Which would better meet my needs - XM or Sirius?

[Cristofori]

Hello All,

I'm sure this has been discussed many times before, but I know almost nothing about these two FM/Satellite services, and am asking for opinions or links to help me find which may be better for my needs, not necessarily which one sounds better, etc., although imput on that would be appreciated.

I mostly listen to classical music, and I'm looking for more obscure and/or conservative programing. Things like old Americana folk music, vintage recordings (78 rpm), old hymns and religious music.

Which one of these services offers more of this type of stuff (if any), or are they about the same? Which is easier to use? Which is more likely to go the way of the Dodo?

Thanks for your feedback,

 

[Shock]

Didn't they merge and are now one company?

http://www.siriusxm.com/

 

[Geno]

Yes, they merged some time ago, and are now called XM/Sirius. You'll find plenty of the kind of programming you're looking for, and then some. On a sad note, the combined companies are said to be on the ropes again, so the whole satellite radio scene may soon be history.

 

[Cristofori]

Yes, they merged some time ago, and are now called XM/Sirius.

Oh, they merged huh? I guess there is a lot of that going around these days. I wonder why then is there two separate jacks using different cables for XM/Sirius on the back of the new Sony stereo receiver I will soon be getting?

I guess this shows how out of touch I am with this stuff.

You'll find plenty of the kind of programming you're looking for, and then some. On a sad note, the combined companies are said to be on the ropes again, so the whole satellite radio scene may soon be history.

[/QUOTE]That's great... if it lasts that is.

In this day and age, why can't we just enjoy great radio reception through a stereo receiver/tuner without a bunch of ensuing problems?

 

[bhodge]

They did merge, but doesn't necessarily mean they provide the same programming. They each use a slightly different method for transmitting their signals.

I believe at some point they are planning to release a receiver/tuner that can do both (maybe they already have) but what they have done for receivers which are not compatible on both networks is clear up some channels on each network to play some of the more popular stations simulatneously on both netowrks. For example, for XM there is a best of sirius package you can buy that gives you an additional 20+ stations that are from sirius, but it costs extra.

So while they did merge they still do have different programming on each respective network, you just now have a singular point of contact for both. So unfortunately will still have to do a bit of research if you decide to go satellite route to determine which has the better dedicated stations you want with the supplemental channels from the other network (if you so chose).

I have XM, didnt have much say in the matter as my car came with a built in XM radio and didnt feel like getting an add on but when I was contemplating satellite before i purchased my car I found that, for the most part, music is about the same. The real differences are with sports and talk radio. Each have exclusives. For instance sirius has football and xm has baseball. You can now get football on xm through the best of sirius line up but you wont get ALL the football games, just the marquee ones.

I love my satellite radio, but I use it more for sports talk radio and comedy than music.

 

[pzaur]

If you're looking for home XM/Sirius use then you might as well just stream a radio channel over the internet. My personal favorite clearinghouse for channels is www.listenlive.eu. If you're looking for on the road, I have no idea.

-pat

 

[XEagleDriver]

For music the SQ is sub par!

. . .
I mostly listen to classical music, and I'm looking for more obscure and/or conservative programing. Things like old Americana folk music, vintage recordings (78 rpm), old hymns and religious music.

FWIW, I found XM's SQ as far as music is concerned to be well below acceptable, which is the main reason why I got rid of them. Other reasons were:

1) In the Jazz and Classical channels, the play lists were fairly shallow and led to lots of repetition after a while.

2) Both companies had a pretty poor rep as far as business practices prior to the merger, I doubt it has changed much now. Read up on the XM/SIRIUS threads. The short course is be careful what financial info you provide--the companies have taken greater liberty in unauthorized direct bank account withdrawals and CC charges than most folks would feel acceptable!

XEagleDriver

 

[TLS Guy]

Hello All,

I'm sure this has been discussed many times before, but I know almost nothing about these two FM/Satellite services, and am asking for opinions or links to help me find which may be better for my needs, not necessarily which one sounds better, etc., although imput on that would be appreciated.

I mostly listen to classical music, and I'm looking for more obscure and/or conservative programing. Things like old Americana folk music, vintage recordings (78 rpm), old hymns and religious music.

Which one of these services offers more of this type of stuff (if any), or are they about the same? Which is easier to use? Which is more likely to go the way of the Dodo?

Thanks for your feedback,

If it is classical you want, the answer is none of the above. The quality is perfectly dreadful. I think it actually must have been hard work to make it that bad.

 

[TLS Guy]

If you're looking for home XM/Sirius use then you might as well just stream a radio channel over the internet. My personal favorite clearinghouse for channels is www.listenlive.eu. If you're looking for on the road, I have no idea.

-pat

The are the best streams in the world for classical music and the only ones you really need.

MPR

BBC Radio 3

The quality is far better than satellite radio.

 

[Cristofori]

If it is classical you want, the answer is none of the above. The quality is perfectly dreadful. I think it actually must have been hard work to make it that bad.

Hmm... thanks to everyone for all the info. I've heard the complaints about SQ from Sirius/XM, something to do with compression I believe. Too bad in this day and age we can't get outstanding over the air broadcasting.

As far as only wanting classical goes, what I'm mostly interested in is the more obscure stuff I mentioned in my opening post that hardly ever gets broadcast over the air. I already have a huge classical collection and a few decent stations to listen to once in awhile.

But I wouldn't want to reward some satellite radio business with my hard earned money that provides lousy SQ and lackluster service, especially if they may go under in the near future.

It looks like the Sirius/XM jacks on the back of my soon to arrive Sony ES receiver may go unused after all.

 

[Cristofori]

The are the best streams in the world for classical music and the only ones you really need.

MPR

BBC Radio 3

The quality is far better than satellite radio.

Streaming??? Don't you need special equipment for that to make it play through your stereo? I certainly have no desire to sit in front of my lousy CPU listening to music, and burning and editing stuff onto disposable CD-R's doesn't really appeal to me either.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hmm... thanks to everyone for all the info. I've heard the complaints about SQ from Sirius/XM, something to do with compression I believe. Too bad in this day and age we can't get outstanding over the air broadcasting.

As far as only wanting classical goes, what I'm mostly interested in is the more obscure stuff I mentioned in my opening post that hardly ever gets broadcast over the air. I already have a huge classical collection and a few decent stations to listen to once in awhile.

But I wouldn't want to reward some satellite radio business with my hard earned money that provides lousy SQ and lackluster service, especially if they may go under in the near future.

It looks like the Sirius/XM jacks on the back of my soon to arrive Sony ES receiver may go unused after all.

You live in the wrong state! In Minnesota we have an excellent FM signal throughout the state.

Now all digital transmissions are compressed, satellite highly. HD radio streams at 90 kbs, far too low. The BBC and MPR stream at 128 kbs. It really requires 196 kbs to compete with a good analog FM signal. The BBC broadcast that high for evening live symphony broadcasts on DAB.

You might want to review my experience with digital broadcast formats.

Both MPR and BBC radio three deviate frequently from the well trodden path.

 

[pzaur]

Streaming??? Don't you need special equipment for that to make it play through your stereo? I certainly have no desire to sit in front of my lousy CPU listening to music, and burning and editing stuff onto disposable CD-R's doesn't really appeal to me either.

The only special equipment you need is a connection to an input to the back of the receiver or similar. Personally, I use a bluetooth connection between my PC and RX-V663.

-pat