I'm experienced with XM, but not Sirius, and I like satellite radio a lot better than what's typically being broadcast locally.. A man can only take so much John Boy and Billy (are they still on the radio..). I bought each one of my kids a portable XM receiver for Christmas a few years ago, so I know they're out there. Are portable Sirius receivers also available?

I believe I may have recently read where XM and Sirius were combining efforts into one provider (true?).

Regardless, I'd like to add one or the other to my MCSa so I can enjoy some decent music on long trips. I have Mini's Hi-Fi system in my '07 Mini, so what's my best option for being able to receive satellite radio?

Thanks ahead of time.

 

oh boy, here we go! i'd research the content and make a decision based on that. they are the same as far as I can tell other than content.

it may be a mute point if/when the merger goes through. if it doesn't one's going go out of business and get bought.

also, you may want to do a search because this subject has been covered on this site.

 

Believe me, I did (I got my **** handed to me for my very first post because I didn't do a seach first).

May have used the wrong terminology - I'll try again.

 

Yes, portable Sirius receivers are available. I did a Google search on "portable sirius receiver" and got 844,000 possible links. About the whole first page of links were to companies selling them.

Yes, XM and Sirius are attempting a merger, the last I knew it wasn't approved yet though. In regards to programming they both offer similar programming, I'd suggest checking their individual websites for details about the channels they carry and what their subscription costs are.

 

If you want to wait a little bit, I believe there will be a dealter installable Sirius unit that you can add in to an '07. From what I've read here on NAM, they should have it available in the next month.

Otherwise you can go with most any after-market set up. You can tie into the built in satelite antenna underneath the passenger seat. There is a thread in this forum about XM which covers the how-to for finding the antenna connection.

 

Sirius offers the Stilleto for a portable unit. It is a live Sirius reciever with tivo-esque capabilities. I'm not sure what XM has but have heard it's not as good although they have some cheaper.

As far as content is concerned most if it is the same but there are some major differences. If you like Oprah, you should get XM. Howard Stern more your taste? Sirius. There's quite a few others that may make the decision easy. That's what I was talking about in my previous post.

 

I prefer the XM. It has the better satellite strength. XM uses a geosyncronous satellite orbit, sirius uses the old spy satellite orbits. I have xm in all my cars. For the mini, I was hoping for a xm blitzsafe solution that would integrate with the factory radio, but none has come out, so I just bought an xm roady xt and I use the aux connector instead of the fm modulator. The aux connector solution is just fine. I also bought the home kit as the mini is the only one of my cars with a portable solution and I use the remote in the mini.

 

Thanks, g.. that's sorta the answer I was looking for.

 

IMO, sirius is the only choice because of Howard Stern. If he wasn't there, the content is pretty similar with a lot of cross over programming. I think sirius will now have Nascar and there are other sports differences. I am waiting to have the dealer install sirius so I can use it with the MFSW and clean install. I have a portable unit (starmate) in my Honda but I don't want to clutter up my new MCS. No matter what you pick, either one is way better than regular radio with constant commercials, no orginality and censorship.

 

okay, you have two options with portable sirius radios, they are both stilettos one is listed as teh stiletto 10, the other is the 100. They differ in color, and amount of content that can be stored. These units allow you to walk about outside while listening to live radio. you also have one touch saving of any song of your choice, pre-programmable recording options. (I use this for recording howard stern or bubba the love sponge whenever I cant listen live) You may also put MP3s from your PC onto the unit. Very much like an iPod. Another thing they offer above the XM units is the WI-FI capability. This means if you are in range of a wireless internet hotspot, you can connect directly and listen live without need of an antenna.

as for content. Sirius is the only 100% commercial free music. XM likes to throw commericals in with their music channels. Sirius only has commercials on talk oriented programming, like Howard. XM also censors a lot more than sirius. There are a handful on stations on XM which are "RAW" and do not censor lyrics. You will find some stations that use "radio edit" versions.

