XM vs Sirius Satellite Radio
So you want to switch to satellite radio, but you aren't sure
with which service to go with? Two of the biggest names in
satellite radio today, XM and Sirius, both offer a large variety
of music stations that you would never hear on regular
commercial radio. And most of the music channels, for both
services, are commercial free. Of course, nothing is truely
free. Both Sirius and XM charge you a service fee to listen to
their music channels - someone has to pay for those satellites!
So what is the difference between Sirius and XM?
First of all, Sirius and XM both offer the same commercial-free
music service broadcasted via satellites. Sirius offers 120
channels, or feeds, of music, sports, and entertainment
programming. For this service, Sirius charges a flat monthly
subscription fee of $12.95 for residents of the continental US.
XM currently charges, on the other hand, has 122 channels
broadcasting similar content (68 of which are music channels),
and charge a slightly smaller monthly fee: $9.95. XM currently
has the largest share in the satellite marked with 2 million
customers.
So why does Sirius charge more? Sirius claims to have superior
sound quality thanks to their statistical multiplexing
technology, which provides additional bandwidth across all
SIRIUS streams. This is supposed to increase overall sound
quality and resolution. There has been little feedback however,
to verify whether or not this system really enhances sound
quality to a noticeable degree. In addition, Sirius is offering
free audio feeds through the internet to its paying customers,
something XM charges a couple dollars a month extra for. So if
you plan on listening to the radio via the net often, you can
expect to pay about the same no matter which company you go
with. Sirius also claims to have 24 hour customer service -
something XM radio has yet to fully achieve. Oh, and one more
thing. Sirius has 2 NPR channels, for you NPR fans out there:
NPR Now and NPR Talk. Pretty cool.
So does that mean Sirius is better? Well, that depends. XM has
some neat stuff too, like a bunch of cool XM Satellite Radio
receivers and displays. They also have the biggest broadcasting
network right now, and are probably the most likely to expand
services significantly in the near future. Overall, they are
just about equal, and you are better off going with either of
these services than any other.
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radio. Please consult the XM and Sirius product information and
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as necessary.