Discussion: Satellite Radio

"DasWauto" (DasWauto) 12/08/2014 at 20:00 • Filed to: music

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Satellite radio: greater variety, better sound quality, reception everywhere and no commercials, that's the promise, but is it worth paying for? That is the question I find myself asking.

Does the service deliver on what it promises? Well, with 120+ channels there is certainly variety, the sound quality is good and it doesn't suffer from the range limitations, nor the loss of sound quality as you near the edge of that range, of AM (do people still use this, seriously*?) and FM radio. The lack of commercial advertising is quite nice too.

That said, satellite radio doesn't stifle all the problems of traditional broadcast radio. There are still boring and/or annoying announcers who interrupt the flow of music and the stations still operate on fairly limited playlists, meaning that after listening to a channel for a few days, you may begin to grow tired of the songs on offer as your hear them repeated.

In Canada, the cheapest plan is $15.99/mo. In my opinion and in my use of the service, this is simply not worth it. Admittedly I haven't fully explored the full spectrum of music available, and there is a lot to choose from, but I've only found myself semi-regularly listening to 5 channels. I don't care for talk radio and if I want sports coverage, I'll watch it on TV. Also, fuck Howard Stern, SiriusXM love to peddle their service with his name. There's no fucking way I'm paying full price for 120+ channels when I don't listen to 95% of them.

Amusingly though, not even a month into the free trial included with the purchase of my car, SiriusXM have already called twice of offer me 'exclusive' deals to continue my subscription. $2.49/mo to continue my subscription for another 3 months (at least, they hope):

For those who have a siriusXM receiver, feel free to use that promo code to get a deal on your service if you like; I doubt that code is unique to me, though it may be unique to Canada.

With my limited use, this is an offer I will consider reasonable and I think I may take them up on it. Hell, maybe I'll discover and some more channels and find more value in the service. You never know.

*siriusly, huehuehue...

Jcarr > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:04

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I had it for a few years, but couldn't justify it after a while. I imagine with Pandora and Spotify it makes even less sense now.

Alex from Toronto > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:05

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My mom had it in her car, it ended up unused unless we went on a long road trip and went out of range of local radio

So if you do a lot of driving get it.

Just my 2 cents.

Sir Halffast > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:06

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I've used it, and I find it much like cable. Officially, you're spoiled for choice, but with little to actually watch/listen to. I still prefer to just have a shit ton of music loaded onto my phone. Amazon Prime Music is awesome because you can download a bunch of awesome music for basically free.

whoarder is tellurium > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:06

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My biggest beef is actually the sound quality as its only 96kbps~128kbps I believe.

I also don't like Classic Rewind playing mostly Tom Petty and Van Halen.

However, SiriusXM does compliment the average work day though... as it comes with Dish satellite programming and that is the service we carry at work.

 V8 Rustler > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:06

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My car has a Sirius sticker and an antenna, but doesn't have satellite radio. Fuck you Ford of Mexico that removed the Sirius functionality.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > whoarder is tellurium 12/08/2014 at 20:08

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As if regular radio is any higher quality.

DasWauto > Alex from Toronto 12/08/2014 at 20:09

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I'm on the edge of Toronto's broadcast range where I live and if I go much further north I'll be doing lots of channel flipping to avoid the static so it's nice in that regard.

ly2v8-Brian > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:10

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use it all the time. I have varied taste. So i can listen to just about anything. Classical to 80's metal, Alt and classic country.

DasWauto > Jcarr 12/08/2014 at 20:10

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I haven't tried using one of those with my car's bluetooth. Gonna have to give that a go at some point, I think.

whoarder is tellurium > BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. 12/08/2014 at 20:11

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Yeah, but you don't pay for regular radio...* There is also a thing called HD Radio too.

*in exchange for adverts.

DasWauto > ly2v8-Brian 12/08/2014 at 20:12

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Sounds like I'm gonna have to broaden my horizons to enjoy it more.

DasWauto > whoarder is tellurium 12/08/2014 at 20:14

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As BmanUltima mentions, in comparison to regular broadcast radio, it's supposed to be better, it doesn't pretend to be amazing.

TheOnelectronic > Jcarr 12/08/2014 at 20:15

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Data limits, Bro. I'd burn through my data cap in two days if I left streaming music playing.

phenotyp > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:15

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That's really the way to do it. I had sat radio in my 550 (I guess the PO never cancelled the subscription? Sirius must be thrilled), there were all of three stations I ever listened to, and only one that I actively enjoyed. Not a chance I'll be activating it in the 35. If I'm driving around town it's FM. Longer trip it's pandora on shuffle all the way.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > whoarder is tellurium 12/08/2014 at 20:16

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Or you just play your own music from a device with an aux jack.

