what are your expreiences with Sirius or SM? I have been thinking of getting one of these systems for my Screw. What is the cost and what does it take to install.

 

XM rocks....I have never talked to anybody that has it that doesn't love it. But then again the people that will shell out the couple hundred plus it takes to get set up are the people that apprecaite great audio. If your asking is XM worth the cost...to me it is....but to my mom it wouldn't be. It all depends on how much you like to listen to great music as to wether its worth it or not to you. I like the fact that there is always something good on and that its basicaly comercial free and on most stations the songs are unedited.

As for Siruius vs XM....I won't get into the whole which one is more stable argument. Neither is going anywhere anytime soon (not before whatever equipment you buy now is obsolete at least). Both companies have big contracts with the car companies to install their systems in new cars and in most cases by next year. XM has GM and Honda locked down and Sirius has Ford and Chrysler. When these DSRs start coming as factory options both companies will take off because for most people its not the monthly fee thats cost prohibitive its the cost of the equipment and install.
I have never had a car with Sirius in it, but from what I hear everyone that has it likes it. I can say that XM is great and I wouldn't change to siruis personaly.
One thing you have to consider is when choosing XM or Sirius is what kind of headunit you have and whether its DRS ready...Pioneer, Sony and Alpine are XM and Kenwood and Jensen are Sirius. If your kepping your factory headunit then you have a couple of options....you can go with a FM modulated unit that will play through your FM radio or you can get a Sony Plug-N-Play that has a cassette adaptor that will play through your tape player (the tape player option offers better sound quality...believe it or not.) If going with a modulated unit either XM or Siruis would work the same.
Another thing to consider is subscription cost....XM is $9.99 a month and Sirius is $14.99 a month. $60 a year more per radio for Siruis is a bit much when they are both offering basicaly the same service.

Equipment cost....well that will depend on what kind of install you want aswell. Lets asume you have a XM ready headunit....a reciever will cost you about $150 at Best Buy....on Ebay around $115. If you don't have a xm headunit you are looking at around $200 for a FM Modulated unit. And keep in mind with any reciever you have to have an antenna too...those run around $79.
I wish I had know there was as much intrest in XM over here as there is....last month XM had recievers for sale diectly from them for $79 each for units that work through the headunit to $99 for FM modulated units....AND THAT INCLUDED THE ANTENNA. The only thing was you had to agree to a one year service contract (the basic $9.99 a month), but that was still one hell of a deal. it wasn't a publicized sale...you had to call XM and ask for it and have a promo code. I posted it on a few of the Dodge boards I frequent...I wish I had thought about posting it here. If it comes up again I will share the info with you guys.

As for the install....if you can install a CD player you can install any of the DRS units. If you have any problems go to www.clubxm.com and look through some of the posts there...I am sure just about any problems you may run into have been addressed there.

If you have any other questions or whatever you can email me at ramsst1997@hotmail.com and I will try to help you out.

 

thanks for all of the info.

I had wanted to go with Sirius, because they are partnered with Ford. but after reading about the price difference and the audio partners I am going to go with XM. I am going to replace my stock HU with an Alpine or Pioneer.

 

Glad I could help....when you get your system you will be very happy with it. One thing I have not seen mentioned or asked about here is sound quality. Sound quality is outstanding....far superior to FM and IMO (and allot of other peoples) better than some CDs (especialy home CDs made from MP3 files).

Like I said check out www.clubxm.com and read up on the subject some more. BTW I have posted that link a few times....I just wanted to let everybody know I am not "affiliated" with that site anymore than being a member....I just found when I was looking into getting XM that it was a great source for info and I garentee any questions you have can be answered there.

 

I installed Sirius about two months ago and I'm happy as can be. I upgraded to a Kenwood CD so I could play MP3 files. Upgraded the speakers also. It sounds great.
As for the difference in cost: my understanding is that Sirius is commercial free on all its music channels. It is my understanding, though I can't swear to it, that there are some commercials on XM's broadcasts.
Both have similar music choices. Another reason I chose Sirius is that it carries NPR Talk Radio which I've always enjoyed listening to when I could pick it up. And if you like classic country music Sirius is going to start carrying a broadcast of WSM-AM from Nashville. This will include carrying the Grand Ole Opry live every Friday and Saturday nites. Not everyone's cup of tea but it might be yours.
For me the extra money has been well worth no commercials. It's tough to listen to commercial radio now since I find the ads so intrusive.

Just my 2 cents worth.
Al in Tennessee

 

XM rebroadcasts some Clear Channel FM stations like LA Kiss and a country channel out of Nashville, and these stations have commercials because thats the way they are broadcast.....they also have a channel were they rebroadcast allot of the most popular morning radio shows from around the country and these shows have commercials in them. I think CNN and FOX News have commercials some commercials too, but I am not sure since I have never listened to them. Most the XM music stations are commercial free and the ones that are not (MTV, VH1 and a couple others) are limited to 4min of commercials an hour compared to 20+ for regular FM.
Except for the LA KISS station I can say I haven't heard a single commecial (or noticed one) the whole time I have had XM. so they are far rom intrussive.
I certainly wouldn't pay $5 a month more for XM to be completely commercial free on every channel (not that it could be with those re-broadcasts anyway). Believe me when I say that you won't have an issue with commercials on XM.

 

ive had xm since march and love it.
i read also that xm has a better compression
rate than sirius,meaning better sound quality.

 

Follow the stock market? Check XM and then check Sirius.


XM is here to stay... hard to say about Sirius.


I have XM and it's the best $10 I spend each month. The commercials are minimal and aren't your typical radio commercials (ie coca-cola, bubble gum etc...). The commercials are more geared towards promoting the XM network. I'm sold on it and we're getting ready to add it to my wife's 02 Accord SE. On a scale of 1-10.... it's a solid 10.

RP

 

I would personally decide on which deck you want and then see which satelite is compatible. As for as tech talk, I perfer sirius.
Sirius has three satelites over the US and Canada doing a figure 8, XM has two over the equator. SO, sirius has a straighter line to your receiver, plus they have a fourth sat ready to go up if needed. Also, Sirius has a verying bandwith, while XM's is set in a certain limit. Plus every salesman I have talked to has told me that both are doing well, but Sirius is far superior sound quality and broadcasting method. THey also say that xm is selling better, so who knows.

My brother recently installed Sirius in his 57 Chevy 4x4 and loves it.

Good luck

 

I have an XM Sattelite Reciever it's a pioneer brand. I don't however have the Antenna.

If anyone is interested in the reciever I will sell it for $41.