How many people are paying for XM Radio subscription?

[BD1962]

Mine expires in less than a week, still debating whether to subscribe or not.

Call them and tell them that you’re not going to renew for the monthly fee and that you’re going to cancel at the end of the trial period. YOU need to be proactive on that! Then see what they’ll offer you to keep you in “the family.” The $30 for 6 months of service always comes out onto the table, so to speak. You just need to remember to call them before the 6-month subscription runs out so that they don’t start to charge you the regular monthly rate. Repeat this each time. It works!

 

[Rynil2000]

Really intern to see how everyone chooses to get their entertainment. Seems like a lot choose to go without XM.

I didn’t even consider using a usb drive. I’m just so used to streaming everything now with Spotify. Went from CDs, to CD-RWs full of MP3s, to streaming. Perhaps it would be worthwhile loading up a usb with some songs. Driving through the mountains, I always hit pockets of little/no service and then things go silent.

 

[Gargamel]

I miss the option "Cannot get this"

 

[Fatalifeaten]

I didn’t even consider using a usb drive. I’m just so used to streaming everything now with Spotify. Went from CDs, to CD-RWs full of MP3s, to streaming. Perhaps it would be worthwhile loading up a usb with some songs. Driving through the mountains, I always hit pockets of little/no service and then things go silent.

I'm a big fan of local (USB) media no matter what. Thing to consider with pretty much all of the streaming services. Audio quality on the free tiers is going to be garbage pretty much universally. The paid subscriptions offer higher quality streams usually (except spotify, their pricing model is to sell cheaply to many and they optimize their files to make the most use of their bandwidth vs offering high quality streams). When you're using a USB stick, YOU control the audio quality of the media played, and most people I know rip their own stuff at minimum 320k (if they're not just going FLAC). It's a big, noticeable difference, but it does make for larger files ( so fewer fit on a USB). FLAC files are big, but they're worth it. With our stock systems you can tell a 128k stream from a FLAC file pretty easily, and if you swap in higher end aftermarket stuff it's even more obvious.

 

[Rynil2000]

I'm a big fan of local (USB) media no matter what. Thing to consider with pretty much all of the streaming services. Audio quality on the free tiers is going to be garbage pretty much universally. The paid subscriptions offer higher quality streams usually (except spotify, their pricing model is to sell cheaply to many and they optimize their files to make the most use of their bandwidth vs offering high quality streams). When you're using a USB stick, YOU control the audio quality of the media played, and most people I know rip their own stuff at minimum 320k (if they're not just going FLAC). It's a big, noticeable difference, but it does make for larger files ( so fewer fit on a USB). FLAC files are big, but they're worth it. With our stock systems you can tell a 128k stream from a FLAC file pretty easily, and if you swap in higher end aftermarket stuff it's even more obvious.

I'm definitely going to give it a try. I don't have anything to rip except some old CDs, but I'm interested to hear what the quality bump sounds like. XM was OK IMO, Spotify isn't awful, but there's a noticeable difference streaming over Bluetooth vs a usb cord; compression loss and all that. Guess I'm going digging through old jewel cases to find some music - starting with Metallica's S&M.

 

[CKeeler]

I'm definitely going to give it a try. I don't have anything to rip except some old CDs, but I'm interested to hear what the quality bump sounds like. XM was OK IMO, Spotify isn't awful, but there's a noticeable difference streaming over Bluetooth vs a usb cord; compression loss and all that. Guess I'm going digging through old jewel cases to find some music - starting with Metallica's S&M.

If you’re ever interested in buying high quality digital music files over trying to rip from a CD you can try acousticsounds.com
CD quality is better than streaming, unless the streaming service specifically says they stream high quality bit rate files. But CD’s still aren’t the original studio quality. That’s why FLAC and other uncompressed audio files have gained popularity amongst music lovers

 

[Dodger Blue]

I haven't tried it yet, though they did give me a 3 month trial. I mostly just listen to NPR, and Spotify premium which has no ads.

