Sirius, XM or iPod?

Obtuse Angler · 09-21-04, 12:17 AM

I think I'll be asking Santy Claus for one of these audio products this year. Does anyone have any thoughts they would like to share on the relative merits of each?

I lean toward one of the satradio products because I listen to the radio a lot and really hate poor reception. I particularly listen to lots of radio news and the iPod wouldn't help that at all that I know of.

On the other hand, I'm in the truck so little, I don't know how much I could use the satradio and therefore maybe the iPod is a better way to go. Is there a way to wire my iPod into the car stereo so I can listen on the go?

deltaflyer · 09-21-04, 08:35 AM

OA,
I do not own an I-pod but I buy music from their I-Store and think it's great. I burn CD's from the down loads. There are several options for playing an I-pod through your car stereo. Check out the store at:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/

My wish list has the I-pod on it...

and if you have a BMW check this option out..
http://www.apple.com/ipod/bmw/

Tom-O

------------------
"the view I love the most is my front porch lookin' in"

[This message has been edited by deltaflyer (edited 09-21-2004).]

ConeheadJed · 09-21-04, 12:17 PM

OA,
I have had limited experience with all three gadgets, and i really like xm a lot. there is always something good on, no matter what type of music you like. the same goes for sirius. also, if you get a certain xm unit, you can take it out of your car and insert it in an xm boombox in your house. my friend wired his sirius to do about the same thing on the receiver that he already has. and i also agree with delta flyer, i love i-tunes and i have downloaded music from there and it is great quality music. so, basically, you really can't go wrong with any of them.

Grizzz · 09-21-04, 12:40 PM

Obtuse,

I think it really depends on where you are most going to listen to your music. If this is mainly for your car and maybe at home I would go the XM route. As stated you can get a receiver that you can remove and plug into a boom box. I think both Sirius and XM have this option. Now I have an i-Pod and love it. I do a lot of traveling and I can carry all my cd's on it with lots of room to spare. On the plane I have the earphones, when in a rental car I use the i-Trip adapter (the only one to get) to play it through the stereo and even when I was in camp on the overnight trip on the South Fork of the Snake I had it along and played music through the boom box in camp. One of the greatest gadgets I have.

Grizzz

chuckwagon · 09-21-04, 12:52 PM

I am a SIRIUS sattelite member. I too spent months looking for my best options. My dads new 'burban came with XM. I had that to go by. I use my vehicle alot and the sattelite systems are the best choice for me. After realizing that SIRIUS had a station called JAM-ON. I new it was for me! 24-7 Dead,Phish,Panic,and all new up and coming stuff. As far as i'm concerened, the XM has all the same other stations as well. But, they don'tr have JAM-ON. If music is what you want to hear than i suggest SIRIUS sattelite.
I also have a docking station in the house. It is hooked up to my reciever on the stereo. Plug in in the car. Take it out and plug it in the house. Its really neat.

Hope this persuades. trey/chuckwagon

Jojadog · 09-21-04, 02:02 PM

I have an MP3 player (not an Ipod) and I would say it has been a good investment. I have pretty much all of my cds on it and enjoy it in the car often. One of the plusses for me is being able to take it with me when I travel you can hook it up to speakers or if you have a fm transmitter (i know the Ipod has a terrific one of these) you can play your tunes through a hotel alarm clock. I use mine at the tying bench too just hooked up my computer speakers and voila. I have also download books on tape for roadtrips.
I have heard Satelite radio and can't wait till I get it myself. No matter how much music I put on my MP3 player there are lots of times when I find myself wanting something different.
If price is somewhat of a factor, I think that would swing you over to the SatRadio camp. Those Ipods and their accessories can add up quick.
Good Luck!

Pete

------------------
- Honk if you love peace and quiet.

willis5 · 09-21-04, 02:04 PM

My wife worked on the XM project as a system audit (through an outside firm). She recomends XM after having both and auditing XM's system capabilities. I am actually asking for XM.

With the IPODS, or the rio products, really look at how many songs that they can hold. if you get one that can hold say 5000 songs... that is how much money to buy each song and fill it up? at $0.50 a piece, that is $2500 and I know the songs are more than that.
Billy

Obtuse Angler · 09-21-04, 06:18 PM

Lots of very helpful replies so far. Thanks everyone.

Major Wader · 09-22-04, 11:04 AM

Depends on your car. The sat radio system that will sound best in your car is the one designed to work with your factory stereo and purchased from your dealer. All the others will have to be listened to via a cassette adapter or with an FM modulator. This WILL have some sound quality reduction due to the adapters.

If you have a late model vehicle, you can buy an antenna and a receiver which will plug into the back of your factory radio, giving CD quality sound. XM is used by all GM products, Sirius is the standard for Dodge, Ford, and Toyota. Not sure about other makes. I think that these three went with Sirius because XM is owned by GM. I installed the system in my Ram. Took about 1.5 hours.

hawgleg · 09-22-04, 03:09 PM

You can give Sirius a 3-day trial for your computer:
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/Conten...=1018209032790

See the 3-day offer in the lower right corner, they e-mail you a password and your on your way! This lets you listen to most of the channels (but no news/sports/comedy stations). Like Trey I like the Jam ON station and the fact that it's commercial free. They also have an all-Elvis channel if you're in a Krispy Kreme mood

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09-21-04, 12:17 AM	#1
Obtuse Angler Native Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Centre, AL Posts: 683	I think I'll be asking Santy Claus for one of these audio products this year. Does anyone have any thoughts they would like to share on the relative merits of each? I lean toward one of the satradio products because I listen to the radio a lot and really hate poor reception. I particularly listen to lots of radio news and the iPod wouldn't help that at all that I know of. On the other hand, I'm in the truck so little, I don't know how much I could use the satradio and therefore maybe the iPod is a better way to go. Is there a way to wire my iPod into the car stereo so I can listen on the go?

