Topic: Satellite Radio?

[shane]

I don't know if this is the ebst forum for this but figured I'd start here.  Does anyone out there have sattelite radio?  I've been looking at it lately and have been seriously thinking about getting it.  Anyone have any opinions on what to get?  XM? Sirius?  What kind of player.  I was look at this one yesterday and it pretty much meets my criteria but wnated to get some info from a user.
http://www.xmradio.com/myfi/index.jsp
Thanks for any and all input.

Shane

[setboy]

i dont have it but my dads boss has Sirius and they like that alot

from looking at what Sirius has and what XM has I would go with Sirius

Raphael

[taktheride]

Sirius, because in 2007, they will get to broadcast all Nascar Events.
; )

[ducati]

I have had XM for over 2 years now.  Excellent programming, lots of variety, their Jamband station isn't quite what JamOn is but they're getting better.  I love it, and would buy again.

Sound quality is so-so, tho, don't believe the "cd-quality" hype.

[BobW]

I've heard 40Hz to 16kHz and often variable.  This sounds like MP3 to me.     

[ducati]

Oh, it's definitely compressed.  Heavily in some cases.  It sounds ok on the XM boombox, and in the car...  But I don't like the sound at all with the home kit.

I haven't tried the Polk tuner digi out to a DAC yet.  I plan on doing that soon if I can get a hold of the guy at S'phile who's tried it...  I want to see if it's really any better.  Seems to me the DACs weren't the problem, the compression was. 

I should add it's different on different channels--some have more bandwidth than others, and sound better.

[The Kilted Taper]

Sirius, because in 2007, they will get to broadcast all Nascar Events.
; )

Why are you waiting till 2007, when X< has 2 NASCAR stations now???

Also, just heard that as of April 1, XM will be increasing their monthly fee from $9.99 to $12.95. If you are already a subscriber or are interested in being on, you can lock in the $9.99 before then if you do a package deal.

[taktheride]

Sirius, because in 2007, they will get to broadcast all Nascar Events.
; )

Why are you waiting till 2007, when X< has 2 NASCAR stations now???
Also, just heard that as of April 1, XM will be increasing their monthly fee from $9.99 to $12.95. If you are already a subscriber or are interested in being on, you can lock in the $9.99 before then if you do a package deal.

I hear ya, I just can't afford it and I don't listen to radio enough right now to rationalize buying it.  By 2007 I plan on being having a career as a trucker, so Sirius only makes sense.  10-4

[ducati]

Why are you waiting till 2007, when X< has 2 NASCAR stations now???

Also, just heard that as of April 1, XM will be increasing their monthly fee from $9.99 to $12.95. If you are already a subscriber or are interested in being on, you can lock in the $9.99 before then if you do a package deal.

Since I am a current subscriber (one XM radio), what sort of package do I need to do to keep my pricing?

[The Kilted Taper]

I don't know the details, but the have different billing options (monthly, quarterly, 2 and 5 years I think). I believe that's what they are talking about.

[ducati]

The deal is if you are a current subscriber and you want to "lock" the rate, you have to have a year or multiyear contract.  That's pretty annoying if you ask me.  What they are doing is A) increasing revenue and B) trying to pad their coffers to look better on paper (probably vis a vis Sirius).

XM, while popular, isn't a guaranteed success yet--AFAIK the company isn't making money as of right now.  I sure am not going to take a chance with a 5-year sub!!

[Cooker]

i have sirius. it sounds about on par with a 96 or 128K mp3. that's not the problem, though. the ultra-thin rotations on all stations are.

a multi-year contract with either would be foolish. new legislation will require all hardware sold in 2006 to be dual-band capable.

[ducati]

That's too bad--I have never used Sirius, but I was thinking about subscribing just for the JamOn channel, and hoped the other stations would fill in for when I didn't have the XM receiver at home.  If it's super repetitive I'll think twice about that.

[The Kilted Taper]

I"ve been noticing that XM is getting more repetative as well. I feel like I am hearing the same tunes during my morning and afternoon commutes. Fred, Ethel, XMU, Music Lab, etc.

[ducati]

Flood Music Lab with emails.  I do that every once and awhile and although they never respond to requests, oddly enough what I ask to hear more of invariably starts popping up in the rotation.