Question: Opinions on XM Radio?

[Patrick]

My 90-day free trial period of XM Radio has expired, and I've now been presented with a bill in case I want to continue with the service.

So I'm curious what other C6 owners think about XM radio. My own experience? I think I tuned in and listened to XM stations maybe twice during the 90-days. Yes, there's a vast array of channels you can listen to, and yes, they are commercial free (other than their own promotional announcements about programming on other channels.) And yes, you can listen to it, uninterrupted from coast to coast in the contiguous US.

But for those nice features, I'm just having a hard time finding value in the service. For one thing, my own listening habits tend to favor certain local radio stations, or my own CD's to listen to while driving. XM's programming just seemed like an alien landscape to me. For another thing, I can't get local traffic or news information- for some reason, the Denver area is not part of their network of metro areas where they have this kind of service. Consequently, the idea of "subscription radio" isn't finding much appeal for me.

I'd like to hear opinions, both pro and con, about XM from you folks. What do you think about it?


-Patrick

 

[Tuna]

I'm with you. I let XM expire after the free period and did not buy into it. My listening habits are similar to yours - local stations with local news and traffic info or CD's. Or my wife and I just talk and turn the radio off.

The next owner of the car and subscribe if they want to.

 

[jrose7004]

I have XM in my Corvette, Cadillac and the house and I wouldn't be without it! That commercial free music and the fact that I can listen all across the country is important to me. I haven't listened to local radio in 3 years.

 

[Chrisr]

I think it's safe to say I probably listen to XM more than I do terrestreal (sic) radio. I have it in the Vette, the Sierra and the house. I especially like that in the spring and summer, I can get the baseball games uninteruppted for the drive from the house to the beach house. My son uses it in the house. I never listen to the radio while indoors. It's the boob-tube for me!!!

 

[Blue260]

I have another month left on my 08' purchase and I don't think I'm going to renew/subscribe.

True, there is a vast amount of programming, but just how much are you going to listen to? For me, a couple of rock channels, don't justify 12.95 a month.

If you could purchase a few channels of interest - I just might be interested.

Otherwise, I'd rather listen to my quad symphony...now's that sweet sounding music!

 

[yellow_2002_germany]

I found no compelling reason to renew the service after the trial period. When I have a passenger I am normally talking and when alone listening to local stations or CDs. The only stations I listened to anyway were a couple of oldies stations and a jazz station. Like Blue said...if I could get just a few of the channels that I really wanted and nothing more for a lower cost it might make a difference.

 

[Dodgerfan2591]

I love XM but it does depend on your listining habits. For me having commercial free music beats regular AM and FM anytime. I also enjoy picking up the major league baseball games in the summer. I can follow my Dodgers anywhere in the country.

However if you don't use it, it would seem like a waste of money
Good luck
Bob

 

[c5y2k]

I had it for awhile and didnt care for it much. Like others have said I want to hear the local traffic and weather reports along with what going on around town. I also couldn't find a channel that I liked. They do have a local Nashville radio station on there now that I normally listed to in the car. But I'm not payin' someone $12/month for something I get free. :L

 

[Eric]

I love it! I have forgotten what comercials even sound like. It's especially nice since I'm in one of the areas that has a dedicated traffic/weather channel on XM. Now more than ever, when I drive one of the cars without it, I either drive in silence or listen to CDs - commercials blow.

And now that they have a Led Zeppelin channel, I can get the Led out whenever I feel the need. Then there's the ACC games!

Also, I listen online at work and home.

One of my co-workers asked me once how I could justify paying for radio when I can get it for free. I asked him how much he pays for his cable TV and he shut up.

-Eric

 

[leonm47]

Seems like you've answered your own question. I personally like the XM and have it both our vehicles as well as an aftermarket one on my recently traded 04 CE. Hell I even listen to it on the computer at the PD when I'm completing offense reports. It's a choice I rarely listen to my local stations anymore.

 

[Mikes64]

Also have it in another car and the house. My wife loves it, I can take it or leave it.
Seems like the channels I like play songs you have never heard of before, however,
no commercials is a bonus. Also, traveling long distances or in areas with no quality
is a bonus. If it makes my wife happy and she will go in the vet, I'm all for it. One
thing I have noticed when I change from XM to FM, it seem like the radio crackles with
some kind of static. I have been looking to see if the FM has some button for signal
strength, but so far not sure why the static.

 

[Patrick]

Seems like you've answered your own question. I personally like the XM and have it both our vehicles as well as an aftermarket one on my recently traded 04 CE. Hell I even listen to it on the computer at the PD when I'm completing offense reports. It's a choice I rarely listen to my local stations anymore.

I did pretty much already have my own mind made up before I started this thread, but I thought this would make an interesting subject for conversation, discussing the pros and cons of XM, and seeing where others came down on the issue.

One of my co-workers asked me once how I could justify paying for radio when I can get it for free. I asked him how much he pays for his cable TV and he shut up.

-Eric

I'm not convinced the situation is exactly analogous, Eric.

Most broadcast television markets in the US have less than ten stations to serve the local market. Those stations are tied to a network (NBC, CBS, PBS, Fox, CW, etc), which dictates in large part the programming they can put on. You get some news programs in the early morning, game shows, syndicated talk shows, or soap operas through the day, some afternoon and early evening re-runs of recent sit-coms, a national and local news broadcast, network-determined prime-time programming, a late night news broadcast and a couple of late night talk shows.

Cable television channels, by contrast, are all about special niche programming (Sports, movies, all news, all business news, all weather, or programming oriented to appeal to a specific demographic). It therefore fills a void broadcast television can't.

