SiriusXM Internet Radio Review
Sirius and XM were satellite radio’s twin faces in the early 2000s, a time when the medium was still a novel and unproven concept. In 2008, the services merged into SiriusXM Internet Radio and evolved into a top streaming service that lets you listen to music, talk, and sports on your PC, smartphone, tablet, or internet radio device or in a wide range of motor vehicles. SiriusXM focuses heavily on live audio content, and the ease and convenience with which it lets you access the service’s many excellent shows and channels make the platform stand out in a packed streaming audio field. As a result, SiriusXM Internet Radio is an easy Editors’ Choice pick among streaming music services.
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Plans Galore
SiriusXM has a comically expansive list of subscription plans, more so than any other music streaming service we’ve reviewed. The company has tightened its offerings since we last reviewed it, but there are still many options available. Its most basic plan, Streaming Platinum, gives you more than 350 channels to stream via the app, including original talk shows, sports, Howard Stern’s channels, Pandora stations, and SiriusXM’s in-studio shows and performances. Streaming Platinum can be used with your smartphone, tablet, internet radio device or PC for $10.99 per month.
It is worth noting that SiriusXM charges more for services that include both app and vehicle listening. For example, Platinum is a bundle similar to Streaming Platinum, but it extends the service to cars and vehicles, and bumps the price to $22.99 per month. The Music and Entertainment package, previously called Mostly Music, is a $17.99-per-month bundle for listening devices and vehicles that offers slightly fewer channel options.
Beyond the three core bundles, SiriusXM offers additional bundles and specialty packages, such as À La Carte, À La Carte Gold, All-In-One, Family All-In-One, and News, Sports & Talk. There’s also Marine for fishing and weather info, Aviation for coast-to-coast satellite weather and flight, and Business for business-friendly listening. The pricing and feature list for these plans are far too numerous to list here, so take a look at SiriusXM’s pricing page(Opens in a new window) for more details.
SiriusXM lacks a free tier, though the company owns Pandora, which has free offerings. Fortunately, SiriusXM has a surprisingly lengthy three-month trial for many of its packages. Keep in mind, however, that you need a credit card to subscribe to a trial, and once it’s over you are automatically enrolled in the subscription and billed accordingly (unless you opt out before the trial ends). Also keep in mind that there is no true family plan for any SiriusXM subscription. The company offers a family discount for additional enrollments, but each account is stand-alone and cannot be shared across multiple members in the same way that many streaming services, such as Apple Music or Deezer, do.
Serious Content
SiriusXM’s content varies depending on your hardware and subscription tier. Music and Entertainment, for example, gives you access to more than 325 channels, 150+ of you can listen to in your vehicle. You miss out on a few goodies overall, such as Howard Stern’s channels and some sports channels, but the tier is still solid for app and vehicle listening.
The top-tier Platinum, previously called All Access, features all of SiriusXM’s offerings, including video performances, sports (ESPN Radio, NBA Radio), news (CNN, Fox), personalized Pandora music listening, comedy (Comedy Central Radio, Comedy In Color), and online-only channels (Carlin’s Corner, a collection of George Carlin’s shows and albums).
Howard Stern is a big name on SiriusXM, but the platform is also home to many other notable personalities. Kevin Hart yuks it up with Laugh Out Loud Radio, a collection of Hart’s specials, shows and dialogues. LL Cool J delivers an eclectic range of hip hop on Rock The Bells Radio, and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo hosts Mad Dog Sports Radio, to name a few.
Simply put, there is a lot of entertainment within SiriusXM’s many channels, the likes of which few other audio streaming services can match. LiveXLive Powered by Slacker Radio, with its informative DJ drops, news updates, historical retrospectives, and video content, does something similar, but on a smaller scale.
Unique Features
If SiriusXM’s live radio hook isn’t already enough to grab you, it has a few more interesting elements that enhance the overall experience. TuneStart is a unique and invaluable feature that lets you surf channels as smoothly and seamlessly as possible and could very easily spoil you for listening on any other platform. As you hop between broadcasts, the TuneStart feature automatically plays songs from the beginning as you slide into the channel. As a result, you almost never jump into the middle of a song unless you tune in at the very end of a track or during a DJ chat. You can turn this function on and off, but the feature is far too convenient to pass on, and makes listening subtly, but profoundly, more satisfying.
On a similar note, you can pause and rewind live radio thanks to a robust one-hour buffer and can skip up to six times between buffered songs, which is a nice touch. In fact, many talk channels offer unlimited skips. SiriusXM also supplies a daily live radio guide, so you can view upcoming broadcasts. Finally, favorite channels get their own dedicated section that displays what’s currently playing, so you can decide whether you want to swap over and listen. These features combined make SiriusXM a convenient and highly accessible music streaming service.
Audio Power
In terms of sound quality, SiriusXM delivered clear audio in our testing. When we fired up the Studio 54 channel—which plays some of the 1970s best dance tunes—we enjoyed satisfactory bass and other low-end sounds that didn’t overwhelm other parts of the track. SiriusXM doesn’t display or release its streams’ bit rates, but the app uses variable bit rates to deliver the best audio it can, given your network conditions. You can switch between the Normal, High, and Maximum audio quality settings in the web and mobile apps.
The truth is, while SiriusXM has perfectly serviceable auditory quality, it lacks Hi-Res Audio, an excellent streaming music format offered by Amazon Music Unlimited, Tidal, and a few other services. If you want that high-quality audio, SiriusXM is not the place for that.
Radio Bonanza
If you’re hungry for quality broadcasts and can’t stomach the state of traditional radio, check out SiriusXM. With decades of music at your fingertips, as well as excellent shows, sports, lifestyle, political talk, and news coverage, you won’t want for entertainment. If you prefer Hi-Res Audio streams, give Amazon Music Unlimited or Tidal a look. Otherwise SiriusXM has all the live radio-streaming content you could ever want.
For more on streaming music services, check out Amazon Music Unlimited vs. Spotify. In addition, gamers should check out The Best Streaming Music Services for Video Game Soundtracks.
SiriusXM Internet Radio
4.5
Editors’ Choice
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See It
$10.99 Per Month
at SiriusXM
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MSRP $10.99
Pros
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Cons
The Bottom Line
By marrying live radio, traditional streaming audio, and several unique features, SiriusXM delivers a terrific service that hosts a wide variety of content for entertainment-hungry listeners.
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