mattssi

It's just a content preference really. But with the merger happening any day, it soon won't matter which you have chosen.

jejagua

I installed the Lexus (Toyota) XM receiver last week. One of the associated discussion threads was helpful. The mounting kit and radio are $300 if you self install and approx. $700 dealer installed.

Bichon

Even if the merger is approved (it got shareholder approval, but still needs to be approved by the justice department and the FCC), the merged company intends to continue operating XM and Sirius as separate services with different content.

jejagua

In my opinion, Sirius is better for talk and XM is better for music. My vote is for XM. This is an over generalization however, so your mileage may vary.

It will be interesting to see if there will be any bridged content.

1022it

Sirius seems to have better rock channels. Plus they have Stern. However, sirius costs $4 more a month last time I checked.

I have XM in my jeep. I was one of the first people in AZ to get it; when they were advertising "CD quality sound". I paid about $700 for the tuner and head unit (alpine integrated system) and after sirius started up, the sound quality went straight downhill in exchange for more content (channels) I only turn on the service when i go on a long trip, like a rocky point trip. otherwise, my jeep is sitting in the garage all the time.

sorry, i got off topic a bit. if you listen to rock, sample the XM channels in a store somewhere, then sample the sirius rock channels. i am sure you will be convinced to get sirius.

mattssi

I like the Sirius rock channels, plus I like Stern. I also like Hip Hop, but I've heard XM has better hip hop.

Do you have any articles that say they will be operating independently? Anything I've read says they will be cutting down on duplicate content on both stations, etc.

Bichon

Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said in a USA Today interview shortly after the merger plan was announced that the combined company would continue to operate the services separately for the next 15 years. In the same interview, he mentioned that shortly after the merger they would market a dual-chip radio able to receive both services, but he didn't consider existing XM and Sirius single service radios obsolete.

I have no doubt that they plan to save money by pooling some of their content, but I'd say that you assertion that "soon won't matter which you have chosen" is not accurate.

SolaraToIS

XM
Sirius

ben_r_

Well I have never actually heard Sirius, but I also certainly havent heard of anything that actually made me want to switch to it...

iameric

thanks for the help everybody

Brian231

XM is good and was fun for three years in my gen One IS300, but if you don't cancel, even though you are not in a signed contract and paid for months or years up front, they will bill you for two months and send you to some fake collections agency XM created. They call this a grace period and I told them it was an illegal practice. They should have just turned it off after the two year prepaid period. I filed a formal complaint with the gov along with hundreds of others. I may choose Sirius now. I just wanted to share this with the Lexus community to avoid any headaches on everyone's part.

Magellan

I was never a fan of satellite radio, thinking it was foolish to pay for radio when there are plenty of choices for free on the airways. But when I got 3 free months of XM that came with my G37 I changed my mind. They traffic info alone, integrated into the nav display, is worth the price, so I just signed up for a year.

jejagua

Bummer that the '08 IS does not support XM Navtraffic.

CASANOVA

Is that for both IS250 and IS350? I was going to get the XM because of Navtraffic and of couse the commercial free radio but now it made think twice. Thats a BUMMER!

ecr527

They have the same nav systems in both the 250 and 350. Choosing between XM and Sirius depends on what you like to listen to. If you want to listen to NFL, NASCAR and Howard Stern, then Sirius is the way to go, otherwise you'll get MLB, IRL and some college games on XM. As far as music goes, I think they pretty much have comparable stations.