XM ... vs... Sirius

[SkyBaby]

Ok... I know XM and Sirius are merging at the end of this year... I had XM in SKYBABY.... and Jade was fully loaded... except XM... kinda odd.. anyway... Brian is getting me Sirius soon.... who can tell me the differences if they know.... or is it basically the same .. just different channel numbers? SkyBaby

[JoeBIII]

Originally Posted by SkyBaby

Ok... I know XM and Sirius are merging at the end of this year... I had XM in SKYBABY.... and Jade was fully loaded... except XM... kinda odd.. anyway... Brian is getting me Sirius soon.... who can tell me the differences if they know.... or is it basically the same .. just different channel numbers? SkyBaby

I have both. Sirius in my other 2 rides. XM in my Sky (only becuase Sirius wasn't an option). Don't count your chickens too soon... the merger is far from being a done deal. There appears to be doubt in the Sirius camp about the merger receiving the necessary federal approval.

I personally like the Sirius programming much better - from many vantages (sports programming, talk, and even the music). Some of the XM music channels actually have commercials (cheesy, considering the monthly fees). Sirius offers some exclusive programming: Howard Stern (2 dedicated channels), Bubba, Playboy, Martha Stewart, all major sports (NASCAR, NBA, and most importantly the home and away broadcasts of all NFL games)... I consider it hands-down better. I also like the lifetime subscription offer. For $499, you can get a lifetime subscription. To clarify - it's over the lifetime of the radio. For $75 you can transfer that lifetime subscription to another/new radio. With the lifetime deal, you esentially pay for approximately 4 yrs of programming, then ride the wave with no fees through the remaining life of your radio. Don't believe XM offers anything in comparison.

There was supposed to be a module in development that would basically replace our (Sky) XM connectivity with Sirius. It is available for many Saturns, but the Sky has a new bus with the stereo system that requires a different conversion module. If the merger doesn't happen, I expect the conversion module will become more popular. If it wasn't for GM, XM would be in much greater 'hurt' than they already are.

I wish our stereos were satellite agnostic - like most of the aftermarket head units.

Hope this helps. PM me for any more detailed questions.

[mikep77]

Sirius had more of the programming that I wanted and less of the programming that I didn't want. What I did was sign up for the trials that each one offers, and decide that way. Each trial only requires an email address, and then you can listen online.

You could also take a look at the channel lineups, and see how many channels they have for the particular genre that interests you more. For example, Sirius has about 19 rock stations while XM has 14.

Sirius
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/Conten...=1139320914821

XM
http://www.xmradio.com/onxm/full-channel-listing.xmc

[KimberlySky]

I have both Sirius and XM... XM here at the office and Sirius in the car & at home. Honestly I can't tell the difference... now some of the guys say the sports channels you really can tell the diff.

[SkyBaby]

Thanks guys.. and Sexy.... it does help..... SkyBaby

[xmicro_Redline]

I agree with all of the above comments. Sirius is far better to me. 100% commercial free music! Great talk radio and comedy stations. Better music channels, the music is broken up better to me. I like the way they designate music styles. Being a Rock listener, you cannot beat Sirius. Plus inbetween music they have a lot of the old DJ's I grew up with giving you facts and tour dates, etc. Come on they even have Cousin Brucie!

I have spent about 8 weeks total with XM traveling on the road and the overall package does not compare with Sirius, including sports. The only thing missing from Sirius is Baseball.

[SkyBaby]

Thanks Paul..... Brian is going to install it later today after he gets back from the Hosp. Cant wait... Hopefully, I will feel better so I can test it out. Was suppose to go for a biopsy today.. but dont feel ok at all. THANKS....SkyBaby

[Sierra Shark]

I too have both and Sirius is far better. I don't follow baseball that closely to miss it on the radio but the programing is better. Besides, Sirius carries NASCAR.

[SKYtime]

I have Sirius but have also listened to XM. I prefer the music stations on Sirius over XM.

I also like the other choices on Sirius, especially comedy.

[xmicro_Redline]

Originally Posted by SkyBaby

Thanks Paul..... Brian is going to install it later today after he gets back from the Hosp. Cant wait... Hopefully, I will feel better so I can test it out. Was suppose to go for a biopsy today.. but dont feel ok at all. THANKS....SkyBaby

Hope all is well and your health increasingly gets better, stay positive, the mind controls the body far more than science has discovered!!

[dengel]

I have also had both. Sirius in my Grand Prix and my first Solstice. XM in the new GXP (only because I bought it off the lot and it came with it).

I too prefer the station choices on Sirius over XM, but being able to operate the XM through the car stereo is nice.

I am going to let the 3 month XM trial run through, and then see what the news is about the merger at that time. If the merger goes through, I would be tempted to sign up for one of the combo plans where you get both XM and Sirius channels so that I could control my music choices through the car stereo.

If the merger bombs, I'll probably drop the XM and go back to the Sirius portable unit that I used in my first Solstice.

[1994SC2]

Skybaby, I own both services and I long wrestled with which one had better programming. I have really just realized that I like the music better on the one I have been listening to less... let me drive my Sky with XM for a week and Sirius all of a sudden has a great playlist going on the channels I like, likewise if I spend a week on vacation with the Sirius and hop back in to the Sky I think how did I ever turn my back on this? The channels are similar but I feel the playlists are repetitive yet still somewhat mutually exclusive. With that, and putting out there that I do not listen to Howard Stern at all, I think it falls squarely on the sports packages each service offers. For me if there is a football game I want to see I'll likely be in front of a TV (Sirius toutes NFL football) but if I want to hear live play-by-play baseball I am happy with the radio and XM delivers that as well as ACC basketball in the baseball off-season. For that simple reason XM edges Sirius, but were talking barely.

[SkyBaby]

I have to have NFL..... got to keep up with my team as soon as the season starts..... I cant wait for it to be installed in Jade..... I am very excited. THANKS...SkyBaby

[SKY 4 ME]

What has to be done if I would rather have Sirius instead of XM. I would prefer the NFL, NASCAR, Stern, and more Rock stations. Do you have to swap out the head unit?
SKY 4 ME

[lorennerol]

It's funny to read that there is a general preference for Sirius. Years ago (1999), when both were in their pre-launch (literally) phase, I read up and thought the same- Sirius has a better model. So I bought their stock. At $45. Ugh. At the time, XM was about $35. Now Sirius hovers well below $4 and XM is in the low teens.

[Dan12R]

Personally I enjoy regular AM and FM. The talk I listen to is Rush, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity (yes, I'm an evil conservative) and their shows have commercials regardless. Neither XM or Sirius carries F1 or WRC (not sure how this would be handled on radio though) that I'm aware of. And all the music stations I listen to around here are low commercial. Plus I like the local weather and traffic updates. When my Sky comes in, I'll enjoy the 3 months free of XM, but I don't plan on buying after that.

[lil goat]

I am glad to see the Sirius fans I too am a stockholder. It would seem XM is going on and on about the merger and new rate plans and this and that, Sirius is not saying much. If it wasn't for GM XM would be fading fast, there customer service is awful. I have 4 XM radios in the family and 2 Sirius, much prefer Sirius they are far more irreverent and I like it. Nobody makes any conversion that works with the Mosoon yet, the VW guys are waiting too. I like the built in so I will stay with XM for a while. I do like my XM boombox by the pool it works very well and the music is a little less edgy when we have company. I just put it on 8 or 9 and people seem happy.