Chris Clarke > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:16

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With unlimited data on my phone, I hardly see the point in paying for the same thing that is bolted to my car. Besides that, my car doesn't even have a radio so it would be tough to justify.

ly2v8-Brian > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:17

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Absolutely.

Also my Grandparents are a bit more selective, so they asked if they could save cash and just have access to the country stations. They did that for them.

whoarder is tellurium > BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. 12/08/2014 at 20:17

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Agreed. Best way right there!

DasWauto > Sir Halffast 12/08/2014 at 20:18

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That's usually my go-to these days as well. I don't even have to take my phone out of my pocket. It just hooks up bluetooth as soon as I get in the car and starts playing. I control it all from my steering wheel and I'm set. Pretty ideal, I must say.

What I have enjoyed out of satellite radio so far is discovering new music within the genres I enjoy that I might not have otherwise found. My car's stereo lets me tag songs to a list I can later go back to and look up elsewhere, which is neat.

TheOnelectronic > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:19

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To me, in the cars that have had it, it's been the musical last resort. I pretty much listen to electronic music exclusively, so there are exactly two (and if we're honest, only one) channels that play things I like. Even then it's hit or miss.

It's a problem inherent with having a unified global lineup; if you don't like what lots of other people like, you're not going to hear it. Broadcast radio is far worse in my experience (Don't like top 40 or country? Fuck out of luck), but considering the sheer number of channels on SXM, you'd think they could dip a bit more into esoteria. (Spellcheck says that's not a word, but I really like it so now it is.)

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:20

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If you are willing to pay, Spotify is the way to go. If you aren't, Pandora is the way to go.

Sweet Trav > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:20

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I have found that the regular broadcast stations in my area sound better than XM. plus I have Google play music on my phone and Bluetooth.

TheOnelectronic > TheOnelectronic 12/08/2014 at 20:20

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Before someone makes a jibe about listening to one genre exclusively, Electronic is a HUGE descriptor, like "Rock." There are certainly songs from other genres that I like, but it's much more of a case-by-case basis. Ambient electronic music is great to just have on without really having to listen

Sweet Trav > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:21

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CBC radio 2 is all you need.

DasWauto > ly2v8-Brian 12/08/2014 at 20:21

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Interesting. I'll browse around some more while I have the full selection available to me and if it turns out that the number of stations I listen to regularly remains limited, I'll call them to see if I can have just a few. Thanks for the tip.

DasWauto > Chris Clarke 12/08/2014 at 20:22

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Data plans are rather expensive in Canada, and not unlimited. :<

Alex from Toronto > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:23

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In that case satellite radio is ok.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > whoarder is tellurium 12/08/2014 at 20:26

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Highest quality, best music availability, custom playlists, etc.

DasWauto > Sweet Trav 12/08/2014 at 20:26

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Yeah, that's usually my go-to as well. Satellite radio has introduced me to new music within the genres I enjoy though, that's probably been the best aspect for me thus far.

gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun > phenotyp 12/08/2014 at 20:28

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My buddy had satellite radio in his Lancer (gone, replaced with a BRZ), and that was courtesy of the previous owner too. Anyway, when he was getting close to the end of the year's subscription they started calling him almost daily trying to get him to renew it... after the first couple times he told them to go away he'd check the caller ID and ignore them. So since they couldn't get in touch with him, they went ahead and renewed it for another year, and (we presume) charged the previous owner's credit card.

DasWauto > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 12/08/2014 at 20:29

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I use Slacker fairly regularly but also have Spotify and Songza on my phone. All of which are free (or have free versions) so they work interchangeably. I'll have to see how they play along with my car's stereo. I'll probably have to pull out the phone and start up the app manually (so that it doesn't default to opening Google Play Music) and then take over with the steering wheel controls from there.

DasWauto > TheOnelectronic 12/08/2014 at 20:31

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Esoterica?

(Hah, I wanted to see if spellcheck likes that word better and I don't get a red squiggly so I'm calling that a win).

deekster_caddy > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:33

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If you have a decent sized data plan, pandora/whatever/bluetooth audio is the way to go. I listen to a lot of podcasts with the app 'Downcast' through Bluetooth.

DasWauto > TheOnelectronic 12/08/2014 at 20:34

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I listen to rock and electronic music and I've found 5 channels that fit my taste within that (Octane, BPM, Electric Area, Alt Nation and Lithium, the first 2 of which are used most often by far).

