Ok,
In my research on putting an XM receiver in my truck using the factory radio, I found out that installed cost will be about $320.00. At some point in the future I plan on upgrading the head unit, so that cost will be about $400. Total=$720.
Kenwood has a deal now, that if you purchase one of their Sirius ready head units and an antenna, you get a free receiver (total cost here about $500).
If I go the Sirius route, the receiver can be hidden under the seat, as the head unit controls it. With the XM route and my factory radio, the receiver has to be mounted somewhere I can see the display.
Sirius is $13 a month versus $10 a month for XM (not the deciding factor). Sirius has 3 satellites versus 2 for XM (so what, I don't travel all over the country). Sirius is commercial free, XM is not 100% commercial free (big plus for Sirius). XM seems to be what auto manufacturers are putting in new vehicles, XM has the most ads/exposure. That is all I know about the two.
What are people's opinions on these two? Will one be around longer than the other (like betamax vs. vcr)? Does anyone have the Sirius setup and like it? Any other pro/cons for either one that I should be aware of?
Kind of leaning towards the Sirius solution because in the long run it will save me $$, the head unit controls the hidden receiver and there are not commercials.

Thanks,
Rob

 

Talked to a sales person at Ultimate Electronics and he told me he heard from the Kenwood rep. that Sirius is going to start beaming video in the future. He said that as he understands it, no upgrade to an exisiting Sirius receiver would have to be made, you would just have to buy the video unit. He did not know the cost of the video unit or the monthly fee for video.

 

The satellites are based on were they are in orbit, XM only needs two due to there high orbit, Sirrus need 3 due to there lower orbit.

XM doesn't have that many commericials on it. We have a Delphi unit we can use our XM in the house (home unit) in the car (car unit) and with the boom box, any were we want! I see Sirrus is trying to do the same thing. The Delphi unit has a LARGE display that is a real bonus!

KC

 

I have owned both now. The serius was first. I didnt like it that well. Channels were ok, but it just didnt play the music I wanted as well. Then I got XM. I love it. Great channels, and it semms to be a better all around system.

 

i have both. xm in wifes suburban and sirius in my truck. basically the same except my mopar sirius receiver works through factory head unit. much cleaner with no other boxes on dash. i prefer the sirius as it is commercial free, but it tends to loose signal a bit quicker than xm. both are strong companies and are growing exponentially. buy what suits you best. you can not go wrong, i haven't listened to regular radio in a while now.

 

[quote author=hotdram link=board=7;threadid=20135;start=0#msg189165 date=1064507249]
Talked to a sales person at Ultimate Electronics and he told me he heard from the Kenwood rep. that Sirius is going to start beaming video in the future. He said that as he understands it, no upgrade to an exisiting Sirius receiver would have to be made, you would just have to buy the video unit. He did not know the cost of the video unit or the monthly fee for video.
[/quote]

This is what we need, another distraction to keep us from watching the road.
Get the XM. I have owned stock in XM since it was 4.00 a share. (at 16+ now. ;D)

Sorry, I was supposed to be serious. 8)

Chris

 

One of the best mods that I ever did to my truck. From what I hear, Sirus is not doing well as a company at this time compared to XM. Not all channels on XM are have commercials, just to set the record striaght.

 

Sirius : Plain and simple have you seen it or used it? I don't want to step on toes but the top decks in the country Alpine/pioneer etc the leaders are all XM for a reason. To add XM already beams video if you can receive it I have used it in the far north to in city with no problems I found the sirius car I was in cut out alot and the programming quality wasn't there.

 

I can add to this...

ALWAYS when you have a choice go with a satelite ready head unit! Yes, the add on displays are nice but you lose when they have to be transmitted through FM radio to your exhisting head unit. You can not get as much bass response either...

I have and have had both setups of XM. In my truck I had an Xplode head unit and then added the XM display unit and Xm box. My bass wasn't near as good as when I was on Fm or using a CD. I ripped that out and put in the Alpine XM Ready unit and it is great and the XM sounds better.

Our Expedition has a fatory Navigation unit so we added the XM and amps ect. Same thing when on XM the bass isn't as strong and the music isn't as good in reguard to quality. We have the Alpine XM unit adjusted as high as it can go but still the response is no where near like it would be on a FM station or CD.


You should, if you can, go with the new xm ready head unit and add the xm box under the seat (or wherever). It is the best sound you can get from the best sound source available today.

James

 

Thanks all for your repsonses. I think I am now back to XM. I also would like to go with a new head unit first and then add a receiver later. I used to run a CD changer thru the stock radio in my Laser using an FM modulator, so I am aware of the degradation of sound quality when using the FM mod.
Before I was made aware of the Kenwood Sirius deal, I was leaning towards an Alpine XM ready head unit anyway (model ends in 9813, dont remember the rest). Sounds like that is what quite a few people are using. The wife halted my purchase though (something about mortgage, food, electric, upcoming trips etc etc ). Going to wait a little bit and then do it one step at a time, with the head unit first.

Thanks again,
Rob

 

If you are interested in audio quality, XM is the only way to go. Sirius uses a compression algorithm to save costs on bandwidth - it equates to a 128K MP3, if you have a good stereo system and can tell the difference, it will drive you NUTS.

Also, if you use an FM transceiver (i.e., tune in XM/Sirius on an FM channel), you only get 13KHz of bandwidth. The human ear can hear from 20-20Khz, so the FM transceivers are trimming off response both at the bass end and also at the treble end. High end audio systems can range from 10Hz up to 40Khz easily... if you are into audio quality, go with a head unit like AlpineRam suggests (built in XM) and some decent amps/speakers.

I run Alpine indash, PrecisionPower amp, and MBQuart components in the factory locations. The sound deadening that Dodge puts in our trucks makes them an idela candidate for a good sound system!!

And yes, I am an audio geek...
-scott

 

Let me just say one word why XM is the Best...

NASCAR!!!



ONLY XM broadcasts Nascar...

 

XM subscribers are approaching the 1 million mark according to a recent press release today. By comparison, Sirius has only a little over 100,000 customers. Analysts claim each company needs 2 million subscribers in order to break even.

 

Just got back from a trip to my farthest north cottage which is in Long Lac Ontario look it up for how far north that one is XM didn't skip a beat all the way there!