09-21-04, 08:35 AM	#2
deltaflyer Native Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Roswell, GA Posts: 539	OA, I do not own an I-pod but I buy music from their I-Store and think it's great. I burn CD's from the down loads. There are several options for playing an I-pod through your car stereo. Check out the store at: http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/ My wish list has the I-pod on it... and if you have a BMW check this option out.. http://www.apple.com/ipod/bmw/ Tom-O ------------------ "the view I love the most is my front porch lookin' in" [This message has been edited by deltaflyer (edited 09-21-2004).]

09-21-04, 12:17 PM	#3
ConeheadJed Native Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Auburn Posts: 296	OA, I have had limited experience with all three gadgets, and i really like xm a lot. there is always something good on, no matter what type of music you like. the same goes for sirius. also, if you get a certain xm unit, you can take it out of your car and insert it in an xm boombox in your house. my friend wired his sirius to do about the same thing on the receiver that he already has. and i also agree with delta flyer, i love i-tunes and i have downloaded music from there and it is great quality music. so, basically, you really can't go wrong with any of them.

09-21-04, 12:40 PM	#4
Grizzz Past President, Advisory Board, Hall of Fame Member Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Woodstock, Ga Posts: 2,911	Obtuse, I think it really depends on where you are most going to listen to your music. If this is mainly for your car and maybe at home I would go the XM route. As stated you can get a receiver that you can remove and plug into a boom box. I think both Sirius and XM have this option. Now I have an i-Pod and love it. I do a lot of traveling and I can carry all my cd's on it with lots of room to spare. On the plane I have the earphones, when in a rental car I use the i-Trip adapter (the only one to get) to play it through the stereo and even when I was in camp on the overnight trip on the South Fork of the Snake I had it along and played music through the boom box in camp. One of the greatest gadgets I have. Grizzz

09-21-04, 12:52 PM	#5
chuckwagon Hall of Fame Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Athens,Ga Posts: 1,446	I am a SIRIUS sattelite member. I too spent months looking for my best options. My dads new 'burban came with XM. I had that to go by. I use my vehicle alot and the sattelite systems are the best choice for me. After realizing that SIRIUS had a station called JAM-ON. I new it was for me! 24-7 Dead,Phish,Panic,and all new up and coming stuff. As far as i'm concerened, the XM has all the same other stations as well. But, they don'tr have JAM-ON. If music is what you want to hear than i suggest SIRIUS sattelite. I also have a docking station in the house. It is hooked up to my reciever on the stereo. Plug in in the car. Take it out and plug it in the house. Its really neat. Hope this persuades. trey/chuckwagon

09-21-04, 02:02 PM	#6
Jojadog Native Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Canton, GA USA Posts: 305	I have an MP3 player (not an Ipod) and I would say it has been a good investment. I have pretty much all of my cds on it and enjoy it in the car often. One of the plusses for me is being able to take it with me when I travel you can hook it up to speakers or if you have a fm transmitter (i know the Ipod has a terrific one of these) you can play your tunes through a hotel alarm clock. I use mine at the tying bench too just hooked up my computer speakers and voila. I have also download books on tape for roadtrips. I have heard Satelite radio and can't wait till I get it myself. No matter how much music I put on my MP3 player there are lots of times when I find myself wanting something different. If price is somewhat of a factor, I think that would swing you over to the SatRadio camp. Those Ipods and their accessories can add up quick. Good Luck! Pete ------------------ - Honk if you love peace and quiet.

09-21-04, 02:04 PM	#7
willis5 Native Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Alpharetta, GA Posts: 287	My wife worked on the XM project as a system audit (through an outside firm). She recomends XM after having both and auditing XM's system capabilities. I am actually asking for XM. With the IPODS, or the rio products, really look at how many songs that they can hold. if you get one that can hold say 5000 songs... that is how much money to buy each song and fill it up? at $0.50 a piece, that is $2500 and I know the songs are more than that. Billy

09-21-04, 06:18 PM	#8
Obtuse Angler Native Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Centre, AL Posts: 683	Lots of very helpful replies so far. Thanks everyone.

09-22-04, 11:04 AM	#9
Major Wader Native Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 187	Depends on your car. The sat radio system that will sound best in your car is the one designed to work with your factory stereo and purchased from your dealer. All the others will have to be listened to via a cassette adapter or with an FM modulator. This WILL have some sound quality reduction due to the adapters. If you have a late model vehicle, you can buy an antenna and a receiver which will plug into the back of your factory radio, giving CD quality sound. XM is used by all GM products, Sirius is the standard for Dodge, Ford, and Toyota. Not sure about other makes. I think that these three went with Sirius because XM is owned by GM. I installed the system in my Ram. Took about 1.5 hours.

09-22-04, 03:09 PM	#10
hawgleg Native Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Roswell, GA USA Posts: 763	You can give Sirius a 3-day trial for your computer: http://www.sirius.com/servlet/Conten...=1018209032790 See the 3-day offer in the lower right corner, they e-mail you a password and your on your way! This lets you listen to most of the channels (but no news/sports/comedy stations). Like Trey I like the Jam ON station and the fact that it's commercial free. They also have an all-Elvis channel if you're in a Krispy Kreme mood