DasWauto > Sweet Trav 12/08/2014 at 20:35

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Hah, I do listen to that on occasion.

Sir Halffast > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:35

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I prefer Pandora for new music over satellite. Even when you jump stations on Sirius, you still wind up listening to a couple way more than others, and eventually each channel seems to devolve into it's own genre's Top 40.

deekster_caddy > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:40

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I used to have Sirius with a 'Starmate 4' satellite receiver. The receiver used aux into my radio and the lighter plug. One thing that made it awesome was the 'rewind' feature. I set the built in alarm to turn the radio on an hour before I left for work, then get in the car and rewind, and I could skip the stuff that bored me. That receiver made the listening experience worth a few bucks a month. I was on my brother's family plan so it was only $6/mo.

Then I got a new car with built in XM. What a crappy experience without the rewind! The only reason I keep it on is the kids stations for my kids. I have to threaten to cancel, then agree to the "music only" plan at $5/mo for 7 months, and make them mail me a bill. For gods sake don't ever give them your credit card number or you 'll never get them to cancel you later. They are like AOL in the old days...

DasWauto > Sir Halffast 12/08/2014 at 20:42

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Yeah, I'm expecting this run of discovering new music to run out fairly quickly as I reach the ends of each station's playlist. I guess that's what the trial period is for. :)

DasWauto > deekster_caddy 12/08/2014 at 20:45

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Hah, noted on the credit card. It did seem like they were desperately fishing for that info when they called me (twice, both times when driving in the car).

I think my dad's truck has the rewind feature on its satellite radio interface. I've seen it a few times on the screen but haven't tried it out. I wonder if my car has such functionality.

lone_liberal > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:47

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My wife's car has it and she listens to it all of the time but to me the sound quality is not as good as regular FM and doesn't come close to a 256 kbps mp3 let alone a CD. Still great on a road trip, though the signal cuts out in the mountains.

deekster_caddy > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:48

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Also, you usually have to get to a cancellation person before they agree to the music only plan...

Clown Shoe Pilot > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 20:51

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If you're looking for music programming, satellite radio is a tough sell. there are other folks doing it better for less money. The only compelling arguments for satellite are continuity of service nationwide and exclusive programming. You stated that your position on exclusive programming (Howard) is "no fucks given" so that leaves continuity of service. Are you a long haul trucker? If not (and you live in a city w/ good cell coverage), you can probably use your phone for pandora or something and have a better experience than satellite radio. Or, there's always music players/usb sticks.

I'm a Howard fan, so I'm gonna stick it out w/ sat radio for a little while longer. However, I'm also looking forward to the day where I can tell SiriusXM (home of the WORST customer service and billing departments IN THE WHOLE WORLD) to take a flying leap.

deekster_caddy > TheOnelectronic 12/08/2014 at 21:03

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I loved Electric Area when it was Liquid Todd's station. Hasn't been the same since.

VonBelmont > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 21:03

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XM sounds awful, especially on the '90s on 9 channel. Keep a listen out for "Lovefool" by The Cardigans. It sounds like someone ripped an old mixtape to a RealAudio file. Comedy Central Radio can't seem to handle applause (sounds like it's cutting in and out). The rest are...listenable at least. This happens in all our cars w/ XM, which range from a Beetle to a 528. It's barely worth it, except my family's musical tastes run obscure (New Wave, 90s alt, edm, folk, jazz, etc.) which are hard to find on FM.

VonBelmont > whoarder is tellurium 12/08/2014 at 21:08

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'90s on 9 sounds like goddamn RealAudio. I actually get great sound from FM on most stations, but I'm close to the antennae. On longer drives, it tends to shit the bed and suddenly switch from pop/news to Christian rock (ugh) or 70s ballads (double ugh).

DasWauto > Clown Shoe Pilot 12/08/2014 at 21:23

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Heh, I'm no trucker but I do live rurally where broadcast radio can and does get spotty so the continuity of service is a plus. Cell coverage is decent though so I'll give streaming music through my phone/bluetooth a try and otherwise will continue streaming the music stored regularly on my phone. VW seems to have some sort of fascination with SD cards so maybe I'll load up one of those and throw the whole collection in my car permanently.

My criticism of Stern was more against SiriusXM's incessant use of his name in their advertising than the man himself. I haven't actually listened to him more than the odd minute here and there so I can't really judge.

