Looking for recommendations on satellite radio receivers.

March 2, 2009 6:21 AM

Looking for recommendations on satellite radio receivers.

With the merger of XM & Sirius complete, the XM receiver in Mrs. Argyle's new car, and the demise of my two favorite radio stations in Los Angeles, all signs point to satellite radio in my future.

I'm looking for recommendations on a simple portable receiver suitable for listening from my car. I would plug it into an adapter cable like an MP3 player would.

Previous AskMe threads discuss the difference between XM & Sirius and the older models, but don't have current answers.

Any especially good models to get? Should I buy from XM direct or look to eBay for a used one?

Thanks for any help or advice.

posted by Argyle to technology (13 comments total)

You might want to wait a few weeks. The company's future is uncertain.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 6:35 AM on March 2 [1 favorite has favorites]

Came to post what kuujjurapik just posted.
posted by proj at 6:41 AM on March 2

Well, I do believe that service will continue for quite some time, in fact as long as the satellites are in orbit and the infrastructure exists. The issues at XM appear to be mainly related to the high level of debt. There is a huge value to the assets in space, on the ground in recievers, and significant cash flow.

If XM were to declare bankruptcy, the service would continue, as creditors would insist maintaining the value of their asset. Worst case, a new owner and/or management team is brought in with a reduced debt load after agreement with major creditors. Much as the airlines continue to fly when bankrupt until reorganized, so would XM. IMHO, of course.

Enough business talk, back to the geekery. What receiver should I be looking at oh mighty MeFites?
posted by Argyle at 6:54 AM on March 2

IMHO. the cheapest one available at the Sirius site. Why cheap? Because you will be moving these from home to car etc. AFAIK there is no signal reception difference between models.
Also if your wife already subscribes they are offering some 2nd radio offers right now. like $9.99
posted by Gungho at 7:10 AM on March 2

I'm curious why you're committed to satellite radio. Is there a type of music or a specific broadcast that is only available on sat? I get free podcasts, news, sports, weather, and free internet radio from stations around the world on my iPhone. Have you heard of Pandora? I can dock my phone (which is also an iPod) in my car, to a Bose radio in my shop, anywhere. Sat radio by subscription already seems like an old paradigm which may explain why these companies are in financial trouble.
posted by birdwatcher at 7:57 AM on March 2

Well, I do believe that service will continue for quite some time, in fact as long as the satellites are in orbit and the infrastructure exists. [...] There is a huge value to the assets in space, [...]

You're right that, assuming the satellites cannot be repurposed (and reports indicate that is the case) programming is likely to continue. However, at the moment Sirius XM has a market capitalisation of $490 million, and has a contract with Howard Stern until 2010 which costs them $100 million a year. If they were liquidated, the satellites' new owners might not opt to pick up that contract.

That's just one example of how output could change. Some listeners reported that, during the Sirius-XM merger, their preferred channels from one company were dropped in favour of similar channels from the other company; in the event of a liquidation, the same could happen again.

I guess my point is if the company gets liquidated, broadcasts might continue, but be substantially changed. That said, if it's really $10 for a second receiver, who cares if it doesn't last forever?
posted by Mike1024 at 8:07 AM on March 2

I have an XM sportscaster, as it was the cheapest one available, didn't require installation, and it was very cheap (<>
My thinking was that it's a digital signal, so the different receiver price points are more about features (easier navigation, etc.) than sound quality. Having said that, I think the sound quality sucks. It's sub-FM quality, talking sounds very underwatery, and it drops out when you go under overpasses. (My signal goesl from the sportscaster's miniplug out to the AUX IN on my head unit.)

Now whether I can blame the poor sound on my cheaping out on the receiver, excessive compression of the signal by XM, or just the nature of satellite audio, I don't know. Hopefully others can weigh in on that.

This is ssflanders, reporting live from here at the bottom of the product line.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:37 AM on March 2

Ha, by very cheap I tried to say, less than $20.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:38 AM on March 2

The first step to answering the question is the decision between Sirius and XM. I've been an XM subscriber for quite a few years now, and since the merger I'm sensing quite a bit of crossover, though I believe there are still some differences. I would suggest going to the respective websites and perusing the channel lineups to see which suits you.

I have the same receiver as I did when I signed up for the service, the Roady2 (no longer sold), which works great for me because it contains both a line out and FM modulator.

