I've had XM in my car for about six months now. I can also get it on line. It is marvelous! I love commercial-free radio, and the selection of music is phenomenal. It changed me, as only music can.

Does anyone have Sirius? I wondered at the time if I should have gotten that instead. But I heard it is a lot of sports. Does anyone have XM or Sirius?

I have had an XM radio for almost a year now. I LOVE it! I expecially love the 80's on 8 and 041 the boneyard.

I do know that Sirius has XM beat on satalite receivers. Sirius has 3 while XM only has 2.

They are relativley the same in cost. $12.95 a month $6.99 a month for the family plan. Sirius' cost for the 1 year prepaid is $2.00 more. $10.00 vs. XM's $8.00. Their activation fees are bit more for Sirius but not very much.

They both have 120+ channels. XM has 68 music streams, Sirius has 65.

If you are into sports, XM has exsclusive Nascar, MLB and PGA tour. Sirius has exsclusivly, NFL, NBA and NHL.

If you would like more comparisons, I found this great site here

Personally, I love my XM and won't ever trade it for a Sirius.

I have had XM since Christmas. I absolutely love it!

I used to listen to News Radio (WCBS 880 New York) all the time. The traffic channel on XM is much more in depth that any one on “free radio”.

XM also has Major League Baseball. This is big to me as I am a big Mets fan and during vacations (away from home) I hated not being able to listen to the games. I also can now listen to Mets games while on the boat! The depth finder and motor emit waves that disrupted the AM signal completely so unless I was stopped and depth finder was off I was unable to listen. I tested everything out on my maiden voyage last weekend and it works great!

I also used to listen to Opie and Anthony when they were on WNEW in New York. They are on XM now and I have found myself drawn back into their tomfoolery. My wife has even become a fan of the show now!

I also find myself listening to a lot more music than I used to. My favorite channels now are the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, boneyard, big tracts, and top tracts. (The last two are almost the same thing)

The only downside is I listen to much less news nowadays and on my way home from Shea Stadium last night I listened to the post game wrap up and music on XM. I was a tad taken aback once I got home and my wife asked me if I heard about the stuck Roosevelt Island Tram. I did not and she gave me one of these---> as I am usually right on top of news, and a source of news for my wife.

On the plus side about the news, all the major news outlets are on XM and if I wanted to I could listen to them. I have found myself being a little happier not listening to depressing news all the time.

I will never give up my XM Radio!

Oh and on my Delphi SKYFi2 receiver I can pause the radio run into a store, come back and pick up right where I left off. It automatically records 30 minutes of the channel you are listening to.

While this might not sound like a great thing I cant tell you how many times I drove around a little longer or sat in the van waiting for a Opie and Anthony bit to finish . Now it is not a problem.

There was one thing i forgot to add that I disdlike.

I am sure it happens everywhere but where I live, I get horrible reception. I live on the Oregon Coast and driving through town it cuts out periodically. There is one stretch where it cuts out with static almost the entire 3 minuets driving that stretch of Highway 101.

And if I drive to say Salem (about 1.5 hours north), I can't even use it in the corridor. It's pure static.

And then, if I drive down south, It's good until I get to Florence(about 2 hours away) and then a local radio station takes over. And it stays that way until I dirve about another hours or so father down south.

VV, Koz, either of you experiance these problems?

quote:

VV, Koz, either of you experiance these problems?

Yes, but I fixed it . The antenna that comes with the unit is great when used with an unobstructed view of the sky. In my area there are lots of trees that in my neighborhood actually form tunnels. There are also a lot of hills and valleys where I live. (The north shore of Long Island is quite hilly)

Also the roof of my van is fiberglass and the antenna that comes with the receiver needs a metal surface not only to stick (with the magnet) but the grounding is important for a good signal. I tried placing it on the hood but would lose the signal due to the roofline of the van obstructed the signal .

I figured out how to fix the problem . I bought a XM Marine antenna . The marine antenna has a “floating ground” and is made of weatherproof plastic composites. I bolted it to the rear roof of the van and my signal never drops out unless I go into a long tunnel. I still get a strong signal even under bridges and underneath overpasses. At Shea the other day I parked under the Whitestone Expressway and still got a great signal.

Funny thing is the antenna that came with the receiver works great on the boat . With a completely unobstructed view of the sky and a small plate that I grounded to my engine the signal is strong. I use the marine antenna for the van, and the car antenna for the boat and all is good.

I also did some looking and XM offers many different receivers nowadays. They even have a truly portable one. (Portable Sirius units need to record programming and play it like a MP3 player) XM Receivers

I have both XM and Sirius. I like them both, My XM radio is the Delphi SKYFi2. My Sirius radio is a Sanyo CRSR-10. I like the features on the SkyFi better.

Sirius has better radio personalities, like Howard Stern and many of the old MTV VJs. But I think XM plays better music. That's all just a matter of taste though. I just decided to keep them both since it's only $12 a month for each. Sirius blows XM out of the water though when it comes to talk radio!

I have that signal problem too when I go to Portland. It's because of all of the clouds and the trees. Koz has a solution worth trying if you live in an area like that. My radios never loose signal here in Boise.