Thinking about signing up for Sirius--what do I need?

[shin_hibiki]

Local radio sucks... so... bad... I've been kicking around the idea of signing up for Sirius for a long time, but I've been somewhat confused about the hardware, so I've never pulled the trigger.

If I want to be able to listen to Sirius Everything in either the car or at my office, what is the minimum hardware I can get away with? Not to be cheap, but I already spend a fair amount on E* every month (where I can obviously get quite a bit of Sirius when I'm at home), and I don't want to get in too deep! Also, is that $12.95/mo. all-in (besides initial activation), or are there taxes/fees on top of that?

 

[alpine32]

They love to give out 5 months for $20 with no activation fees.

 

[DodgerKing]

Why Sirius and not XM?

 

[sethwell]

Do you have an iPhone, android or blackberry? If so you can sign up for the streaming app. You will incur data usage from your mobile carrier but if you have one of those phones, you most likely have a data plan. With that you would not have to be out of pocket as much and you could listen anywhere you have signal, home, car, work. Just FYI.

 

[shin_hibiki]

Alpine32, that sounds pretty good--how would I take advantage of it?
DodgerKing, NFL makes the difference. Other than that, I'd be able to get pretty much anything I might care about on either side.
Sethwell, none of the above, believe it or not, but thanks for the tip. Really, what I'm thinking is to go with the Stratus 6 for the car. It's apparently still available on the Sirius Shop, contrary to what the local audio store told me--they want to sell me the Starmate 5 for $140 with no rebate (as if!). I don't care about recording, so that would do fine. But what would I need in terms of power adapter/docking (if anything) to use it in the house as well? I haven't seen the connections in person, so I'm lost.

 

[DodgerKing]

That is why I asked. Pretty much the only things that separate the two now are sports and Stern. Just making sure you pick the correct one based on those two criteria. Basically Sirius for NFL, NHL, and Stern, with XM for MLB and NBA

 

[Peter Parker]

The NHL is on XM and I think the NBA is on Sirius. Getting the "best of" package will even things up somewhat but MLB is only on XM. not sure if there are other exceptions. But you CAN get the NFL on XM.

 

[Jimbo]

Go with Xm with The Best Of Sirus package, if your wanting the biggest bng for the buck, imo.

Keep in mind if you do the online / streaming thing, not all channels are available ... for example I have the xm with BOS and cannot listen to any MLB games online or thru the Smart Phone, due to contracts from what I've been told.

Also not all stations are available either.

Sent from my Samsung Epic using SatelliteGuys

 

[shin_hibiki]

I appreciate everyone's feedback, but programming isn't really the issue for me--it's hardware. Based on my listening habits and cost, I would still expect to go with Sirius Everything and probably the Stratus 6 for the car. What hardware would I need to tack on to that in order to be able to use the device in the house as well? If I wanted to broadcast it via FM transmitter the same as in the car, for example?

 

[DSpud]

First of all, if you call them directly and ask them what kind of deals they have on radios you will get a much better price. I think the stratus 6 was 20 bucks or so and the star mate 5 was 60. Both had free shipping. I ended up getting the star mate and I am very happy with it. I went to TSS-radio.com to purchase a better vehicle mounting kit however.

I am not sure what to tell you about the house option, but I know the site I mentioned is endorsed by siriusxm (the customer rep told me about it) and they seem to have lots of accessories for the radios.

 

[shin_hibiki]

Thanks for the info and link, DSpud. Looks like some good stuff there--I'll have to dig around this weekend and maybe make a call. If I could get into some hardware for that low of a price, I'd be pretty happy, and my wife would be less likely to clobber me.

 

[Jimbo]

Also try here :

Sirius XM Radio at MyRadioStore - All Things Sirius XM

 

[DodgerKing]

Go with Xm with The Best Of Sirus package, if your wanting the biggest bng for the buck, imo.

Keep in mind if you do the online / streaming thing, not all channels are available ... for example I have the xm with BOS and cannot listen to any MLB games online or thru the Smart Phone, due to contracts from what I've been told.

Also not all stations are available either.

Sent from my Samsung Epic using SatelliteGuys

MLB at Bat APP on your phone will let you listen to all games on your phone and you do not need a subscription. The APP is $15 though

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[shin_hibiki]

Well, I did finally call directly, and I didn't care much for what I heard. I asked them about hardware, and the gal said she had to go check on it. When she came back on the line, she said first she wanted to set up my account. No, first you need to answer my question. If that's what passes for customer service when I'm not even a customer yet... Anyway, they wouldn't offer me any kind of deal other than the modest hardware discounts currently listed on the webpage. Better than nothing, but a far cry from 20 bucks for 5 months or whatever. It looks like I'd have to try to get some of the hardware from the TSS-radio site that was mentioned, which is OK, but in the end, I'd be spending over $150 on initial setup and subscription fees. Not sure how I feel about that for just a portable with accessories when it sounds like some people have gotten so much better. I'm starting to remember why it's been hard for me to pull the trigger on this for so long.

 

[Bobby]

Remember that those people who have gotten so much better are mostly existing, and at the end of subscription, customers. They are fighting to keep their existing customers to continue service.

 

[Mr Tony]

Remember that those people who have gotten so much better are mostly existing, and at the end of subscription, customers. They are fighting to keep their existing customers to continue service.

yep. They did try the 5 for $20 deal thing on me for over a year...even though the receiver is broken (cancelled because I really wasn't using it but the receiver broke too)

 

[DSpud]

Man I am sorry to here that...did you ask specifically about the starmate or the other radio? I am very surprised as I just got this deal not to long ago...might want to give if another try.I wouldn't pay retail for any sat radio. There are always deals for them through them. I also had a buddy call and get the same deal so I know i didn't just get lucky.