Speaking of Car stereo, here's my take on Sirus XM

I'm a bit surprised that Sirius/XM is still around. I have to ask, how it is still relevant in 2018? Yes, most terrestrial radio in the US is garbage (at least on the commercial end of the band), but that's been the case, for...well, fill in your own date here. Today's smartphone is simply yesterday's cassette deck, without the need to change tapes every 90 minutes.
 
Mom recently bought a '15 Hyundai Accent and it came with a Sirius XM free trial. I think we tried it one time while sitting in the driveway before it was shut off. The digital artifacts made it sound like complete ass and this is coming from someone regularly listens to MP3s.:eek: Between that and the fact that she'd never use it anyways, it was NO loss not to have it. We don't, but most people have a phone that they can stream Spotify or Pandora through. So, why would one pay that much for crap quality just because it came built in the car?
 
That doesn't make sense, from the beginning GM has only used XM.


Going by what Sirius told me when I called about the reduced service, had the channels and travel info for three years on the 2014, not on the 2017, same package. I dunno...
 
Slightly off-topic, but I'll ask anyway: I've never had a smartphone. How much data does, say, an hour of audio streaming use? And aren't more car companies offering wi-fi packages?
 
Mom recently bought a '15 Hyundai Accent and it came with a Sirius XM free trial. I think we tried it one time while sitting in the driveway before it was shut off. The digital artifacts made it sound like complete ass and this is coming from someone regularly listens to MP3s.:eek: Between that and the fact that she'd never use it anyways, it was NO loss not to have it. We don't, but most people have a phone that they can stream Spotify or Pandora through. So, why would one pay that much for crap quality just because it came built in the car?

Ummm because there are a lot of places in the US that get little to no am/fm reception. What is so hard to understand that even something that does not sound that great is better than nothing? Try getting anything but KSL at night on I80 between Wendover and SLC. There is also a lot of talk/news formats on Sat that sound quality is not that big of an issue. As for streaming, it is the same issue. Even though cell service is getting huge, in some areas, like in the rural western US if they even have cell service it is not 4g.
 
Slightly off-topic, but I'll ask anyway: I've never had a smartphone. How much data does, say, an hour of audio streaming use? And aren't more car companies offering wi-fi packages?
Approx data per hour at given bit rates

(96 kbps) 42 MB
(192 kbps) 84 MB
(320 kbps) 140 MB
 
I'm a bit surprised that Sirius/XM is still around. I have to ask, how it is still relevant in 2018? Yes, most terrestrial radio in the US is garbage (at least on the commercial end of the band), but that's been the case, for...well, fill in your own date here. Today's smartphone is simply yesterday's cassette deck, without the need to change tapes every 90 minutes.

^^^ This.

I got 3 months free XM with my car. I hated the constant commercials and self-promotions: "Now playing on channel 54,874 is blah, blah, blah." I want to hear music, not talk. For the same reason, I have not listened to FM radio in ages.

I bought an old iPhone on CL and it plugs into a USB port in my car. I use the Slacker app to cache my music, so I do not use data when I am on the road. That phone is my new cassette player. I can store a lot of music on it and there is no talk. I can listen to the music I like, at the quality I choose.
 
Ummm because there are a lot of places in the US that get little to no am/fm reception. What is so hard to understand that even something that does not sound that great is better than nothing? Try getting anything but KSL at night on I80 between Wendover and SLC. There is also a lot of talk/news formats on Sat that sound quality is not that big of an issue. As for streaming, it is the same issue. Even though cell service is getting huge, in some areas, like in the rural western US if they even have cell service it is not 4g.
Ummm, that's great. I can do without the attitude, though.:no:
 
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I sell cars with it all-day long and can't stand the sound quality on music. Whenever I'm in a car with it I only listen to news radio, and even that's painful quite often. I don't have it in any of my vehicles.
 
Ummm because there are a lot of places in the US that get little to no am/fm reception. What is so hard to understand that even something that does not sound that great is better than nothing?

He--! It's far worse than that!

I live in Orange County and we get Los Angeles AM/FM Radio. Probably the biggest frickin' market in the country/world with everyone sitting in their cars at rush hour and not a single frickin' Classic Rock station anymore!!! And that's what I listen to.

Also, it's nice to just press the button on the wheel and say, "Play Classic Vinyl," and it does.

I also live in the hills and have to have satalite and cable TV because of no reception. I don't listen to radio at home because I listen to CDs. And I don't get it on my cell phone because I don't have a cell phone.
 
