Sirius vs XM

** Have Sirius in my 04 Mach 1 because it came ready for it, though they had to ** install the tuner under the seat & have XM on my other car though not ready ** for it the unit has a small faceplate with the tuner hidden under the dash. ** My observations: ** Sound quality goes to XM ** Programming about equal ** Technical problems such as losing signal where the service has to be called ** to send a signal Sirius is worse, had to call 4 times in 1 month so far no ** calls to XM. ** Customer service goes to XM, Siruis is horrible, anything wrong they blame ** the unit including Sirius has a $75 cancellation fee if you take one of ** their plans but customer service does not tell you about it when activating ** but will say they did. ** My conclusions: ** Will cancel Sirius when my prepaid year is up & go to XM with the add on ** unit. ** Anyone thinking of Sirius like I did because it is built into the head unit ** think again because XM is better totally & with the small units from XM no ** advantage to the Ford headunit.

My question to you: why would anyone PAY to listen to a radio???

-JD

________________________________________________________ | | | 1998 Laser Red GT RAMFM Member Since 1998 | | M-5400-A Suspension http:/207.13.104.8/users/jdadams || Subframe Connectors & Seat Bracing, Strut Tower Brace || 4-point K-frame Brace, Tremec T-45 & OEM 3.27:1 Gears ||________________________________________________________|

Here in the Rocky Mountains, there are times that satellite radio is all that you can get - the mountains play hell with normal AM/FM reception.

Here is a solution to that problem as soon as the interface is available -- this unit will make your XM work like a dealer-installed unit without having to have the separate receiver.

This "XM Direct" product is a universal solution that, given the correct cables and adapters, can plug into your wiring harness and deliver XM with the same interface as a factory installed unit (no additional tuner required, displays song titles, etc., on your existing radio).

Whenever I see this question I know it is from someone who hasn't even THOUGHT about giving it a try. What a mistake!

XM isn't "radio" as you know it. It is radio without 25 minutes of commercials per hour. It is radio with the sound quality of a CD. It is radio without annoying DJs butting in, without obnoxious call-in giveaway games, and with a music library, in XM's case, consisting of over 2,000,000 tracks (vs. the 500 or so tracks the typical radio station uses). It is radio where, at any given time, you can find 15 or 20 channels playing stuff you REALLY want to hear, stuff that has NEVER, EVER been heard on FM. It is radio that, no matter where you are, always gives you the same 120 channels (so you don't have to search for the channel you're looking for).

XM is to "radio" what Lamborghini is to "cars".

"D Ray" wrote

Too small, does it come in a GT40?

snipped-for-privacy@timecalc.com (D Ray) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

Is the sound quality the same as digital FM?

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

** > ** > My question to you: why would anyone PAY to listen to a radio??? ** > ** ** ** Whenever I see this question I know it is from someone who hasn't even ** THOUGHT about giving it a try. What a mistake!

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but I'm puzzled at the reasoning behind stuff like this.

I've demo'ed XM and Sirius, and yes, the sound quality is nice, and yes, reception is excellent. It's the notion that the recieving customer pays the freight instead of the advertiser that dissuades me.

I listen to a LOT of radio (usu. 12+ hours per day) in a fringe reception area, and I guess I'm just old-fashioned when I say that I prefer fuzzy signals, DJ and advertisement noise. I especially enjoy listening to vintage rock-n-roll on AM radio; the sound quality of the AM signal adds to the nostalgia.

As the middle class continues getting nickle-n-dimed for those 'monthly fees' for services that marketers have labeled neccessities, I bank the money instead. The need for cable/satelite TV and radio signais just isn't there for me, regardless of how poor the analog signal is. For me, this is probably more an issue about poor financial choices than of radio reception. Affluence is about the size and diversity of your financial portfolio, not how many toys you have.

-JD

________________________________________________________ | | | 1998 Laser Red GT RAMFM Member Since 1998 | | M-5400-A Suspension http:/207.13.104.8/users/jdadams || Subframe Connectors & Seat Bracing, Strut Tower Brace || 4-point K-frame Brace, Tremec T-45 & OEM 3.27:1 Gears ||________________________________________________________|

I have XM radio and I love it. As an issue of content and quality I feel it is well worth the cost. I listen to a lot of radio myself - mostly my local public station - and as far as content is concerned there is no comparison between the commercial FM stations and XM. Also, if you like certain genres of music not played on commercial stations, XM can't be beat. In the end, its not really a comparison. XM is what commercial FM should be. Most FM stations are centrally run, play the same 30 songs over and over. They offer no local uniqueness, only tons of commercials. If a radio station is going to just play music and not be a part of the local community; I demand the quality and content that XM offers - even if it's at a premium price. I hardly think XM radio is a necessity. It's a luxury that I'm willing to pay for. As for labeling satellite radio a poor financial choice -- by the same logic, driving a Mustang is a poor choice as well.

Jim S. '82 Mutant

"JD Adams" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

I haven't heard IBOC so I really couldn't say. At some point, the digital bandwidth is sufficient so that adding more doesn't materially improve the quality of that sound. XM is pretty close to that point, and I think it is unlikely IBOC could improve beyond that. Certainly, in the car most people would be unable to distinguish XM from a CD.

