Thread: XM or Sirius?

I'm looking to pick up one of these after the holidays but am curious as to which is best. I'm sure both have their plus and minuses but I'd like to hear your opinions on each as I'm sure there are plenty users of both.

My plan is to have get a portable one, with an attachment for both cars so we can use it with whichever car we want.

Mainly though, as a UPS man i want it for a portable boombox in my UPS truck.

I'm leaning towards Sirius because i really like these 2 items.


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1149208576684

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1149208576285

But i'd like to hear from some XM users on why XM is better.

When it comes to the music channels, I think they are basically the same although some people have certain music tastes which will determine which one they go with.

This leaves the talk, sports and entertainment sections of each provider. I don't know enough about Sirius but I do know that XM has exclusive coverage of the NHL so that may be a deciding factor for you. Look over those sections and see if any one is better for your tastes.

XM has the NHL Home Ice channel which is what I listen to 80% of the time so it's a no-brainer for me. XM rules. They also play every NHL game.

Sirius!

XM!

If you're a hockey fan, it's the way to go!!

I have XM and it has great sports coverage. I love 204 for hockey and 175 for baseball. That being said, my friend has Sirius and his music channels are better. Better playlists and formatting. If your not in it for music, XM is the way to go.

It won't really matter next year if the merger gets approved in December.

I purchased a lifetime subscription to Sirius back when they carried the NHL, which in retrospect wasn't a wise move by me. The major difference between the two is sports, and to a lesser extent the talk that they offer. Sirius has NFL, NBA, NASCAR, some soccer and collage. XM has the NHL, MLB, PGA, and collage. One thing I have heard (although can't confirm because I haven't listened to XM) is that XM tends to have a slightly deeper playlist, so if you are listening to a channel all day, you are less likely to hear the same song twice, while on Sirius, if you are listening all day, you might hear a song more than once.

The other difference between the two (and again, I don't know how it affects the XM side, so perhaps someone could jump in) is that XM uses satellites in geosynchronous orbit, while Sirius has 3 satellites in a closer, elliptical orbit so at any time a maximum of two will be over the US. While this is supposed to allow the satellites to be more directly overhead for most of the US, you will notice that the signal is better at some times than others. I believe in 2008 they are planning to launch a geosynchronous satellite to help coverage.

All that said, I really like Sirius, the music offerings are really good, and I like the talk that they offer and having NFL isn't bad.