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I've decided to buy the wife a satellite radio set-up for christmas. As I know nothing about it yet I decided I'd start here since I'm sure someone here has already done the research for my lazy ass...

So, on with the questions:

Which is better Sirius or XM?

What accessories do I need for home and/or portable setup?

Any recommendations on car setup? Her car radio is not satellite ready so it will be some sort of tape deck adapter.

Anything else I'm missing?

Money to spend is around $400-$500.



Edit:  Well I started the research and I all I have to say is FUCK are there a lot of options...

Thanx I have the same quandry

All I know for sure is that I think Sirius has both Howard Stern and NFL games exclusively, but I could be wrong on that. And I'm sure she cares nothing for the NFL.

And if shes like my old lady even less for Howard heh

Well I started with comparing XM to Sirius and so far I've found the following notes:

Music: Pretty much equal options. If there is any difference it's that XM offers more mainstream channels with Sirius offering more eclectic channels (garage bands, etc...). Personally Sirius has a JamBand channel which almost has me sold.

Talk: Sirius offers more variety in narrower fields. As in you don't just get politics you get 3 channels each one either left, right or center.

Comedy: XM is more mainstream, Sirius is more edgy.

Sports: Sirius has the NFL (had the NHL). XM has MLB (non-exclusive) and Nascar (Exclusive).

Price: XM = $9.99/month Sirius = $12.99/month


For me, I would choose Sirius. The wife probably wouldn't care.

Now to find hardware.

I think it is important to mention that with Mel Karmazin joining Sirius as CEO, the "no ads" part of satellite radio is likely to go out the window. Radio ads are what Mel built his career on at Infinity Radio, eventually selling Infinity to Viacom. However, even with ads, satellite radio is a superior offering due to the selection.

XM offers its own "Howard Stern" content with Opie & Anthony but I believe that channel costs extra. XM's business plan seems to be hook customers with the lower monthly fee and then charge extra for certain content.

XM is owned by Clearchannel.  Therefore, Sirius is better.

As opposed to Sirius, which we've just learned is owned by the guy who built Infinity Radio?  Here in Rochester, NY, there are two stations for every genre of music... one owned by Clear Channel, the other owned by Infinity.  I get news and talk from one, and occasionally music from stations owned by the other.  The only difference is... They have different names?

Alkiera

I have a two hour commute in each direction. I'm subscribing to this thread. The last time I weighed the two, I ended up leaning toward XM, but I still haven't been able to sell myself either way. The sports packages are very interesting, though.

The two biggest determiners for me are the sports deals and the ability to pipe the stream to a computer.

MLB is a better radio sport, which is a vote for XM.   And although XM pulled their PC adapter from the market so they could charge more to stream it over IP, it looks like there are some third-party setups that can get it piped from a receiver to the PC.

How about quality? I've heard different answers from both sides. Is it dependent upon the region?

I've decided to go with the Sirius Sporster (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0006I0VN2/qid=1103637052/sr=8-8/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i8_xgl23/102-7203932-3128909?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846). I got it from Circuit City at the same price as Amazon but with a $30 mail in rebate, assuming I remember to send it in. I also picked up a home docking station for an additional $50. Total price was $210 before the $30 rebate.

They also make a boombox for the sportster that I was going to pick up but everywhere I went was out of stock.

Assuming the wife likes the gift and doesn't want to return it I will update on performance post christmas if anyone is interested.

Looking for a little advice.
 
My wife owns a small businesss and wants to get better listening options when she's working at night. Currently she just streams Pandora via her Android phone and a bluetooth/FM transmitter to a little radio but has a few issues with it. One is that it is a very thick concrete building and reception inside is very spotty and off and on. Second is simply that if she isn't working they only have local radio which is no good around here. The business does NOT have an internet connection and currently has no reason to get one.
 
So she is looking at satellite radio which I know nothing about and she knows even less. Specifically she is currently looking at this radio - http://goo.gl/wQLEk  (http://goo.gl/wQLEk) but thats largely because she loves the retro style. Would she just need this, a XMSirius subscription and possibly an antenna for it? I'd also look at eventually getting her some (fairly cheap) speakers and maybe running some wire and mounting them in the room's corners or something out of the way.
 
Should this work for her or does someone have a different suggestion that might work even better?

Our businesses use satellite radio for music so I speak from experience.
XM and Sirius both have business as well as personal subscriptions. Skip the business and just sign up as a personal account. The business accounts cost twice as much as have only a third of the channels.
If you get that radio you linked to you will also need to buy the docking station and antenna: http://www.amazon.com/Audiovox-CNP2000H-Radio-Tuner-Antenna/dp/B000I4A1MA/ref=pd_bxgy_hg_text_b
And the actual XM receiver chip which will link to your account: http://www.amazon.com/Audiovox-CNP2000-Mini-Tuner-Cartridge/dp/B000HEHR8C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316363054&sr=8-1

You will also need to install an outdoor antenna and run the line into the office through a window or drill through an exterior wall. The satellite receiver isnt going to get the signal through cinder block walls.

My suggestion would be to get the original style receiver, which comes with the in car mounting accessories: http://www.amazon.com/XDNX1V1-Dock-Play-Radio-Black/dp/B002Q0W80C/ref=dp_cp_ob_e_title_1
By the in home dock to go with it: http://www.amazon.com/XADH1-Universal-Dock-Play-Black/dp/B002Q0W80W/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_0_2
And a speaker for it: http://www.amazon.com/AudioVox-Sirius-SXABB1-Speaker-Boombox/dp/B0041OODV8/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_c

Less money spent over all and then your wife can switch the receiver from office to car and back again. So she has satellite in the car and the office. This is what I did.

Thanks much, I will look at this and pass it on to her.  I'm hoping she isn't too attached to the "retro" look radio, I think you're paying more for the look but she's just so into old stuff.  She debated just getting a record player at one point.  :uhrr:

*edit* Why do you need the dock-and-play home kit AND the speaker dock?  Doesn't the player dock right to the speakers without need for the kit?  Is it mostly just for the antenna?

Yeah for the antenna. And if you decide to ever install a small receiver and add a CD player with the wall mounted speakers you mentioned, you will be able to do so.

So do you end up running the player in the dock outputted to the speaker, or is the antenna able to connect right to the speakers and you still use the dock on the speakers?  I guess really the question would be more - If you are buying the dock/antenna kit is their any reason you need to buy a "Sirius" stereo or can you just buy any set of speakers/stereo with an input?

Thanks again for the replies!

If you buy the home dock/antenna kit you can connect to any receiver or stereo with an input.
If you buy the speaker-dock station I linked you still need an antenna, so you would have to find one solo or still buy the home antenna/dock kit.

If it's only for the office, buy the internet streaming service.  You get a lot of good stuff with it.

Free Trial: https://care.siriusxm.com/sirpromosetupview.do?utm_campaign=SIR30DAYTRIAL&utm_source=HNSI&utm_medium=web

Sand, the reason the business plans are more expensive is because you have to pay licensing fees to the record labels to play music in public spaces. Which is why bars can't just play the radio.

Well you can at least test it at home to check out what you can get.

Awesome. Once Sirius or XM start fielding subscription inspection teams I will worry. Till then I will pay the cheaper cost for personal subscriptions and not worry about it.

It's only a violation if more than a certain number of people (25?) can hear it.  That makes it a "public performance".

--Dave