Sirius or Xm?

[F9K9]

Okay, here are my questions. With all the changes in the last 1/2 year in satellite radio which of the two systems would you go with? What model would you go with under the following conditions;

1. It will not go in my home and I will not have ear buds attached to it and walk around examining what sports fans are wearing.

2. Can't (or won't) wire to my '02 6 disc am/fm/cd stock GM player.

3. FM transmitter is what I want.

4. My stock head and speakers are plenty good for me.

5. Would prefer a larger display is possible

6. A remote would be desired

7. No contracts, just a monthly fee

I am asking because there are tons of them on EBAY and the prices seems way to good to believe

Any and all advice would be deeply appreciated.

[coffeedrnkr]

I just recently got xm radio.

when you sign up for the service you can pay monthly, or yearly if I remember correctly but I know for a fact that if you want to cancel they will refund you all of the money for the months that you did not use.
You can also go to the store and buy those gift card things and those will credit the account.

I got the skifi 2. it has a big easily readable screen with a remote. the fm transmitter is inside of the unit and the only wires you have to hook up are the antenna and cigarette lighter.

Here is a pic of my setup.


I have nothing against sirius, I just picked this one and got it, and so far I really like it.

[jeff024]

I went with XM for the Nascar /wireless transmitter/ remote / and we got a free roady 2 for my wifes jeep.

[RocK]

sirius has three satelites so there are fewer down times. It runs 13.99/mo and has the RF Modulator built in.

xm has 1 satelite and runs roughly the same. The new delphi systems have the RF Modulator built in as well and run roughly the same per mo.

Both systems basically come down to who is giving you the best deal on equipment. Or what your channels you can't live without.

Or in two words. Personal Preference.

I think that XM has slightly better customer service. IMO.

By the way I sell both so if your in the eastern MN area and want a deal let me know. I will help if i can.

[F9K9]

Thanks for the input from all and your offer, Rock

I think I am beginning to lean towards the delphi skyfi2 w/remote and the free roadie2 that some are offering

Just nosing around with recievers that come with car kits and recievers w/o the kits and buying them seperately. Am still learning because with "buy it now" prices for the reciever/kits ranging from $115 to $199 there must be diffrences that a FNG is missing

[JimmyDiamond]

I have XM in both vehicles. It's factory in my Bonneville and I added the SkyPhi in the Jimmy. I went with XM because of price but the bastards raised their monthly fee so they're almost as much as Sirius.

Here's the SkyPhi in my Jimmy. It's all wired in with nothing in the cigarette plugs or tape deck. It's powered from the same source as the radio so it stays on with retained accessory power like the radio does. I just turn the radio to 87.9FM and turn the Skyphi on and I'm in business.





Steve

[barch97]

OR

[JimmyDiamond]

XM 202

[coreylubahn]

Keep in mind (and Jeff024 you may or may not know this) but XM lost the contract for Nascar coverage to Sirius beginning in 2007, so if you are a Nascar fan you may want to look at Sirius. I have Sirius and absolutely love it!!!

[Pauleo]

Question. My radio is XM ready. So does that mean that I wouldn't need the extra piece of equipment hanging on the dash??? If so, that would be cool. But is there a boombox or something that I could get so that I could listen to XM other than in the truck??? Or maybe just something that I could hook up to my home stereo???

[JimmyDiamond]

Question. My radio is XM ready. So does that mean that I wouldn't need the extra piece of equipment hanging on the dash??? If so, that would be cool. But is there a boombox or something that I could get so that I could listen to XM other than in the truck??? Or maybe just something that I could hook up to my home stereo???

If your head unit is XM ready then you just need the XM tuner which will hook to your head unit. Those of us with the "extra piece of equipment hanging on the dash" are using our stock head units. I kept my stock head unit because it's Bose and I have the steering wheel controls.

[coreylubahn]

Pauleo if your radio is XM ready as Jimmy stated you would add the add-on XM tuner to your ready it then you wouldn't have the extra piece on the dash. Keep in mind that this tuner would be permenantly mounted in the truck and so it would only be useful there (this is how mine is). It keeps a clean look but doesn't give you the ability to use it with a boombox or home stereo. If you go the route of one of the "extra pieces" style, called a plug-and-play, you can use it in the car, as well as in the available (for purchase) home docking station (plugged into you home stereo) or available (again for an extra "investment") boombox. Plug and play gives you a lot more options for use but isn't quite as slick in the car. Hope this helps!!

[adrenalnjunky]

Like they stated - XM ready means you just need to spend about $100 for the tuner and adapter needed to interface with your equipment, and those can be hidden away in the dash or console or whatever.

As far as carrying it with you - the SkiFi2 and Raody 2 both can be detached and plugged into a docking station in the home/work/whatever.

If all you are wanting to listen to at home is the music channels - then part of your standard XM subscription is the XM radio online service - You can listen to all of the music channels (plus a couple of online-only) over a broadband internet connection - probably not dialup friendly, and these "accellerated dialup" services won't make a difference for this type of data stream. My only beef is that the Nascar channel isn't streamed, and I'm about to start working on Sundays. I plan on buying the docking station to try at work for my roady2.

