This is for those of you that have actually heard both and done some sort of an A/B comparison test, not for those of you that have one or the other and think it's the greatest even though you haven't heard the other.

I just want to know what you guys think as far as which is better.

From what I've read, xm sounds like a crystal clear, strong fm broadcast, but sirius actually sounds like you're listening to a cd. So both sound good, but sirius sounds better. I'm not stating this as a fact, I'm just telling you what I've read. Correct it if I'm wrong.

Other than that, xm has exclusive rights to the "Opie and Anthony" show. Sirius has exclusive rights to the NFL, NHL, and NBA, and as of Jan. 2006, they will have exclusive rights to Howard Stern.

The 9.99 vs. 12.99 price difference is unimportant to me, because I want whichever is better, regardless of the $3 price difference. Besides, with sirius, if you are a subscriber, you get to listen to it for free on the website. XM charges its subsribers $3.99 extra a month to listen to it from the website. So the fact that sirius costs 3 dollars more a month is irrelevant because if you want to listen to it on your home pc, it is actually cheaper.

So which do you guys think is better? ... and please have legitimate reasons to back it up.

 

I'm going to buy Sirius later this year. Primarily because of Stern and the alt rock stations play better music IMO that XM.

 

Hello,
there is a way to get XM via a tuner that then rebroadcasts on an FM channel which is picked up by your car stereo.
Perhaps you heard XM this way which would explain the quality?
Frank

 

I have both XM and Sirius.

Regarding wiring an XM in your car: XM makes a hard wired modulator that plugs inline with your car's antenna. I use it and it works well. This modulator also provides power for the radio so you're not using your cig lighter.

As for a comparison: First, know that XM is about to hike it's rates. This will make the monthly subscription rates basically identical for XM and Sirius. Second, EITHER provider is ten to the millionth power better than broadcast radio. You will be happy with either compared to your current radio offerings.

Those things said:
XM: Provides more mass appeal. You'll find the broad hits and familar songs on XM. There are commercials on their non music channels (comedy, radio drama etc.) but these are usually tolerable. For a time XM DJ's were becoming somewhat of talkers in the morning which shortchanged you on music - especially on KISS and U-Pop. This has died down lately. XM does provide in-depth focus on artists through "Artist Confidential" and other shows that highlight music stars. The BIG gripe for me on XM is they do censor their music. You won't find curse words in just about any song. The one exception is the hard core rap channel. So the curse words you hear censored on your local rock station will also be censored on XM. I feel XM had a leg up on Sirius regarding equipment. XM seemed to have more compact and user friendly devices. This is changing though. Bottom line: XM provides a very good alternative for the majority of the listening public. Their equipment is easy to install and use too. My mom has XM and loves it.

Sirius: Sirius also provdes familiar hits and the music that you recognize. However the artist and DJ's that made music famous will more likely be on Sirius. This is a true music lovers service with rare tracks and stuff you've never heard before. They also provide detailed shows and focus on music artists. There are zero commercials anywhere on Sirius nor is there any censorship. Sirius has come a long way in improving their add-on equipment and I think they are now superior to XM in terms of equipment performance and offerings. I find with Sirius I'm not clicking the channel as much. Bottom line: Sirius was engineered by music lovers for music lovers. My brother and I prefer Sirius.

A footnote: XM transmits it's signal through geosynch satellites stationed on the equator. If you live up North like Maine, Alaska, near the Canadian border, you MIGHT have trouble getting the signal. Sirius uses satellites on a north-south polar orbit so one is over the U.S. at any given time. This provides northern listeners with a better signal.

You can listen to each free for three days and make your own decision. Go to their websites and sign up for a free, three day trial online.

 

No, like I said, that isn't a statement from my own experience, that is a statement that I read on another forum somewhere. How much truth there is to it, I don't know. I'm just stating what I've read.

 

Your information is a little out of date, or will be. XM is going up to $12.99 a month, but you will also be able to listen via the web for free. In addition, the premium station that O&A are on will be included. XM also has EVERY MLB game.

The changes happen April 2nd.

I listened to both, I have XM.

 

Actually Sirius does censor some of their rap, but it depends on the DJ I think... I've noticed the same songs on the same stations at different times with one censored and one not.

 

Here's a copy of the XM channel guide;

http://www.watrd.com/work/xmradio.pdf

The channels that have "XL" next to them are completely uncensored. On some of them, even the hosts drop the "F" and "S" words. Some of the others don't play material that would need to be censored or do censor from time to time.

 

Thanks for that info. I've not experienced censorship on Sirius and that's why I made that statement. How are you liking the music variety on Sirius?

