Halp. I r teh Sirius.

August 26, 2009 2:29 PM

Which Sirius radio setup works well for in home/portable use for the technologically challenged?

My mom wants me to hook her up with Sirius and I have no experience with this. She lives six hours away and will be trouble shooting this herself after I set it up. She says she wants to listen mostly at home, but if there is a dual car/home setup that would be ideal. (I'm asking the question again because a lot of Sirius setup questions on the site are over 2 years old, before XM and Sirius merged.) Also, has anyone had better experience with one store vs. the other? Is it better to buy online? Thanks!

posted by ShadePlant to technology (7 answers total)

Sirius sold a bundle recently that included the receiver, car kit and boombox. You would simply unplug the receiver from the car kit, take it inside and plug it into the boombox. She would of course have to be near a window, or run the antenna outside. I own the boombox (subx2 model), and it sounds awesome. That's probably the least technical way to accomplish this. Good luck!
posted by jazzman at 4:34 PM on August 26, 2009

Why Sirius? They are dying.

In any case, my guess is that any of the portable Sirius radios will work. They make some that are made to be portable. They sit in a dock connected to your stereo and then if you want to put it in a car, you have a power adapter and audio cable / fm transmitter in your car. A friend of mine has something like that.
posted by reddot at 4:34 PM on August 26, 2009

Sirius does not work well in the home. It's damned near impossible to get a signal. How about Directv or Dish which come with satellite radio channels?
posted by CwgrlUp at 5:46 PM on August 26, 2009

CNET has reviews of a number of satellite radio receivers for both Sirius and XM. I haven't personally used any of them but CNET is pretty reliable and impartial.
posted by Aanidaani at 6:43 PM on August 26, 2009

What are some alternatives to Sirius if they are "dying?". I think my Mom just wants Sirius because her friend has it, (Yes, they're in middle school!), but also because Milwaukee no longer has a classical music station and she would like some portable classical.
posted by ShadePlant at 7:57 PM on August 26, 2009

I have an old XM Delphi and the ginormous boombox. It's a pain to set up in the car, but the boombox works perfectly in a south-facing kitchen window. It is useless if it can't see south, though.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:07 AM on August 27, 2009

I don't know that Sirius is dying. Seems fine to me. But be aware that Sirius only has three classical stations - Opera, "Pops", and one with standard symphonies/chambermusic/etc.

The choice of radio isn't that important, the trick is getting a signal inside. You will likely have to set up and antenna attached to the house outside a window or something. Here is a link to a home connect kit they sell. Getting that and the simplest sirius receiver you can find and connecting it through your exisitng stereo is the by-the-book way. Here is a combo home install kit and simple receiver (refurbished) that may work for you.

Perhaps an even simpler way (but more expensive) would be to get the home install kit and a sirius compatible stereo receiver and by-pass the sirius receiver altogether.

But the key is getting the signal inside. Once you are over that hump the rest is easy and once you have it set up it should be fairly trouble free.
posted by dzot at 7:23 AM on August 27, 2009