4nonym0us lUs3r Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 I had XM for about 6 years before I got the Edge and Sirius and I liked XM better. That comparison has gone away with the merger now, so you live with what you get. I did call Sirius and extend my subscription for 18 months adding the best of XM so I could get NHL back. The cost per month worked out to around $10 a month going long term, so not a bad deal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ablb Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 I had XM for about 6 years before I got the Edge and Sirius and I liked XM better. That comparison has gone away with the merger now, so you live with what you get. I did call Sirius and extend my subscription for 18 months adding the best of XM so I could get NHL back. The cost per month worked out to around $10 a month going long term, so not a bad deal I'm REALLY getting TIRED of EVERONE sticking their hand in my pocket . TiVo, Sirius/Xm, Direct Tv, Toll Roads, red light cameras, can't go to either mail without going through a dozen pieces wanting to MAKE me a deal, etc, etc. ab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night_Owl Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 FWIW I don't plan on continuing my Sirius subscription. I have all my music loaded on my phone and listen to that via Blue Tooth. I leave it on shuffle and don't even think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4nonym0us lUs3r Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I have all my music loaded on my phone and listen to that via Blue Tooth. I leave it on shuffle and don't even think about it. I understand what you re saying but the reason I listen to Sirius is so I can hear new music, not what I already have. I have found lots of music I like and had never heard of before through Sirius. I use a music id program on my phone when I hear something I like so I can look for it later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I understand what you re saying but the reason I listen to Sirius is so I can hear new music, not what I already have. I have found lots of music I like and had never heard of before through Sirius. I use a music id program on my phone when I hear something I like so I can look for it later. someone here is using an iPhone are you using "Listen" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ablb Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I understand what you re saying but the reason I listen to Sirius is so I can hear new music, not what I already have. I have found lots of music I like and had never heard of before through Sirius. I use a music id program on my phone when I hear something I like so I can look for it later. To me that is their ONE redeeming quality. But we have a local (small chain of stations) that says that "they will NEVER play the same song more than 1 time a day." There really is a lot of GOOD music you just never here it because " it's time for the #1 song" at least once an hour!! ab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4nonym0us lUs3r Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 someone here is using an iPhone are you using "Listen" Actually I have a tilt through AT&T. There is so much software out there for the Winmo phones. The program I use is called MusicID, but I think its similar to the Iphone app. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Starr Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Wouldn't ya know? Now you all have to deal with my bad luck again. I got a Fusion with Sirius and guess what? Looks like it's going belly-up... http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews...030553520090210 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Wouldn't ya know? Now you all have to deal with my bad luck again. I got a Fusion with Sirius and guess what? Looks like it's going belly-up... http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews...030553520090210 Howard was talking about this today. It will be an interesting next 2 days as they have until like Thurs to come up with 175 million in bank payment IIRC. And the guy that is mentioned is trying to do a takeover of the company & Stern was trying to get him on the phone today or wed to ask "whats up?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Beauty Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 With the Sync, to me it's not worth paying for Sat, I can hook up my Ipod and control it, but after listeneing to Sat radio for awhile now I actually miss FM radio, so between FM and my Ipod, I don't see any need to Pay for music in my vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Nap Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 I like Sirius b/c all FM plays is mainstream top 40, mainstream country, mainstream h/h or mainstream pop. mainstream. I'm an underground kinda guy and the only place to find that (besides the web) is sat. radio. PVD's Vonyc Sessions...Benny Benassi, Tiesto's Club Life...just those few are worth it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 there is more on satellite than just "music"... there are actual talk shows that talk the way real grown up adults talk... not censored lame fake hyped up "zoo" style FM DJs do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanatronic Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 (edited) there is more on satellite than just "music"... there are actual talk shows that talk the way real grown up adults talk... not censored lame fake hyped up "zoo" style FM DJs do. That is probably why the so lame sound quality, maybe it was just intended to offer those "pay per hear someone talking" shows... Now if just the freedom to say the "F" word as many times as you want during a conversation, make the dialog a "grown up mature dialog", I agree...because other than that, the content is not much different from the other... Edited March 4, 2009 by Kanatronic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Nap Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 there is more on satellite than just "music"... there are actual talk shows that talk the way real grown up adults talk... not censored lame fake hyped up "zoo" style FM DJs do. True. I do like the comedy channels and some talk. Today's FM is geared towards the youth (unless you're listening to classic rock or "lite" stations). And even then, they still have to be PG13.