Satellite radio?? NF

[Gerritt]

Ok.... seeing as how I am commuting to work on a daily basis (45 minutes one way) I am getting tired of the amount of commercials I am hearing on the way to and from work infact I am getting extremely annoyedmore then 50% of my time driving ends up listening to commercials!.. I have made a ton of CD's but then I cant get traffic reports etc... unless I go back to the radio at exactly the right time.... ARGH! did I mention I hate the amount of commercials they air? worse then TV!!!

 

So.... I am thinking about Satellite Radio... as they have commercial free music (YAY!) a huge variety of Genres

and I can get traffic reports easily...(I take the 407 BTW)

 

So my question is....

 

Sirius or XM?

 

I am leaning towards Sirius for Howard Stern... but XM has alot more NHL games vs. sirius...

 

Your thoughts?

 

Gerritt.

[luv2drift]

I have heard that XM canada is an indepenent company from xm usa. Both Sirius and XM have agreed that a merger is highly likely between the two of them. IF this indeed does happen I would like to know how XM canada would function??? Maybe someone else has an opinion and don't quote me on anything.

[TJQ]

Yup... there may very well be a merger... for my money.. sirrius.... howard will make the commute go by in a heartbeat...

[topraider]

I have XM.

 

Do not count on satalite radio to give you local weather or traffic, that was one of the conditions of Sirius and XM getting a licence in Canada - no local programming. Besides, why would a subscriber in Red Deer, Alberta care about traffic conditions in the GTA? You all get the same stations.

 

Listen to 680AM for free, the traffic comes on every 10 minutes, all day, every day

 

I find myself listening 95% of the time to three stations - 60's music, 70's music, and CNBC (its a audio feed of the US business network). The hockey is also good, they have 7 or eight games on at the same time, and you can see the score on the screen, so youcan do a quick check to see how the Senators are doing, even when you are in Leaf Nation.

 

XM and Sirius are in Merger talks in the US, I imagine the same thing will happen here, so it might not matter which service you choose in the end.

[ccmtcanada]

One thing too...I listen to 680 news every day and they dont usually report on hwy 407 conditions, unless there is a major disruption....not sure about other stations though.

[mikemo]

I picked up Sirius about this time last year for the same reason Gerrit - got tired of the local stations. Main reason for Sirius was Howard Stern, if I wanted to listen to him. I don't listen to him a lot, but the shows are much more fun uncensored.

 

There is a great mix of stations available - I'm amazed at all the new music I've heard lately.

 

It's great to have on longer trips as you can still get all 'your' stations. I drove to Quebec last week and I was glad to have it - well worth the small monthly charge.

 

As stated earlier if they do merge in the US, I think it'll happen in Canada too.

 

Sirius also has the option to listen on the web too if you're a subscriber.

[jjcanoe]

I have Sirius and XM. My choice would be Sirius, The music stations are 100% comercial free and XM's are not. Sirius has Howard Stern if you are a fan, and do carry most NHL games however sometimes you do have to search for them since they don't have their own dedicated channels. Sirius has NFL and NASCAR channels and carries many CFL, English Soccer and NLL Lacrosse games. XM has MLB baseball games and also had world cup soccer (last time around) as well as a 24hr NHL channel although sometimes I do hear repeated shows. Sirius has a Martha Stewart channel and XM has an Oprah channel (for the wife right?) Both have a clean and a dirty comedy channnel and Siruis has Blue Collar comedy channel and XM has a canadian comedy channel (programmed by Mark Breslin Owner of the YUK YUK'S club chain)

I think that Sirius has a slightly more user friendly layout for music stations. Similar stations are aranged next to each other. XM has a similar layout but, in some cases stations are a bit mixed up.

 

jjcanoe

[boatman]

I have Sirius and my buddy has XM. Both are about the same. Its really just about content at this point. Do you want Howard Stern or Hockey? That's what it comes down to. All the other channels have comparable counter-stations.

 

I do find that my Sirius radio gets better reception than his XM. They are both mounted the same way in nearly identical trucks.

[douG]

Howard Stern or the National Game? No brainer from this seat.

[Gerritt]

Well I can still get the NHL games on Sirius... it is just that XM has the rights to advertise it... but XM does not have Stern.... Basically it seems form what everyone here has stated Sirius seems to be the option I should be looking at... I will swing by FS and purchase one. I was looking at the Sirius Site and they make one specifically for my Pioneer HU... a nice Feature! I can still have Sat. Radio, not make it known like those with the portable units (Just asking for a break in) and I can control it from my HU... not to mention CD quality (Not broadcast in FM like the portable units)

 

http://shop.siriuscanada.ca/edealinv/servl...&scId=22263

 

I think I have my mind up... Sirius it is.

 

Thanks fellas!

 

Gerritt.

Edited March 24, 2007 by Gerritt

[Jen]

Hey G,

 

If you want to try out xm radio for the next week or so, pm me... I have one that isn't being used, and atleast then you will have an idea of what it is like before you spend the money!

 

Cheers, Jen

 

Ok.... seeing as how I am commuting to work on a daily basis (45 minutes one way) I am getting tired of the amount of commercials I am hearing on the way to and from work infact I am getting extremely annoyedmore then 50% of my time driving ends up listening to commercials!.. I have made a ton of CD's but then I cant get traffic reports etc... unless I go back to the radio at exactly the right time.... ARGH! did I mention I hate the amount of commercials they air? worse then TV!!!

 

So.... I am thinking about Satellite Radio... as they have commercial free music (YAY!) a huge variety of Genres

and I can get traffic reports easily...(I take the 407 BTW)

 

So my question is....

 

Sirius or XM?

 

I am leaning towards Sirius for Howard Stern... but XM has alot more NHL games vs. sirius...

 

Your thoughts?

 

Gerritt.

[bucktail]

Sirius all the way...you won't be able to listen to normal radio again. My wife wants one now!

[taper]

I have a friend that sells both and he said the quality of the XM recievers is far superior to Sirius.

[Northhunter]

I have XM. Never used Sirius, but don't think it has quite as many stations. Content is pretty similar from what I have heard, except Stern is on Sirius and XM's answer to that is "Opie and Anthony". The comedy stations are pretty good, but don't play full stand-up routines. Mike Bullard (remember him?) has a daily morning show on as well. It's pretty good, despite how his tv stint was.

XM is commercial free, and has a number of stations dedicated to NHL feeds. The daytime "hockey talk" stuff is american for the most part and kinda sucks, but the upside is if there's a game on you'll get the play by play.

 

I'm not sure what Sirius offers, but I know when I got XM I could send in for rebates. Amounted to about $70 back.

 

I think you'd be happy with either one, to be honest. Our local FM stations ticked me off too.

Edited March 25, 2007 by Northhunter