SIRIUS Stiletto 2 Portable Satellite Radio with MP3 Player
by Sirius Satellite Radio
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SIRIUS Stiletto 2 Portable Satellite Radio with MP3 Player
Customer Review: Quite happy with it.
Summary: 4 Stars
After regular use of my Stiletto 2 for the past month, I have to say I'm quite happy with its performance. I am located in North Dakota, nowhere near a terrestrial repeater, so I have to rely solely on satellite signal.
Outdoors with the antenna headphones in use, I get good strong signal any time I've got a clear view of the sky directly above. In cases of heavy cloud cover, signal will sometimes get spotty if I'm under a tree. Concrete or metal overhangs (like at a gas station) will usually kill the signal until I get clear, regardless of sky condition.
Using the unit outdoors with just the earbuds is hit and miss. With clear skies, I need to hold the unit upright to maintain signal, and it's more sensitive to obstructions as well. For portable outdoor use, your best bet is to use the antenna headphones, which sound ok as far as I'm concerned and are fairly comfortable.
Indoors, I can sometimes get signal if I point the antenna phones out a window, but it's hit and miss. I utilize the wifi feature when indoors, and get great signal and sound quality. Setting up the wifi connection was not difficult.
On the down side, the channel selection is reduced when using a wifi connection. I've not done a comprehensive survey, but I believe all the music channels are available. Most (maybe all) of the sports channels, however, are not available over an internet connection and require satellite signal to receive. Additionally, the ability to pause, rewind, and save songs is also unavailable when using the wifi.
I have not picked up the home or car kits yet, but intend to do so in the near future. For the time being, I hang the antenna headphones from my rear view mirror and get good signal in the car. I then plug my cassette adapter (yeah, my car is old) into the phone jack and listen through my car stereo. However, I do need to turn the volume on the Stiletto 2 rather high, which means I've got the rather expensive antenna headphones blasted, which concerns me.
Battery life estimates seem to be pretty accurate. I get almost right at 5 hours of satellite reception on a full battery charge, right around 10 (I've actually only done 8, but had 20% charge left) when using a wifi, and significantly lower power consumption when playing stored music. Unfortunately, the way the unit is built it is not possible to plug the power adapter and the antenna headphones into the unit at the same time, although you can use the power and the other phone jack at the same time. I'm not entirely sure why the power jack wasn't moved over just a fraction of an inch further left to allow all three jacks to be used simultaneously.
The only other minor issue I've seen is the rare time I turn the unit on from "sleep" mode, and it seems to get a bit confused as to how much battery charge it's got. I'll get a "low battery" message, even though it's over 75% charged. Waking it up a second time takes care of the problem. I've only experienced this two or three times thus far, and hope it's not indicative of a future power issue.
Setting up service was a bit of a challenge, as I had a difficult time getting the voice recognition software on their phone service to understand me. This surprised me, as I have a very neutral accent. I was using a cell phone, so that may have been a factor. Once I got a living human on the line, setup was a snap.
All in all, I'm happy with my Stiletto 2, as well as the Sirius programming with it. I do recommend the product even with its limitations.
Customer Review: satellite technology just isn't there yet
Summary: 1 Stars
I read all of the reviews of this item before I bought it, but I took the plunge anyway. Complete waste of time.
First off, 200-300 dollars for this gadget is absolutely outrageous. This thing can't cost more than 10 bucks to make. When you pick it up it's barely there. Most of the weight from this device is caused from the battery which, by the way, only lasts for a few hours at a time if you're lucky. In addition to that, you have to use the headphones as the antenna which work intermittently at best. Per the instructions, you're ordered to place the headphones on your head and face them north (which other direction would they be pointing??). But since you never get a signal you'll constantly be reaching for the sky with your neck as you frustratingly devote your life to finding a signal in the air. I bought this to use in my car, and I never had a signal that lasted more than five minutes at a time. I'd pull up beside everything to buildings to other cars to roadkill and it would lose reception. I had to hang the antenna headphones from my rearview mirror and place the Sirius unit upside down in order for it all to work intermittently. My car looked like an electric experiment gone awfully askew. Another huge negative with Sirius in general is their abysmal customer service. When you finally get through to someone who can speak good English all they try to do is sell you more stuff. None of them know exactly how their products work, but they certainly know how to pitch products to you. I strongly recommend that if you do actually buy this you do so at your local Best Buy. That way you can return it without any major hassles which you WILL have if you buy it directly from Sirius. The most hilarious part about my brief affair with the Stiletto 2 is that inside the box there is a flyer that says, "if you experience problems with your Stiletto 2, DO NOT RETURN IT TO YOUR LOCAL RETAILER. CALL SIRIUS CUSTOMER CARE." Gee, you think a lot of people may be returning this product? Seems to me like Sirius is a little paranoid about people discovering that the Stiletto 2 is a piece of garbage.
