The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Sirius XM Free Until Dec. 5th

RadioActive · November 24, 2022 8:58 pm

The satellite music channel is trying to win back people who had it and didn't renew. So between now and Dec. 5th, it's offering 100 channels on any existing car equipment at no charge.

The Free Channels

paterson1 · November 25, 2022 12:26 pm

I have been meaning to cancel Sirius but it just renewed for six months last week. Does anyone else find that the sound quality is not that great sometimes? Some of the music stations I listen to are very thin sounding with not a lot of bass. When I flip back to local FM the sound is always louder, richer and much fuller quality.

Forward Power · November 25, 2022 2:33 pm

When we purchased our 2019 GMC Terrain last year, it included a short Sirius XM subscription, but between having most of the Ottawa radio dial available to us in Renfrew County, as well as Spotify via Bluetooth, and USB drives full of MP3s, we almost never listened to it. When we did listen, the signal would cut in and out, even with a clear sky and no obstructions.

turkeytop · November 25, 2022 2:33 pm

paterson1 wrote:
I have been meaning to cancel Sirius but it just renewed for six months last week. Does anyone else find that the sound quality is not that great sometimes? Some of the music stations I listen to are very thin sounding with not a lot of bass. When I flip back to local FM the sound is always louder, richer and much fuller quality.

My old ears are no longer capable of discerning good audio. Everything sounds tinny with hearing aids. I listen to SXM just for the content.

ED1 · November 25, 2022 2:53 pm

paterson1 wrote:
I have been meaning to cancel Sirius but it just renewed for six months last week. Does anyone else find that the sound quality is not that great sometimes? Some of the music stations I listen to are very thin sounding with not a lot of bass. When I flip back to local FM the sound is always louder, richer and much fuller quality.

I've noticed that on a majority of their stations. I just thought SXM just super compresses all their stations so they can cram as many as they can on their satellites. FM and streaming sounds so much better.

Chrisphen · November 25, 2022 2:58 pm

I had one of those portable tuners and found that the quality was not great - the tinny sound of compression was excessive. It sounded better using a built-in car tuner.

RadioAaron · November 25, 2022 3:22 pm

It only really sounded great when they first launched, but they quickly started adding too many stations to too little bandwidth. I'm still a frequent listener, but only through streaming, which sounds great.

markow202 · November 25, 2022 4:11 pm

Very surprised this still exists with all the better options available for streaming and/or online stations alone in much better quality. My car came with it when I bought it 8 years ago and a Bose system. Listened to XM for one day after switching to a cd /phone/radio I never went back to it. Digital distortion at its finest.

pinto · November 25, 2022 5:49 pm

$5 a month for 2 years promo happening now.

If you want to hear the difference in compression, turn to the Classical channel then to a classic rock one. Pathetic.

RadioAaron · November 25, 2022 6:19 pm

markow202 wrote:
Very surprised this still exists with all the better options available for streaming and/or online stations alone in much better quality. My car came with it when I bought it 8 years ago and a Bose system. Listened to XM for one day after switching to a cd /phone/radio I never went back to it. Digital distortion at its finest.

Sound quality aside - it fills a niche for me I haven't found elsewhere: A one-stop linear "radio" service that provides formats that aren't found on terrestrial radio. Nothing quite like it, as far as I know.

paterson1 · November 25, 2022 6:50 pm

Is Stingray's service any good? I have only heard them on in a few restaurants. Annoying when you are a long time subscriber they never give you the deal unless you phone, complain, threaten or quit the service. Sort of like cable.
I should have cancelled a few weeks back, I tend to be hot and cold on Sirius . and for a while I have been cold.

RadioAaron · November 25, 2022 7:04 pm

paterson1 wrote:
Is Stingray's service any good? I have only heard them on in a few restaurants.

It's fine. It's mostly just a bunch of playlists - which are very good, but doesn't provide the radio experience of SXM.

Fitz · November 25, 2022 10:27 pm

I'll add some insult to injury. Sample below is from Jul/Aug 2018 when I recorded Sirius to 8 track tape. Some Deep tracks and 60's on 6. The second part sounds a bit better ( beginning around 2:37 with Harper's Bizarre) as it was recorded on a better tape. Yes I know 8 track but for experimentation sake.

SiriusXM on 8 Track 2018

Radio Bob · November 26, 2022 3:09 pm

I tried it in my car this morning and it wasn't working.

turkeytop · November 26, 2022 3:15 pm

Radio Bob wrote:
I tried it in my car this morning and it wasn't working.

I think the free offer may not be available in Canada. SXM Canada is a seperate Company.

RadioAaron · November 26, 2022 3:24 pm

The Canadian website says the deal applies here too. Not sure how it couldn't -- the radios don't know where they are and all feed off the same satellites.

Tomas Barlow · November 26, 2022 4:31 pm

The audio on the talk stations is especially bad. I can't listen to it. You couldn't make compression sound worse if you tried. The app is much better.

Last edited by Tomas Barlow (November 26, 2022 4:32 pm)

turkeytop · November 26, 2022 5:26 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
The Canadian website says the deal applies here too. Not sure how it couldn't -- the radios don't know where they are and all feed off the same satellites.

So do US subscribers get the Canadian channels we get?

pinto · November 26, 2022 5:28 pm

Free trial is working here

mikew · November 26, 2022 6:49 pm

It was working for me yesterday. Beatles channel keep cutting out..