Also, you're the second person to mention the awfulness of their CS/Billing department. That's funny, I'll steer clear if I can.

Thanks for the feedback.

Squid > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 21:27

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I use spotify for my listening pleasures. . . It has been worth it especially since I found they have a student discount. I use spotify every day pretty much and I get to listen to what I want not what someone else wants to play for me to hear. The radio feature is infinitely better than pandora and their library is so much more vast that it is amazing. Lots of music to listen to and all that. Now granted, I don't mind the sirusxm stuff, but I find if you have a smart phone and a reliable network streaming is a damn good option. I haven't gone near my data cap and I've taken a few long roadtrips listening to spotify the whole way and not really burned through that much data, but I do have 6 gigs total to burn up each month and the most I've ever used up in a month is a little over 3 and that wasn't all from streaming.

granted I do have an old iPhone 4 on 3g, but it shouldn't be too different on a newer phone. I just don't see myself ever paying to have siriusxm in my car, I only listen to the metal channel and I kinda like to listen to the more obscure metal they don't play too often. . .

shop-teacher > DasWauto 12/08/2014 at 22:42

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Had a three month trial. Barely listened to it, definitely not worth paying for to me.

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > DasWauto 12/09/2014 at 02:12

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I'm old and lazy so I wait till Spring and activate my XM with one of their 5 months for $25 offers. Spring, Summer and Fall, I drive my car far and wide. I drive it to race it in Texas, I attend two or three IndyCar races 5 to 8 hours away, I'm a regular at several car shows as far as 450 miles away from home. So for the first year of ownership, XM was the "go to" long haul entertainment allowing me to experience new music not in my collection. I never pay with a credit card (been there, done that... had to cancel the card because customer service kept charging me even after I did everything humanly possible to notify them to cancel my account.) Bill me and I pay via bank check by billpay at my bank makes it easy and painless. Just have to put shutdown date on my calendar so I don't forget. OBTW, if you suspend your radio instead of cancelling, you can bank the unused balance of your subscription for up to 6 months. Its a pain in the ass to turn it back on because their customer service reps are stupid, but with a whole lot of patience and good documentation, it can be done. I used to activate a year at a time using the $50 deal, but the hassle of turning it off and on and keeping the documentation updated was annoying, now I just wait later and later in the Spring/Summer.

XM is usually just a backup in my car. I have 2 Terabyte HD in both cars as well as unlimited internet data. Haven't tried internet radio services other than Shoutcast (PC-based addin to Winamp) where I have access to hundreds and hundreds of genre based radio stations for free. I remember first installing Shoutcast and was feeling in a reggae mood (XM has 1 channel and 90% is the wrong sub-genre) typed in reggae and viola, over 100 channels all reggae, many with subgenres identified.

Alas, CarPCs can be finicky, every long while it will crash and having XM as a back up is a relief. I almost always rip my latest favorite tunes to CD for the car, but long trips have habitually been my time to find new music, so when the CarPC goes out I fall back to XM. And $5/mth is almost reasonable for the travel convenience. As soon as I arrive at my destination, though I'm partial to HD FM radio ( ... in most major metropolitan areas, HD Radio offers almost as many channels as XM).

It's interesting to hear about the rewind function. I never knew that was available on internal/integrated car radios, although I have seen it on one or two external XM radio models. My CarPC has that for XM, FM, and Internet radio, as well as a record function that I integrated into it. Recording can be initiated anytime a song is playing and it will record the whole song, saving the mp3 using the artist-title as the file name.

One option I'm surprised never caught on was XM favorites. Using an external XM Receiver hooked to a PC running XMPCR, a free, open source program, users can tag songs as favorites and whenever the XM radio was on, regardless which station you were listening to, the software would generate an on screen popup that told you another station was playing one of your favorites and clicking on the popup switched the radio to that channel, then when the song was over generate another popup asking if you wanted to return to your original station. That program could also be configured to show as many as 25 channels on screen with the channel name, genre, currently playing song and artist, etc. and each of the channels would update as soon as its song/artist changed. There IS so much customization capability, features and options available to the programmers of XM Receivers and no one is building it in consumer Radios - WHAT A WASTE!

MCS2014 > DasWauto 12/09/2014 at 08:25

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Lots of people mentioned spotify. In addition, I also like tunein radio, an app that lets you play radios from all over the world (including your hometown, hehe). Unlimited data is a need...

DasWauto > MCS2014 12/09/2014 at 09:39

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Yeah, I've got that app as well. No unlimited data here though. Not available in Canada and data is generally expensive here to begin with.