analogman1 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Hello foax, I'm thinking of getting "XM" or something like it. I saw a demo of it in the mall and was really impressed. Do any of you subscribe to either XM or the other one (name slips my memory)?? I'd be interested in your opinions, etc. I live in the New York tri state area (westchester county) so I wonder if it matters, "reception-wise"?? I know it is satellite driven but...what do you think? I have edited this post to ad that I might consider getting an I-Pod if I-Tunes has some good prog music available! Tom Nord Electro 5D, Modal Cobalt 8, Yamaha upright piano, numerous plug-ins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I have XM and really like it. Two units acutally, on in my office and one in the car. If I was doing it over I would probably get Sirrius (spelling?) because I like some of the stations in the lineup. My only negative against XM is that they keep changing the lineup. When it first came out the push was variety. Now they have dropped some of the obscure channels and added more mainstream stuff. I don't need 20 channels of pop and traffic reports for every major city. I want my Indian and Latin stations back. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave The Rave Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Big T, There have been a whole bunch of Sirius stations on my Dish Network satellite TV for quite a while. I liked them so much, I treated myself to a Sirius system for my car for Christmas. I'm not sure about the Sirius lineup stability - nothing seems to have changed much on my TV sat rx - but I'm more than happy with the lineup as it is. Depending on whether you are a Howard Stern fan or not may swing your decision - Stern has signed up to move to Sirius next year. He won't be on XM. Certainly, at the moment, XM has the most subscribers, but Sirius is coming up fast and seems to be more responsive to user needs IMO. Your choice....either will give you good reception over there on the east coast - both will be affected the same by big buildings/trees/other obsctructions.....you need to decide which station lineup suits your needs better and go for it! Cheers, :DTR Cambrian Guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Coury Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Since I am a radio journalist I want to warn you all to NEVER abandon your local radio stations; bad things will happen to you!..(hahaha) Seriously, I use it because I like hearing CNN, CNBC, FOX News, and other TV networks' audio, especially on long trips (also comedy). The music channels are OK, but frankly bringing your own CD's or MP3's gives you total control over your music, and there is no monthly subscription fee. XM is cheaper, and has more subscribers (if you're concerned about which company may have more staying power). Of course, XM and Sirius have their own unique shows (XM has Bob Edwards, formerly of NPR, Sirius is supposed to have Stern in the future, etc. "Oh yeah, I've got two hands here." (Viv Savage) "Mr. Blu... Mr. Blutarsky: Zero POINT zero." (Dean Vernon Wormer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mildbill Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 never, ever, never!!! don't do it. isn't it bad enough we have to pay for tv now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogman1 Posted January 7, 2005 Author Share Posted January 7, 2005 Thanks for the input, guys. I might consider getting an I-POD (I just got one for my daughter for Christmas). THen I could load it up with all my fave tunes.... I have not had a chance to surf the I-Tunes site. Are there many prog bands there (like Spocks Beard, Porcupine Tree, etc.)??? Tom Nord Electro 5D, Modal Cobalt 8, Yamaha upright piano, numerous plug-ins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliengroover Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Funny, because I'm in the same dilemna with satellite rididio and the I-Pod. No thanks to Craig, either because he has thrown the Zen into the mix, plus he's trumpeted satellite radio. I may go I-Pod/Zen first, then get one of those portable radios later. Decisions, decisions... Peace If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking 'til you do suck seed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prague Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Originally posted by analogman1: ...the I-Tunes site. Are there many prog bands there (like Spocks Beard, Porcupine Tree, etc.)???I'm pretty sure there are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Originally posted by analogman1: Thanks for the input, guys. I might consider getting an I-POD (I just got one for my daughter for Christmas). THen I could load it up with all my fave tunes....Do it do it do it. Since I got my iPod, I listen to music a whole bunch more than I ever did. I love that thing. I have not had a chance to surf the I-Tunes site. Are there many prog bands there (like Spocks Beard, Porcupine Tree, etc.)??? Doesn't matter if you own the CDs. My 15 GB iPod has something like 3500 pieces of music in it (including three versions of Close to the Edge ). You spend a few days ripping your CD collection into your computer (use AAC encoding!), set up a few playlists (some of mine: Singles, Prog, AOR, Live) set the thing to Random Play and you're good to go. It's like having your own personal radio station that only plays stuff you like. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliengroover Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Originally posted by Dave Bryce: You spend a few days ripping your CD collection into your computer (use AAC encoding!), dBExactly the main reason why I've already put iTunes on the comp. I have a lot of CDs, tapes, and vinyl like everybody, so I want to be ready to hit the ground running. And if I get a Zen instead of iPod, at least it will be on the comp. Peace If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking 'til you do suck seed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundscape Studios. Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 I just spent quite a bit of time driving the new Acura TL with the 5.1 dts surround system (Built to Elliot Scheiner's specs), and the car comes with XM standard. NO NO NO! I was so excited about all this, until I heard it. SHI*&(*! It's sounds horrible! Just loads of digital artifacts in the bg, like a 96 kbps mp3. That's really what it felt like. No bass, disgusting hf. Just horrendous. Some of the dance stations were allright, and a few hip-hop stations were fine, but overall, I really couldn't take it. And it is VERY noticable, even with road noise. sigh... The content is so great - there's like 280 channels, but for me, that comes second to quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 If you need portability, then i-pod or XM makes sense, but recently I've been using Napster and Real Rhapsody and these things are spectaular for how I work. For $9.99/month you get unlimited plays from a 800,000 song library. No download time, they just play the entire song in real time. You can keep different playlists of your online searches. Real Rhapsody has been working best for me-very fast and reliable. I think both of these are PC only, don't know what's available for the Mac that's similar. Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 You really need to think about how you use it. I enjoy my 20 Gig iPod. Like Dave, I spent a few days ripping my entire CD collection with iTunes. Then I even deleted duplicate songs and rated them. Any song I rate 3 stars or higher along with some select albums get dumped to the iPod. It now has over 5000 songs. Maybe thirty were bought from iTunes. I stopped purchasing from iTunes when I noticed the quality. If they ever bump up to 256 then I will probably start buying them again. So with iPod, iTunes, and XM what do I use most? In the office it is mostly XM with iTunes on my computer for those days I want specific songs or my on mix. My favorite songs are ripped at 256. Through decent computer speakers the quality is about as good as I can expect. In the car it is mostly XM with CDs filling in when I want specific music. In my opinion, on most car stereos and with traffic noise XM or iPod is really fine. I already have a 10 disc changer so hooking the iPod to my car stereo is not a priority. iPod is used most when riding my bike, running, etc. I find that I ride much more with the iPod and that makes it worth the purchase for me. But really, if you are sitting in an office, iTunes and extra drive space will substitute for and iPod. What you do not get with an iPod that you do get with XM or Sirrius is a chance to hear music you do not already own. I have found a lot of artists that I enjoy by just scanning stations. If my car stereo ever goes out I will replace it with a verion that plays MP3 CDs. That will match up well with my autos XM radio. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoLights Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 I'm thinking of going satellite (I'm on the road a lot)... and, as the former owner of a Mom and Pop, small town radio station, that's a big switch for me. I live in a rural area - but even here I get 30+ FM stations. But nearly each one is driven by a hard drive full of the same pool of audience-tested pop music. The only difference is the way the station's software tweaks the mix of those hits. The result is an amazing blandness. With 30+ stations, you'd think there could be some variety, instead of multiple versions of oldies, classic rock, soft hits, Top 40, yadda yadda. That's what happens when corporate media takes over. In a perfect world, we would have local, community stations we could support. Today, they don't exist. Bring on the satellites! _______________________________________________ Kurzweil PC4; Yamaha P515; EV ZXA1s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Originally posted by nolights: I'm thinking of going satellite (I'm on the road a lot)... and, as the former owner of a Mom and Pop, small town radio station, that's a big switch for me. I live in a rural area - but even here I get 30+ FM stations. But nearly each one is driven by a hard drive full of the same pool of audience-tested pop music. The only difference is the way the station's software tweaks the mix of those hits. The result is an amazing blandness. With 30+ stations, you'd think there could be some variety, instead of multiple versions of oldies, classic rock, soft hits, Top 40, yadda yadda. That's what happens when corporate media takes over. In a perfect world, we would have local, community stations we could support. Today, they don't exist. Bring on the satellites!That's how it is in my area. We have one station left with local people doing the morning show with local news, traffic allerts, boil water advisories, etc. At 11 AM that station switches over to satalite programming, just like all the others. 30 stations and three choices, same old satalite programmed country, same old satalite programmed gosple, same old satalite programmed oldies/pop. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartolomeo Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Just yesterday I ordered an iRiver, which is mightily similar to an iPod except that it has a stereo mic preamp and recording software. So, I can use it for a field recorder, unlike the iPod. It also supports the OGG compression format, which has better quality for a given bitrate and certain other advantages. I was unaware of the quality problems with XM radio that others have noted, though I'm not surprised. Nonmusicians are usually happy with 96k mp3s, because they don't mentally split the music apart as they listen. Your average listener doesn't know what a flanging effect or preecho is, let alone whether it's an artifact or part of the music. There are fewer and fewer good, local radio stations. We just lost our alternative classical station and only have the big networks now. The radio situation (AM/FM) is just going to get worse, and so the only real alternative is to bring your own music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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