Satellite Radio

[Micca]

I spend about 30 minutes per week in the car, and we have a wonderful public radio station that I listen to during that time. At home I have a large music collection and an Ipod with 7000+ songs on it. Last summer DW and I had a rental car with Sirius in it. I was underwhelmed with the sound (what Ducklite said) and the stations.

 

[goodeats]

My car came with XM and free service for 3 months. I didn't renew, but six months later I did 3 months for $15, and again I haven't renewed. I have asked for an XM gift certificate for Christmas so I can get it again. It's not something I'm willing to pay a lot for, but I love getting it.

I've had great sound quality with it, which might be a function of your car speakers? I also love the Oprah channel and the music stations. The Broadway channel is great fun too.

 

[OK!]

I have XM and use a Pioneer Inno portable receiver. I can carry it with me like an iPod, can program it to record shows or hockey games, and can also record on the fly when I'm in the car, just like Tivo. Just hit "record song," and it'll go back either to the beginning of whatever "song" is playing (whether it's an actual song or a segment of a talk program or whatever) or 10 minutes back, whichever. Then you can lock that song and it'll be stored, I guess, forever on the device. I've never had any be deleted, at any rate, and I've had the thing since January. It's the coolest little toy I own!

Oh, and I love XM itself--it's the exclusive satellite home of the NHL (do I sound like a promo or what? ) and has every game, in addition to 24/7 hockey programming, vintage games, etc. It also has MLB programming; that was primarily what I listened to after the Cards won the WS in '06. I wanted to hear all of the hot stove talk on the run.

Those stations are mainly what I listen to, but during commercials, I flip down to my favorite music stations ('70s, '80s, '90s, Lucy, Fred, Big Tracks, etc.) XM radio is the greatest invention ever.

 

[OK!]

Sirius came with our car and we're still deciding whether to renew. I really like the music stations, but there's no baseball. For me, that's strike one, two and three all in one. That and I can't drive, so I only get to hear it when going somewhere with hubby. I listen on-line though. The opera station is very nice. I actually heard an obscure song I performed in college on one of the classical stations last night and I was floored. It was my signature French song. Amazing.

I wish the merge would hurry up. I want my baseball.

If we do renew, I'll be getting a portable unit. Any suggestions on those?

See above on the Inno, and not for nothin', but the best earbuds I have ever used in my life (and I've used a bunch) came with it. They go inside the ear, which for people with little ear holes like me is a blessing, and the sound quality's fantastic. I usually keep them in my purse so I can use them either with the Inno or with my iPod. And MLB Home Plate kept me sane during the offseason last year, even though it brought none of the news that we as Cards fans wanted to hear. I wish Orestes Destrade was still on the morning show; he was awesome!

 

[BunsenH]

I've had Sirius for about a year and enjoy it very much. I use it mostly in the house through my stereo, but occasionally in the car. The music content is great. My only gripe is that the signal degrades a few times a day and sometimes the reception is lost for a brief period.

 

[Mono~rail]

We have both. We've had XM since their beginning. We have multiple receivers for both too.

XMs:
3 Delphi receivers (original plug-n-plays) (1 is put away and doesn't have service right now) - we use these in dh's car and the boom box that stays out back under the patio.
Roady II - in the mini-van
Inno - I got that for dh as a birthday present last year

Sirius:
Plug-n-Play and portable boombox - this was dh's birthday present this year so he could listen to NFL games
The second Sirius came equipped in the van. Our free 1-year subscription ran out but for some strange reason it started receiving programming again about a year later. We don't even listen to it. I realized it one day when I accidentally flipped to that mode on the radio. I don't like it because I don't get the display info about what is on. Another thing is when we first got the van, the Sirius receiver didn't operate properly. Again, for some odd reason it works everytime I accidentally flip to it now.

My favorite channels are 202 - Ron & Fez; 155 - Dr. Laura; 40 - Deep Tracks; music channels - 20, 21, 26, 29, 30, 47, and 54. I used to listen to E! alot because I like the E! True Hollywood Stories, but now everytime I flip to that channel it is some show called Yo! on E!. I don't listen to Sirius.

