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Advice on Sirius radio?
10-04-2004, 02:51 PM
#21
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Originally Posted by Mevin
Thank you very much -- this saved me a lot of aggravation and a little $. 
I wasted money buying antenna adapters that I ended up not using.
(I forgot I had them and its too late to return them.)
10-06-2004, 09:22 PM
#22
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Originally Posted by Voided_1
Sirius has the year prepay for $99. which makes is less than $10 a month.
Here at Radioshack we carry the sirius radio, prices break down like this.
Receiver=$100.
Car kit w/ fm modulator=$50
Home kit=$50
Boombox kit=$100
12.95 month to month
100 for a year
500 for life.
Here at Radioshack we carry the sirius radio, prices break down like this.
Receiver=$100.
Car kit w/ fm modulator=$50
Home kit=$50
Boombox kit=$100
12.95 month to month
100 for a year
500 for life.
Life is for the life of the receiver, not the subscribers account. so unless you plan on getting and keeping that receiver for 3 years (rough calculation).. its not worth it.
10-06-2004, 09:28 PM
#23
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Originally Posted by WhiteBird00
One thing nobody ever mentions is that the small XM antenna works fine when plugged into a Sirius receiver. I have both XM and Sirius - I use one on my bike and the other in the car. I can switch them back and forth whenever I want without switching antennas and the reception is the same.
Sirius has many more ground repeaters than XM so your chances of getting good reception in a city are often better. Outside the city, I find that XM tends to have more consistent signal strength.
Personally, I prefer the programming on Sirius but that is something you have to decide for yourself. The current $99 special makes Sirius price competitive with XM. But watch out for the $500 lifetime subscription - it's for the lifetime of your receiver not for your lifetime. If you decide to upgrade to a newer receiver in a few years then you lose the balance of the "lifetime" subscription.
Clarion recently released a small (relatively speaking) all-in-one Sirius receiver that is about the size of the XM Delphi SkyFi and uses the same kind of drop-in cradle. It is the reason I decided to give Sirius a try - all the other Sirius receivers were too bulky.
Sirius has many more ground repeaters than XM so your chances of getting good reception in a city are often better. Outside the city, I find that XM tends to have more consistent signal strength.
Personally, I prefer the programming on Sirius but that is something you have to decide for yourself. The current $99 special makes Sirius price competitive with XM. But watch out for the $500 lifetime subscription - it's for the lifetime of your receiver not for your lifetime. If you decide to upgrade to a newer receiver in a few years then you lose the balance of the "lifetime" subscription.
Clarion recently released a small (relatively speaking) all-in-one Sirius receiver that is about the size of the XM Delphi SkyFi and uses the same kind of drop-in cradle. It is the reason I decided to give Sirius a try - all the other Sirius receivers were too bulky.
example..
XM 2.345Ghz-2.445Ghz
Sirius 2.445Ghz-2.545Ghz
Your repeater count is acctually backwards(from what i know of both services sat systems). XM has the higher repeater count, Sirius needs less due to its elliptical orbit which puts it at a much higher angle then the XM birds that sit over the equator(Geosynced).
Yea the Sirius PNPs have been HUGE. XMs Delphi which came out before any Sirius PNP's is half the thickness of either the Oribter or Shuttle PNPs from sirius. THe clarion looks about the same size as the Skifi. now it is a much more portable unit.
Dual Service receivers should be out by 2006 i belive.
10-06-2004, 09:45 PM
#24
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Originally Posted by Dawg One
Well, might as well chime in here... 
I treated myself to satellite radio on my birthday two weeks ago. (Like anyone else was going to...
As a GM employee, I'm exposed to XM on a regular basis. I also did a lot of online listening and then did an online search for "satellite radio comparison."
BUT...XM is openly available. Sirius requires registration and a password.
I went out and spent a Saturday afternoon shopping. Believe me, it was one hell of a dilemma on which to pick!
The day that I purchased, July 17th, Circuit City was having a sale on both XM and Sirius components.
Things I noticed:
-XM (Delphi SkyFi -their only unit available for home, auto, portable use) and Sirius (Audiovox SIRPNP2)) receivers were priced at $89.99 and are extremely similar in design.
-XM (Delphi) and Sirius (Audiovox) boomboxes were priced at $89.99
-XM currently has a higher model boom box type radio that features XM on one side, and then flip over the receiver (swings on a bar on the base unit with speakers on either end) and you have a CD player and AM/FM receiver. Cost: $199. Sirius does not have this option...yet.
-XM home and mobile base units were $62.99 each. The mobile unit required or provided a cassette plug-in module. The Sirius home and mobile units were only $44.99 and included a WIRELESS FM modulator. No cassette needed.
