Sirius XM. Is it worth it? What do you listen to in your Taco?

I stream via Pandora, although right now I'm using the free XM trail. It popped up a couple of months ago as a thank you for getting my truck serviced at the dealer. I'm not going to continue to pay for it.

Pros

Unlike using BT to stream Pandora, the music doesn't cut out when Waze is giving me directions. I've been trying to figure out how to stop that over multiple Samsung phones and vehicles. It's a PITA.

Cons
The stations I listen to, which are classic country and related, run like AM or FM stations from when I was a kid. DJs talk and talk between songs. I think that there are some channels that have actual commercials, but I don't listen to them.

I can't repeat, skip, a song. Well, I can on the app, but then I'm back to Waze interrupting the music.

The selection of songs is limited. The selection seems to have a lot of music by lesser artists or less popular songs by bigger artists.

Dead spots. If the antenna doesn't "see" the satellite clearly the signal can be spotty. Also, the DJs work from home or sometimes a hotel room if they are traveling. They don't have a collection of CDs with them, the music lives on remote servers. Sometimes for reasons that are unclear the link between the server and the XM ground stations breaks up and the music is broken up as well.

The sales people play games. When I first got my truck I had a free trial. At the end I called to see what they would charge. I knew other people who got $5.00/month deals. The guy on the phone told me that there was no such thing, I'd have to pay $15.00/month AND buy a receiver that I had no use for. This was only back in 2020, so it's not like it's ancient history. I told him no thanks and signed up for Pandora for about $60.00/year.

A week later, XM called me to offer me a $5.00/month deal, but without streaming via the Internet.

All in all, I'll go back to Pandora when the trial is up. I might even upgrade to Pandora premium or whatever they call it.

 

I can confirm this

Never take them up on a renewal. Make the call start off with “I revoke authorization to renew, let my current subscription expire.”

 

No use, never even turned it on. I even peeled off their Sirius sticker from passenger window. Why do I need a sticker?
I stream Paradise Radio wireless from my phone.

 

If you are streaming anything and you are out of cell range it won’t work. That’s were Satellite radio comes in. If you live in the west you understand this. We can drive 4 hours and still not be at our destination. And still be in the same state.

 

Never cared to use it. I listen to Spotify or road noise.

 

I have never heard of Road Noise are they heavy metal or country?

 

A great mixture of both.

 

I miss the old Liquid Metal. The pre-merger Liquid Metal was killer. Now? Jose Mangin(sp) is a tool, can't stand him.

That said, I roll with Spotify and Pandora. I don't miss SiriusXM at all. In fact, I'm swapping out my headunit tomorrow for a Sony XAV-AX6000, didn't even bother getting the SiriusXM module for it.

 

I'm debating getting rid of it. It cuts out so much, I'm very frustrated.

 

Works better out in the open. In cities the signal is blocked by buildings and even at some drivethrus.

 

I did exactly this for three years but each year I'd forget that the "trial" subscription was ending and I'd get stuck with a $24.00 bill for a month. This year I let it expire completely but may seek out the $7/mo deal for upcoming travels.

 

I've never paid more than $5-6 a month. When my trial ended back in winter of 2018 I called and bitched and then every year after I set a reminder to call again and have them keep that trial price. They always do it with no argument. Definitely not worth anymore than that

 

It's worth it to Howard Stern who owns 34 million shares.

 

You can do it online now with a chat. MUCH faster than phone.

 

I pay for the upgraded version so I can get the Grateful Dead channel.
The app on my phone has 3 more extra GD channels that the truck doesn't.
You can use XM on your phone or t.v. as well. Not just in the truck.

 

Spotify or local classic rock station.

 

I let mine lapse the last time my year was up and they tried to jack the rate up, just didn't feel like messing with it any more. I tried it again during one of their free weekends last year, and the difference in quality between what I have on my USB stick and XM seemed huge to me. I thought it sounded like crap. If they charged $4.99/month and I didn't have to jack with them yearly to get that rate, I'd likely do it just to have it as an option. But that is all it is worth to me, so I let it lapse. If they diverted some marketing funds to lowering the monthly rates, they could probably get more subscribers. And save a lot of trees. And reduce their carbon footprint.

 

GovX has an offer right now for 4 months free. Got a reminder set to cancel

 

You must be a young guy. Stern show is a shell of what it once was. That’s how I got the $5 per month deal buy dropping HS.

 

Like I said. You’re young. Check out the replays from his terrestrial radio and early Sirius days.