[coreylubahn]

Okay I must also plug all the features/benefits of Sirius (because I am a devoted subscriber). They have many plug and play units from many manufacturers (AudioVox, Kenwood, Clarion and many others) that have the home docks, car docks and boomboxes as well. They also have internet broadcasts of the music channels and they give you free access with your paid subscription. And if you have Dish Network satelitte service (TV) and the middle package or higher you also get free access to Sirius over your satelitte dish on any TV connected up. (They are the 6000 channels). Very cool and at least part of the reason I put Sirius in the truck was I was getting Dish Network in the new house and figured it would make sense to have the same thing in both places.

I'm beginning to think I should buy stock in Sirius for as much as I push their product....I should really be getting paid for this.

[Yellow Hammer]

Okay I must also plug all the features/benefits of Sirius (because I am a devoted subscriber). They have many plug and play units from many manufacturers (AudioVox, Kenwood, Clarion and many others) that have the home docks, car docks and boomboxes as well. They also have internet broadcasts of the music channels and they give you free access with your paid subscription. And if you have Dish Network satelitte service (TV) and the middle package or higher you also get free access to Sirius over your satelitte dish on any TV connected up. (They are the 6000 channels). Very cool and at least part of the reason I put Sirius in the truck was I was getting Dish Network in the new house and figured it would make sense to have the same thing in both places.

I'm beginning to think I should buy stock in Sirius for as much as I push their product....I should really be getting paid for this.

All the benefits above are also available for XM.

[rlith]

All the benefits above are also available for XM.

True, but Sirius has much better play lists, yes both are 12.95 a month and 6.99 for each additional unit. Sirius has Howard Stern (not for everyones taste.) Sirius only has 2 censored channels, XM has 5. XM has a tendancy to cut down long songs, Sirius doesn't.

And for those with XM ready headunits (including OEM head units) there are modules available that will allow you to use Sirius instead. A good example of this Are Pioneer head units. Even if they are marked XM ready, you can use the SIR-PNR1 for Sirius and do everything through the head unit. This also goes for alpine, and several others including OEM head units..(This is getting bigger because of Chevy having XM units, you can now convert it to Sirius)

As for those who want to keep their Steering wheel with radio controls on it, PAC makes a nifty module that allows you to put in an aftermarket deck regardless of the brand and use your Stock steeringwheel controls. You can find it here http://www.crutchfield.com/S-RSvVIN4KZe ... &i=127SWIX


But be it Sirius or XM, you can go to both their sites and get a free 3 day trial streamed to you online.

One last thing...

Sirius has exclusive NFL
XM Has exclusive MLB
Sirius will have exclusive NASCAR
SIRIUS Has Stern (and before people say it, no, there is no extra charge, Sirius does not charge extra for anything)

But like I said, try the 3 day trials at both places and make your deceision there.

[JimmyDiamond]

Rlith is a stockholder in Sirius and therefore a BIASED opinion!

[rlith]

Rlith is a stockholder in Sirius and therefore a BIASED opinion!

LOL, I wish... Their damn stock doubled and I never bought...

[n0m4d]

I have both Sirius in the truck and XM through Direct TV and for my music tastes (Alternative and Rock) I find Sirius much better. The playlists seem to be a bit more diverse and i like the DJ's better. Pics of my install (no poking fun of the music selection, its already been done).

[quickbiker]

LOL barch97!

[snocat1]

Hey that show your age nOm4d Nice job on the install though. What for speakers do you have?

[n0m4d]

Thanks for the compliments on my install, it too 2 months on weekends to complete.

In all 4 doors I installed Alpine Type-R Components along with a crap load of Dynamat:



The subs are 8" Rockford-Fosgate Punch Series 2. Basically the best (freq response and power handling) 8" subs I could find that would fit the 4" mounting depth of the box. I also Dynamat'd the back of the cab.



All of the wiring was run down the middle of the truck under the center console. I removed all of the factory trim from the rear of the cab and lined it with 5-bar diamond plate and mounted all of the electronics on the plate. There is a RF Amp, an Apine iPod adapter, the Sirius reciever and a RF power inverter.

The whole idea was to have a really nice sounding stereo without impacting the usability of the truck that was as hidden as possible. I've been extremely happy with it. I have a ton of pics of the install I should post.

[quickbiker]

Wowzers Nob4d, that's a kick aaazzz system. I installed a kick zzaaa system years ago, it's fun to do. I just did one in my truck, but held myself back a bit this time.

And back to the subject: Sirius kicks XM's tuckash (wifey has xm, so I compare).

[S10]

It's not going to matter, which one is better. I was told by an XM rep, that starting some time next year, you will be able to pick and choose what stations from XM and what stations from Surius, that you want. Now that they are one.

[04crewvt]

Caveat will be you will need a new receiver that will pick up both. If you have an older model you will pick up your respective stations XM or Sirus but not the others.

[S10]

Correct! You will need to get a new receiver that will have this function.
One thing, I forgot to add to the post above.

[F9K9]

Anyone recieve an email from XM reference an FCC violation with some of their units?

[BADs Crew]

Anyone recieve an email from XM reference an FCC violation with some of their units?

None here. Should I expect something?