I agree that XM has a larger install base right now, but Ford picked up
Sirius for their cars, so that will be moot in a few years... I've got
to hand it to GM, OnStar and XM are great technologies and they've done
a superb job of making them mainstream...
Most of my daily driving is done in town/city streets, so I am worried
about the reception aspect, the streets are lined with buildings and
trees or various sizes, but I'd imagine that XM must deal with that some
how, otherwise it would be useless unless you were driving in the clear
all the time.
Does XM have commercials? Sirius (from their website) does not (that
was my #1 reason to look to at Sirius, before learning about the
different technologies)...
I'm not brand loyal when it comes to car audio, so I didn't mean to
imply I was going to buy a certain brand or certain headunit, that
Kenwood was actually the cheapest Sirius-ready that I liked :)
I'd much rather have a Chrysler/GM sized 1.5 DIN Pioneer unit, but even
though they have XM capability, they do not play MP3/WMA CDs, which is
on my must-have list for an aftermarket stereo...
Bill Pitz wrote:
> On Wed, 12 Nov 2003 01:26:44 -0500, ethan@ethanschwartz.com (Ethan
> Schwartz) wrote:
>
>>Does anyone have any exp. with sattelight radio?
>
>
> I've had XM for going on two years now. My feeling is that XM has a
> wider range of programming, but honestly, the reason I got it was
> because I already had a Pioneer head unit that was XM ready when the
> tuners were released. Crutchfield sent me a coupon and I got the
> whole deal going for about $120 for tuner and antenna.
>
> The FM reception in my area really stinks, so it's more than worth the
> $10/month to not have to worry about carrying CDs. It's also nice to
> be able to switch to various news stations when there is something
> interesting going on.
>
> I have always been partial to Pioneer gear, which is why I bought my
> head unit in the first place and ultimately why I ended up with XM
> instead of Sirius. In terms of financial position for future
> viability, I think XM is in a better position as well. They've got
> some big backing and their technology is being implemented in a fair
> number of new cars (and boats).
>
> If you haven't purchased a heat unit yet, wait until you decide. You
> don't want to be locked into one technology (definitely go for the
> setup where your tuner integrates with your head unit -- not an FM
> modulation unit with separate controls). I would let the deciding
> factor be which set of programming appeals to you the most. I've
> listened to both and the sound quality is the same for all intents and
> purposes. Much better than FM (no static -- either you have a signal
> or you don't), just a tiny bit lower quality than CDs.
>
> The only time I ever lose the signal is when I drive on surface
> streets under overpasses. If I drive under overpasses on the freeway,
> there's no interruption in signal at all because of the speed (there's
> a tiny "buffer").
>
> In short, I love it. I would never go back. If Pioneer made Sirius
> units as well, I wouldn't necessarily pick XM over Sirius, so
> definitely look at the programming to see what interests you most. I
> wouldn't worry about the reception issue. (And, in any case, if there
> is a problem and you buy from Crutchfield, you can return it for any
> reason within the 30 days for a full refund..)
>
> -Bill
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