Is XM radio worth it?

nothing as far as i can tell. i am also a comedy-a-holic and use cd's and my nomad jukebox for all the stuff i want. maybe if i was a salesman with a big territory and spent a LOT of time in the car...

 

Agreed with Danny. The comedy channel was a favorite of mine in the beginning - at the very least, whatever you like to listen to, you only get variety when someone other than yourself picks it. Without XM 150 I would've never heard Doug Stanhope's standup. I know he's on Comedy Central now, but I abhor the man show, so I would've never realized how funny he is on stage.

Plus, there's variety across the boards. You ever listen to Glenn Miller, Johnny Mercer, or anything from the 30's and 40's? How about new age - musical starstreams, ever heard of that? Those two stations for me, (pre-prius) were the best way to calm my road rage. I'm sure the classical channel works as well for that but I don't know, I've never heard it.

So, I think it's more learning to appreciate new things, than sticking to things you know you like - that's one thing you learn with XM (or Sirius)that you otherwise wouldn't have a chance to do as well.

 

I love my XM and with the PriusXM system you don't have wires all over the place. I frequently make the trip up to northern NJ (from Baltimore) to visit my folks. I can get the morning news shows from CNN or MSNBC or I can listen to whatever music I want at the moment without worrying about losing the signal--except in the Baltimore tunnel. I also love getting the up to the minute traffic and weather. I am lucky to live in an area that is covered by that. I used to just keep CDs in the changer but would forget to change them out so would find Christmas music in March. I am seriously thinking of getting XM for home use. I find out more about my XM all the time. My son chose Sirius because of the sports coverage.

 

And don't forget! Holiday weekends, such as the one coming up, they have special programming on a variety of channels. I'm not sure the plan for this coming weekend, but since I'll be driving from DC to Southern Ohio and back, I know I'll be enjoying whatever they're running. A few years ago at this time they ran "The Monster" - every single Billboard Top 20 song from 1938 til 2002 - it of course took weeks to get through it all.

-m.

 

I too have prius.xm that I installed in my '04 Prius. Jon August's package with his instructional DVD was just plain top notch in preparing me for doing the installation. Way to go Jon!! :clap:

Having used to work for XM for 3 years, I cannot say enough about the energy and enthusiasm that goes into the development of each channel that XM produces! My personal favorite has been and still is XM Channel 40, Deep Tracks. One of the things that this channel does a couple times a year is play their entire library of 4000 songs from A-Z consecutivley in order by song title. It generally takes over two weeks to go through the entire library. (Not to mention that all of the music channels are commercial free!!!)

So is XM (or sirius for that matter) worth it? Like Danny said, if you give it 3 months, you'll never give it up. Just do it!

 

Yes it is portable. I also have the Delphi Sky-fi in addition to the xmprius.com unit. We use the Sky-fi in our house and in my wife's PT Cruiser. There are a couple of portable radios that Delphi manufactures that the Sky-fi plugs into that also enhance it's portability.

 

I don't have much interest in XM either, but then again I have an iPod, and I'm not usually in my car for several hours straight anyway.

I guess it all comes down to preferences.

 

I dont get it either.. I mean, it'd make sense if they were around hundred. But with half-a-grand, I would buy something else..

 

Can I have your MP3 player? j/k

 

The integrated kit is 500. You can get a fully functioning xm radio for $130 - or, if they're still selling them, you can get XMPC for what, $50 I think?

-m.

 

Exactly. Instead of actually having to push buttons on the Skyfi, I can just say "Sat 1", "Sat 2", or "Sat 3" for voice commands, and use the steering wheel controls. Plus, I didn't want something mounted to the pristine dash of the car, nor something wedged in the cupholder (skyfi didn't fit too well there).

-m.

 

since i listen mostly to comedy, fidelity is not that big of an issue, and i probably would like something that would also be usable at home. the satisfaction level of you folks is making me think again but i am also wondering about portability/integration.

does that mean i am better off waiting for coastal dave's aux input setup and going with a portable for less money?

 

I don't think so, but I'll give it a shot this afternoon!

-m.

 

If you got the cd changer, w/cassette player, you could get the skyfi - and I'd suggest going that route first to see how much you like it / use it. otherwise, if you don't, there's the Roady with the (currently free) FM modulator - again so you could have portability and test it out with limited funding. Then, if you find you're really enjoying it, you can then decide on the integrated kit. That's my suggestion, anyways.

-m.

 

thanks. all info gratefully accepted...