Sirius Radio

[Joe G]

Do any of you who subscribe to Sirius have any comments about the service and the equipment? There seem to be a lot of options for the gear, and I'm having a bit of difficulty sifting through it. I want to have access in the car and at home. Thanks in advance!

[Jim Alfredson]

Talk to Scully!!!

You might want to consider getting yourself a stand-alone CD recorder as well so you can record some stuff off the radio. Every now and then they have cool interviews with people as well as broadcast live from festivals and such.

As for gear, I don't really know much about it although they do make units that go between the house and car, right?

[Joe G]

That's what I gather. I will talk to Scully, too. It would be great to have an adapter that works in your van, too, so we could tune in while we're on the road.

[Jim Alfredson]

I don't think that would be out of the question. My van's radio has an aux input (RCA) that would work.

[Soulstation1]

i have been a sirius subscriber for over a year now

i'd say x-m has the edge on equipment, their new hand held portable radio is nice

sirius is gonna have to step up to the plate on that one

if you like sports sirius has the nfl, nba and howard stern in january

x-m has mlb and nascar and some college sports

a station on xm that i found funny is "the joint" it's their reggae station

ss1

Edited June 28, 2005 by Soulstation1

[Soulstation1]

my sirius ready cd player in my car

i still can't figure out how to set the correct time

Edited June 28, 2005 by Soulstation1

[Dave James]

I have XM mainly for its hook up with major league baseball. I only have it in my car, but, between this, old time radio, some occasional comedy and the mainstream jazz channel, I find I don't listen to traditional AM of FM much, if at all anymore. Sure a great way to pass the time on the was to and from work. Reception has been great, outside about a week where there was some significant signal interference. Other than that, no cut outs whatsoever, even in tunnels and parking garages. The price is right. Satellite radio is the only way to go.

Up over and out.

[Soulstation1]

i can't even get reception under my carport

the carwash across the street has sirius playing, he has it on the 1950's station

[catesta]

I've got both.

XM came with the car and I really enjoy it.

My girlfriend bought me Sirius for X-Mas. I'm having reception problems with Sirius at the moment so, I've not been listening to it much.

A friend of mine that works for them is supposed to correct my problem.

I think you will be happy either way.

[sal]

What does a decent Sirius car stereo with a CD player cost?

[Soulstation1]

installed and all the equipment needed around $450 - $500

antenna 50

receiver box 125

cd player 200

installation 75

[montg]

I bought xm radio for my dad last Christmas and he loves it. For the obvious reasons--the variety, the breadth of options. And I enjoy it whenever I visit. I bought him a boom box/CD type of set up which he can listen to in the house and in the car (just point the sattelite receptor toward the window and it works fine). As regular radio becomes increasingly homogenized (and this includes so-called 'public radio'), satellite becomes increasingly attractive.

The presence of Howard Stern on Sirius is another reason to look into XM.

[Soulstation1]

my subscription has ended

i don't know if i can afford this AND e-music

one must be eliminated

ss1

[Brad]

That's a little more than I want to spend. You also have to subscribe. That's another added cost. Maybe at bonus time next year.

[montg]

have XM mainly for its hook up with major league baseball. I only have it in my car, but, between this, old time radio, some occasional comedy and the mainstream jazz channel, I find I don't listen to traditional AM of FM much, if at all anymore

I have seen the future of radio and it is sattelite I've had xm for a couple of weeks now and I love it. The mainstream jazz channel is a signifcant upgrade from public radio. My local public radio station, like many I've heard via online streams, focuses on easy going jazz--trios, guitars, background music for those who would rather be seen listening to jazz rather than actually listening to it. Let's face it, 'public radio' is stealth commercial radio because it's looking for listeners to pay ('support') it. It's hard to avoid diluting content when you're looking for consumers. Sattelite radio operates from a different paradigm--it's obviously commerical, but because it can offer hundreds of different stations, it's appeal is that everyone can find his or her niche here, no matter how obscure.

There's still some great stuff on public radio (some produced and programmed by board members) and I wish the government fully subsidized it. However, perhaps the future of public radio is to somehow link up with sattelite providers (e.g., like Bob Edwards and some PRI shows).

[Joe G]

I still haven't gotten around to getting hooked up, but at this point, I am leaning towards XM over Sirius. I was able to hear a couple of days worth of Sirius programming recently and found it to be rather dull.

[ghost of miles]

I have seen the future of radio and it is sattelite   I've had xm for a couple of weeks now and I love it.  The mainstream jazz channel is a signifcant upgrade from public radio.  My local public radio station, like many I've heard via online streams, focuses on easy going jazz--trios, guitars, background music for those who would rather be seen listening to jazz rather than actually listening to it.  Let's face it, 'public radio' is stealth commercial radio because it's looking for listeners to pay ('support') it.  It's hard to avoid diluting content when you're looking for consumers.  Sattelite radio operates from a different paradigm--it's obviously commerical, but because it can offer hundreds of different stations, it's appeal is that everyone can find his or her niche here, no matter how obscure. 

