Satellite Radio - XM vs. Sirius?

wizman asks: "I am getting a new car tonight and will be upgrading the audio system. Now that satellite radio is available in most markets and becoming more affordable, I am definitely planning to take the plunge. Unfortunately, the 2 providers -- XM and Sirius -- both seem to have just as many strengths as weaknesses. There is a three dollar price difference, which is really not a concern for me."

"So far I have gathered that XM seems to have better audio quality, and a larger selection of music channels. Sirius has less music channels, but more "commercial free" music channels and more talk channels. Also, it scares me that Clear Channel has a stake in XM -- does this mean XM will eventually turn to utter crap like every Clear Channel station seems to have? Does Clear Channel have enough ownership to have a say in programming?

I'm looking for more strengths and weaknesses from people who have used one (or better yet, both!) of the services. I'm leaning towards XM right now, with the Clear Channel issue being my main fright. Sirius streams their stations online, giving me a good sample. So far I have been fairly impressed. But, I like the fact that XM carries Art Bell, more than one 80's station, and VH1 content. It's a toss up, so I'm looking forward to some info from the Slashdot community."

Comments

Get an mp3 player

[Anonymous Coward]

Why are you enabling pay radio stations? There are car stereo mp3 players. With over a hundred mp3 songs on one CD, with a ten cd changer, you'll never have to listen to a radio station again. And when you are out of town, wouldn't you tune into local news to hear what's going on? Satellite radio makes no sense.

Let's see if I can get this right: I'll bet you own a couple of CB radios as well. A couple of FRS walkie talkies. And a Sony playstation. A fully loaded cell phone or three. Several PDAs.

I'll bet you bought the car with the best cupholders/multiple power outlets for your gadgets and can't even change your oil, let alone diagnose or repair a simple problem with your car.

Satellite radio? Get your ass out of that foreign car and via zapare.

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Re:Sirius is going the way of the Dodo

[LordKronos]

This is informative? I think a bunch of Lepricans run our country, so much so that I started eating Lucky Charms cereal just to make sure I'm on their good side. Is this informative?

Seriously, if you want to say Sirius is a dead end, give us details. As it is, it sounds like you are saying "They have to be going out of business, because I made money shorting their stock". That can happen with any stock. Give us details.