My sweet and ever-loving girlfriend “was sorta thinking about” getting a satellite radio. Her birthday is coming up in a couple of months, and I think this is a great idea for a present.
After looking into things, it looks like XM is very much the better deal - I would likely buy the 5 year subscription.
Tell me, how do you like your satellite radio? Any problems with it?
We live (and work) in a valley cup…would this cause problems with reception? I’d really hate to buy the expensive receiver and then not have it work because of terrain.
I love mine. I have Sirius, but only in my car, not in the house. I got Sirius instead of XM because the equipment I needed was on sale and much cheaper than the XM equipment.
My reception does drop out in areas where the satellite signal is blocked, but I’ve found it only happening for a second or two while I’m driving. I live in a very hilly area (central NC) and I’ve not noticed the terrain being a problem. It’s more things like dense stands of trees, bridges, etc.
The reception is always crystal clear, which is a lot more than I can say for the local radio stations. I live in semi-rural area so regular radio reception can have a lot of interference.
I have XM. I think XM and Sirius are pretty equal in terms of quality. Have a look at their programming schedule , and see what suits your tastes better. XM is more like traditional radio, (most channels have no commercials though) where Sirius is more like a gigantic CD collection. (I’m pretty sure Sirius has no commercials at all.)
I recommend you buy a unit at a store that has a good return policy, then take the unit out and test it out on the XM Preview channel before you subscribe, to test out the reception. (I think you’ll probably be fine though.)
My favorite NPR station (WABE-FM 90.1) cuts its power at around 5:30 pm and my classical Music Through The Night comes in really cruddy after that, so I was thinking of going to a home satellite unit. Only thing is , I like the voice and personality of Jeff Esworthy, so I’d have to listen to canned stuff all night long if I had satellite.
As an aside, does anyone remember the last name of the previous host of MTTN? First name Arthur. Man, did he have a soothing voice or what? Loved that guy!
My dad got me an XM PC receiver for my birthday – it’s a little USB thingamajig that plugs into the Line Out on my sound card and uses software controls for the channels.
There are ads on XM, but far, far fewer than on regular radio. The Old Time Radio channel, which plays classic radio dramas and such, is the worst culprit that I’ve found. The rest, you hear maybe a couple of ads an hour.
The main reason I wanted XM was for the Cinemagic station – music from film scores, 24-7. Since getting my receiver, I’ve also grown to like The System and BPM (techno/dance), Chrome (disco, believe it or not), The Loft (an amazingly diverse variety of acoustic rock) and Ngoma (African).
I’ve never had any problems with reception, nor has my dad – XM uses both satellite and terrestrial transmitters, and between the two I’ve never had problems with dropping out or anything.
I am the God of all things XM (except for she who may not be named).
I’ve had it for (literally) years, being an early adopter. I have it in my truck and have the boom box on order.
Satellite radio is the greatest thing since FM. I’m not saying too much when I promise you that it will knock broadcast radio right off your listening habits.
Like Dragonblink I like NGoma, the Radio Classics Channel, and others. It’s the greatest thing that’s happened to my commute (110 miles per day) since anything.
XM Radio for my car has been the best investment I’ve made in years. I was soooo fed up with FM radio that it was making my blood pressure go up every time I had to drive more than five minutes - and the nearest store is six minutes away from me, so something had to give.
Similar to romansperson, I live in a slightly hilly but densely wooded area (Eastern NC) and the signal will sometimes drop out for just a second when passing by a thick cluster of trees by the road, but that’s pretty rare and not really a bother at all.
Love, love, LOVE XM!
Totally off topic, but I’d be interested in your opinions on WorldSpace - I worked there for a while, and left just after the launch of AsiaStar. Being here in the States, we never really got to hear the content.
Just another affirmation that I LOVE my XM radio. It was standard equipment in our new Avalanche, and although it came with three free months, I intend to keep it for the life of the vehicle. My only regret is that my drive to work (I carpool with the wife) is not longer since that is the only time we really get to listen to it.
We generally go from 41 (Boneyard) up through 49 (Squizz), with ‘external’ visits to Cinemagic, Comedy, and CNN Headlines.
The only time I have lost reception was driving through Smokey Mtn. National Park. However, we switched to antenna there and picked up nothing as well, so not much could be heard (for the best anyway I am sure).
Not to rain on Jonathan’s parade, but I was one of the first 2000 subscriber’s to XM. Got my little note and everything. Lemme tell you, I love it. Nothing like driving from Tennessee to Minnesota and never losing radio stations. And being able to listen to a baseball game on ESPN radio for the last three hours of the trip.
So far, I’ve convinced 4 or 5 other people to buy XM just by riding with me. Check out the XM Roadie getting ready to come out. It’s a car unit that doesn’t attach to your car, meaning you can pull it and put it in another one. It’s supposed to be $119. Coming soon!
I , personally, won’t buy until i’ve been in not just one, but several road trips with someone with it. You see, too often I’ve been burned by a station that seems to have a great rotation, and plays only good music, and never repeats anything the entire day!..only to have it play the same thing the NEXT day.
(AOL for broadband radio, TW digital TV Radio…hmmm, maybe it’s just a AOL TW thing.)
Sirius does have commercials, but only on the stations whose feeds are designed to have commercial breaks - the news feeds, like Fox, CNN, CNBC, etc. are a good example. They are basically the same thing as what you get when you watch those stations on television, so there’s holes that need to be filled. Sirius fills them using either public service announcements or ads for new streams, which is fine with me. There are so many streams it’s nice to hear new ones advertised, or else I might never find 'em!
I was also listening to the classic rock station on the way home one day, and the deejay broke in with an announcement about that huge power outage that happened from New York to Michigan a little while back, and as part of the announcement he named the streams you could go to for more information about it if you wanted. I appreciated knowing about that.
I love my XM, there was a special going on for people with the right contacts where you can get am XM receiver with house or car adapter for 49.00 if you agreed to a six month contract. I believe this offer is valid but I can’t post the offer itself on boards. I can tell people about it. So if you want XM send me some E-mail. I get nothing out of this
XM Fan of 80’s on 8 90’s on 9 The Bone Yard (Love the Hair Band blocks) and 150