There's still some great stuff on public radio  (some produced and programmed by board members) and I wish the government fully subsidized it.  However, perhaps the future of public radio is to somehow link up with sattelite providers (e.g., like Bob Edwards and some PRI shows).

←

I'm hoping to get Night Lights to a level where I can offer it to XM... possibly for the Real Jazz channel. Several issues to overcome, but my goal is to get it to that standard by the end of the year.

My station programs about 13 hours of jazz a week... obviously it's very difficult, if not impossible, to compete with satellite when it comes to jazz lovers. The points you make are certainly valid. We try to focus a lot on our local jazz community, having musicians on the afternoon weekday program as guests (today's is David Baker, since the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra is playing here Saturday night). And I want to produce jazz programming that meets a global standard--that sounds good to jazz listeners anywhere--and that offers something a bit different from the usual. So we're basically pursuing a "localism/globalism" strategy.

[montg]

The points you make are certainly valid. We try to focus a lot on our local jazz community, having musicians on the afternoon weekday program as guests (today's is David Baker, since the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra is playing here Saturday night

This is a definite advantage for local radio stations, one that I overlooked.

The xm station has broadcasts of Ben Sidran's interviews on Saturdays and there's other special programming on the jazz stations, the public radio station etc. Ghost, imo your show is already national caliber....I look forward to it every week!

[Soulstation1]

bestbuy has the equipment for xm real cheap thru the end of the month

around $70 for a setup in your house via your receiver

i might take the plunge

Edited December 9, 2005 by Soulstation1

[frank m]

Except for the portability (car radio) advantage, if you only want it for home use with a computer, I'd recommend--- radio 365---.on the internet has all the jazz anyone could want, or whatever kind. It costs anywhere from 3.65 a month up. But it's still dirt cheap compared to the commercial satellite stuff. They also have lots of classical music and other stuff I haven't yet fathomed. Except for old Bob and Ray broadcasts. It certainly is good to hear Mary McGoon again.

[mr jazz]

Dish network added Sirius channels a few months ago so I listen to it sometimes but, as my TY system is stoneage, low fidelity. I'm not sure I get all the channels but here's plenty of music available. In the car, it's news or music on my 6 cd changer and considering the number of cds I have, I just haven't been motivated to get into satellite radio. Maybe oneday. I just don't think both XM and Sirius will be able to survive over the long run.

[James]

I still haven't gotten around to getting hooked up, but at this point, I am leaning towards XM over Sirius. I was able to hear a couple of days worth of Sirius programming recently and found it to be rather dull.

I sampled XM for a few days last week, and am now sampling Sirius. I find programming on both to be too conservative for my taste. And the point re. support of the local scene is not to be taken lightly, IMO. Here's a short list of recordings from my collection that I'd expect to hear, but likely never would:

Michael Brecker's Quindectet: Wide Angles

Anything by Martial Solal

Coltrane's "Crescent" [?!?!]

Anything by Marty Ehrlich

Trio "Fly"

Anything by Billy Harper

Any of the more adventurous Blue Notes --- fuggetabout Cecil

The corny sounding cat on right now just announced...."Well, they may not be the hottest group in jazz right now, but they're still the best. Here's Lambert, Hendricks and Ross........" [You had to hear it -- trust me]

Oy vey. I think both Sirius and XM need to expand their jazz programming options to include programming for the large jazz listening demographic that expects some adventure/edge. Right now it's either non-jazz [smooth] or conservative jazz.

Edit: the dj I referenced above is Les Davis. No wonder --- knew he sounded familiar. Can't handle this guy at all.

Edited December 27, 2005 by James

[Joe G]

I stopped into BestBuy to check out the equipment a couple of months ago, and randomly started changing channels on an XM boom box. Heard Mahavishnu Orchestra, then some funky and interesting piece that I no longer remember the name of. I thought that was encouraging, but at this point, my interest in either station has waned. Mainly because I don't want another monthly bill right now. And how much did Sirius pay Howard Stern again???

[Uncle Skid]

I had (factory-installed) XM free, for three months, in my Honda I purchased this summer. In the end, I also didn't want another monthly bill ($13, IIRC), so I just cancelled it.

The Jazz station(s) on XM were far too conservative for my tastes, and although it was nice to have Air America, I can live without that as well. I ended up buying an iPod adapter that plugs right into the factory radio, and that has been wonderful. The iPod's even better now that I figured out how to download David's Night Lights program.

[catesta]

I just re-activated my Sirius just in time for Howard Stern.

I still listen to the XM far more. It's a factory installed unti and the reception is much better.

I enjoy the decade (50s, 60s, 70s and yes the 80s) channels, soul and jazz channels (conservative or not) are not that bad. XM does have a "Beyond Jazz" channel where you will here some of the the more "out" or less traditional stuff.

Edited December 27, 2005 by catesta