So you want to switch to satellite radio, but not sure with the service go? Two of the biggest names in satellite radio today, XM and Sirius, both offer a wide variety of music stations that you never hear on regular commercial radio. And most of the music channels for both services, are commercial free. Of course, nothing is truly free. Both Sirius and XM charge a service fee to listen to their music channels – someone has to pay for satellite!

So what is the difference between Sirius and XM?

First of all, Sirius and XM both offer the same commercial-free music service transmitted through satellites. Sirius offers 120 channels, or feeds, music, sports, and entertainment. For this service, Sirius charges a flat fee subscription $ 12.95 monthly for U.S. residents inland. XM currently charges, on the other hand, has 122 channels broadcast similar content (68 of which are music channels), and charge a slightly lower monthly fee: $ 9.95. XM currently has the largest stake in the satellite marked with 2 million customers.

Why So Sirius charges more? Sirius claims to have superior sound quality thanks to its statistical multiplexing technology, which provides additional bandwidth across all SIRIUS streams. This is supposed to increase overall sound quality and resolution. There has been little information however, to see if this system really enhances sound quality to a remarkable degree. Additionally, Sirius offers free audio channels via the Internet to their paying customers, something XM charges a couple dollars a month extra. So if you plan to listen to the radio via the net often, you can expect to pay about the same no matter which company you go. Sirius also claims to have 24 hours customer service – something XM radio has yet to achieve. Oh, and one more thing. Sirius has 2 NPR channels, so you NPR fans out there: NPR Now and NPR Talk. Pretty cool.

So, does that mean Sirius is better? Well, that depends. XM has some very good things also, as a bunch of cool XM satellite radio receivers and displays. They also have the largest broadcast network in the moment and are probably the most likely to expand services significantly in the near future. In general, are nearly equal, and you're better off going with either of these services than any other.

Bradley James is a senior editor at SciNet.cc, a website containing many helpful consumer electronics review articles. For more information on the Sirius and XM satellite radio services please visit our XM vs Sirius webpage.

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