I know this. IBOC is still going to have 20+ minutes of commercials every hour and all the other crap that goes along with terrestrial radio. I just can't go back there, you know?

-snip

Sorry Joe, but David answered that question in his post that you quoted. ;-)

bill Car: '64.5 Mustang: 260 V8, 3 sp, factory a/c, SVO cam, Performer intake, Holley 390 cfm carb, Pertronix, Hi-Po exhaust manifolds, 1.5" front & 1" rear drop, Jacobs wires, Torq Thrust D's

Guns: Colt AR15, Sig P220, Moss. 590A1, Marlin 70P

WHAT advertisers? There are no ads on music channels. Talk, well, you're going to have ads whereever you go.

Well, if you actually WANT bad sound quality I guess you're out of luck. But I recommend you go to Walmart and set the XM display to channel 6 and listen for a few minutes. I personally don't like the

60s-style programming, but those who do love it. It is precisely as 60s AM/FM was. But you're stuck with better sound quality, like it or not (honestly, channel 6 on XM has slightly compromised sound quality, partially for effect, but probably because they want the bandwidth elsewhere). I don't believe you'll find anything like it in FM, anywhere.

Well, some people won't deem it a worth while expenditure. It is downright bizarre to me that someone who listens to radio 12 hours a day wouldn't drop everything and run to Walmart this instant and get an XM. Just bizarre. It will change your life. For $10/month. Perhaps the best value you'll get from any $10 expenditure you'll make in your life.

Same here.........I've had XM since may 03, and wouldn't go back to commercial radio for anything. Hearing the same stupid commercials

20-30 times a day, drives me nuts. I work out of my car, so I'm in and out of the vehicle all day. It seems that I time it just wrong. I can get out of the car when one commercial is ending, and get back into the car when another one is starting. By the time I get to my next stop, the commercials are over.......I bought a watch with the WWV radio thingy to keep it on the correct time to the second. When I listen to talk radio, and they break for a commercial, I can switch over to the music channels and know exactly when to switch it back LOL

** Well, some people won't deem it a worth while expenditure. It is ** downright bizarre to me that someone who listens to radio 12 hours a ** day wouldn't drop everything and run to Walmart this instant and get ** an XM. Just bizarre. It will change your life. For $10/month. ** Perhaps the best value you'll get from any $10 expenditure you'll make ** in your life.

Analog radio advertisers and folks like yourself who throw money at new technology each month pay the bill, not me. I don't pay money to watch television or listen to the radio. I am debt free and I am easily able to save 40% of everything I make, year in, year out. I didn't achieve that kind of financial freedom by paying monthly fees on things I can easily do without.

I'm glad that you all enjoy XM; it's been a few years since the IPO, and I've heard they are finally turning a profit, to the chagrin of shareholders. I can't comment on Wally World, as I do not shop there. And I am pleased that you're all happy with the quality of what you hear. Unfortunately, I lie well outside the boundary of the XM marketing dept's target demographic.

-JD

________________________________________________________ | | | 1998 Laser Red GT RAMFM Member Since 1997 | | M-5400-A Suspension http:/207.13.104.8/users/jdadams || Subframe Connectors & Seat Bracing, Strut Tower Brace || 4-point K-frame Brace, Tremec T-45 & OEM 3.27:1 Gears ||________________________________________________________|

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (bill) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m12.aol.com:

Actually, all he said was that "it is radio with the sound quality of a CD". Since Sat radio is broadcast differently than FM, I was wondering if the sound over a receiver is the same. The question still stands.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

snipped-for-privacy@timecalc.com (D Ray) wrote in news:eaf9681.0406261442.89dc958 @posting.google.com:

materially

point,

Certainly,

Yeah, I was just wondering if they sound the same.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

snipped-for-privacy@timecalc.com (D Ray) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

Does channel 6 have reverb and compression like the old AM top 40s did?

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

You don't shop at Wal-Mart? Hell, I've heard of people like you, but I just thought that they were a part of American myth, like honest politicians and Bigfoot.......

No, but it does have annoying DJs. Luckily, they have spared us the destruction of the music.

While I'm a child of the 60s, I don't listen to it because I don't like the DJs. I listen to Deep Tracks (40), TopTracks (46), and the Loft (50) -- which give me the music without the DJs. It also eliminates the very early 60s stuff (which I don't care for) in favor of 70s and 80s.

I used to buy 20 or 30 CDs a month. Haven't bought one in two years. XM has given me financial freedom.

Truthfully, I have financial freedom. But I don't have it to the exclusion of good things in my life. I listen to great music. Have nice cars. I gamble. A lot.

Financial freedom is worthless if you can't live a little along the way.

BTW, my "financial freedom" has increased substantially since I bought a ton of XMSR shares at $1.80-2.11 a year and a half ago and have watched it move to 30 and it is now hovering at about 25, and is poised to move to 50-60 in the next year on the strength of consumers who cannot stand to be without the product.