iPod vs Satellite Radio

DD · Post by DD » Mon Dec 06, 2004 9:30 am

OK, the Mrs has expressed a desire for Santa to leave an iPod under the tree for her. I know absolutely nothing about them. I am an empty vessel - fill me!

On a related note, what about satellite radio instead? From the ads I've seen, you can by one gizmo and move it between your car, work, home, and when we get a new boat, we could put on there as well. Thoughts? Sirius or XM?

Much thanks!

Austin · Post by **Austin** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 9:34 am

Not much to add besides I had serious (heehee) concerns about Sirius, but I think they are here for the long haul now. I have only used XM and from the limited time I spent with that I liked it. I am sort of considering it although with teh wife not working anymore, I don't think I need another monthly payment.

Edit: Oh yeah, I really prefer XM as I haven't bought music in years and I don't use Kazaa or such programs either so I pretty much do talk radio or whatever I can find on FM. For me, listening to my own music collection would be rather repetitive.

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 9:41 am

Austin wrote: Edit: Oh yeah, I really prefer XM as I haven't bought music in years and I don't use Kazaa or such programs either so I pretty much do talk radio or whatever I can find on FM. For me, listening to my own music collection would be rather repetitive.

Depends how much music you have. For someone like me with about 20,000 songs in my collection an IPod would be great - aside from the fact that they don't make 120 gig ones yet and if they did I couldn't afford them anyways.

If she does a lot of walking or travelling about away from car/work/home/boat then an Ipod-type machine would probably be a good idea. If she spends most of her time in places where the satellite radio is listenable, then maybe that. Though I did just see a commercial for a device that is basically a portable satellite radio thing with a headset and such for walking around.

Is she the type to listen to new music a lot or does she just prefer her X-number of CDs and one radio station that plays the same 100 songs from the last 7 years? If the first, then satellite radio again seems like a good idea. If she doesn't like listening to new stuff at all, then maybe go with the I-pod-type thing.

Last idea....is she a sports fan by any chance? XM will be broadcasting every MLB game for a while but Sirius will be broadcasting all the NFL games and a lot if not all of the NBA.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 9:57 am

I've had SIRIUS radio for a couple of months now and feel it's one of the best investments I've ever made.I chose SIRIUS because of local availability but I'm sure XM would be just as good.
I have no idea how many songs I have on cd and tape and vynil but the thought of transfering them all to MP3 makes me shudder.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 11:56 am

I had satellite radio in a rental car once. It worked for about 20 seconds across 5 days in the Los Angeles area. I took it as a ringing condemnation and haven't given it a thought since.

I'm about 70% done tranferring my CDs to MP3s. Unlike dbt, I don't cling to the past - I divested myself of 2,000 LPs back in 1984 when it became apparent I would never go back after catching the digital wave in 83. I never collected many cassette tapes, so no loss there. Last summer, I sold off the rest of my VHS tapes in a garage sale.

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 12:00 pm

Jeff V wrote:I had satellite radio in a rental car once. It worked for about 20 seconds across 5 days in the Los Angeles area. I took it as a ringing condemnation and haven't given it a thought since.

In the Boston/Cape Cod area I spent a lot of this past summer in a friend's car who had XM radio. It worked perfectly 99.9% of the time with only outages lasting a few seconds when passing under some power lines (but not many) and under some big trees.

Post by **godhugh** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 12:04 pm

I'm getting Satellite Radio as my Christmas gift and I'm trying to decide between XM and Sirius. XM has baseball, which is huge, but how often will I listen to a game in the car? Sirius has better talk radio, which is what I'll listen to the most I imagine.

So, I'm torn. I'll probably lean one way or the other because of the equipment. I want a permanent deck for the car (I'm not going to be carrying it around), any recommendations?

gellar · Post by **gellar** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 1:04 pm

On Satellite Radio Reception:

I had XM in my old car for over a year, and now have had Sirius in my new car for the past month. I live in Los Angeles. The only time I lose reception is under a major overpass or through the LAX tunnel. Other than that, it works flawlessly.

On XM Vs. Sirius:

Having used both, I'm personally happier with Sirius. It has a slightly better Rock selection (though XM has more obscure and folksy type stuff) and it has the NFL. I don't think you can go wrong with either. Much like consoles, just go with whatever has a lineup that interests you more.

On deck based units:

These are the way to go if you don't mind the lack of portability. Since both Sirius and XM both offer streaming radio over the internet, I don't really have the need for a stand alone unit. I currently use this in my car Kenwood KDC-X679 and have been happy with Kenwood units in the past.

gellar

Al · Post by Al » Mon Dec 06, 2004 2:37 pm

I was really tempted by XM2Go but eventually went with the iPod. The deal breaker for me was the fact that the receiver doesn't seem to work to well in steel and concrete buildings, which is what my gym and work is in.

knob · Post by **knob** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 3:17 pm

I own an iPod, and I can say I absolutely love it. I bought one of those cheap tape deck converters for my car, and I just hook it up to that as soon as I get in.

I probably put 2 - 3+ hours of use into a day betwen driving and sitting around at home/school/work.

Octopus Overlords

iPod vs Satellite Radio

iPod vs Satellite Radio

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