Dh listens to XM mostly. He listens to Sirius on Sundays for the NFL games. On XM he likes O&A, Ron & Fez, the political stations - both conservative and liberal, and he listens to alot of the music channels.

 

[aplejax76]

I have Sirius. I am so excited about Sirius backseat tv. I can't wait to get it.
http://www.sirius.com/backseattv

 

[crs7568]

I commute almost one hour each way to get to work. My Sirius saves my sanity. It is the best money I spend each month.

 

[aplejax76]

My car came with XM installed, and I didn't pay extra for it because it was a mistake at the factory. I got it for free for a month, and didn't like it at all, it sounded "compressed" and I didn't continue the service. I like the morning radio show that I listen to, and usually listen to CD's the rest of the time, so it's not something worth paying for for subprime sound quality.

Do you have factory speakers?

Sound quality has to do with what kind of speakers you have in your car.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I've had XM for 3 years. I had a Roady II in my chevy and then it came preinstalled on my CRV. In fact, I picked Honda over Toyota because of XM instead of Sirius. DH has a Roady II in his chevy.
I hate hacky DJ "bits" in the morning drive (I drive 1/2 hour each way to work, plus ferrying kids around later). I want music, thanks--and if I want talk, I like Opie and Anthony, although they can get way too raunchy for me and I have to turn it off.
I love the "decades" channels and the "IT" thing they are doing now, working through every top 40 hit from the 30s to 2000s--they are on 1985 today. I think the Christmas channels are OK, I love Christmas music, but like any terrestrial station they tend to play the same songs--I swear every time I try "Holly" the song playing is "Christmas Time" by Extreme, which I don't even like. I will probably rely on the 175 Christmas songs I have on my Ipod.
Did you know they have a Led Zeppelin channel now? Channel 59! It's awesome. And I can listen to any Detroit tigers game, which I love.
If a merger does happen, the only channel I would want is Radio Margaritaville--which I can listen to on my computer anyway. I also listen to XM on my computer at work.
Robin M.

 

[rparmfamily]

We used to have XM, it saved our sanity when we drove crosscountry from Fla to CA!

We can't get either here on the island though. BOO!

 

[DMickey28]

We have Siruis in my DH's car and XM in the house. We also have another Siruis reciever to install in my car.

I actually prefer the XM in the house of the Siruis. It seems to have alot more stations and much more variety when it comes to music.

 

[JenM]

I have Sirius. And they just brought back E Street Radio (until March), so I get to listen to Bruce Springsteen 24/7. That's my perfect world.

 

[DVCLiz]

Would someone on this thread be willing to write a little description of exactly what these services are? Some of us are very interested in this but are way over our heads when we read about your stuff!!!!

DD19 said her boyfrined's car came with one of these and she loved it, so I'd like to maybe get it for her (and maybe me, too!!) as a Christmas present. But I don't know where to start. We have older cars that didn't come with this, so would have to add it. Do you just have something sitting on the seat next to you, or do you have to have it installed where your radio was?

Thanks if you are willing to do a basic FAQ for me!!!!

 

[Piglet's Momma]

Yay for satellite radio!

I've had Sirius for close to three years; got it because of Howard Stern. I have the boombox for the house, and I also have it in the car. Terrestrial radio was making me pull my hair out, and I won't go back. All those commercials, constant replaying of the same old songs, and ridiculous jibber jabber drove me nuts!

DH has XM in his car- it came with it. I'm hoping for a merge so I won't have to keep switching my Sirius back and forth between cars, heh.

DVCLiz: I'm not sure what you mean by "services", but it's a monthly subscription (I think mine's $12.95 a month, and there is an initial subscriber fee... I think $15), and you get all the channels: sports, music (on Sirius, the music channels are 100% without commercials), talk, etc. I didn't have mine installed in my car; I just put it in the cupholder between the front seats (with the antenna on the roof), but there are plenty of places that will install it for you for a fee. Like I said above, I switch mine back and forth between cars, so I prefer not to have it installed.

It's a little pricey to get started, but I think it's totally worth it.