As for signal quaility, I have had sirius for two years. My brother went with XM. I never drop a signal. Unless i am in a garage or something is blocking direct view of the sky. There was a few locations near my home that I can recall my brother always dropping signal under trees, where as my sirius kept going. Of course a lot of this has to do with the antenna you use, and the mounting location of the antenna.

The best thing to do is grab a programming guide and see what channels interest you the most. If you like Howard, NASCAR, NFL, NBA, jimmy buffet, frank sinatra..then look at Sirius. If you like MLB, NHL, Oprah and Ellen...look at XM. I went with Sirius because of Howard, Playboy Radio, Sinatra, Octane, and Faction. My brother recently switched to Sirius as well, because of Maxim, Raw Dog, and Elvis lol.

I sell both of these radios on a daily basis. So just compare your options and see which is better for you. If you are paying for your kids subscription, you may want to go with XM, you'll save on your monthly subscription due to the multiple receivers. I've used both and Sirius is my personal favorite. Hope this helps in your process.

 

Hogtied wrote: "I got my **** handed to me for my very first post because I didn't do a seach first"
Billie writes: "Well, you shouldn't have. The people that fire off posts saying, 'Search it,' are an immature bunch."

 

Mulled this one over for a while and decided to go SIRIUS for the simple reason of NFL package. MLB and my favorite team is easy to get locally here in Ct. so the choice was easy. Everything else is pretty much the same discounting Howard. Had an aftermarket dealer install the unit so I got a clean and permanent install. It seems that I can build a race car from jig to track but installing such a simple thing like a radio I would most certainly find a way to botch it up. After picking up my 07Sa with premium, cold weather, convenience, and sport packages the only area I was a bit disappointed in was the stock radio. Knowing what we know about trying to interface the system and the cost SIRIUS or XM looks like a cost effective way of upgrading. Now that my wife has stopped laughing about my latest little toy and enjoys taking off on weekends driving around the back roads of New England satellite radio to me has become another part of my motoring family. Pack a small bag set the GPS and off we go. Life is good.........

 

I don't know if factory-looking is a concern for you....

XMU and Fred are my favorite channels and just about all I listen to. I have the XM/Blitzsafe adapter on my R53 and it's great. No Aux, no cig-lighter adapters. It keeps the dash very factory. For my R56, Blitzsafe told me they had no plans to release an XM Direct adapter So for the time being I'm using an XM Sportster (it's small and lights up orange to match the gauges). My issue with it is that it clutters up the center stack with wires and doesn't let me change channels with the steering controls.

I'll probably pick up a portable Sirius unit this week and drive around with it for a while. I'd really like a solution that uses the radio controls and display... and for the time being (and probably forever) the only option will be the MINI Sirius adapter. If I can find similar channels to XMU and Fred, I'm all set.

 

I make my living in the music industry and do some programming for XM (EuroChrome on XM83, Sundays - 80's dance music). I know it will be near impossible to come across as sounding unbiased, but it might help to know that I do the programming for free - I don't even get discounted service from XM! Full disclosure: I do get discounted gear from XM, however.

That said, I think XM's music programming is far superior to Sirius, but of course that all comes down to individual taste. I prefer more avant-garde programming, which is why I chose XM and to do what I do with them. I'm no fan of Howard or the NFL, so those points are irrelevant to me. I am a big fan of MLB and college football - both of which XM covers. But I do take exception to the comment that XM is nothing more than "MLB, NHL, Oprah and Ellen". It's much more than that, particularly from a musical perspective. Favorite channels, 43 (XMU), 44 (Fred), 83 (only on Sundays ), 84 (chill), 150 (XM Comedy uncensored), and 14 (bluegrass - seriously!).

I'm not trying to say Sirius doesn't have similar channels - they do - it's just that in my experience, the specialized channels on XM tend to push the limit a little more. Putting drum-and-bass on a Jazz channel? Genius, because that's really what it is when you consider the genres.

Technically, I have had no problems with either, save for that odd system outage XM had back in June. I will say this: having spent my entire adult life in the world's best recording studios, I can say XM's studio complex in DC is second to none.

Of course, the whole debate will (hopefully) become moot post-merger. Now let me don my flame-retardent suit.