Anyone have Satellite Radio?

[713abc]

For my birthday DH has offered to get me satellite radio, which sounds very cool to me because I'm in the car a lot during the day and can't stand radio commercials.

Does anyone have satellite radio? If so, what provider do you use (XM or Sirius?) and do you like it/think it's worth it?

Thanks!

[boogiemom]

I just bought my husband one of these for Christmas. I read a lot of reviews on sites like epinions.com to help me decide which one. I ended up getting XM because:

-While a lot of people did like the programming with Sirius, a lot of reviews talked about trouble with those units and TERRIBLE customer service from them.

-The completely portable units are quite a bit cheaper thru XM than they are thru Sirius right now because the Sirius unit just came out recently. Also, the Delphi XM units have a $50 rebate available right now. The rebate works as long as you don't buy from places like WalMart or Sams Club. So, I printed out their prices and went to Best Buy to price match. They said they couldn't give me the rebate form that way but that's okay because you can just print it out online. Hopefully it still works. We'll see.

Good Luck with your decision!

[new_mommy25]

We had Sirius and loved it! The programming really is way better than XM (IMO). We never had CS issues and we got a really good deal when we bought it from Car Toys a little over two years ago. I really miss it but they don't offer it in the area I now live in.

[mainepotato]

I got XM radio for my DH about 6 months ago and we both enjoy it. DH likes the music channels and I prefer the talk channels. He has the Delphi MyFi and uses it with our car & home sound systems, as well as by itself with headphones. We haven't had any problems - it does just what it's supposed to do..

The only thing I'd change is the kids' programming.. I think it's geared toward the preteen set.

[kensjen]

DH has sirius in his car and loves it. He was given the unit and a free subscription, so we never researched the choices. So far the service has been fine, no problems (we've had it maybe 6 months...?) We don't pay for it now, but when the free subscription is up we will pay for it...we both like it and feel it is worth it.

It was great on a recent car trip, we never lost our station and also didn't have to listen to news, commercials, etc. in between songs. I love driving his car on the weekends so I can listen to the all 80s station, LOL LOL.

Hope you like whichever one you choose!

[kellyotn]

I don't have it, but I would totally get it if I were in the car more. I HATE the radio DJ's / programming in our area with a firey passion. They are morons - just shut up and play some music, tell me the weather and skip the juvenile shenanigans. But, I digress.

I have one good friend with XM and one with Sirius, they both are quite happy. The XM friend hooked up his system to our stereo when he and DH were working on the house and I was just floored at how nice it was to have music you liked w/o all the other junk. He is also a big sports radio guy and likes it for that.

I guess a big deciding factor would be differences in the talk, sports, kids, etc. I would just want music, so I think either would do for me, but there might be noticable differences in other programming that would sway your opinion. Also, I think the little portable unit is cool!

[Roleysmom]

I just got it two weeks ago for the car as a birthday present and I really like it. DH wasn't sure which one to get and ended up going with Sirius. Everytime I see an XM commercial I wonder if he made the right choice, LOL, but I have to say that I think the rock stations (particularly first wave since I'm old) are very good. As somebody else mentioned, I think the major difference is around the sports that they cover.

Paula -- mom to Roley Julia, January '02

[Sarah1]

My DH has XM and LOVES it.

I think XM is better than Sirius because it's just music, no "DJ" type stuff, which Sirius has.

But, if you like Howard Stern, go with Sirius! :P

[jhaud]

We have sirius with our sat.dish programming (not all channels, but a good number) I love sirius channel kidstuff - we (dd is 16 mo) listen to it all of the time. the music is age appropriate. of course she also listens to holiday music and some margaritaville, and broadway with me and hair bands, etc with dh!

[ddmarsh]

We have both and they each offer different programming. I love Sirius for the NPR and PRI programming. If that is something that matters to you, XM has practically none to offer. Sirius also has a Martha Stewart channel and Howard Stern. XM, however, has Air America which is about the only thing I listen to on it. Both have great 24 hour holiday music channels which is really nice for a great variety.

[babymama]

We have Sirius and like it. DH got a deal on the hardware at a trade show (it cost $5 after the rebate).

