I'm thinking about picking up a unit with some of my anticipated Christmas cash.  What unit do you have, which service do you use?  How do you like it?  Do you think its worth the $10-$13 a month for the service?

Right now I'm leaning toward Serius.  They have a unit that can be self-installed and won't cost a fortune.  About $170ish for the receiver, home unit and car unit with a built in FM modulator.  Plus there is a $50 rebate, so final cost will be around $125 for everything.  It has a suction cup dash mount so there is no need to do any hard installation to the vehicle.

XM is owned and operated by the faceless corporate media empire (ClearChannel et al.) and has advertisements, while Sirius ($13/mo instead of $10) is independently owned and has *no advertisements*  I think the choice is clear.

My new Audi comes pre-wired for XM or Sirius units.  I'm going to get a Sirius unit sometime next year.  The engagement ring just broke the bank but if it doesn't hurt a little then it didn't mean as much :)

James

I have XM..  It's right up there with cable tv, the lightbulb, airplane, internal combustion engine.. it really is the neatest things since sliced bread, especially if you drive a lot.


As far as Sirrus Vs XM, you're own your own... XM is 9.99/mo- $7/mo (depending on how much you pre-buy, but it's refundable if you cancel early)... it's a pretty damn good deal.. I love the thing


Good music

Good quality

Works just about anywhere

what jblachy said is correct..

XM has some radio ads

Sirrus has none.

XM doesn't have enough for me to even worry about.. nothing like regular radio.

Not true, Sirius only has 60 out of 100 commercial-free channels, whereas XM only offers 35 commercial-free.

There's also the issue of an antenna. Automobile sattelite radio requires the installation of an additonal antenna, which was definitely not for me.

For home use, you may not be able to pick up a signal with the antenna installed indoors. Sirius recommends possible outdoor installation, but depending on how your home is constructed, may not be possible with the home-use antenna. The only way I was able to get a signal at home was to set the entire damned thing up outside, way the hell away from the house and all trees (yeah, they can affect the signal, too).

I wound up taking my Sirius setup back for a refund (I paid $195 plus a $50 rebate for the receiver, car docking kit, and home use kit). For me, sattelite radio has a ways to go before I'm willing to commit. You may feel differently.

Sirius all the way. I'll never listen to commercial radio again, especially anything Clearchannel.

XM seems to be the AOL of satellite radio-ubiquitous and stupid.

bd

I had Sirius in a Hertz van I rented when I was in California and it was great. I haven't had the chance to listen to XM yet. Sure bets the hell out of listening to some of the crap on FM. BobK

Both have commercials. XM has better sound but Sirius has better programming. But here's the clincher: Sirius is in deep deep doo-doo moneywise and is about to go TU. It's unlikely to survive the year. XM OTOH just signed up its Millionth user. Sign up for three years and it's only $7 and something a month. I like it.

GF has XM in the car and loves it...we also have the home unit and the boombox...I son't know about Sirius' programming, but I like being able to just move the "faceplate" from dock to dock.

Also, Hiram see about a hardwired installation, the FM modulators I;ve seen are crappy.

What about talk radio on satellite? Can you get Rush, Hannity, Glen Beck, etc?

I have Sirius and think its great.  (except that someone ripped off my Kenwood deck that controls the system, bastards).  Sirius offers 60 genuine commercial free music channels.  I have heard that even the 35 channels on XM that are supposed to be ad-free still have commercails on them (thats unconfirmed tho)  While it is true that XM has many more subscribers, Sirius is gonna last.  They have their own, dedicated satellites up there, and no matter what happens someone is going to operate them.

I use an fm modulator in my car with my mp3 player and with my portable dvd unit and they both seem to work really well.  I also don't want to pay a mint to have some audio shop hardwire the unit in.  My mom ordered me a unit based on the recommendations folks gave here to go with Sirius.  The unit is the Streamer and it uses an RF modulator built into the car docking station.  I suppose it could be hard wired in if I'm not happy with the performance of the modulator.  Here is a link to the unit.

[url]http://www.americanwireless.com/stream.html[/url]

I will probably sell the home docking station and buy the optional boom box that they make for the unit.  If not, I'll wire it into the surround sound system on my home theatre.  Come to think of it, maybe I'll do that and buy the boombox for activities on the go like ARFCOM gatherings and pique niques.

Anyway, cost for the receiver, car docking station with fm modulator and home cradle with antennae was $174.90 shipped and then a $50 rebate for a final cost of $124.90.