After owning my 1998 Subaru for the past 11 years, and having over 172,000 miles on it, it finally reached the point where it was time to let go. It was nice not having a car payment for about 9 of those years, but it just wasn't worth holding onto it any longer, with the winters here in the Northeast it was kind of getting eaten away. Anyway I found a great 2002 Chevy that's in super shape, and after having 2 different mechanics look it over I ended up getting the car. The price was right. It has a great sound system in it, but at this point in my life AM and FM radio just doesn't play my type of music. That's the music from the 50's and the early 60's, IMHO the music out there now is just plain noise. Any of the oldies stations around here are 70's and 80's stations. Anyway the reason for this post is to ask how does anyone who has satellite radio like it? I've made an appointment to have one installed next week, and I'm kind of excited about being able to listen to my kind of music anytime I want with no commercials. I know the cost is around $190.00 a year, but hey, I've got to have my music and If I can get what I like to listen to, I thing its worth the price. Do you agree or disagree? Thanks.
Satellite radio
- Thread starter dpmtherrien
- Start date
It's in our vehicles at my work. Yeah...I like it. I can tune into comedy, news, sports, lots of stuff. There's dedicated channels, like 24/7 Springsteen and Grateful Dead. Even a sex talk (porn) channel, which is more funny than anything. If I had to buy it, I'd do without it.
I had it. It was nice for the 6 months it was free, but I didn't subscribe once I had to pay for it. If I didn't like any of the local stations or if our reception were bad, I probably would have, but I have a rotation of 4 stations I like I can usually find something I want to listen to without having to pay for a satellite subscription.
I really like it and happily pay for it. Clear reception, no/few commercials, dj's that know whatever genre they're presenting on, along with good talk stations and a lot of sports.
All that said, if my commute were 15 minutes each way or shorter, I would start looking at the price.
All that said, if my commute were 15 minutes each way or shorter, I would start looking at the price.
I had it in my home. Thought it was great before the XM/Sirius merger, not so much after. YMMV. It's still cool stuff, just not sure it's worth the $$. Personally, unless I drove a lot, like most of my day, I couldn't imagine having it in the car and at home now there are way too many free things that are similar online.
I enjoy mine, but my new car also has a cell phone hookup which lets me stream Pandora or saved music on my iPhone over the car stereo. I use Sirius, which claims "no commercials" but you do have to put up with occasional commercials about Sirius promoting itself. I do find that annoying.
I had it free for 6 months when I bought a truck back in 06. I actually kept it for a few months afterwards just for the cool factor. But then I got to thinking..."I'm paying $15 per month to listen to 4 channels??". I thought that was silly considering I can preset 6 stations on my FM radio. so I canceled
I found that they played "non stop" music but it was a lot of obscure songs that I really didn't like. Which is why I had a rotation of only 4 stations. At least with the FM radio I can set 6 different stations and rotate through them and have a good chance of landing in a song I like.
And they may say commercial free but I heard commercials. Short ones, like 10-15 seconds. But they were commercials nonetheless. Commercials on a "commercial free paid service". Which was just icing on the cake to cancel.
I found that they played "non stop" music but it was a lot of obscure songs that I really didn't like. Which is why I had a rotation of only 4 stations. At least with the FM radio I can set 6 different stations and rotate through them and have a good chance of landing in a song I like.
And they may say commercial free but I heard commercials. Short ones, like 10-15 seconds. But they were commercials nonetheless. Commercials on a "commercial free paid service". Which was just icing on the cake to cancel.
It's pretty good. My favorites are Catholic Radio, Jazz and Patriot radio. I like some of the classic rock channels, too.
Had it free for 6 months then ditched it. I only liked a handful of stations, and they end up playing the same thing overand over.
Spend the money on albums instead and load up your phone with music. If your radio can't hook up to the phone, install one that will
On top of music, there are a ton of great podcasts out there all for free
Spend the money on albums instead and load up your phone with music. If your radio can't hook up to the phone, install one that will
On top of music, there are a ton of great podcasts out there all for free
I drive a lot and really like it. Also, there are not a lot of great radio stations in my area. If you call them, yiu should be able to get a lower price - maybe $120 with all fees included and internet radio for the year?
