Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So many naysayers. I have three cars and three satellite radio. I've been a satellite fan since it first came out. So many things were said here that i want to address, but I don't have all day.
First, you can't beat the variety of music AND talk that is on Sirius. If you like books on tape, you will find comparable content on Sirius. Using Pandora and all those other services all require you to stream data through your phone, or DL onto a storage device. With Sirius, you simply turn it on and it works, no pre planning necessary.
Second, yes the signal can be compromised in certain geographies. This problem is made worse as you travel further North. But I have never had the level of problems other people here have reported, and we live in the same area. Sure, occasionally you will lose signal for a brief few seconds. It doesn't even come close to being enough of a problem to consider cancelling the service over.
Third, all big companies have horrible service. The good news with Sirius is there is no reason to ever call them. You can fully manage your account online.
Lastly, as for equipment, get whatever fits your budget. The satellite portion of the radio will be largely identical on all radios. The differences will,be in the other features. There are units with Satellite, and GPS together. Most of these are on the high-end, but they also allow you to use Pandora and other features, all in one radio.
My 2008 car came with free a 6-month subscription to Sirius, and I started to like it. I renewed the subscription for a year, then when that expired I renewed for another year. Just as I was about to renew for 2 years, however, they up and cancelled my favorite morning show. When I called to complain they asked if I was complaining that they added Glenn Beck, and I said "No, I'm complaining about a show you dropped". They helpfully explained that my show was available for streaming, at an additional expense, and was not available on my car's radio. So I cancelled and never looked back! That was several years ago and I've saved hundreds of dollars. And I now stream my favorite morning show via my smart phone and blue tooth in my car, for free.
An annoying thing about satellite radio that nobody talks about, is that it cuts out when you are driving on a tree-lined road, in tunnels, and when you stop for gas under a canopy. 4G on my smart phone has some dead spots but it's not as bad as the satellite.
I am fixing up the old pickup that I bought and one thing it desperately needs is a new radio. So, I'm considering getting something with some of the new technology available.
I live in a small town surrounded by rural areas. Radio reception is iffy between towns. So, I'm wondering if I had a satellite radio and paid for a service like Sirius, if I'd get a continuous good signal. I also like the idea of no commercials, and being able to listen to real newscasts instead of the short blurbs on the local station.
Another thing I'm wondering about is Blue Tooth. I have never used it for anything. But, I do have an I-phone (that I haven't connected to my cell service yet LOL). I can download Audible books to it, which I do listen to. So far, I just use it with my wi-fi at home to download books.
So, my question about Bluetooth is can I listen to a book on my Iphone with Bluetooth through a radio that has Bluetooth?
I'm not one to download music. I like listening to a variety on the radio. But, I love the idea of the satellite radio stations that just play a certain type of music, like R&B or classical, etc., so I can just dial up a station playing a type of music I'm in the mood for.
iTunes on shuffle takes care of me for listening to a variety of music. I guess if I was into listening to radio stations, I would probably pay for satellite radio though. Anything has got to be better then free radio stations. But I have to be in control of my music. If I’m not in the mood for a particular song, I have to be able to hit the next button.
I see a lot of people touting the "no advertisements" thing as a selling point for Sirius XM, but I listen to the Classic Rewind and Classic Vinyl stations quite a bit, and they always seem to be shilling some music festival, new album, or even new liquor endorsed by some former rock star. It's annoying.
Chill and Lithium (90s alt rock and grunge) don't do this nearly as much, thankfully.
I've been with Sirius for about 6 years or so.. I like it..
The music stations.. They do have DJs on them.. I haven't noticed them 'shilling' anything.. They talk up songs, etc.. I stick mainly to 80's on 8 and they do mention the "80's cruise" that you can go on, and they'll talk about Sammy Hagar's CaboWabo Tequila, but.. Not as advertising.
The music stations since the merger do seem to all have the proverbial box of records that they play over and over again. Obviously, there's a limited selection on something like 80's on 8.. They're not making new 80's music.. But.. When i first got it, you'd hear songs that you just don't now.. White Lines by Grandmaster Melle Mel. Pop Goes the World by Men Without Hats... They Don't Know by Tracey Ullman. The Monkees songs from their 80's reunion.. Now.. You don't hear those songs at all unless they're on one of the countdowns that are done every weekend. And, they got rid of Casey Kasem's countdowns for their own produced shows using the original MTV VeeJays (Who are the DJs for 80's on 8)
But.. There's plenty else to listen to.. You can listen to the CNN/FoxNews feeds.. Every NFL game, so if you're out of market, like I am.. I have the 'boombox' so I take the radio from my truck into the house and listen to Redskins broadcasts when they're not on TV around here. Every NASCAR race live, including Trucks, Xfinity and Cup series. Pretty much every college football game.
More sports talk shows than you can vomit over... They don't have a good selection of "Hot Talk", IMO.. They have The Opie Show, which is the remnants of Opie and Anthony, but that's normally an extra charge.. They have Howard Stern, but.. Not sure if he'll be there in a month.
For about $12/mo.. It's worthwhile to me. And i'm not driving all day. I spend about 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening in my vehicle.
I've had satellite radio for 10+ years. In my opinion, it is worth every penny of the subscription cost. The number of channels and options is incredible. It makes everything from commutes to road trips much more pleasant.
We had it on a new Malibu for the trial period. I have to say, driving across the Mojave desert in the middle of nowhere with the A/C and Classical music on the radio was priceless. LOL
They have Howard Stern, but.. Not sure if he'll be there in a month. .
This is a very good point. Howard essentially made Sirius successful at a time when it's future was iffy at best. He is one of the main draws for me. His second contract is up at the end of 2015, and he has about 10 more shows when you factor in holidays and vacations. If he doesn't renew, it will be a significant blow to the future of Sirius. I'm sure their management would say otherwise, but i am not convinced they will be able to maintain in his absence. They are only marginally profitable, so Stern's departure will swing them into an operating loss, even with not having to pay his salary. I might wait a few weeks and see how this plays out before dropping a lot of money on a radio.
I pay for my Sirius XM service. I had a year for free when we bought the vehicle. There are certain channels I listen to a great deal. I actually stream it at work so we have semi-commercial free music. It's not 100% commercial free. It works really well, but it is built into my vehicle along with the antennae. The only time it doesn't work really well is when you're in the middle of the mountains.....sometimes it won't work then or it comes and goes.
I pay for my Sirius XM service. I had a year for free when we bought the vehicle. There are certain channels I listen to a great deal. I actually stream it at work so we have semi-commercial free music. It's not 100% commercial free. It works really well, but it is built into my vehicle along with the antennae. The only time it doesn't work really well is when you're in the middle of the mountains.....sometimes it won't work then or it comes and goes.
The music channels are commercial free.. but not the talk channels. Music channels DO have DJs, which I like. If it was just one song to the next.. that would kinda suck.. And their choices of DJs are quite good.. The MTV VeeJays (Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood and Martha Quinn.. Cousin Brucie is on 60's on 6..
None of them are LIVE.. They're all voicetracked. Brucie's show might actually be live.
Anywhere that you have an obstructed view of the sky you COULD have reception problems. If you're driving down a road with trees that branch out over the road, you could lose signal in the spring/summer months as the leaves block the signal.. Cities like NYC could have a problem (Though they have ground based FM repeaters there) and mountainous regions.
Driving through tunnels should obviously block the signal.. But, the radios have a built in 5-second buffer, so, simply driving under an overpass.. you might lose signal briefly, but you won't notice it because you're reacquire the signal before the buffer runs out.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
