Stiletto 100

Not sure which part of the process you are having trouble with, but it's pretty simple:

1. convert the cd track to an mp3 on your computer (using something like iTunes)
2. Use the software that came with your stiletto to sync that mp3 to the device

I don't have the answer to your question, but I do have one of my own.
How do you like the Stiletto? Had planned on buying one in November, but
have read mixed reviews on it (mostly complaining about reception).
Have owned a XM Pioneer Inno since they were released and love it (use it
every day). However, last November my wife and I purchased Chrysler vehicles
with built-in Sirius and it is great (never thought I'd be saying that) and we
are going to extend the service when the free trial expires.
Hate to give up the Inno, but like Sirius even better and was hoping the
Stiletto was going to be a good replacement for it. If it's not too much
trouble wud appreciate an honest opinion. BTW, about reception, we
live about 125 miles north of Detroit.

Jim

Hi onejim,

Reception may be an issue for you. I have an XM myfi (really old!) that works great. I get rock solid reception everywhere with the little clip antenna that came with it. Most of the time I am in the Chicago metro area and XM has about twice as many terrestrial repeaters as Sirius, so that probably explains the great reception.

The stiletto has a weak antenna housed in the body, but the headphones also act as an antenna... supposedly for use when you have the stiletto in a pocket or backpack.

I can stand in my front yard with a clear shot of the sky and I only get one bar, so the signal cuts in and out. With the home dock, the reception is much better, but that leaves me in the position of having to dock to record stuff, then I use the stiletto mostly as a player for recorded sirius content + mp3s.

I have been searching for some kind of third party antenna booster or more powerful antenna, but haven't found any yet.

It is a very slick device, so I think people who live in an area with good terrestrial repeater coverage probably love the stiletto. The battery life is great and the interface and display are really cool.

I would recommend buying one as a test from some place like Best Buy, where you can easily return it if you aren't happy.

I just bought a Stiletto S100 and activated a 1 year Sirius subscription. I have been an XM radio subscriber since 2003 and figured I would give Sirius a try and go with a more portable unit format. So I bought a Stiletto S100 and a Stargate 4 unit. I returned the Stargate 4 because it had an extremely weak FM modulator signal in my home dock. The Stiletto has a much stronger FM modulator signal and is usable by nearby receivers.
I am finding the Stiletto S100 to be an excellent unit and enjoying it day and night now. I do live in the NY Metropolitan area so I get terrestrial signal better than the sky signal most of the time. When I stand outside my house I get a good signal using just a set of Koss ear phones and better signal when using the provided headband antenna/phones. In my upstairs bedroom at night, I get enough signal in spots to listen to stations while I fall asleep at night with Sony 7206 Studio Pro headphones on. The screen menus and setup are all laid out pretty well and are easy to navigate. The user interface is real nice and easy to use and get use to. The sound quality is really good also (which makes me happy) and I think I like the Sirius music formats a bit more than XM radio's formats. Although, they are close. I also really love the recording capabilities and options that it offers. This is a big plus! I would recommend the Stiletto S100 highly just for this feature alone. I have not ever put the battery life to a full test yet as I have always used it with AC power. I have the car dock kit and the home dock kit. The FM modulator plays well through my car's radio if you position the wires correctly. I have it temporarily set up in my car as I could not find a good place to mount the dock where it would fit flush and not be sticking way out up on top of the dash. It does not fit anywhere in my Honda Civic! Sheesh!
Did I say, the sound quality is top notch? well as good as satellite compressed audio format can provide, this S100 will not add or delete anything to the sound quality. It has a pleasant smooth sound presentation for all the audiophiles that care about this aspect. Compared to XM radio, it is a toss up. I think XM Radio can have a bit more highs and sharpness, but it all depends on what XM Radio you use. I have a Polk Reference XM tuner (model XRT-12) and it sounds pretty good for satellite radio using its optical output feeding a high-end Pioneer VSX-49TXi receiver DAC section. I also have a new Samsung Helix portable XM radio (just received today!) and have been comparing it to the Stiletto S100. The Helix is the same as the Pioneer Inno, has bass and treble tone control adjustments, the Stiletto does not. But the Stiletto does not need tone controls as IMHO it sounds just fine and smooth "as is". The Samsung Helix on the other hand with tone controls set to flat, sounds fine too but might be a tad rolled off at the frequency extremes compared to the S100. Thus I would give the edge to the Stiletto S100 in overall sound quality when. However, with the Helix you can boost the bass and highs to your liking and then it can sound better to most folks.
Another plus is the Wireless LAN connectivity. Although it will only work on 802.11b networks and you MUST turn on and broadcast your SSID reducing your home wi-fi security stealth factor. I used the wi-fi in my house and it works great.

