Corey

iTrader: (1)

Now that I have a decent headunit that is satellite radio compatible, I will be looking into Sirius.

Cartoys who I deal with says that the majority of their staff prefers Sirius over XM satellite radio.

They have a deal going on right now with a Pioneer/Sirius module for my headunit.

I can get the module and installation done for $150 out the door which does not seem bad at all.



I will also sign up for just 6 months to try it out to see how I like it.

Anyone have any pros/cons over either Sirius or XM radio, or Sirius in particular?
Are you happy with the channel selection?

I mainly now listen to the iPod, but there it gets kind of tiring listening to the same playlists over and over again.

I listen to FM a bit, but prefer the better sound of the iPod, and I hear satellite radio is clearer than FM.

judoant

I would save your money on the installation. It is supper easy. On my Clarion unit, the power was provided by the Clarion deck. There is just 1 cable needed for the install. I assume you have a Pioneer deck. Power should be supplied through the cable that connects to the deck. I have been a Sirius subscriber for 2.5 year and I love it. I used to have the sportster replay that used the FM modulator. I was sick of the static so I bought a new deck with the module for direct connect, and the sound quality is 10x better.

PirateFins

I have sirius and love it. Here's a hint for you. Sign up for 3 months, after the 3 months is up don't re-up. After about a week they will send you an email and or phone call asking you to resubscribe for another 3 months at the cost of 1 = $12.95. So you will get 6 months for the price of 4. This happened to me when I canceled the credit card I used to set it up with and forgot about it. They turned it off and a week later the email and phone calls started. I was going to re-up anyway but was putting it off.

AxleIke

I have sirius and love it. THe only thing i like about XM better is XM seems to have a lesser DJ presence. THe DJ's on sirius rarely are bad, but when they get going, they can be extremely obnoxious.

You live in WA, and the only time i've ever had problems with my radio was in the deep forrests up there, and on the road up to Mt Rainier. Other places it cuts out is in UT in the canyons. But, for the majority of my driving in WA, it was perfectly fine.

I can't really help you with the payment stuff, i buy years at a time, and since i'm the second radio on the account, i pay like 6 bucks a month.

I second the advice of doing your own install. We did the same unit on my brothers truck, mounted it under the driver seat, since that seat rarely ever moves. at the same time we also hooked up his IPOD connection. Took all of 3 hours, and he loves it.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the replies.

I may consider doing it myself, but the nice thing about Cartoys (besides my 10% discount through them) is if they install it, it is totally covered should anything fail on it.

Issac, was that HW 410 up through Greenwater you were talking about?
If so, under that big tree cover going up there cell phones do not work either sometimes.

For several miles you are under a canopy of huge old growth.

AxleIke

yeah. Beautiful, so the fact that the radio was out wasn't really a big deal. Just figured i'd give you a heads up.

Belize Off Road Team

XM all the way, and anyway, the rumour is that XM is buying out Sirius, so in the end it may not matter, i know that with an FJ Cruiser the option for an XM ready CD player is there, so the stock CD player should be easier adaptable to XM.

olharleyman

Sorry to burst your bubble but Sirius is trying to buy out XM if these idiots up here on the hill will let the merger go through. I love my Sirius only complaint is the damb trees and tunnels that cut it out

weiln

They're actually merging, a combining of equals.

I prefered Sirius, because ALL of their channels are commercial free. On XM, not all channels are commercial free. XM also seems to have less diversity in it's channels than Sirius, but that is just my opinion. However, neither have a large amount of channels I prefer (Happy Valentines Day, we got rid of your channels!), so I don't have either anymore.

And, I can't stand the jerk Howard, which was another reason to get rid of Sirius.

The music is not as good as FM or CD/MP3/AAC/WMA, or anything really. It's very compressed on the high end of the audio spectrum. This bothered me, since I can hear high frequencies a lot better than low frequencies. I can switch between FM/Sirius/CD/AAC and hear a dramatic difference in quality.

I also had a lot of problems with reception. After a year or so, it would just start cutting out. It would "lose" reception, and there was nothing I could do about it. This happened with annoying frequency. Granted, these are my experiences, and YMMV.

After having Sirius for 4 years, I now just either use my iPod, or burn a MP3/AAC CD. I can get about 6 hours of music out of this, the quality is far superior to satellite, no commercials, no skipping in remote areas, and I can actually listen to the music I want.

My vote, neither. Save your money and go a different route.

dijlop

actually im going to buy both of them out, and call it StaticXRadio. W3rd. lmao. jk guys, no worries.

shazaam

commercial free is a misnomer after every song there are two commercials .. One for sirius sat radio and one for the station your listening to.

I hate that

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Like bummer man.
I was under the impression that the sound quality was as good as MP3 or playing the iPod directly through the Pioneer.

I could keep going with the iPod, but I would need to spend a few hundred on some new tunes.
I have a ton now, but I get tired of them if you know what I mean.

weiln

Definitely understand that. Music gets expensive when you buy it.

You'd have to listen to it yourself. I'm kinda picky about music, and the lack of a full audio spectrum bothers me. Obviously to a point, since I'm not bothered with my music, but mine is all ripped in AAC @ 320VBR. I'm not an audiofile by any stretch, but if I can hear it, it bothers me.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

All done!
Just got back, and I have three bands filled with presets.

I think the quality is pretty good, even with my cheap speakers and no amps, which will be rectified later.

We also planned out a system for me later with dual 10s in the back, my old RF 500a2 amp for the subs, a new amp to power 6 new speakers at a later date.

But back to the satellite radio, it sounds pretty darn good to me.
I signed up for 3 months and will give it a good work out.

I can also listen online which will be cool to listen to at work when I am on lunch, or even here at home.

They actually have some pretty good programming.
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/Conten...=1139320914821

Dublin

Love my Sirius, had it for over 2 1/2 years. Funny thing is I never intended to buy it. I was interested in an MP3 player that just happened to be Sirius ready with 6 months free. I got hooked on their rock stations and then forgot to renew the subscription. It worked out in my favor because they offered me a re-up for almost 1/2 price. I thing the sound quality is decent and so far no reception problems, but then again whats gonna block the signal in Wisconsin. Maybe cows? Lots and lots of big honk'n cows.

Tofer

another happy sirius radio fan here! between my ipod and my sat. radio i havent listened to broadcast radio in over a year and wouldnt have it any other way.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Glad to hear you like it.

I printed out the station list from a PDF file they have, and will keep it in the rig to look at more stations.

They said they have a lifetime contract too, I think it was just under $400.

The antenna is quite small too, and they have it on the roof at the upper most left front area.

Scofco

Another satisfied Sirius listener here.

I can't live without it now. I've never been big on CD's or MP3's. I love the selection of music, and that my deck has 10 presets for easy channel changing.

I enjoy Faction and Raw Dog the most.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Steve, I will have to check out those channels.

I can not beleive I did not get this right after getting the AVIC-D3 installed.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Got to give it a good workout on the way into work.

1. Only cut out once while going under an overpass, that is to be expected.
No fading signal though like FM, it is constant.

2. Sound quality is way better than FM, more bass and presence.

3. On par with my MP3s played digitally via the iPod through my headunit.
I would say just as good as the MP3s.

With the stock crappy speakers, it sounds darn good.
Can not wait until later to upgrade to the amps, subs, and replacement speakers though.

I give Sirius two thumbs up