In the end, satellite technology just isn't there yet, and to ask so much money for something that works only now and again is not worth it. What I recommend is to go buy an iPhone for much cheaper than this, download the FREE Sirius application, and use that. Sirius works through the 3G network if you have an iPhone, and I never have any reception problems while using it. Of course, the negative is that Howard Stern is not available through the iPhone app (ridiculous). Howard Stern is the only thing I listen to on Sirius, so this purchase makes it all the more frustrating. If you're looking to buy a Stiletto 2 with the purpose of listening to Howard in your car, don't bother. It's little things like this that make me reconsider my Sirius subscription. Sirius says that Howard isn't available on the iPhone app because of legal conflicts with the ondemand TV show. Then why is Howard available to listen to on the internet then? Surely Ondemand have a website? Under this stupid logic, wouldn't that be infringement too? I believe Sirius knows that people buy Stiletto's in order to listen to Howard, so why give a free app to Apple users who want to hear Sirius' flagship program?
As others have mentioned, this is a great idea with very poor results.
Customer Review: The truth from a Sirius veteran
Summary: 3 Stars
having used numerous consumer and expert reviews in the purchasing of the Stiletto 2, i feel the need to present my experience and opinion on this new receiver. first off, as a long time Sirius customer, i love satellite radio! even if you don't go with this unit, i highly recommend Sirius or XM to anyone that travels a lot or just enjoys listening to radio stations that stick to the stuff they want!
now for the Stiletto 2....
my previous receiver was a basic radio with the car and home kit that lasted 4 years, so upgrading to the Stiletto 2 was a major price jump and leap of faith on my part. i read the reviews (good and bad), product descriptions, and expert analyses. my conclusion? the Stiletto 2 is a very cool toy with lots of features and a sleek attractive design. the sole detractor to it is the extreme reliance on the accessory kits (not included).
ANTENNA RECEPTION: this is the major complaint of most negative reviews. the truth is that the Stiletto 2 has the same reception capabilities as any other unit WHEN outside or connected to a external antenna (only included in home or car kits). it will not work well indoors or in areas with significant obstructions to the sky, just like any other receiver. and its built-in antenna does allow you to listen to it with headphones while walking around outdoors. the Stiletto 2 also has a built-in wi-fi connection, allowing you to listen Sirius over wireless internet networks.
LOOK AND FEEL: nice design, lightweight, easy access menus, color display...overall A+
MP3 PLAYER: cool bonus that allows you to switch between Sirius radio and mp3 modes. the product description claims 2GB worth of space. however, only 800 MB is available for downloaded music, as the rest is designated exclusively for recording live programming from the Sirius channels. if you want more room for your mp3's, you can plug in a microSD card (up to 8GB) with your music into the Stiletto 2 and increase the size of your playlist!
STAND-ALONE/ACCESSORIES: out of the box, the Stiletto 2 will only run using headphones or earbuds. if you want to play it in your car or home, you MUST get an accessory kit (either home or car). websites claim that the universal kits for Sirius radios are compatible with the Stiletto 2. THIS IS MOSTLY INCORRECT! the external antenna is standard, but does not plug directly into the receiver. a cradle (included in kits) is necessary to play Sirius through your car or home stereo. the AC/DC adapter is also a different size and voltage. if you buy the home kit, you can only connect to a stereo via audio cables. this is a change from other receivers, which allow either a wired connection or have a built-in FM transmitter. only the cradle that comes with the car kit allows you to connect to a stereo over an FM signal. my suggestion to those that want the Stiletto 2 to work on any stereo or have previous Sirius radio kits is to buy the Stiletto 2 car kit only, and use your previous antennae to run the radio at home using the car cradle.
i give the Stiletto 2 a three-star rating. it has very nice features and a good look, but some of its advertised capabilities are misleading. there is no reason that the unit should not be able to FM transmit to any stereo without a car cradle, other than to gouge customers out of another $50.
Customer Review: Given a choice, I would leave my iPod at home at take this instead every time!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a frequent business and pleasure traveler and I am always looking for things that will improve my quality of life while on the road (driving, waiting in airports, on long flights, etc.). This is it for me! Along with my Kindle I can now relax and feel that I am not just wasting time. Instead of giving this receiver a technical review (which others have already done here and much better than I could) I will explain how I use it and what I like about it:
* Home Docking: I have been a Sirius subscriber for over seven years. I replaced an older "Plug and Play" receiver with the Stiletto 2. During those rare times when I am actually at home I listen to Sirius (and now the Best of XM) through my home stereo. I run the antenna through the window and onto the roof. If you follow the directions most people should get at least 2 bars of signal strength. I have used it like this in both St. Louis and now in San Antonio and even get a pretty strong terrestrial signal as well. This is where I record my programs for travel.
* Air Travel: Although an iPod (I have the Touch model) is nice for music and video, I like to listen to NPR, comedy and some of the other talk and entertainment stations on Sirius. I simply record the ones that I want and listen to them while on a plane, waiting in line, etc. I have several 8+ hour flights coming up and I can have as many as 100 hours of recorded programs to chose from (I love Terry Gross' interviews on NPR). Plus, I can listen to music, recorded books, blogs, etc. all on this little device.
* Car travel: When driving rental cars in cities that you are not familiar with, finding a radio station that you enjoy might be a problem (I should mention that many of the better rental cars have satellite radios already installed). With this radio and can listen to broadcast sat-radio and recorded programs at will. I usually don't bother to set the whole thing up (car mount, antenna, FM transmitter, etc.) if I am on a short trip but some of them require quite a bit of driving and I am always glad that I have my favorite stations with me.
* Hotels and Airports: Most hotels and just all airport clubs have Wi-Fi. Here I can catch up on the latest news with NPR, BBC, CNN, what have you. It connects very easily as long as you have the proper log-in code. I have the premium "internet" service from Sirius so the sound quality is great.
* Distant Travel: Both my business and my hobbies take me to areas where satellite radio is not available (Alaska, Hawaii, South America, etc.). With my Stiletto 2 I can feel at home while I relax to hours of recorded jazz and classical music (my favorites) and, unlike an iPod, I can hear things that I didn't know about simply by recording whole blocks of programs from my favorite Sirius channels. Since I have to pay for each song from iTunes I only download the things that I know I will like. Not so with Sirius and the Stiletto.
I don't pretend to think that this is the best receiver for everyone. I can get broadcast satellite through the included headset (which I don't like) when I am on walks or at the pool and the reception and sound quality are just O-K, but that isn't what I bought it for. For me, someone who has always traveled a lot, this is a must have device.
Customer Review: Nice concept - not ready for mass adoption
Summary: 2 Stars
I have been a satisfied Sirius customer since 2002 and love their service. I also have Zune but I have always preferred the concept of satellite radio because it helps me discover new music that I would not hear on local radio stations.
So, I consider myself a techie with many gadgets and a satellite radio fan boy. Since I had a Sportster previously, I purchased this product with realistic expectations. I didn't expect to have satellite reception indoors, in a cave or deep valley, parking garage, etc.
I purchased this product so I can enjoy Sirius on my bus commute to work and when I go jogging at a park using the armband. I was shocked that the reception on this unit was so bad. I jog in a park with a wide-open view of the sky in all directions. I didn't receive a signal for more than 10 seconds without dropouts. The bus ride was even worse. The only way for me to receive acceptable reception was using the bulky headphones included with the unit. These geeky, bulky headphones also have a built-in antenna which does help reception but there are still dropouts. I found the headphones to be uncomfortable compared to my earbuds and unsuitable for running or an active lifestyle.
THE VERDICT -
You will find many reviews singing praises about this unit. I will try to add my objective analysis to help others.
THIS UNIT WILL BE IDEAL FOR...
1. People that enjoy Sirius' exclusive content - If you're the type of person that can't live a day without Howard Stern, follows your favourite football teams religiously, etc. then this unit will suit you well. You can record your favourite programs (Howard, NPR, etc.) and listen to them whenever you want.
2. Sports Fans - people that like to follow sports teams especially teams that are not local. My father enjoys University of Alabama football and he can use this device to listen wherever he is, take it in the car, a friend's house, or his shop and follow all of the games. He considers the Stiletto to be the greatest invention since electricity. He is also not active and does not use it to go jogging like I do.
3. Road Warriors - Those that travel a lot for business, pleasure, camping, or long commuters would enjoy this product. It's easy to move from one car to the next, take to the airport, or use at a wifi hotspot. For this group, it's a much better option than an iPod because the content is "fresh" and is constantly being updated by Sirius instead of requiring a computer like the iPod does. This could definitely make those long road trips not so boring.
This product is very expensive and with the poor reception, it's nothing more than a glorified iPod. If your usage falls into one of the three groups mentioned above, you may want to consider the Stiletto. The unit does have a nice interface and is very intuitive. However, this product is not ready mass consumer adoption due to the horrible reception. I cannot visualize the iPod crowd wearing these bulky, geeky headphones just to get adequate reception. Maybe Sirius can improve the reception problem with future generations and I'll reconsider. For now, this unit was returned to Futureshop. I hope this helps somebody!