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When the new vehicle trial was about to expire, I looked into the basic service. Web site does not let you sign up for anything, so I sent an email. They responded, telling me to call. Eventually, I Googled "Sirius Web Site Problems" and eventually landed on a Better Business Bureau list that has pages and pages of complaints. They overcharge, double bill, hang up on you if you try to cancel or downgrade, etc. A few years ago there was a class action suit along with action from several states Attorneys General. They paid off but continued with the same practices. After this research, I don't care how good or bad the service is, I will NOT do business with them. Fortunately, they don't have my credit card number. There were a few complaints that they got credit card numbers from new car dealers so they could automatically renew you.
 
I listen to SXM much more over the internet than in the car. The selection of stations is great for listening all day in my office, and that makes it worth it to me, even with the additional fee. My wife loves listening in the car when she takes mine (hers is old enough not to be equipped for it). It sounds much better over the internet than in the car.
 
I was a Sirius XM member for a period of time mainly because my wife likes to listen in her vehicle. However I refuse to pay their bloated pricing anymore. At one time you could let your subscription run out and then debate them over a lower rate. No longer. I called to renew and they wouldn’t hear about lowering their price. I told SXM some money is better than no money, then bye-bye. Of course I still receive offers begging me to return.
 
I like it. Sounds good, but I think it helps that I have the better "Fender" stereo in my GTI (sub, separate tweeters, etc). But I listen to it every day. The Frank Sinatra channel is currently my favorite.

Yes, the pricing is painful, and customer support is terrible, but I've only had to call customer support twice (during set up), and they only bend me over a barrel (I mean "bill me") twice a year, so the pain of that passes quickly.

It's great to hear the music I want to hear anywhere I go in the good old US of A.
 
I listen to SXM much more over the internet than in the car. The selection of stations is great for listening all day in my office, and that makes it worth it to me, even with the additional fee. My wife loves listening in the car when she takes mine (hers is old enough not to be equipped for it). It sounds much better over the internet than in the car.
We have it playing all day long in our workplace, but we have the commercial service which is hideously expensive but legally required if you play it in a public place of business. That's why I loathe it so much!
 
We have it playing all day long in our workplace, but we have the commercial service which is hideously expensive but legally required if you play it in a public place of business. That's why I loathe it so much!

Interesting. I had never thought of the commercial costs. I mean, the non-commercial is expensive enough, I can only image what the commercial costs are - yuck.
 
When the new vehicle trial was about to expire, I looked into the basic service. Web site does not let you sign up for anything, so I sent an email. They responded, telling me to call. Eventually, I Googled "Sirius Web Site Problems" and eventually landed on a Better Business Bureau list that has pages and pages of complaints. They overcharge, double bill, hang up on you if you try to cancel or downgrade, etc. A few years ago there was a class action suit along with action from several states Attorneys General. They paid off but continued with the same practices. After this research, I don't care how good or bad the service is, I will NOT do business with them. Fortunately, they don't have my credit card number. There were a few complaints that they got credit card numbers from new car dealers so they could automatically renew you.

GAG....please dont ever think that the BBB is anything other than what it is: a shady extortion shop that has little credibility in real life. Google some complaints about them. The BBB always has bad reviews about business that dont pay to participate in their "ratings" system. I dont doubt that Sirius has problems since ALL large companies have similar complaints if you google them, but the BBB is just filled with the worst scum.
 
Ummm because there are a lot of places in the US that get little to no am/fm reception. What is so hard to understand that even something that does not sound that great is better than nothing? Try getting anything but KSL at night on I80 between Wendover and SLC. There is also a lot of talk/news formats on Sat that sound quality is not that big of an issue.

exactly. my biz took on a new facet last fall and business is booming - muscle car radios. the numbers match guys wont think of a modern head in the car and they want the AM/FM transistor radio to perform on the long drives to carlisle and e-town. A guy who was a long time stereo stop customer brought over radios from a 68 and 69 442 and I got em working - talk about rude and crude, but sound came out of the speaker and they tune well escpecially fm - car stereos have or had good circuits for multipath concerns. now, I have a small bedroom backlog so I just scored the sams AR- series at auction.

as I said before, the S/XM bitstream is the absolute worst, but the radio can make up for it to an extent - the bose non-TOTL in my caddy does a good job, yeah, cd sounds the best in the car with tape and FM behind it, but I like listening to classic vinyl songs regardless of what hill and dale I am on in PA....
 
I listen to SXM much more over the internet than in the car. The selection of stations is great for listening all day in my office, and that makes it worth it to me, even with the additional fee. My wife loves listening in the car when she takes mine (hers is old enough not to be equipped for it). It sounds much better over the internet than in the car.
I'm with you. My wife and I have had access in one car or another for many years. Sound quality is sufficient for car use and the nice thing when you travel is that - well nothing changes. I also stream it at home using the "maximum" streaming rate.

I've found lots of new music with SXM and my wife loves her Broadway channel.
 
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