Seeking Recommendations XM or Sirius Radio

[JustSkipIt]

I'm thinking of getting my partner satelite radio for Christmas and looking for recommendations. I went to Best Buy and the websites for XM & Sirius. It looks like the main difference is the sports broadcasts. We don't really care about that. My partner particularly likes Broadway and also kid tunes (cause we have a 21 month old). Right now she's listening to a lot of launchcast but that's only where the computer is, not throughout the house or in the car.

It sounds like either way we have to buy the plug & play piece, a home docking station, and the car adapter (and installation). Then subscribe to the service.

So I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience, good or bad, to share. Thanks a lot.

[GayNow]

Debra,

My mother has XM. She loves it. We have the home adapter, but I haven't hooked it up. Really, it's kind of silly since she wanted the home adapter so that my grandmother could listen, but she has it in the car with her during the day. She didn't think about that. LOL Fortunately, the home adapter was a "free with purchase" special.

As for installation, really, I wouldn't bother paying for it. It was SO easy to install (unless they've made major changes and now require that it be hotwired to the car). If it's the same installation procedure as ours, plug in the antenna to the unit and just find the best way for the wire to go through the interior of the car...then pop it on the roof (either the front-center or the back-center of the roof...ours is on the back). It's a mega-magnet, so it's not going anywhere. Again, if it's the same as ours, there will be a cassette adapter that plugs into the unit as well. Plug it in and pop it into the car's cassette player. (They still make those in cars, right?) Then, you just plug in the power supply, which should go into the cigarette lighter. Bam, you're done. Should take no more than 15 minutes. (Remember, this is all assuming they haven't made major changes...we got ours a year and a half ago.)

XM has a good selection of channels. I love the broadway channel. There is also a channel for movie sountracks. Pretty much anything you want, you can find.

I don't know much about Sirius. Perhaps there are others who can fill you in.

Hope that helps.

Carleen

[meretricious]

debra, i lovvvvve my xm radio, i wouldn't have survived driving across the country without it. i chose xm over sirius mostly because a friend of mine had it and i was used to it. i've got the delphi myfi xm2go, and it came with all of the acoutrements to play in house or in car. it can broadcast directly over fm, and has many frequencies to chose from, very easy to change, so i've never even used the cassette attachment. the install is mucho easy, basically an plastic base that adheres to your dash, hardest part was getting it close enough to my driver's seat. i didn't even bother to put the antenna outside the car, i just have it on my dash near the windshield.
the in home set up was also very easy, just have to have your stereo system near enough to a window to set the satellite receiver in it.
two stations i think you would listen to a lot are the loft and xm cafe. they both mix new music both known and unknown with very good old songs like joni mitchell, etc. i also spend a lot of time on fred, the 80's alternative retro station. the comedy channel is nice on a long drive, and also i can finally listen to air america. did i mention i love it? ~mary

[JustSkipIt]

Well, I'm so amused about your responses, not because of what you have to say but because of who responded. I guess I could have talked to Car either of the times we IMed that day and I always thought that Mary was the perfect person to have Satelite radio. I guess I wasn't wrong.

Thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear that the installation is so easy. Rachel hasn't decided if she wants it yet. She's also considering Nintendo DS or Journey to Wild Divine or something else... But thanks.

[tybee317]

This is more of a comment, really. We have Sirius in the OR at work and it is cool. I freaking love it and so do all my co-workers and surgeons. There is a huge selection of music and etc. to choose from.
I am not sure about home use, although I am now sold and plan to investigate for myself. Great thread.

[Kieli]

I've been an XM subscriber for close to five years now and I love it. I had an old Sony XM unit which I'm trading in to get an XM ready head unit in my car and a smaller wireless antenna. I can get XM in my home, on my computer, etc without having to pay extra. I love it.

[mscheckmate]

I have XM in the car, and I get the Sirius music channels on my satellite dish. Overall, I like both services. When I began my XM subscription, it was a few dollars per month cheaper than Sirius. I don't know if that's still the case, but it's worth checking on. I think Sirius still has an LGBT program (I'm thinking of Sirius Out-Q) that XM does not carry. And if you're an Air America fan, as I am, you may be disappointed with the fact that XM mixes in non-AAR hosts like Alan Colmes, rather than carrying all of the AAR lineup.

[Rosenberg]

I got an XM Roady 2 and MyFi for my birthday in July and I’m very pleased with both of them. I got the Roady 2 free because they were running a promotion where the Roady was free if you purchased any XM radio, so it was a pretty good purchase as far as I’m concerned. My main reason for getting XM was because I’m a huge baseball fan and I love being able to listen to the play by play of any major league team no matter where I happen to be. They also have Big Ten and Pac 10 college football broadcasts too, so it’s perfect for me. I didn’t have the unit installed in the car; I just sit it on the passenger seat and stick the antenna on the roof and I haven’t had too many problems getting a signal. I like listening to the MyFi when I’m out taking a walk and it also gets good reception in my house. I can’t get a signal at work though, unfortunately, but it’s great to have if you do a lot of driving or drive long distances as I do.

[JustSkipIt]

Wow, well I really appreciate all the recommendations. I'd say that the response is overwhelmingly a thumbs-up on XM or Sirius with more people having XM. The Roady sounds like a cool option without the installation. I'll look at that. The guy at Best Buy really made it sound like you had to install the car thing but since y'all all agree, I have a tendancy to believe you rather than him. Thanks a ton everyone.

Debra

[JustSkipIt]

Hi everyone,
I wanted to say thanks for all the recommendations and information everyone posted. I ordered a MiFi today thanks to a really awesome deal Sally had access to. I'm expecting it to arrive in the next week and can hardly wait. Thanks.