I am looking into getting a portable unit for use at home and in the car. I have been reading a lot on the sirius stiletto and the Pioneer Inno for xm. First, how is the sound quality if I get the home dock for both? I didn't realize that I could record music and then convert it to mp3's. How is the quality of the music if one were to do that? Does it compare to regular mp3 quality?

Also, what is the best way to get the car kit installed? Should I spend the $70 and get it professionally installed, so that all the wires and the power are hidden?

I don't want to get into a debate over which one is better, sirius or xm. I just want some facts, and the cost of the unit and accessories is going to determine which I get.

P.S. I have heard that after January, the two will finally merge, and that the talk is that subscribers will pick the 40 stations from the 2 services and that will be the subscription, at $6 a month. I don't know how accurate that is though.

Also, what is the best way to get the car kit installed? Should I spend the $70 and get it professionally installed, so that all the wires and the power are hidden?


If you have ever installed a car stereo or amp or speakers then I think you could do as good a job if not better than a 'professional' installer. However, if you haven't ever removed the trim and factory radio from a car, you might want to have someone install it. You also need to find a wire that is powered from the AUX setting of the ignition.

Vic

the stiletto2 or stiletto100 is pretty convenient - it has a microsd slot (or transflash to some others) and its a no brainer to use. i believe they have a promo going on at sirius.com/freeradio. hope this helps.

the stiletto 2 is about $300. not cheap. looks nice, though. any better prices out there for this?

The inno is freaking amazing

I love my samsung helix. I picked it up from ebay for a song (less than $100) and it turned out that it was a display model. Whatever store it was in activated it for a really long time and I haven't paid a monthly fee on it yet (since april) so I'm probably a little biased lol. Honestly though, you can find good deals on helixs and innos and there is nothing that they do poorly except only allow you to set it at 50/50 mp3s/radio as opposed to any mix you want. I would buy this one again in a second and gladly pay the monthly sub fee.

I just got my Stiletto 100 for 109.00 @ buy.com after rebate.

i am using both stiletto and inno on my car and home. both are great units, but i give the edge to the stiletto due to its aesthetic advantages. it has a bigger screen and bigger fonts which is more readable at a distance; and it has the direct access buttons on the car dock. if you can wait though, wait for the merger thing to shake out and see if they come up with a new portable that can access both service...

i am using both stiletto and inno on my car and home. both are great units, but i give the edge to the stiletto due to its aesthetic advantages. it has a bigger screen and bigger fonts which is more readable at a distance; and it has the direct access buttons on the car dock. if you can wait though, wait for the merger thing to shake out and see if they come up with a new portable that can access both service...



stiletto2 all the way!!

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you ok......

you seem to post the same thing over and over in a few different threads;)

Please correct me if you think this opinion is ignorant.

I purchased the Stiletto 100 for my son for Christmas. It says "portable", "go anywhere", in the ads including "car" and "home". Yet it does not work by itself inside my house or my car, or his room, or out in the playroom in the barn, or at my in-laws house, or anywhere except outside.

I called Sirius and they said I needed a docking station inside houses as well as a stereo to play it on, and a docking station inside my car, all for extra $$$.

Well, my vision of my son(13) using it in the back seat like an iPod driving down the road with ear buds quickly vanished.

So, I returned the gift with my son's blessing, several hours on the phone (again) with Sirius, and paying for return shipping ($10.77 UPS ground), with an 8-10 week hold on my return payment.

Seems like they are trying to redefine the word "portable". No where in their advertising do they mention you need to make the device "un-portable" in the house or the car.

I posted this in another thread:

We have both, Sirius and XM. But, the original poster said one thing that would tell me he would be better off with XM. On the go? Does that mean moving the receiver from car to house?

The one problem myself and other family members have had with Sirius, is that we can not get a signal inside of a house. An external antenna was the only way to get reception indoors with Sirius, at least here in SE Michigan. And we have tried in multiple houses and wood structured buildings. On the other hand, our XM units have never had a problem snagging a strong signal indoors with the regular supplied XM antenna.

Just something to think about. And I do prefer Sirius Radios music choices over XM.

In fact, I have my XM unit and antenna in my basement. And it gets as strong a signal as it did when the antenna was upstairs near a window. My Sirius unit will not work anywhere in my house, much less my basement.



Like I said, I have never gotten Sirius radio to work indoors unless I had an external outdoor antenna. The reason why I only have XM in my house. Sirius is out in the cars and motorhome. Something to do with the way Sirius has their satellites orbiting the earth. That is what Sirius told me in regards to poor indoor reception and antenna placement. You might get better reception the closer you are to the equator and actually hear Sirius in your house. But it is a no go up here in SE Michigan.

On edit: I forgot to mention that I have my XM receiver and antenna located in my basement. I get just as strong a signal as I did when the receiver was upstairs and antenna placed near the window. I cannot do that with my Sirius unit, or a couple others that I have tried. I put Sirius units in my trucks for my employees. These have all been of various brands, and none have ever worked indoors? I have returned a few in home docking stations in my day.

On edit: I forgot to mention that I have my XM receiver and antenna located in my basement. I get just as strong a signal as I did when the receiver was upstairs and antenna placed near the window. I cannot do that with my Sirius unit, or a couple others that I have tried. I put Sirius units in my trucks for my employees. These have all been of various brands, and none have ever worked indoors? I have returned a few in home docking stations in my day.


I remember getting signal here in Dallas indoors when I had XM. It was pulling it off ground based repeaters. I kinda doubt you are getting a satellite signal in your basement. There's a screen where you can check your signal to the repeaters vs satellite. I went to Sirius because the content is much more enjoyable to my ear. They are supposed to have repeaters as well, but not in this market. Have to have a view of the northern sky. I can occasionally get intermittent reception through solid surfaces, but not anything I could listen to. It's notorious for going out in my car when I go under a bridge that blocks the northern sky.

Not nearly as annoying as getting in my car and arriving at my destination to have heard at most 1 song and a lot of commercials on normal radio though.

On edit: I forgot to mention that I have my XM receiver and antenna located in my basement. I get just as strong a signal as I did when the receiver was upstairs and antenna placed near the window. I cannot do that with my Sirius unit, or a couple others that I have tried. I put Sirius units in my trucks for my employees. These have all been of various brands, and none have ever worked indoors? I have returned a few in home docking stations in my day.

You obviously live near a ground repeater. Lucky you.

If the orignal poster does not live in or near a big city, he'll have to pick up the satellite signal.

Is your DirecTV dish in your basement? Nope. Why? It's on satellite and you antenna has to "see" the sky. Satellite radio / TV signals do not pierce roofs / walls. etc.. unless you are lucky enight to have a loacal terrestrial repeater near you.

I have a Sportster Replay in my cars, and I want to switch to my Stiletto 100. I was wondering if anyone knew if the car adapters for the Sportster Replay and Stiletto were interchangeable. I believe I can use the same antenna adapter, but I'm sure I need to buy the cradle. I wondered if I could avoid buying the whole kits, as I already have plenty of unnecessary spare parts.