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluetexan Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 I absolutely love Sirius. I'll never listen to terrestrial radio again. I'm not so sure what others are talking about with the commercials thing though. Yeah, Sirius may advertise the morning show on afternoon radio, but that's SECONDS in comparison to MINUTES of lost time on terrestrial radio. Sirius and 128 compression MP3's have the same quality. I'm so glad Sirius and FoMoCo partnered up because XM before Sirius took it over was garbage. I've noticed a more XM-style compression with the Sirius now that the merger is in full effect, but I paid for 42 months of the service and we still have 5 months of "free service" left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanatronic Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 I absolutely love Sirius. I'll never listen to terrestrial radio again. I'm not so sure what others are talking about with the commercials thing though. Yeah, Sirius may advertise the morning show on afternoon radio, but that's SECONDS in comparison to MINUTES of lost time on terrestrial radio. Sirius and 128 compression MP3's have the same quality. I'm so glad Sirius and FoMoCo partnered up because XM before Sirius took it over was garbage. I've noticed a more XM-style compression with the Sirius now that the merger is in full effect, but I paid for 42 months of the service and we still have 5 months of "free service" left. IME Sirius is far worst than 128kbps mp3, and even if they were 128, what a big deal!!! 128 is garbage as well, you can get almost the same compression ratio with any lossless format nowadays...I'm pretty sure FM also uses compressed music today, and they sound 100 times better... Here is an article, and some guys complaining about the same, it is not a fantasy of the audiophiles, Satellite radio quality simply sucks, IMO barely better than AM: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150262/ http://www.hear2.com/2005/03/satellite_radio.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
computerguy Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 I agree - Sirius sounds terrible. I had XM for the last four years and am convinced that XM is much more compressed today than it was three years ago. XM sounds terrible and so does Sirius. The FM in my Edge sounds noticeably better than the Sirius. If it wasn't for the variety of programming, I would not keep it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluetexan Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 (edited) IME Sirius is far worst than 128kbps mp3, and even if they were 128, what a big deal!!! 128 is garbage as well, you can get almost the same compression ratio with any lossless format nowadays...I'm pretty sure FM also uses compressed music today, and they sound 100 times better... Here is an article, and some guys complaining about the same, it is not a fantasy of the audiophiles, Satellite radio quality simply sucks, IMO barely better than AM: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150262/ http://www.hear2.com/2005/03/satellite_radio.html Well, it's nice that you direct me to a columnist and a third rate sound website to.....offer others' opinions.....about compressed audio (including the 0.1% that is based on anything educational), but I'll think I'll go on what I already know about compressed audio (which is more than that), and also based on how it sounds to me. When you play Sirius on the MKX THX sound system, it kills the quality of the FM radio stations here in the DFW area. Of course it's not the same as CD, or even a CD track ripped onto a flash drive at 320. This is identical with what I've found in my Pioneer/Polk/Monster Cable system I've got installed in my Fusion. I'm quite impressed with the THX system in the MKX actually. It's weighted and balanced rather well. I initially had XM in my Fusion and yes, the quality was pitiful. I got out of that sh**hole quickly. Sirius WAS firmly between FM and CD quality, but that has changed for the worse lately with the integration. Now I'd say that the gap between FM and Sirius is definitely closing, but with SR I don't have any commercials, have a ton of choices, and don't have to switch stations when traveling between Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. That alone is worth it to me. There are only a handful of stations here that can even compare to Sirius sat in the metroplex (Jack FM-HD and KSCS-HD1 and HD2). Yes, shockingly they're all "HD Radio". Now, Kanatronic, which FM stations are hugely better than satellite from your experiences, and are you by chance running stock headunit and speakers? Edited March 16, 2009 by bluetexan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanatronic Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 (edited) Well, it's nice that you direct me to a columnist and a third rate sound website to.....offer others' opinions.....about compressed audio (including the 0.1% that is based on anything educational), but I'll think I'll go on what I already know about compressed audio (which is more than that), and also based on how it sounds to me. When you play Sirius on the MKX THX sound system, it kills the quality of the FM radio stations here in the DFW area. Of course it's not the same as CD, or even a CD track ripped onto a flash drive at 320. This is identical with what I've found in my Pioneer/Polk/Monster Cable system I've got installed in my Fusion. I'm quite impressed with the THX system in the MKX actually. It's weighted and balanced rather well. I initially had XM in my Fusion and yes, the quality was pitiful. I got out of that sh**hole quickly. Sirius WAS firmly between FM and CD quality, but that has changed for the worse lately with the integration. Now I'd say that the gap between FM and Sirius is definitely closing, but with SR I don't have any commercials, have a ton of choices, and don't have to switch stations when traveling between Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. That alone is worth it to me. There are only a handful of stations here that can even compare to Sirius sat in the metroplex (Jack FM-HD and KSCS-HD1 and HD2). Yes, shockingly they're all "HD Radio". Now, Kanatronic, which FM stations are hugely better than satellite from your experiences, and are you by chance running stock headunit and speakers? Those two articles were the first two I found browsing around, and I just used them to support the idea of that bad sound I was complaining, but the idea was not to dismiss your statement, not trying to make these articles an statement of absolute truth, I was more just trying to point out that there are other opinions regarding that. Also it may be possible that the FM Radio stations in your area simply suck, or maybe the stations you listen in Sirius sound far better than the ones I listen to, not all areas has the same FM quality. I listen classic Rock, Heavy, and Jazz, unfortunately all those stations are among the worst in sound quality in the Sirius service. I will be more specific, here in the three state area, NY, NJ, CT, the FM kills any-day the Sirius quality, 101.9, 102.6, 104.3, etc....it is more the Sirius quality is more closer to the horrible AM than to the FM, so in my opinion (and in others) and if you really want more info with more technical background, I'm pretty sure that you know how to get it....but I encourage you to go to the same Sirius forum, or maybe Head-fi, Audiokarma, Audioholics, or any other hi-end audio forum and just ask, you will get the same answers, satellite radio till now is not worthy to build a high end system around it, and I have not heard yet about any single "audiophile setup" even for home use, based on the satellite service alone, and again, here, in this area, it is indeed between AM and FM, not between FM and CD, as you pointed out, sorry....if that is your case, and you hear that way, something is really wrong on those FM stations, or the FM tuner of the radio, sorry... It is a real shame, as I 100% agree with you, that as you pointed out, the content is very good, but the quality of the sound is horrible. Not sure if I will extend the service or not, for now I got an extra free month from them... :shades: Yes, I have my stock head unit, as till now, I have not felt the need of changing it, with my Cd's it sounds very good, (actually it is a new one just placed yesterday, the original one was defective, not sound-wise, another problem...) I did replaced the four doors with DLS 457's coaxials, with external x-overs, that do not sound bad at all. But even while I have pointed out many times, the stock speakers, given the position on the doors, and that have the woofers all covers with a plastic mesh, you will be asking too much to them to sound good....But they could indeed be improved, cutting around the plastic that covers the woofer, and that way they are not that bad, if you use a good source of sound. BTW I have been in audio circles for a while, and I distribute home audio for an Italian audio Hi-End, so in other words, I know what Hi-End sound is, and we are very far from that, regardless the head-unit you use, the speakers you use, or the source you use...a car interior is not the best place to create a hi-end system, so in other words you have to learn how to live with these limitations... Edited March 16, 2009 by Kanatronic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluetexan Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 (edited) True, I wouldn't expect Sirius to sound great at all on a Paradigm, Meridian, Sonance, or Thiel system. A polk car system to me is like installing any of the above in a house because you really can't get perfect sound in a shell of a vehicle that was not designed for audio and has loss due to vacuum leak, etc. But, actually I've tried Sirius on a Thiel system because that's my brother-in-law's home theater system, and via Dish Network, Sirius sounds pretty damn good. It sounds rather decent in my all Polk in-wall LC series system as well. I've yet to find out if Dish actually pushes a higher bitrate to Dish (as I'm sure they do), but obviously it's still nothing compared to true digital. IMO saying that you can't notice an appreciable difference between FM and Sirius in an OE car system is like someone saying they can't tell the difference between DVD and BluRay when they hook up their BluRay to their cathode TV using RCA coax. I had my neighbor about a month ago ask me why his Sirius radio sounded so terrible in his car. When I looked into his car and saw that he had his Stiletto 100 unit attached to his system using FM Direct Connect........................ I'm sorry, but lots of people rip on Sirius' quality when it's hardware limitations they should usually be blaming. Edited March 17, 2009 by bluetexan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanatronic Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 (edited) I'm sorry, but lots of people rip on Sirius' quality when it's hardware limitations they should usually be blaming. I do not think this is actually our case, and I say ours, as IIRC, the MKX shares our same radio, but I do not see that the result we get, could be due to limitation on the hardware, at least not as the case you pointed so obvious, but I'm not sure neither 100% how the satelite radio was designed in the Edge radio we have, and maybe there is still room for improvent, but I do can tell you that there is a noticeable difference, and that the way it is now, I'm not really interested in getting the service extended to hear that horrible sound while I could do a lot better out of a burnt CD that cost me cetns to be made to my taste.... :shades: I know that you are talking of RCA coax, but depending on which you use, RGB or monitors ins are also RCA, and the cathode TV's monitors offer a far better picture than any plasma or LCD till now, the range of gradients and colors is still far better, of course I'm talking of both feed by the same type of signal. Just an example, in Hollywood, in many studios, they still use the legendary $30,000.00 Sony CRT 20" inches monitors to master all the movies, and in the other places they do not, is just because of the lack of service and parts for them...FYI... Edited April 25, 2009 by Kanatronic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hydro Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Just don't call them to "activate" your account. On my F-250 I was listening for free well over 1 year. I had an old Sirius account I wanted switched over, so when I called I officially started my 6 month free (already over a year into it). They have no idea when the vehicle is sold, it could just be sitting on the lot for a long time. So if the satellite radio is playing when you buy the car you're good to go for a while. I recently cancelled my account and refunded the money from my F250. I want to see how long I can go with this car.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanatronic Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Just don't call them to "activate" your account. On my F-250 I was listening for free well over 1 year. I had an old Sirius account I wanted switched over, so when I called I officially started my 6 month free (already over a year into it). They have no idea when the vehicle is sold, it could just be sitting on the lot for a long time. So if the satellite radio is playing when you buy the car you're good to go for a while. I recently cancelled my account and refunded the money from my F250. I want to see how long I can go with this car.... Well that may be in the past, but now they work diffrently, at about the six months period, they sent you a "service message" that you should call them to "activate the account", being the dealer or the owner need to call and activate it, (or extend it, as I supposed that the dealers may have a way of extending it if the car is not sold by then) otherwise you can only hear the weather channel...at about one month of being using my car they put the freaking phone number on the dash and period, I had to call them... BTW they offer the "free internet service", that still doesn't work in Vista... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hydro Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) Well that may be in the past, but now they work diffrently, at about the six months period, they sent you a "service message" that you should call them to "activate the account", being the dealer or the owner need to call and activate it, (or extend it, as I supposed that the dealers may have a way of extending it if the car is not sold by then) otherwise you can only hear the weather channel...at about one month of being using my car they put the freaking phone number on the dash and period, I had to call them... BTW they offer the "free internet service", that still doesn't work in Vista... Thanks for the heads up. I'll let you guys know what happens. I wonder if I should call to "activate" my account around the 5 month mark. That way I can almost get 1 full year. It also has the Sirius Travel Link which is around $40/month. Neat feature , but no way I need to pay that much for it. If they can't cancell the travel link and only give me radio I won't subscribe. Edited April 25, 2009 by hydro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 Hi everyone, sounds like you guys know a lot about satellite radio. I'd like to try it for 6 months, but there is a problem. I got 09 LTD with navigation and when I called Sirius for activation we could not find the ESN number. In the system info slot where the ESN should be displayed, there is only lines but not the numbers we need. Has anyone run in to this problem? I wander if there is a way to enter the number manually or there is a reset which might help? If any one had this problem, please let me know. Thank you, Sparky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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