Broadcast Radio, by it's very nature, is already fairly niche organized, offering specialized formats for Album Oriented Rock, Country/Western, Classical, Jazz, Spanish Programming, Top-40 Pop, Talk Radio, Sports-Talk Radio, etc. All XM is doing, as near as I can tell, is cutting those niches even finer. Okay, you get no commercials, and you can listen to it anywhere in the contiguous US. But for me, if I'm interested in road closures due to accidents or inclement weather, business & school closures due to snow, or breaking local news, XM doesn't even have a Denver area channel for me to listen to.

Add to this that on long trips, one of my favorite things to do is listen to Books on CD, and the point of XM for me is meaningless.

But I realize I'm looking at this subjectively. I'm curious to hear how others approach the idea of audio entertainment while behind the wheel.

-Patrick

 

[Eric]

I'm not convinced the situation is exactly analogous, Eric. ......

Broadcast Radio, by it's very nature, is already fairly niche organized, offering specialized formats for Album Oriented Rock, Country/Western, Classical, Jazz, Spanish Programming, Top-40 Pop, Talk Radio, Sports-Talk Radio, etc. All XM is doing, as near as I can tell, is cutting those niches even finer. Okay, you get no commercials, and you can listen to it anywhere in the contiguous US. But for me, if I'm interested in road closures due to accidents or inclement weather, business & school closures due to snow, or breaking local news, XM doesn't even have a Denver area channel for me to listen to.

Add to this that on long trips, one of my favorite things to do is listen to Books on CD, and the point of XM for me is meaningless.

But I realize I'm looking at this subjectively. I'm curious to hear how others approach the idea of audio entertainment while behind the wheel.

-Patrick

Hehehe, I guess you need to move to a bigger market area. Or you could listen to DC traffic reports and count your blessings you don't live here.

I have to disagree regarding the niche point you make, but I think it's an issue of location. The problem with bigger markets is that broadcast radio is anything but niche driven. It's unbelievably corporate driven in the larger markets and the stations play a much broader "variety" in their given genre. When I drive to NC to visit my family, there are stations that pander to a specific niche, but here in DC that isn't the case. Maybe it's no coincidence that XM is based here. I can either listen to a "Mix" station, a pop station, an oldies station, or a classic rock station; all of which a very blurry versions of one another. With XM, I can crawl into my niche and never have to stray the least bit.

And by the way, where is the all comedy channel on your broadcast dial.

Or to summarize, radio in DC bites.

- Eric

 

[hardnoks]

xm

whatever you can listen to on cd,new or old,will be found on satellite radio.
If you prefer listening to 50 minutes of commercials and 10 minutes of music,keep the local stations.
Whatever talk you like,is on satellite
sports-satellite,etc etc.For 12.50 a month,I have piece of mind and 0 commercials from coast to coast.Small price to pay!

 

[jbeidl]

Lack of Dynamic Range

Am I the only one here that thinks the GM XM Radios lack dynamic range? I don't know if it is the receiver itself or caused by XM's compression. It is not just my 07 Corvette, my son-in-laws 07 Silverado sounds the same way. I renewed XM for one year after the 3 month trial but found I did not use it much because of the sound quality. FM, CD's and iPods sound much better to me (I wish they would get all of the bugs out of the iPod adapter and release it).

Save The Wave,
John

 

[Vettepirate]

I just read up on XM and it seems to have an impressive array of stations. Especially the Boneyard hehe.

Im tired of hearing the same old stuff on radio stations. They are all owned by the same people and paid to play the same stuff all the time. You request a song and they never play it because "they will get in trouble" and so on, very lame. Admitedly im pretty picky but jeez, throw in some variety!

 

[jhecox]

I have had XM in all my company cars, but I very seldom listen to it.

I did't order XM in our vette's. I wouldn't use it enough to gain yet another monthly payment.

Hecox

 

[jrose7004]

whatever you can listen to on cd,new or old,will be found on satellite radio.
If you prefer listening to 50 minutes of commercials and 10 minutes of music,keep the local stations.
Whatever talk you like,is on satellite
sports-satellite,etc etc.For 12.50 a month,I have piece of mind and 0 commercials from coast to coast.Small price to pay!

I guess that I have so many of them on the family plan that I pay just $6.99 per month per radio.

 

[Patrick]

I just read up on XM and it seems to have an impressive array of stations. Especially the Boneyard hehe.

Im tired of hearing the same old stuff on radio stations. They are all owned by the same people and paid to play the same stuff all the time. You request a song and they never play it because "they will get in trouble" and so on, very lame. Admitedly im pretty picky but jeez, throw in some variety!

Pirate,
Are either XM or Sirius available in Canada? I'm guessing that there may be some licensing issues with the Canadian government that prevent it, the same way satellite cable from Dish Network or Direct-TV aren't available north of the border.

There may also be something to the placement of the satellites in geo-stationary orbit. I don't think, for instance, XM is available in Alaska or Hawaii.

Regarding the variety, yes, XM certainly has a wide variety of channels for every musical style. As I said up-thread a bit, it's highly niche organized. Perhaps a bit too niche organized.

-Patrick

 

[Patrick]

Am I the only one here that thinks the GM XM Radios lack dynamic range? I don't know if it is the receiver itself or caused by XM's compression. It is not just my 07 Corvette, my son-in-laws 07 Silverado sounds the same way. I renewed XM for one year after the 3 month trial but found I did not use it much because of the sound quality. FM, CD's and iPods sound much better to me (I wish they would get all of the bugs out of the iPod adapter and release it).

Save The Wave,
John

I'm not certain I have as discriminating an ear as you do, John. I tried playing around with the different pre-set equalization settings, and I've found the range of sound quite good.

-Patrick