Sirius or XM?

[thespouseandi]

DH wants satellite radio for Christmas, so I'm looking for opinons on which way to go. Can anyone recommend one?

 

[beccasmom]

They are a merged company now.

 

[thespouseandi]

They are a merged company now.

I'm so behind I guess that narrows my choices then, thanks!

 

[Daggett]

You still will need to choose between Sirrus and XM when you make your purchase. I've been an XM fanboy since day one, so I'm probably the wrong guy to be giving advice. But the program is almost the same on both platforms.

 

[everylastbreath]

Yes they merged but they are still 2 companies, check out the rate plans for each, SAME CHANNELS, you cannot combine Sirrus/XM radios on 1 account, and the more radios you have the cheaper they are, so check out the rate plans before choosing one, same stations. We had 1 Sirrus and 2 XM radios, and when they merged I tried to put the sirrus one on my XM account and was told I couldn't, their billing is still 2 companies, so I cancelled the Sirrus and got another XM and added to account, much cheaper.

 

[Malisa]

I have XM since that is what I had before they merged. I don't know if both companies do this but I have the feature where I can listen to it online as well as in my car. Otherwise I would have had to buy another radio to use in the house since the car one is built in. So instead of paying for two radios I only pay for one and I can listen to it on any computer with internet access.

 

[Disneyjamie]

I have Sirius, and can listen online at sirius.com. I prefer Sirius over XM (my Dad has XM, so do have experience with both radios).

 

[uk_wildcat]

We have Sirius and that is my preference. Some channels can be heard on both, others you have to pay extra for packages in order to get them. I think it all depends on what you like. The main difference is the sports channels and the talk radio. Look at which channels you think you would like and decide from there. I find that the music is pretty much the same.

 

[vsimeone]

I have a lifetime subscription to Sirius so I'm a bit biased! I have had Sirius since 2004 and love being able to listen at home, work and in the car. I also love that I never have to pay another monthly fee

Best of luck with your decision!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I have a lifetime subscription to Sirius so I'm a bit biased! I have had Sirius since 2004 and love being able to listen at home, work and in the car. I also love that I never have to pay another monthly fee

Best of luck with your decision!

Lucky!

We still have XM for our cars, but have dropped it from our home. Many of hte music channels have too much DJs, not enough music. We are now listening to Pandora radio at home. -- Suzanne

 

[floridascgirl]

We have been with Sirius for about 3-4 years now and we love it. If you are a AAA Member, there offer a special for first time customers.

 

[luv2nascar]

We have both. I have XM because it came with my Honda. DH has Sirius for Howard Stern. It is all about the same.

 

[taylor3297]

We have XM and loved it before the two merged. I hate that Lucy and Fred channels are gone. I do listen to First Wave but the same songs seem to be played over and over. Too much Smiths and New Order on first wave. Lucy and Fred had more variety. The reason we got XM in the first place was for MLB which I still enjoy.

 

[rcraw45425]

We have been with Sirius for about 3-4 years now and we love it. If you are a AAA Member, there offer a special for first time customers.

THanks for that heads up! I purchased a new Mercedes in May and they paid for 6 months of Sirius. I received info that it was time to renew, so I did for a year at around $160 with tax and fees. I jsut called and they are refunding $77 to my account! Whoo hoo, that almost pays for our arrival night at Coronado Springs!

 

[jwfla422]

I've had Sirius for a few years now but have had cars that were XM ready. In other words I had to buy equipment to receive Sirius (a transmitter and antenna).

I've always preferred Sirius's channel line-up and now that the 2 companies merged, XM has all of my favorite Sirius channels, so I decided to drop Sirius and go with XM since my car is XM ready. I was able to get rid of the extra equipment PLUS the signal is much better.

Both companies however operate separate from each other and they have their own rates. XM is actually more than Sirius. I was able to get a special deal because my car had come with free XM for a few months when I got it and then I dropped it since I had Sirius too.

XM recently offered me a promotion to come back and since I was looking to switch it worked out nicely. Be sure to ask what promotions they "each" are offering before deciding. Check both out on line as they both offer several packages with different prices and different channel line-ups.

 

[mamalle]

Im getting rid of my XM. I think its too much money and Im tired of the commericals, DJs, etc.. I stopped paying for it with my van and now I have it until the 27th in my saturn.. Im not paying close to $18 after fees, etc for it.. I told dh he can keep his since he listens to it more than I do..

 

[courtney2702]

My family has both we all tend to enjoy Xm better there is more of a selection...

 

[Darcy03231]

I have Sirius in my car because it was free for a year when I bought the new car. I can honestly say that I won't pay for it. I don't like the way the sattelite reception cuts out when you drive under trees, there's tall buildings around, etc.

 

[JB2K]

I've been with XM since the early part of this decade -- even though they are now a merged company, both the Sirius and XM brands will continue to operate independently for some years to come.

That said, aside from the music/news/talk channels (which are the same across both services), here's the "unique" parts of each service...

Sirius - the NFL, NASCAR, NBA, and Howard Stern

XM - MLB, NHL, and Opie & Anthony

Caveat - XM does have about 4 or 5 music channels with commercials (though not as many as AM/FM radio), this is a result of Clear Channel's early investment in the company (and cannot be helped). The number of commerical-free channels outweighs the ones with adverts.

Hope this helps!

 

[ICF]

I've had both....new car I got in July has Sirius previous had XM.

I prefer XM, mainly due to the fact that they had MLB games and the MLB Network. I can pay extra with Sirius to get the MLB channel, but not the actual games themselves.

The music stations are pretty much the same, but XM lost some decent ones in the merger (and I'm guessing Sirius users probably lost some too).

I have 6 months free of Sirius now, and probably won't renew it. I have a USB port in the new car and normally listen my MP3 player and really am not in the car for many long drives as we take a different car on most trips over 30 mins or so.