Cons? The Stiletto gets real hot only when running on Satellite radio mode. It is kind of bigger and bulkier than the Inno or Helix, but not by much, still portable. It is expensive (even with recent price drops)! The Helix with its included home dock kit cost me $107 total with shipping through Amazon.com seller. The Stiletto cost me $229.99 at Circuit City only when bought with a dock kit (extra $44.99), total paid was like $298.99.
Which radio is better overall regardless of price? I would say the Stiletto S100 wins but it is newer than the Helix and Inno.

I do not have any regrets spending all that money on the Stiletto S100 and its home dock kit and a car dock kit.
I just hope the merger of XM radio and Sirius radio do not obsolete these investments too soon!

If you do get a Stiletto, spend a few extra bucks for an extended warranty (I got mine at Circuit City and paid $24.99 for a 2-year warranty). This allows me to exchange it any time in those 2 years if I have a problem - instead of having to ship it somewhere to get it fixed/replaced. I have own Stilettos for 2 months - I am about to return the second one this weekend. It works great, when it works. There are some serious hardware issues though - freezing often, requiring me to pop off the battery to "wake it up", scheduled recordings mysteriously not working right after working fine for weeks. It's very frustrating.

I just bought the Stiletto 100 so that I could tie a lifetime subscription (on sale now for $399 until July 31) to it. Very cool device! So far, I've been connecting via WIFI indoorsworks great!

The satellite headphones leave a lot to be desired. I haven't really used them yet, but I'm almost embarrassed to wear them. Will try them outdoors this weekend while I crack open the owner's manual and figure out what this bad boy can do.

Where did you see this sale for the life time subscription offer? I just looked at the sirius website under their satellite radio plan options and it still says $499. Not $399? I have a Stiletto S100 also and am basically happy with it (along with my Samsung Helix for XM) and I am on the fence on whether or not I should risk tying my Stiletto S100 to a life time subscription, not knowing what the merger will bring. Even though the current Sirius company guarantees that they will not "shaft" current subscribers, who knows what monkey business stunts the next owners might declare on us if Sirius folds and gets bought out by someone else.

Anyhow, where is the $399 offer that you mention? Any official url link you can provide? Or is it some sort of special package deal you got?

Thanks for any more info.

Not available on-line. You have to call 888-539-SIRIUS (7474).
Note: They will credit what ever is left on your current subscription towards the $399 price.

Thank you for contacting SIRIUS. We appreciate the time you have taken
to contact us regarding our lifetime plan. We are glad to help!

At this time we are having a special promotion on our lifetime
plan. We have discounted the price $100.00. That's right you can get a
lifetime plan for $399.99. You can also use our EZ Pay system and pay
in four installments of approximately $100.00 a month. This offer is
valid only until July 31st.

The lifetime plan is for the lifetime of the receiver, not the
subscriber. If your equipment should malfunction you can transfer the
lifetime plan up to three times to a new receiver. There is a transfer
fee of $75.00 per transfer. If the unit is still under the
manufacturer's warranty there will be no transfer fee and it will not
count as one of the three.

We are committed to providing you with the best in customer care. If
you have any more questions, please feel free to contact SIRIUS
Customer Care. For your convenience, we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week.

I'm hoping the merger goes though and Sirius starts broadcasting MLB. Having the following Stiletto functions available for MLB would be awesome on a lifetime sub:

GameAlertPrompts when your favorite games are being broadcast and alerts you when the scores change

GameZoneLists your favorite teams in one category and lets you select a different team from each of the various sport leagues including NFL, NBA, NHL and college sports Parental Control and Channel Lock

P.S. Here is a nice review of the Stiletto 100

Thanks I also found another thread that gave a Sirius customer service phone number of 888-211-7204. I just tried to subscribe for lifetime sub, but the rep said their system just died and went down, so he could not take my order at this time. Sheesh! Should I take that as a sign from above...! :-)

I just had to get my fourth Stiletto from Circuit City. The first three had various problems. Good thing I bought the warranty. After plugging it into my car dock and calling to activate it, I also had the frustration of being told to call back later because their system was down.

I love the Stiletto's features, but this is the most poorly constructed piece of technology I've ever owned. Three units with different problems in just two months....not a good sign.

I am the proud owner of a brand new Stiletto 100. I've had it less than a week, and I love it. I've already bought the lifetime sub, Home Kit, Vehicle Kit, & Boombox to go along with itnot to mention the overlays and silicon caseall at 40% off* (hardware only).

Anyway, something weird happened today. The extended life battery died. It shows up on the Stiletto's screen as fully charged, yet when I pull the charger from the Stiletto, the unit just dies.

Sirius is sending me a replacement battery, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem?


*Start shopping (20% off) thru the AAA site:
AAA discount

Enter "howard20" coupon when checking out to stack the 2nd 20% off coupon.

Does your Stiletto work with the other 2nd battery that comes with it? If not it may be something else. I've had my Stiletto for a couple of weeks running almost full time every day in and out of the home chargers and car docks... no problems at all. Nice unit.

Yes, the Stiletto works fine with the slim battery.

I liked my Sirius Stiletto S100 so much that I just got another one. Now I have two. One I can leave in the base at home undisturbed to record long sessions and one to take out portable with me in the car to drive to and from work each day. I have a Samsung Inno for my XM subscription too and I love that little thing just as much and am comtemplating getting another one before they go out of stock. But I already have a Polk XRT12 XM component tuner in the home, so don't really need another XM radio... but the Samsung Helix is a great buy at its discounted price these days. I have not had any problems with any of these units from Sirius and XM and can recommend them both (as long as you are in a good terrestrial signal area, which I supposedly am in the NYC area).

Good luck with your batteries!

Greetings All,

I'm new to this forum and I would like to thank you guys for this thread. I just bought the Stiletto 100 and I can see some of the complaints about this device. Like most people I don't like the primary headphones. Also, when I walk down the street, I'm only getting one bar with the occasional spike to two bars where I live in San Antonio.

Overall, I think the Stiletto rocks.

papi34 , good catch on the $399.99 lifetime subscription.

Hi,

I am considering a Stiletto 100 to be used in San Antonio. What area do you primarily use yours? I use a Sportster Replay with a home dock in a downtown office, and have no problems with receiving the signal. I was wondering if you had used your Stiletto indoors at all. I'm not sure I would be able to receive WIFI as my office uses a proxy server/firewall and I don't think they'd like me using their bandwidth.

Also, have you connected yours to a car dock, and if so do you need to buy a special FM Direct adaptor or is the one I use for the Sportster going to work with the car dock cradle.

bjemina,

I use mine on the Northwestern side of SA just outside of 1604. When I'm outside with the regular earplugs I get one and sometimes two bars. I used it downtown and had steady two bars and a couple of spikes to three bars.

I am buying a home unit today and plan on taking my car to Best Buy this week for the car installation. I am having the FM Direct adaptor installed with the car kit. I'll post my results.

Thanks, I'm definitely interested. I have the Sirius Sportster Replay with FM Direct Relay and I get no static. Hopefully you'll have similar success.

bjmedina,

I finally got my car installation completed today by Best Buy. The guys did a great job making a bracket for my car. I get three bars on my Stiletto and the sound is great.

As for the home unit, I can’t seem to get a signal unless the antenna is outside of my house. Once the antenna is outside the house, I get two bars all the time. Unfortunately, I need more wire to plug into my home stereo system.

Yes, I installed my Sportster's antenna outside the house through the window and attached it to the roofline. I don't have any problems with reception there either. I see that there is a $100 rebate if you buy the Stiletto 100 and prepay a 6-month subscription. I wish they wouldn't nickle-and-dime loyal customers that way, considering that the Stiletto 2 is going to be out within 3 months anyway!