SIRI UP 76% IN A WEEK !!!

**kingofthehill** · 01-03-2004, 12:56 PM

We tested products from the industry's dueling companies -- XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio -- locally and on long jaunts.

Both services deliver a range of music, news, sports and entertainment programming on approximately 100 channels. Both augment channels playing Top 40 hits with dedicated specialty channels that pump out music not consistently available in many regions, like reggae, hip-hop, bluegrass, jazz, classical, soul and classic country.

Both offer news from heavy hitters like CNN, Fox News and BBC World Service. They also field channels serving up a wide variety of talk, comedy, sports and old-time radio shows. And both broadcast exclusive live performances taped at their respective studios.

While the services tout the expertise of the small army of music directors and disc jockeys (Sirius calls them "stream jockeys") who produce their shows, the vast channel listings are quite similar.

Some differences between the two appeal to niche audiences.

Sirius scores big with pro football fans by putting together an exclusive deal to broadcast all regular-season National Football League games. And, banking on babe power, Sirius pulled Pamela Anderson into its fold for Club Pam. Sirius also launched OutQ, a news and entertainment channel for the gay and lesbian community.

XM uncorks surprises like Special X, a channel with programming bizarre enough to make Dr. Demento woozy. Lou Brutus, who runs the on-air circus, puts out a wild mix of wacky theme programming and "categorically challenged" music. For example, the Special X weekday show Cover Songs That Give You a Burning in Your Esophagus is not likely to air on AM radio. XM has also ventured into premium broadcasts, offering Playboy Radio for an extra $3 a month.

Take a look at the programming lineups for XM and Sirius for a comparison of the companies' station offerings.

The number of stations may approach overkill, and the variety -- from mainstream to extreme niche and back again -- is all well and good. But what about the reception and sound quality?

The best news is, satellite radio means no more static.

Both XM and Sirius broadcast strong signals -- from satellites, as well as from strategically placed repeaters -- that offer excellent reception in most locations in the United States. Satellite radio signals can and do drop out. However, XM worked extremely well in our trials once the antenna was properly placed on top of the vehicle. It rarely cut out during a cross-country excursion. Only during a late-night drive on a twisty road that snakes through Oregon's Columbia River Gorge was the reception too spotty to understand.

Sirius fared equally well. Reception problems with that service were confined mostly to short dropouts in urban areas with tall buildings. Long tunnels, of course, cause problems with both services, as they can for regular radio.

When it came to sound quality, the Delphi XM SkyFi receiver we tested edged out the Kenwood Universal FM System Sirius provided as a demo unit.

Audio streams on both services are compressed and, as a result, the sound -- especially on the more heavily compressed news and entertainment channels -- can be tinny, like Internet radio or a low-quality MP3. This bothers some listeners more than others. Most people who heard the systems were satisfied with the sound quality delivered by the Sirius unit, although to some ears the streams sounded overly compressed. XM's sound quality got universally stellar reviews, with many first-time listeners raving about the incredibly clear sound.

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**mrmarket** · 01-03-2004, 07:37 PM

Until they broadcast $$$MR. MARKET$$$'s radio station:

http://launch.yahoo.com/launchcast/station.asp?u=1321087511

they will have no credibility.

**The Kid** · 01-05-2004, 11:25 AM

You keep looking for credibility. I'll take trading profits.

Siri up another 5% today, over $4.

**mrmarket** · 01-05-2004, 03:44 PM

Originally posted by The Kid

You keep looking for credibility. I'll take trading profits.

Siri up another 5% today, over $4.

If you are intent on psychoanalyzing me,perhaps this analysis, and associated discussion, would be better suited for this extremely popular discussion forum:

http://www.brucecollin.com

SIRI UP 76% IN A WEEK !!!

SIRI UP 76% IN A WEEK !!!

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