SiriusXM- best radio entertainment UNLESS you need customer service!
Written: Oct 01 '06 (Updated Jul 10 '09)
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I've had Sirius since getting it as an Xmas gift in December 2004. I installed the receiver (Audivox Sportster) in my car by myself (my girlfriend gave me the boom box for my birthday the following month). This has been my best entertainment dollar for dollar. I have an hour-long commute to and from work and Sirius makes the driving very enjoyable.
I listen to Howard Stern uncensored and without bleeping every morning- I am laughing so hard at times that other drivers sometimes look at me strangely! If you miss the show starting at 0600 you can listen to replays during the day (or catch the entire show running at 0900 on his other channel). Then there are the music channels that are without commercials (unless you count the station's ID bumpers). No matter what you like there is a station you will find to fall in love with: country, r and b, dance music, 70's, 80's, 90's music, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, classic rock, etc. You have live traffic and weather for your area every 4 minutes.
You also have news channels (CNN, ESPN and others) to keep up with what is going on. You get exclusive sports like the NFL (finally, I can listen to my team, the Miami Dolphins, while living in MI) and NASCAR. All of this for $12.99 a month? For less than most CD's you get entertainment and information that free radio cannot compare with. Every now and then I turn on regular radio and it is so sad: the commercials, bland repetitive song selection and radio hosts that have to watch what they say lest the FCC will rain down on them.
Did I mention you can hear your station no matter where you travel? No longer will you have to channel surf while you drive- I travel to Canada a lot and Sirius works great there. Occasionally you will lose the signal (I find this happens whenever I am filling up for gas under a canopy or traveling under certain freeway underpasses) but it does not happen so often that it defuses my enthusiasm for Sirius. You can also get Sirius via the Internet to play through your computer.
A new radio model called Stiletto is coming out which will allow you to walk around with Sirius like an IPod. It will also allow you to hook up via WiFi spots if you cannot get reception and allow you to download songs. The bottom line is that when it comes to complete radio entertainment Sirius is the answer.
-UPDATE- July 10, 2009
After having Sirius for three years I have to admit to being somewhat frustrated. The service is great- UNLESS you need to contact customer service!
Let me begin how you to get started. You need to purchase a receiver that can get the satellite signal- SiriusXM (the name has changed since the merger with XM last year) has an array of models that cost as little as $40 to as much as $259 (not including installing the radio in your car and assorted accessories- like a home docking station or a setup where you can hook up certain receivers to a WiFi network and stream via your computer).
There is a model called the Mirage which will allow you to subscribe to BOTH services for a tad under $20/month (it is currently on sale for $159 on the two websites- http://www.sirius.com/ and http://www.xmradio.com/ ).
And DON’T buy the ‘Lifetime’ subscription- it is tied to your CURRENT receiver. If it is lost, stolen or broken your replacement will not have the lifetime service agreement so why pay $499 for that when a thief or a dropped radio will end it all?
The two services (Sirius and XM) have merged but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a difference in services. I am a Sirius subscriber but if I had to do it all over I would be an XM subscriber. Two reasons: MLB and The Groove.
The Groove is an exclusive old school r and b station I cannot get on my Sirius receiver (but I can stream it on my computer via the free Internet service you receive as a subscriber to either service). Major League Baseball is an exclusive to XM also.
Here is another reason to be an XM subscriber: you can get most of everything Sirius offers as the ‘best of Sirius’ package on XM AND have your baseball along with Howard Stern (I love his show), NFL, etc. It is not true if you are a Sirius subscriber. You can buy the ‘Best of XM’ package but no go on MLB!
You got all of that?! There quite a few ways you go as far as subscriptions go so I suggest visiting the websites but remember: XM subscribers, IMHO, get a lot more than Sirius subscribers.
Why not merge the two services? They can’t- they use different satellites and those satellites cannot use the other’s technology. With the company carrying heavy debt don’t expect a resolution anytime soon.
Once you get your radio installed you need to activate it either via the toll free number or online (best bet: go online- it is faster and you don’t have to deal with the clueless CS reps- more on that later).
If you go online set up your account there and you can stream your subscription via the Internet. But don’t think this is like a regular radio you can ‘turn on’ and forget: there is a reminder every 90 minutes that if you don’t click within a certain time you are disconnected!
OK, now here comes my frustration. Despite loving my uncensored Howard Stern, no commercials on the music channels, weather/traffic every 4 minutes for your region, NFL, etc. when things go wrong (like when my Internet stream stopped for some reason) you are on your own. If you are disconnected by them they also will not call you back!
I called their CS department more than 20 TIMES about my internet stream and they never resolved it! The worse thing is the lying they do- I was promised 6 times my problem would be researched and I would receive a call the next day at a specific time.
I was never called back and this was back in the fall of 2008! I resolved the problem myself via a Google search which led me to this website:
(http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=b2be925521eab3cd83e4b9032c520aa1&f=87)
If you decide to subscribe to Sirius I strongly urge you to join this site- you won’t regret it!
They blamed my problem on everything from a network upgrade to my computer being faulty. It was caused by Sirius trying to stop certain programs you can use which won’t ask you every 90 minutes if you are stilling listening (I’d love to tell what they are but I can’t- do a Google search).
Today I called their CS department because my Stiletto 100 isn’t coding the stations correctly (for example, my old school rap station is being tagged as a Broadway show tunes channel). As usual the two people I spoke with had no clue how to fix it (one said this is a common problem with my model and the other said he never heard of such a problem).
I blew up so badly at the most clueless CS rep that he decided I should speak with the warranty department and they would send me another unit at no charge to me.
Of course he could not complete this maneuver- he said he was putting me through but then 15 minutes later he came back on the line as if I was someone waiting to talk to him! He then confessed he didn’t correctly put me through!
Once he did it right I was confronted with having to fill in my account number to the automated voiceover- I didn’t have the freaking number with me or on me! I was in my car trying to fix the problem as suggested by the first rep. I had been on hold for so long my battery on my cell phone became hot in my car and I simply hung up!
I want to so badly cancel the service but regular radio is so bad with so many commercials! I am addicted so badly I am thinking of buying the Mirage so I can have BOTH services- I am completely pathetic!
So the bottom line is you will love the service once you get it but beware if you have to contact customer service!
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Monthly subscription
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dj0114
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Reviews written: 5
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