As for models currently marketed, it looks like each XM and Sirius offer two models for the car. On the XM side, the cheaper model (~$50) doesn't appear to offer station presets, while the $100 unit offers presets, and appears to be able to buffer the signal, which lets you rewind a portion of the programming. The Sirius radios appear to have similar features, though the cheaper model here includes presets. All units have line out and FM modulators.

Here's the kicker with any add-on unit: The buttons are fairly small, and it can be a challenge or downright dangerous to fiddle with these units while driving. I'd suggest you head down to your local electronics store and fiddle around with them before deciding. I believe that Bestbuy sells both XM and Sirius.

Oh, and be really careful buying these from Ebay. Unless you're purchasing a new unit from a reputable seller, there's a chance the unit's been stolen, and you could have a difficult time activating it.
posted by SteveInMaine at 8:51 AM on March 2

Sadly I have just given up my subscription to Sirius as a financial cutback. Now I have two radios I will dump on ebay and eventually buy a transmitter for my ipod. I can't believe I'm the only one who has trimmed satellite from their budget, so I'd check ebay for bargains.

To the point of other responders, I found that some of the stations we listed to were being dropped in favor of XM stations we liked less. When making my decision to cancel I factored in what basic cable has often become... 100 channels and nothing to watch.
posted by Breav at 12:28 PM on March 2

A lot of these previous answers don't address the question and should be deleted. Who cares if you think that Pandora is better? OP isn't asking what you think is better than satellite radio - after the first comments about the company being in financial trouble and there being other alternatives, you're just being noisy.

OP, do you have more focused questions? There are dozens of models which will work well. You should consider how and where you will use the receiver. You should consider whether a legacy XM or Sirius radio will continue to work forever. Unless you will actually use it walking around, avoid the portable models, as they are more expensive. I am only familiar with legacy Sirius radios; I think that the legacy XM radios look nicer, but don't know how well they work. Even though you said that you want to carry it around, check out the set-up in your wife's car and consider a sat radio capable head unit - IMO, sound quality and integration more than make up for the lack of portability.

One of my receivers is a Stilleto 2, although I got it for quite a bit less than the current XMSirius price. I don't think that there are a lot of other truly "portable" solutions. You will still need to wire in an antenna to the car mount unless you want to keep the unit right by the window and used the goofy "antenna headphones. If it will be a second receiver (to the one in your wife's car), they will probably offer you some sort of deal on a second receiver. I have been very happy with this unit - you can use WiFi to get the signal, record music for later listening and load your other music on it. It's nice, although maybe not $200 worth of nice.

I also have a couple of ultra-cheap units - one in a car and one at home. They work fine, but don't have all the bells and whistles. Consider the number of presets you need and how you will connect the unit into your existing home or car set-up. I have the ultra-cheap InV2 in one of my cars, and it works well. The maximum audio quality of the satellite signal is pretty high, but the radio in question and the delivery of the audio to the head unit or home stereo is going to vary a lot. My old Kenwood head unit with native Sirius plus a car tuner sounds better than any of the stand-alone products.
posted by iknowizbirfmark at 1:10 PM on March 2

For those who wonder why some of us keep it, I can offer my viewpoint:

1. I like music, but I don't love it enough to invest any energy in it.
2. I like tons of different kinds of music, from hip-hop to 40's big band, with lots in between, most of it stuff that you cannot hear on the radio
3. I hate announcers and personalities

Sirius makes it easy for me to handle all 3 of these issues. Somebody else has put a lot of effort into creating the playlists for tons of music that I like. Lots of channels means I can pick stuff based on my current mood. And, if some fucktard announcer (Madison, I am looking at you) starts flapping their lips about anything at all, there are always dozens of channels without fucktards talking just a button click away.
posted by Irontom at 1:32 PM on March 2

It really depends what you're going to use it for. My husband is on his second Sirius Starmate, which he originally got because it came with a remote control and kits for both home and car. However, it mostly lives in his car, I think it's been in the house maybe twice. It has a nice-sized display that you can easily read while driving, and holds lots of pre-set stations. You can also save favorite songs and artists and it'll tell you when they're playing on another station so you can flip over.

I don't have one, but if I were going to get one I'd probably choose one of the portable ones that work like an MP3 player, so I don't always have to be tethered to another radio.

So my advice is to figure out when and where you plan to use it (e.g. mostly in the car, while exercising, etc.) and go from there to find one with the features you need.
posted by LolaGeek at 11:23 AM on March 3