I treated myself to satellite radio on my birthday two weeks ago. (Like anyone else was going to...
As a GM employee, I'm exposed to XM on a regular basis. I also did a lot of online listening and then did an online search for "satellite radio comparison."
BUT...XM is openly available. Sirius requires registration and a password.
I went out and spent a Saturday afternoon shopping. Believe me, it was one hell of a dilemma on which to pick!
The day that I purchased, July 17th, Circuit City was having a sale on both XM and Sirius components.
Things I noticed:
-XM (Delphi SkyFi -their only unit available for home, auto, portable use) and Sirius (Audiovox SIRPNP2)) receivers were priced at $89.99 and are extremely similar in design.
-XM (Delphi) and Sirius (Audiovox) boomboxes were priced at $89.99
-XM currently has a higher model boom box type radio that features XM on one side, and then flip over the receiver (swings on a bar on the base unit with speakers on either end) and you have a CD player and AM/FM receiver. Cost: $199. Sirius does not have this option...yet.
-XM home and mobile base units were $62.99 each. The mobile unit required or provided a cassette plug-in module. The Sirius home and mobile units were only $44.99 and included a WIRELESS FM modulator. No cassette needed.
-XM and Sirius both feature Kenwood component receivers for those desiring high end stereo performance. Cost: $299.
-XM is always $9.99 a month subscription. Sirius is astutely fighting that selling point at present with their own $9.95 per month subscription.
-XM is always $9.99 a month subscription. Sirius is astutely fighting that selling point at present with their own $9.95 per month subscription.
-XM online listening requires the purchase of a $49 piece of hardware (XMPCR). Sirius allows FREE online streaming music via account and password info without the purchase of any hardware for ALL its subscribers.
-Online comparisons suggest, and I concur, that the XM satellite programming is aimed at an "older" audience. Sirius is aimed at a younger, hipper audience as far as the content is concerned.
In the end, after much comparison shopping (Best Buy was at least $20+ higher on all components!!!), I decided to go with Sirius without ever HEARING the company's music selections live. It came down to the choice of hardware, the lower price, the recommendation of my best friend who just happened to call me while I was standing in Circuit City pulling my hair out over making a decision, and the channel selection.
Come NFL season, you'll hate yourself if you choose XM. I just didn't care for their choice of music.
Since I brought my Sirius Audiovox SIRPNP2 home and plugged it in, WOW! is all I can say. This is what radio was always meant to be!!! I'm getting a mobile docking station installed in both my 2002 Firehawk Trans Am and my 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix so I can use it every day of the week.
As far as reception, I set my antenna (provided with a 20' cable) in my bedroom window facing south, underneath an awning, and I get perfect reception.
The channel selection is awesome, the playslists are chocked full of very popular and familiar choices, not some of the obscure stuff I found on XM stations.
I justified my decision in the end with the fact that I just didn't LIKE a lot of what I was hearing on XM. If I didn't like many of the available stations, there was no point in paying for it. I can't say the same about Sirius.
No matter what kind of music you like, from classical to pop to rock to hip hop to latino to gospel to talk radio, news, sports, comedy and constantly updated traffic and weather, Sirius has programming in both english and spanish for everyone.
My confident and satisfied vote goes to Sirius. Oh, and can't beat that remote control and 30 station presets!!!
Come NFL season, you'll hate yourself if you choose XM. I just didn't care for their choice of music.
Since I brought my Sirius Audiovox SIRPNP2 home and plugged it in, WOW! is all I can say. This is what radio was always meant to be!!! I'm getting a mobile docking station installed in both my 2002 Firehawk Trans Am and my 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix so I can use it every day of the week.
As far as reception, I set my antenna (provided with a 20' cable) in my bedroom window facing south, underneath an awning, and I get perfect reception.
The channel selection is awesome, the playslists are chocked full of very popular and familiar choices, not some of the obscure stuff I found on XM stations.
I justified my decision in the end with the fact that I just didn't LIKE a lot of what I was hearing on XM. If I didn't like many of the available stations, there was no point in paying for it. I can't say the same about Sirius.
No matter what kind of music you like, from classical to pop to rock to hip hop to latino to gospel to talk radio, news, sports, comedy and constantly updated traffic and weather, Sirius has programming in both english and spanish for everyone.
My confident and satisfied vote goes to Sirius. Oh, and can't beat that remote control and 30 station presets!!!
Skifi2 has some nifty new features. 30 minute buffered memory (volotile.. turn off power and lose it. so the RIAA won't bother worrying over it.) 30 presets (beating the previous 20) Auto poweron. improved line out volume.
