Hey dudes...

I know I am thinking ahead, but my Kenwood DDX7017 is on the way, and I know it's able to deal with both Sirius and XM. Which one do you guys prefer?

I'm interested in Sirius for the NHL channel, but people say XM has better sound... plus the traffic. Your thoughts?

I went with Sirius because Howard Stern will be moving to Sirius in January.

I used to sell both, had both of them in my car for about a year each, and this was my conclusion. If you are:

1. Over 40, buy XM

2. 40 or under, buy Sirius

The reasoning is the demographic of people that inquired for both based on music and programming tastes.

Most 40+ wanted alot of Talk, Classic Radio, Blues, Jazz, etc which I believe XM covers better.

The under 40 crowd wanted Rock, Rap, Dance, etc which I felt Sirius had more of a selection.

Its less likely the 40+ crowd is going for Stern, which I will go back for as well.

It also seemed the XM seemed to play the same 50 or so songs on each channel I listened to, and that got boring real quick...

This is just MY opinion, and programming has constantly changed since they both came out, so I say go to a store and listen to each for an hour or so or find a buddy with one, and then make your decision based on that..

I also have a pretty good ear for quality, and the difference in sound quality is minimal. (I still dont believe into the fact that Sirius' quality is worse) Simply put, programming should be the only basis for your decision..

you can go to each of their websites and get a 3-day trial of each that you can play over the internet. it will let you check out the programming in the comfort of your own home for 3 days each. I agree with Eclypse20 that I don't believe there is any sound quality difference in the programming itself.....only in the equipment/tuners used.

XM Free Trial

Sirius Free Trial

XM because Stern is old and busted and a douche.

Opie and Anthony wtfpwn him every day all day and are much much more entertaining.

Sirus is like the Nintendo Cube of the radio world. Stick with Playstation and Xbox bud.

Great analogy. I like my XM. I just need to find a great double-din nav unit that supports it (Eclipse currently doesn't). Anyone heard anything about the AVIC-D2?

O&A are IMO better then Howard is. Not that Howard was not the man in the 80's and 90's.

you should just get free trials of both online and compare the two. but, the short answer i always give is, if you like music, get XM. if you like sports, get sirius. if you like O&A, get XM. if you like howard, get sirius. all other things are about equal, IMO.

Howard Stern is a jackass. I can't believe anyone would pick Sirius over XM just for that retard.

That said, I've been an XM subscriber since the beginning and have two XM tuners (one that is portable for two rides). I can't say I have any complaints and the XM hardware is top notch.

How are the trafic reports on Sirus? I read they say updates every 5 min or something but does that mean they just say the same thing every 5 min or is it actually updated each time. I mean I can see it being a huge plus to get up to the minute trafic reports but is this realistic?

I have XM, one in each vehicle, Xterra and BMW325i, and one portable that I take on trips. It even works in flight if you have a window seat on the south facing side of the aircraft.
I do not agree with Eclypse20 about who chooses what. I am 42, listen to XM for variety, mainly the techno channels. I hate talk radio. XM DJ's are allowed to play whatever they want whereas Sirius DJ's are monitored by a programming director according to a news magazine article I read. Sirius plays more mainstream you hear on FM, XM plays more variety. Sirius seems to sign with deals that don't make sense, (i.e.Cosmo radio, Martha Stewart radio)XM signs with Baseball, MTV, NHL,and will soon be available in Canada.

As I stated above, this was just an opinion I had based on the demographic of people that chose Sirius or XM...

That sounds like completely false...Have you ever heard the talk channels on Sirius? There's no way they're censoring or influencing what they can say or not. If they are, noones listening....

Another false comment. The deal with NFL doesn't make sense?!? The deal with Howard didn't make sense?!? They also have channels for NBA,NHL,College Sports..

I'm not looking to start an argument here. I'm just stating facts and not "things I've heard or read". The bottom line is, check programming for each and see which one fits you. You'll likely find that the other one has something you may want too. Whatever's more important to you is where you end up...

Unfortunately, I don't remember what magazine that was that I read, but the author of the article said he actually spent time with Dj's of both (for music only) and Sirius DJs had to have approval for content.
As for football, I believe more fans would rather watch football than listen as compared to baseball where there are more games and more opportunity to listen.
Anyways, I'm not here to argue either.
At least we agree on owning a 2002 SE S/C!

Wow guys, thanks for all the great input. I must ask of you Sirius guys: are any of you NHL fans? I love baseball, dislike football (travesty for a New Englander, I know) and CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT HOCKEY. The main selling point of Sirius right now for me is the fact they have an NHL channel. Can anyone speak to its quality?

I've also read the Kenwood Sirius box has a pass-thru which is key because I'm going to be running the iPod interface. Anyone have anything to say on that?

CDDiG, Sirius has the rights to NHL for 2 more seasons then it goes to XM.

Waverider, sorry I don't know the answer to Sirius traffic. XM is awful for traffic reports, the reports are about 30 minutes behind so by the time you hear about the traffic jam, you are stuck in it. Also, the voice sounds like it is computer generated.

Originally posted by mav63:
CDDiG, Sirius has the rights to NHL for 2 more seasons then it goes to XM.

Hey Mav: Where did you hear this? Source?

Here: Press release for XM NHL

Ive got an XM unit for my pioneer. Heard yesterday that XM has just grabbed the NHL. Plus it has O&A. I personnal love XM. Sh*t, I dont listen to regular radio anymore becuase of it, FM is all crap.

Son of a *****, you can't hook up the KENWOOD iPod adaptor and the XM tuner at the same time.

The Sirius tuner (NHL for the next two seasons only) for some reason has the extra pass-thru port, but the XM one does not? What kind of crap is that?

If the XM tuner had the proper pass-thru port, I'd be ordering it right now.

This is what you need to hook up two auxiliary input devices. I've used it and it works great. Click Here >>

Hey Malo:

That looks pretty cool, but I am not so sure that that device would let me operate both XM and iPod through the headunit. I'd rather do that than use something as an "auxillary" device. Maybe I'm crazy and this is exactly what I want. Has anyone come up against the same issue?

According to xmradio.com XM has NHL starting this year in october.

you should just take the kenwood back and get a pioneer unit. all of their add-ons have pass-throughs, so you can run an XM tuner, CD changer, iPod controller, etc. all in-line.

The Stern deal will sink Sirius...they are paying him way to much...and Football sucks on the radio...XM was much better in getting MLB.

O&A Rule!!!

Tom