I have had it for 7 years, like it and pay for it. With the kids in the car, it really helps minimize arguments over the music. On the rock stations, I benefit from hearing a lot of the DJs I grew up with, so it's very familiar to me.
Bought a 2013 Malibu that came with Sirius XM radio hooked up. Decided to subscribe and am very happy. We almost entirely listen to their classic channel (ad free), but sometimes go to news, PBS, Bloomberg radio, opera, and a couple other channels. Great coverage wherever we have been (no channel searching) except when in covered garages, tunnels and under an occasionally heavily leaved tree.
I listen to it when they give me the 2 free weeks and listen to The Message (Christian Station), NASCAR Radio, and the Country Classics. I cannot justify $15/month for the access to the junk on the rest of the stations.
Commander Quan
Commander Yellow Pantyhose
I subscribed to Spotify last year, and think it is the best music service I've used.
We owned at least 2 Sirius receivers when we lived in areas with very poor radio reception and when we had quite a bit of driving time. I think we kept them for 7 years. After the Sirius/XM merger and the resultant price increases and a move to an area with actual radio service and less driving time, we let it go. I don't really miss it, except for when we are on the long commercial breaks on the local stations.
As far as music, I can get better variety using Pandora or Spotify at home, but it doesn't do me much good when I am on the road.
As far as music, I can get better variety using Pandora or Spotify at home, but it doesn't do me much good when I am on the road.
I've had it for a while, it's well worth it. My favorite channels are 1st wave, Underground Garage, The Loft and Progress.
I had XM for about 3 years starting in 2005. Then I installed an AUX jack in my jeep and since then I stream from my phone. As others have mentioned, I find I have way more available online. I can listen to my favorite terrestrial stations no matter where I am.
I've had XM Radio since it started - late 2001. I love it. I was one of the charter subscribers, so I've got a pretty low rate that continues today, but I'd likely still have it even at current rates. Channel 82, Radio Classics (Old Time Radio Shows) is a favorite, as are lots of other channels. I'd recommend it. I really enjoy it on car tips, for obvious reasons.
I was a satellite radio user for years back when it first hit the market. To this day I see no reason to spend extra money on something that gets installed to the car rather than a portable one that transmits FM to the car's own stereo, but then cost is usually more important to me than a lot of other folks. I enjoyed it but it eventually became repetitive just like any other music medium. At one point I needed to cut luxuries and I canceled it.
It's been a lot of years now and I don't miss it. With the decreasing cost and increasing convenience of digital storage, I just dump tons of my favorite music onto an SD card, USB stick, iPod, cell phone, etc and stick it in my car stereo. If I had the type of data plan that most people have I'd use streaming from Pandora, Slacker, Spotify, etc.
Also, if I wanted to pay for something I might buy a premium Slacker subscription which would cache stations on my phone. In fact, for a few years I had a Slacker G2, a device whose job was specifically to cache stations and play them without an internet connection.
It's been a lot of years now and I don't miss it. With the decreasing cost and increasing convenience of digital storage, I just dump tons of my favorite music onto an SD card, USB stick, iPod, cell phone, etc and stick it in my car stereo. If I had the type of data plan that most people have I'd use streaming from Pandora, Slacker, Spotify, etc.
Also, if I wanted to pay for something I might buy a premium Slacker subscription which would cache stations on my phone. In fact, for a few years I had a Slacker G2, a device whose job was specifically to cache stations and play them without an internet connection.
I have had it in my car since 2008. Best part is the NFL and MLB games plus if you live in an area that they have the traffic reports for. The news shows a bonus. IMO the comedy seems to repeat way too much but the classical is nice. Greatest advantage clear stations for long distance drives when favorite AM or FM fade out. I also have real time traffic as part of gps system, now they have real time weather. Worth trying as there are lots of stations to listen to.
