What's the difference between XM and Sirius sattelite radio?

Answer 1

That's a good question. They cost the same if you pay monthly and they both have a lot of stations. XM claims to have more, but when baseball season is in, when there's 15 games going on at the same time, they count those as channels, even though they might only use them for 2 hours per week. Sirius has a lifetime plan for $500 (for the lifetime of 3 radios unless it had been stolen or broke under warranty) which could save you some money in the long run. Sirius' satellites move overtop of North America instead of hovering over the equator like XM, which gives them better mobile/outdoor reception but may hamper indoor reception without getting the antenna aimed right. But let's get down to the real differences between Sirius and XM -- what's ON Sirius and XM:

Music. If you like rare, unheard stuff and B-Sides, you'll like XM better. XM has a larger music library and they tend to delve deep into it. This is the kind of service that the wacky guy at the music store who could name what was on every CD ever made would like. If you like hearing stuff you've never heard before, you'll like XM

If you like listening to the radio and saying hey, I loved that song, hearing songs that are popular, that were once popular, all the hits then you'll be a Sirius person. Like classic rock? Pick Sirius. Eminem? He's got his own channel. So does Elvis. And for the time being so does The Who and The Rolling Stones. For me, this is what made me pick Sirius. I would listen to XM and always be changing the station because it was rare they'd play something I'd like. Sure, I'd discover new music I had never heard before and end up liking, but most of the stuff I heard over there I could tell were B sides and unheard of for a reason. On the flip side of that, since Sirius plays all the hits, you'll end up hearing more repeats, too. It doesn't bother me because I like more than 1 station, so I can just change it and listen to something else!

Sports. If you like baseball or hockey, you'll want XM. If you like basketball, football, soccer or nascar, you'll want Sirius.

Talk radio. If you like Playboy, Maxim, Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, NPR, BBC, you'll want Sirius. If you like Oprah Winfrey or Opie and Anthony, you'll want XM.

Hope this helps a little! Don't forget, both services offer 3 day free trials online. Sign up for them and give them both a good listen. Note that the satellite radio sound quality is better than the online streaming. Just use it for comparing the programming. Note that talk and sports are mostly not available online so this is mostly good for comparing the music programming.

The equipment is pretty similar between the two as far as cost. Sometimes Sirius runs promos where you can get a radio for free if you prepay your subscription for 6 months or so. Sirius units tend to be a little bigger but are coming down in size. Sirius only recently unveiled a portable handheld radio, so it is expensive compared to XM's portables but it is also the only satellite radio in the industry that can stream audio from the internet when a satellite signal is not available.

Answer 2

Difference Between Sirius And Xm

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What's the difference between XM and Sirius sattelite radio?

Answer 4

It's just personal preference and I think one has more sports channels and one has more talk. They both have about the same amount of channels and I even heard that within the next copule of years I think Sirius is gonna buy XM or maybe it was the other way around. I would go to there websites and look at the channels and see what youlike better.