 

[LegacyGTv2.0]

I choose Android Auto, but in reality I have a 64GB flash drive of FLAC files that lives in the car. It's getting upgraded to 256GB soon.
Also, for audiophiles out there, nothing higher than 16/44 is supported (maybe 16/48). I've got a few 24/96 and 24/192 files that it simply skips over.

 

[CKeeler]

I choose Android Auto, but in reality I have a 64GB flash drive of FLAC files that lives in the car. It's getting upgraded to 256GB soon.
Also, for audiophiles out there, nothing higher than 16/44 is supported (maybe 16/48). I've got a few 24/96 and 24/192 files that it simply skips over.

I tried a usb stick before and had trouble with it reading some songs. I’ll have to check the bit rates now

 

[SOCAL2.0]

I use Siri cause I love NASCAR and love travel services (gas prices. movie times, temperatures) Admit it can get pricey about $90 per year.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I choose Android Auto, but in reality I have a 64GB flash drive of FLAC files that lives in the car. It's getting upgraded to 256GB soon.
Also, for audiophiles out there, nothing higher than 16/44 is supported (maybe 16/48). I've got a few 24/96 and 24/192 files that it simply skips over.

I tried a usb stick before and had trouble with it reading some songs. I’ll have to check the bit rates now

Some YouTube videos take noticeably longer to convert in the YTmp3.cc app; and they seem to be the HD files. But I don't notice any audible difference between them and lesser "quality" videos; on my Harman Kardon system. I have never had the HK skip over anything because it was too big.

 

[Rob M]

I have it for now. Got my wife to give me subscription. I like listening to 80s at 8, business news, sports etc. I've never been one to make my own playlists or such. Would rather someone pick music that I like. I'm not an audiophile. My volume in my gt2 is usually turned all the way up to 4, lol.

 

[Legendsk]

I've had several new cars that came with satellite radio. Listened a few minutes the first time. Quickly got tired of their commercials that I was listening to commercial free radio. Didn't use it when it was free. USB 256 GB of high quality audio, music, books, comedy, technical presentations, etc., gets me where I'm going.

I do particularly dislike the 2 or 3 letters from them in the mail every week, starting a week after buying a car. Usually carefully disguised to look like a mailing from someone else, with threatening scary messages on the envelope. I just won't do business with companies that do stuff like that.

 

[Mike_TX]

Listened only a few times during the trial period. I kind of liked a couple of channels, but not being connected to the "real world" through local and national news and talk isn't my thing. I need to know what's going on.

 

[BlaydeX15]

I love mine, though not at advertised prices. I always call in and pretend to cancel to keep it cheap.

Bit of a unique situation though. I drive through canyons and mountains on the way to work. No cell data, so streaming is out of the question. The only "non country" radio station is 50% ads, and doesn't work on half of my commute (Mountains), so FM radio is a no go. And I like discovering new stuff, so I don't want a flash drive with the same music I listened to 10 years ago.

I used to pay for Pandora Premium before I moved out here, but it's really freaking touchy when it comes to cell service. Spotify is the same. They work fine when you have either good or no cell service, but when you have a really slow 3g connection, they'll both decide that they want to spend 20 minutes loading a single song instead of playing the offline stuff that you're paying for. I could manually force it to switch to offline mode, but I don't like messing with my phone while driving.

 

[YOWStinger]

Requesting to add another option to the survey:

"My creaks and squeaks are my sound track"

 

[antne]

I spent probably 10 minutes total using it during the free subscription period. Didn't find the audio quality or the selection of music compelling, even when there was no cost to use it. It's long since lapsed, but not without a lengthy bombardment campaign from Sirius via phone calls and mailings to re-subscribe. Fortunately they seem to have got the message, though I still get the occasional mail offer.

About the only thing I might find interesting is the XM data service, to extend the geographic coverage for doppler radar weather maps beyond my immediate city locale (where I get them via HD radio broadcast). Interesting, but not worth the cost of a data subscription.

I kept it in the '13 Optima for awhile but finally dropped it for similar reasons , audio quality was meh and grew weary of the obscenity laden "on air" jocks on rock stations. Also my commute route took me through more than one reception dead zone.