[Astronomer]

On the "build your own" feature on saturn.com i saw the xm radio listed at around $320 bucks in addition to the monsoon system. This is the first time i've seen an additional price listed for this option. Everything i had read before gave prices for the single cd and 6 disk monsoons and said one of those was required to get xm service. should i break down and pay the extra $320 for xm option or buy aftermarket?

 

[Rick Tinley Park]

From teh way XM is in the market -- it may be out of business before you take delivery of your SKY

 

[CdnSkyGuy]

Good point...will we get a Sirius conversion kit for free...or our money back???

 

[todaresqSL2]

The radios are all XM ready... meaning, if you add the XM tuner, which is the $320, it will work.

An aftermarket XM tuner will not run with the stock deck.

I always get the most basic head unit from the factory, and then upgrade the whole system aftermarket... always cheaper. :cheers:

 

[reedred]

From the way XM is in the market -- it may be out of business before you take delivery of your SKY

XM is doing just fine right now, though Sirius is catching up to them in number of subscribers. There's still plenty of room for both services to expand in the marketplace. That said, I really prefer Sirius and will have my car converted immediately.

 

[USFJoseph]

Has anyone heard if the SIR-GM1 is going to work with the Sky?

 

[Rick Tinley Park]

XM is doing just fine right now, though Sirius is catching up to them in number of subscribers. There's still plenty of room for both services to expand in the marketplace. That said, I really prefer Sirius and will have my car converted immediately.

News report today said that XM is spending $125.00 per subscriber to get them signed up. If that amount does not change they will be in dire financial straights (them talking - not me). Their stock dropped another 2% ...

 

[TexSon]

Paying for radio never made any sense to me. I can see it in the desert and high plains where there is no other coverage, but then, that is what CDs and MP3s are for. I realize there are no commercials, but the added cost of a receiver+initial registration+monthly fee and I can put up with a lot of commercials. Add into that, I get local news and weather on the radio, and I have found that important while traveling. You have to listen to a lot of radio time to make up for it.

 

[twirp]

I believe XM & Sirius are both here to stay. I first thought whats the point with paying for radio when you can get it for free. Once I rode in my neighbors truck with XM I was blown away, the choices are plentiful and his also had the traffic channels for most major cities. I think of satellite radio like cable TV. In the 70's most people didn't have cable TV ( at least in my neighborhood) but now I don't know anyone without it. The major difference in the 2 for me is that Sirius offers the NFL package while XM does not. If local tv networks can survive alongside satellite & cable tv I believe the same will be said for radio. I say buy the stock while its cheap so when we get older we can buy the 50th anniversary SKY for our grandkids like Ernest.

 

[SkyMan 08]

Paying for radio never made any sense to me. I can see it in the desert and high plains where there is no other coverage, but then, that is what CDs and MP3s are for. I realize there are no commercials, but the added cost of a receiver+initial registration+monthly fee and I can put up with a lot of commercials. Add into that, I get local news and weather on the radio, and I have found that important while traveling. You have to listen to a lot of radio time to make up for it.

there is much more to XM radio than just that, you get a lot of programming that you cannot get anywhere else.. Myself I like the channels dedicated to the 60's and 70's music, and the old time radio and comedy channels... Right now i listen to the NASCAR coverage too, but that is going to the Sirius next year, but since Toyota is getting into it next year I will probably stop following it anyway...
you can even get traffic reports from the major cities, and weather in places you may be heading into... It is very good on trips because you can listen to a channel that has a program on it you want to hear and never lose it all the way across country...

 

[GRinLRAR]

I was thinking about getting XM but since you have to upgrade the stereo to get it, I am not sure it would be worth the extra $915 for me.

 

[SkyMan 08]

I was thinking about getting XM but since you have to upgrade the stereo to get it, I am not sure it would be worth the extra $915 for me.

for 29 dollars you can get a roady2 XM reciever.... I have one in my monte carlo and it works great..

 

[GRinLRAR]

for 29 dollars you can get a roady2 XM reciever.... I have one in my monte carlo and it works great..

Actually I got one for Christmas. Does the base stereo include an auxiliary input?

 

[CdnSkyGuy]

Actually I got one for Christmas. Does the base stereo include an auxiliary input?

Yes it does

 

[GRinLRAR]

Well I guess I am set then. I can save the bucks and just try it out using the roady. I am not that big of a music enthusiast as my friends, I mean the radio is always on in my car but does National Public Radio really need a subwoofer? :lol:

 

[CdnSkyGuy]

EVERYTHING needs a SubWoofer!!!

 

[seal9]

Xm

You don't need to plug the XM or Siru in to any radio, they all have a FM xmitter built in, you can pick from FM channels starting at 88.3 thru 101.5 you just find a channel that is not used in your area and set the FM xmitter to that. I have both XM and SIR XM MYFI for cars (I move it to the one I'm Driveing) and SIRU for my Business (SIRU has a commercial program) I like XM a little better....

 

[CdnSkyGuy]

FM Modulation sucks for sound quality though

 

[todaresqSL2]

SIRU for my Business (SIRU has a commercial program) I like XM a little better....

XM has an XM Business service as well...

 

[SkyMan 08]

Actually I got one for Christmas. Does the base stereo include an auxiliary input?

You can hook the roady up though the aux input or you can use the built in FM modulator, the closer you put the XM antenna to the regular radio antenna the better your reception and less interferance from other stations, since it transmits it's signal back out the XM antenna.:thumbs: