the two...

[novadancer]

I've had sirius for over a year and love it.  It's like tivo, you don't realize what you were missing until you have it!!! If you're curious, go to www.sirius.com and login in as a guest - it gives you access for 3 days to listen for free.  A co-worker has xm and I listened online for a few days and just didn't enjoy it as much, but that's me  

[J'Mal]

the general consensus seems to be, which I totally agree with, that XM is deeper and broader, and Sirius is more repetitive and "hits" oriented, more like FM without the commercials.
 
 XM people will tell you sirius is programmed by junior high girls.  Sirius people will tell you XM is too obscure and full of B sides.
 
 As for hardware, XM is waaaay ahead in terms of smaller, more functional, cooler equipment.  That much is just not debatable.

[xcanuck]

We don't own XM so I can't comment on their programming. I do agree that some of Sirius' programming is a bit repetitive. I really like what's played on Left of Centre but I keep hearing the same songs.
 
 Having said that, here some concrete pluses for Sirius:
 
 1. Sports programming - IF you're a sports fan, I think there's a better selection of live sports feeds.
 
 2. News programming - both XM and Sirius have a decent news selection but I like the fact that Sirius is getting BBC One. An international perspective on news is very welcome, considering the myopic news programming we get from domestic providers.
 
 3. Addition of Canadian streams - in order to get permission to transmit to Canadian markets, Sirius is adding several Canadian streams, such as CBC One (news/current events) and several music streams including CBC Radio Three which is almost as good as KCRW when it comes to being ahead of the curve on new music.
 
 4. Howard Stern - I'm not a fan and won't listen to him but many others will find this a plus.
 
 For me - Sirius is a hands down winner. Having NCAA football, NHL hockey, a wide selection of NPR stations, and now getting BBC One and the Canadian streams is a plus for me.
 
 I think if you look at satellite radio purely from a musical perspective, then XM might fit the bill. But if you're looking for more than just music (or if you're a transplanted Canadian   ) then I think Sirius is better.
 
 Obviously, it's a matter of taste. Look at the programming guide and make your own decision.
 
 And - FWIW - I agree that we'll see a merger in the next 12-18 mos.

[walkonby]

the cool thing i'm noticing about sirius, is the "special things" they do.  foo fighters took over a channel last weekend, while the killers are vjing a channel this weekend.  also i'm listening to the jimmy buffet live, sold out show in philly tonight, which i think is pretty cool.  and of cource, they have martha stewart, which that woman can always rock my hot lemonade world.

[Dr. Anton Phibes]

Originally posted by J'Mal:
  the general consensus seems to be, which I totally agree with, that XM is deeper and broader, and Sirius is more repetitive and "hits" oriented, more like FM without the commercials.
 
 XM people will tell you sirius is programmed by junior high girls.  Sirius people will tell you XM is too obscure and full of B sides.
 
 As for hardware, XM is waaaay ahead in terms of smaller, more functional, cooler equipment.  That much is just not debatable.

>>> Obscure and full of B sides??!!......That's a HUGE plus in my book!.....Who the hell wants to hear the same shit over and over?.....I got plenty of crap D.C. area radio to fill that bill,for free!......

[J'Mal]

Jonas...
 
 That's why I think XM is superior.  
 
 xcanuck --
 
 1.  both services get the BBC world service.  sirius has it additionally en espanol.
 
 2.  sports -- xm has MLB, sirius has the other leagues.  in college, sirius has deals with certain individual schools, xm has PAC-10, ACC, and Big 10 conferences.  Both have ESPN Radio which carries alot of major games in everything.  XM has Nascar through 2007, then sirius gets it.  XM has IRL and PGA.
 
 3.  Canadian content -- both services would be required to add 8 channels of 85% "canadian content," including 2 in french and one for canadian artists who have never charted, in order to serve Canada and frankly, neither of them could do it without wrecking their service OR major developments in compression technology, which they're both working on.  
 
 But the Canadian market isn't currently worth these crazy restrictions.  Neither XM nor sirius can dump 8 of their current channels to be replaced with crap, so they can legally sell to 10% of the market where they have to split the revenue anyway.  The grey market is much more profitable.  Also from a canadian perspective, the canuck service has to be 9-1 foreign channels, so we're talking about an 80 channel service with 8 government crap stations.  who would want that?  and sirius can't just rebroadcast CBC anyway -- the CRTC (canadian fcc) said specifically, original programming only, no rebroadcasts on the canadian channels.
 
 4.  Merger is impossible for a variety of technical and legal reasons.  They use different technologies, and neither the DOJ or FCC would allow a monopoly in satellite radio.
 
 walkonby...
 
 they both do special stuff like that.

[grotty]

Um...which XM station is "full of B sides".
 
 I listen everyday & can't think of one. Even 43 - XMU - the closest equivalent to college indie radio is a Pitchfork A hitlist.
 
 If teenage girls program Sirius - then teenage mall hangin' skate rat boys control XM. I've used this example before, but I still get irritated nearly daily by a station like #47 ETHEL playing a cool block of tunes: Soundgarden, Afghan Whigs, Catherine Wheel...which naturally lead into Blink 182?!
 200 plus stations & you can't segment better than that?!
 
 Plus Sirius has the NFL games if that's important to you. XM has baseball [yawn]
 
 I like XM, but it's still got lots of work. I suspect that Sirius is much the same. I still never leave home without a sleeve full of CDs.

[brennser]

what grotty said - we've had XM for about 6 months and love it but it could be better
 
 I'd also like more inteligent DJs providing a little context as opposed to feeling that I'm listening to someone elses ipod on shuffle

[Got Haggis?]

i just cancelled my xm radio subscription.  i've had it for about 3 1/2 years and i find i just don't listen to it anymore.  the 'new' music channel seems to play the same songs i first heard 3 1/2 years ago.
 
 might change to sirius once howard stern is on it...but most likely not.  at work i can listen to internet radio stations...in the car i ahve my cds..and i never listen to it at home...so its basically a waste of money imho.

[chaz]

Sirius has the Underground Garage channell, a huge plus in my book.  Handsome Dick Manitoba has a nightly show!

[grotty]

Ultimately I think all satellite radio is over-rated.
 
 You can get much better via the internet. But of course you can't take the internet in your car...just yet.
 
 The only time I REALLY enjoy satellite radio is on LONG trips when I'm just passively listening. When I'm really craving something specific - I turn things over to my favorite program director: my IPOD & CDs.
 Nothing out there can beat that for me.