Sirius Starmate Replay ST2

Add to my list
Print
E-mail
Share

Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 20 reviews Back to product review
My rating: 0 stars

4 of 20

Full user review

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

2.5 stars

"FM transmission very poor, unit ok otherwise"

by artandscience on December 3, 2006

Pros: channel line-up

Cons: reception, connections, interface
Summary: Perhaps I'm spoiled by working with iPods and Macs but the interface on this unit is very poorly designed. That said, the sound quality is decent (not great) for talk radio. As someone else said, it's AM quality - because of audio compression from the satellite. Nothing to be done about it, just be aware about it before you buy. Reception is only so-so, it's not untypical for it to drop out three or four times in a one-hour drive around the Baltimore metro area for no apparent reason. You HAVE to use the audio line-out, and the FM transmission feature. I read somewhere that the FCC required that Sirius lower the broadcast power in this unit. This is very evident as the FM transmission is so weak that it cannot overpower even the weakest of stations consistently. I had to buy a tape deck adapter to get a decent signal. The three connections I now have make for a very messy installation and I'm going to have spend a couple of hours routing wires to make it look good. Also, I have a luxury car and the instructions make the ridiculous suggestion that one run the antenna wire through the molding around the rear window. Idiots. Just what I need to do, create a path for water to leak into my trunk. Try the alternative of mounting it on the rear deck (it's magnetic) and routing the antenna wire through the cabin.

The pros: nice bright interface, fairly quick satellite acquisition (5 seconds or so), excellent channel line-up (forget Howard, I got it for the CBC and the BBC 24/7). I would say that the state of the art (satellite radio) is still in its early days. If you are used to adopting tech early then this can work for you. BTW, the compression is much less of a factor on the music channels - almost unnoticeable. So if you're buying for music, rather than talk radio, my recommendation would be much stronger. Not bad I suppose for $80 and $13/month. No other way to get the BBC and Premier League soccer.

Thank you for submitting your feedback!

Was this review helpful? YES | NO

Report this post Email this post

Reply to this review

Write review Back to product review See all 20 reviews

Submit your reply

Where to buy

Sirius Starmate Replay ST2: $233.99

store	price	in stock?	rating
Amazon.com Marketplace	$233.99	See Site

see prices from 1 store

Thanks for your submission!

Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community.

Submit your review

Sirius Starmate Replay ST2

ORLog in with your Facebook account

1. Rate this product:: (Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.): 0 of 5000 characters; Submit