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xm vs sirius
- Thread starter tim2006
- Start date
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I picked Sirius because of their overall format.
XM takes pride in its 'deep playlists,' but in my experience that means B-sides from bands you've never heard of. And I, like lots of folks, like to sing my head off along with the radio, which is difficult when you're always hearing new stuff.
It really is a matter of preference. I would suggest signing up for the online streams of both ($3 a month each? maybe?) and seeing which one suits you.
XM takes pride in its 'deep playlists,' but in my experience that means B-sides from bands you've never heard of. And I, like lots of folks, like to sing my head off along with the radio, which is difficult when you're always hearing new stuff.
It really is a matter of preference. I would suggest signing up for the online streams of both ($3 a month each? maybe?) and seeing which one suits you.
QuarterSwede
macrumors G4
I have XM (through DirecTV but same thing anyway) and much prefer it over Sirius. I went on a business trip recently with my boss who drove and he had Siruis. We listened to different channels for 4+ hours and every station we listened to had commercials. They aren't as long as the ones on the radio but they are still present.
I've had XM for 2 months now and I yet to hear a single commercial. I do admit that they have deep playlists but there is a lot of gold that you would otherwise have never heard (and lets be honest, pop today sucks anyway). Besides it's not like if you tune to the 80's channel that you'll never hear stuff you know. In fact, you'll hear quite a bit of the great stuff you'd never hear on the classic rock station and it's stuff you'd know. I've also discovered a lot of artist because of them.
Personally, I think the quality of the stream in XM is better than Sirius' (sometimes it sounded like I was listening to a 64kbps mp3). XM is far from CD quality but at least it doesn't ever sound like it drops below a 128kbps mp3.
Although, I do have to agree with diddy. Try both out online as they both have 3 day trials.
I've had XM for 2 months now and I yet to hear a single commercial. I do admit that they have deep playlists but there is a lot of gold that you would otherwise have never heard (and lets be honest, pop today sucks anyway). Besides it's not like if you tune to the 80's channel that you'll never hear stuff you know. In fact, you'll hear quite a bit of the great stuff you'd never hear on the classic rock station and it's stuff you'd know. I've also discovered a lot of artist because of them.
Personally, I think the quality of the stream in XM is better than Sirius' (sometimes it sounded like I was listening to a 64kbps mp3). XM is far from CD quality but at least it doesn't ever sound like it drops below a 128kbps mp3.
Although, I do have to agree with diddy. Try both out online as they both have 3 day trials.
nickster9224
macrumors 6502a
i personally have XM which i chose over sirius b.c of content. but with the companies merging it should all work our in the end.
I tend to listen to alt rock I have been comparing ethel to alt nation. My concern is
ethel plays too many rare tracks by artists I dont know
alt nation plays the same MTV songs over and over I can only hear AFI and Fall Out Boy so many times not my cup of tea.
Also, xm has more subs but NPD released their retail numbers and at retail people are picking sirius. Are xm users people stuck with it based on the car they own, xm is built into GM, Toyota, and Honda.
ethel plays too many rare tracks by artists I dont know
alt nation plays the same MTV songs over and over I can only hear AFI and Fall Out Boy so many times not my cup of tea.
Also, xm has more subs but NPD released their retail numbers and at retail people are picking sirius. Are xm users people stuck with it based on the car they own, xm is built into GM, Toyota, and Honda.
QuarterSwede
macrumors G4
A lot of people get hooked into both because of cars offering the first year of service for free. I know people on both sides that are now subscribing because of those offers. Personally, I hate modern pop and really despise commercials so the natural choice for me is XM. It sounds like you need a mix of both unfortunately.
nickster9224
macrumors 6502a
i think XM has a better selection of metal. both current and older. they have a channel for current metal. also a channel just for the older stuff. its nice.
FWIW, what drives me crazy about Sirius in my area is that they don't appear to have any terrestrial repeaters like XM does.
So if I pull my Jeep into a spot that doesn't have a view of the sky (say, a tree-lined street), I get no Sirius signal (or worse yet, it cuts in and out, which is really irritating), whereas my other car (with XM) will continue to play XM flawlessly in the same area.
So if I pull my Jeep into a spot that doesn't have a view of the sky (say, a tree-lined street), I get no Sirius signal (or worse yet, it cuts in and out, which is really irritating), whereas my other car (with XM) will continue to play XM flawlessly in the same area.