My DH is in the car alot for his work, and he says all the time that he doesn't know how he did it before w/o satellite radio. He listens to mostly the sports radio and political talk shows.

The device is portable though, so on the weekends, or when he's not traveling, we have it in our home and listen to the different music channels by hooking it up to our stereo.

I can also listen online at work (even if DH is listening in his car at the exact same time). I listen thru headphones at work occassionally.

I mostly listen to BackSpin (old school hip hop, anyone?), the PULSE (90's music), BBC Radio, the NPR stations, some classic country channel that I don't know the name of, the Latin music stations, the christmas music channel, and the new Martha Stewart channel.

The only drawbacks that I can think of are that I find the music channels a bit repetitive, CNN channel is not commercial free, and well...those are the only drawbacks I can think of.

Lydia
Mama to Santiago, born 11/16/03 and
One on the way, due 01/03/06

[HGraceMom]

I bought DH a Sirius kit for his car last week (without any research - happened upon the display at Best Buy & made an executive decision.) The sales guy told me the "generalization" of the two was sirius=more talk options, xm=more music options. I think you can go to both websites & listen as a free trial, and can download their staion lists to compare.

We used it during our Thanksgiving travels & loved it - no commercials & very specific programming was great.

My MIL had XM in her car & I played around with it while driving up North... the only difference I could find was that XM offered 3 or 4 Christmas/Holiday stations and I haven't yet found any on Sirius.

He always has MSNBC on at work, so was excited that he could listen to it while driving (not that he drives a ton - we live 3 blocks from his office!, but has a few clients 1+ hours away.)

[jesseandgrace]

I just bought this for dh for a Christmas present, and it sucked deciding between the two! I picked Sirius, mostly because of NPR, Howard Stern :), Martha, and every major sport except baseball. The decision wasn't easy, as my dh LOVES baseball, but I think we will be back in Boston for the red sox season, so he can just listen on regular radio, with the exception of baseball I think Sirius wins for him hands down, as it seems to be a little more alternative.

[KrisM]

We've had Sirius for 2 years and have no complaints. We're thinking of getting a new receiver, since ours is old and bulky!

[emilys_mom]

We have XM and love it. I seriously think it has cut down on my road rage on the morning drive- no DJs, no commercials, just music! Who'd have thought.

All joking aside, XM did something that surprised me from a customer service standpoint. They were going to raise their rates (we paid for 2 years up front) and they sent us a note asking if we wanted to extend our contract before they raised the rates (i.e. pay for more years at the old price). Most companies would have just been concerned with getting more money as soon as possible.

One more thing I liked- the equipment was better. I'd done a lot of research and heard that Sirius had better programming, but the equipment was bulkier and had fewer features.

[Toba]

We just bought a new Honda Odyssey a few months ago and since we got the Navigation system they offer, XM came with it (no choice with Honda ... you pick a trim level, and it comes with certain options and that's it). It came with a 90-day free trial. I swore after that ended, I would NEVER pay for a radio service, but we found a $77 (which is about half of their current full rate) first year promotion and just renewed. I was really hesitant since we also have the factory DVD player. It's my vehicle and I mostly drive to and from a store, so I'm in there, max, about 15, 20 minutes at a time. I usually listen to the Baby Einstein DVDs since my son is a little too little for the headphones. BUT we frequently take road trips and we *really* missed the XM after the trial ran out for a few days. My husband is really into the comedy channels ... I mostly listen to the mainstream music channels. Honestly, I'm not sure which I would have chosen (XM or Sirius) if I had the choice, but Honda didn't give us that option. I'm seriously considering buying my husband another radio for his SUV for Christmas, since he drives two hours round trip for work and the rate is only half for a second unit. I tried to do it last year but he swore he'd kill me if I paid $13 a month for a radio ... now he's hooked on the comedy channel. LOL

The only reason I was hesitant to pay for it was because of my infrequent time in the van. If I was in your situation (commuting to work), I would SO take your husband up on the offer! :)

I don't know if Sirius has the same service, but XM offers their subscribers an on-line version for no extra cost. I'm sure it would be nice to listen to satellite radio at work too. ;)


~Kimberly Anne~
Noah Nevan, March 12, 2004
*the light of my life*