 

Yea the censorship is few and far between, but still I'm paying $12.99 a month so I think I should get the whole song... not a watered down version.

The variety is pretty good. I don't know if XM does, but the kicker for me is that Sirius has a 100% "Old Skool" station. The only thing I don't like is there's only 1 blues and 1 reggae station.

 

I don't feel XM has the music variety that Sirius does. Their real old skool stuff is going to be lumped into other channels so you don't hear it as frequently. I agree about wanting a whole song and not the watered down version. I feel that I'm paying for the service and deserve to hear it. I suppose it follows the same rules as cable television not showing nudity or a lot of bad language.

 

I had sirius for about a year and loved it, but I eventually had to sell my headunit because I needed money. When I had the money again, I decided to go with a new Alpine headunit and give XM a try since friends I've had talked about how they liked it so much. I'm really kind of dissapointed in the XM channels and the signal is sketchy in the mountains where I'm at school. I've decided to go back to Sirius since I never had problems with picking up signal unless I was under a 6 story parking deck!!

I'd give XM a 7.0
Sirius a 9.0

 

I've had Sirius for about 18 months and I'm going to have to disagree with you here. I love Sirius, but all of the "non-music" streams--be they sports or entertainment--have commercials. Certainly nowhere near the amount on broadcast channels, and there are enough streams to hop between when they come on, but there ARE commercials on Sirius.

 

Thanks for the correction. I'm not listening to the non-music channels so I've not experienced that. I appreciate you letting me know.

 

Always happy to help out.

 

hey steve you do have really good points about sirius that i didnt know
let me butt in here and give my 2 centts though

Xm does have a dedicated oldschool hiphop channel, #65 they play lots of old beat boxing stuff, sir mix alot, run DMC, and so on...
raggae channel -101 good stuff.. but sometimes its more R&B than raggae (GRRR)
i usually listent o squizz #48 and bhodi is the man!

Sirius has better reception due to more repeaters. by better reception i do not mean its less fuzzy. neither XM or Sirius are fuzzy (with the direct link systems.. dont except good sound quality with FM modulated CRAP.. yes i did say crap). when the signal gets bad or goes out.. you will completely loose reception and the stereo will display "aquiring signal" or something similar.

i sell these things day in and day out.. when im not selling them i am installing them.

i have XM radio right now.. but im more of a classic rock guy at heart.. and XM doesnt have much to offer ein that department. Sirius has 3 (maybe 4.. cant remember) dedicated classic rock stations, xm has 1 and a half.. but none of them play the classic rock i grew up listening to.

Xm has three techno channels, 80-82. mostly "underground" stuff you wont hear anywhere else and a DIsco channel on #83. its pretty good stuff...
BUT Sirius has more. dont know the channel numbers.. but there techno/dance is more stuff that you would normally hear in a club. remixes of popular songs and stuff.

if you are into talk radio.. theres not much difference between the two. i have turned each of my displays on at work onto the america left channel.. and get the exact same thing playing out of the sirius sportser AND the Xm Roady2... same thing with the america right channell... no difference except for the commercials.

XM radio tends to have a bunch more of the "other" songs you hear from your favorite artists..
i dont have much first hand experience with Sirius (we have XM in our instal baY).. but i heard that its more stuff tha tyou would hear on the radio.. more of the "in demand" stuff that made the artist popular.

there are more differences.. but this is just some stuff i can think up that hasnt been mentioned yet.

thanks steve for the good topic! you have done an awsome job with it. just wanted to ad my 2 cents.

BTW, i have Xm in my truck.. and will soon be going to Sirius for the dance/classic rock stations. (weird mix i know)
but dang im gonna miss bhodi and squizz 48.

 

Thanks for the input. It's weird but when I've got Sirius on at home I find myself not hunting for a song like I do on XM. Then all of the sudden XM will go on a streak and have a bunch of awesome songs in a row. Maybe I'm just too picky! It's all about to change for me because I'm ripping all my CD's to MP3. I bought a used small form factor PC from work ($15) and put a 120 Gig drive in it ($100). It's in my entertainment center and hooked up to my stereo as an MP3 jukebox. So for $115 I'm going to have my own music mixed together and playing all the time.

 

When I was driving my moms Escort, I enjoyed very much the XM radio in it. Of course, we both are Classic Rock buffs, so it stayed on one of those channels all the time. My ex-girlfriend had Sirius at her house, and I liked it quite a bit as well. I would still rather listen to a CD, however, because then I know what is coming up next, and I can listen to other songs rather then the said "songs that made that artist famous" songs.