Customer Reviews
Good performance if you ignore the installations hype 
2008-01-23
Though this Sirius receiver's hype seems to assure the convenience of the car installation, it's a more "serious" issue than one is led to believe from the promotional hype. When I ordered it, I assumed that it had an internal satellite antenna (as my Garmin boat and car GPSes have), and that the fm wireless transit to the car radio does not require wires. WRONG.
The satellite antenna must be magnetically attached outside the car, and a wire run through the car to the "dock." Moreover, wireless transmit to the FM car radio requires another major piece of wire to be stuck to windows near your car radio's antenna, then run back through the car to the docking unit.
It is true that the docking unit attaches easily to either a vent or to the windshield, but the vent installation (which I'm using) sticks way out and gets in the way of the radio's own controls (on the driver's center vent in a Camry, so that it's visible to the passenger). I had to mount the satellite antenna on the front edge of the trunk, and run the wire up to the dash from there. But the Camry's car antenna is a mesh at the top-center of the windshield, and my efforts to "stick" a long FM Transit broadcast antenna (a wire with sticky points and a tail to be led off and around the windshield and back to the dock on the vent) did not work, either for aesthetics or performance. So I gave up and and using the classic cassette-loaded connection into the car radio.
Don't get me wrong. With one wire running to the cigarette lighter, and another coming-in from the satellite antenna mounted on the trunk, and another wire running up to the adapter that plugs into the radio's cassette slot, the performance is great -- just as promised. It's just that now I have a docking device sticking a few inches out from the dashboard vent, with three wires leading in and out, and (because the wireless FM transmit is unacceptable (both performance-wise and beause I don't like a long wire stuck across my windshield, where my radion antenna is) I have to do the casette adapter "thing" to get good, reliable sound.
Because it is winter here in Buffalo, and therefore "cold" I haven't yet spent time to try to run wires in an acceptable fashion.
At $60 or $70 plus Sirius service, you get what you pay for, I guess. But I naively presumed that all I would need is a 12v dc outlet. Like my Garmin Nuvi GPS in my car, and my Garmin GPS Map 76CSX for my boat, both of which depend on satellites, but need only 12v or battery power.
I bought the Sirius really for my boat. I don't drive enough to make the monthly service worthwhile. So the real test will come in the Spring when I try to substitute the magnetic attachment for the satellite antenna for stretching the antenna out belowdecks. (My boat is fiberglass, not metal. The "Home package" for the Sirius won't work because boats, like cars, spin around. Whatever my issues with the car intallation of this Sirius, if it works out well on my boat next spring performance-wise, then I will be happy beacause the programming is good.
As an aside, I do like the Blues channel, but would very, very much appreciate a "folk" channel, with 50's, 60's, and early '70s folk and crossover folk.
Michael
Buffalo, NY
Are you Sirius 
2008-01-19
I bought 2 of these for Christmas presents. Installed 1 day before Christmas. It was very easy. Then I tried the other on Christmas Day and it took 2 days from all the traffic. It must have been a popular present this year. One would work with out supplied antenna, the other would not. I guess it depends on the vehicle. Vent mount is not the greatest. It would be better with a few more overpaid engineers trying to put in their car.
Deceptive Company, Terrible Customer Service 
2008-01-02
DISREPSECTFUL AND DECEPTIVE -- I purchased a Sirius Radio for my husband for Christmas. The company offered a promotional package that included the radio and a $50 gift card to be used towards the monthly subscription cost. When my husband called to activate the radio the sales Rep immediately began to sell us $400 subscription packages, quote exorbitant activation fees ($50). I was appalled that the entire gift card was going to the activation!! There was absolutely no mention of the fee when I purchased. When my husband began to question the charges, the supervisor was consulted and suddenly the fee disappeard. I am sure that if we had not protested we would have been charged..... Then after he decided on a subscription plan, additional enhancements were suddenly suggested to get "optimal service". The Rep basically suggested that the basic service was inadequate and we would have to pay additional charges (above and beyond the quoted subscription rates) to really enjoy the radio. That was the last straw and my husband decided to cancel everything. He felt very taken advantage of and the victim of a Rep that did not know what she was talking about. The process took about 45 minutes and we hung up with the intention to return everything.
Here is the kicker! Because the Sirius Rep asked us to scratch the $50 gift card during the activation process, it is now void.... When I called to see if we could get the full amount refunded, since it was due to their very poor customer service, incompetence and deceptive practices, that we canceled, the customer service supervisor gave me attitude. He even agreed that the $50 was never used and was sitting in our account. However it was our fault...... When I asked for his name so that I could write a letter of protest to management he told me it was pointless and that I could not "bend the company to my will" simply because I was upset. I told him that maybe everyone up the chain would deny my request, but that I had a right as a consumer to complain if I wanted to. He refused to give me his name, as my case did not "warrant" divulging personal information. I was insulted by his direspectful and condescending tone. He did even see fit appologize for our initial negative experience with the company...
Bottome line -- I think this company is deceptive and disrespectful. I am stuck with a $50 gift card I can never use and a terrible opinion of this company. I feel that in each instance our complaints should have been dealt with professionally and with respect. Please think twice before doing business with a company who treats their customers this was
great radio 
2007-12-31
The radio is great, set it to the lowest setting on your radio it works much better than what customer service will tell you.
Excellent with a little static 2007-12-17
There's a lot of value for the dollar with this one. At times it gets staticy, but not being the purist, connectivity is what I most desire. Recommend.
Great for work 2008-07-12
I was initially discouraged by reports that the FM rebroadcaster on these satellite radios did not work, but I went ahead and bought the Starmate anyway. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked, contrary to other reviews the unit will overpower all but the clearest FM signals even without hooking up the rebroadcasting antenna.
I have encountered some areas where the satellite signal cannot be acquired; as my job requires me to drive all over New England, I assume that this is when a mountain is between me and the satellite. I have also noticed some static, but nothing like as bad as a radio.
I would recommend this product to anyone who is stuck driving a company vehicle with no CD player, it really makes the long trips bearable.
great item, especially for the price I paid! 2008-07-06
The Sirius Starmate 4 is loaded with features, and though I have some experience in installing auto electronics, was relatively easy to install myself, despite doing so on a big truck with it's additional problems. It is easy to use, and sounds great!!
Good device 2008-07-02
I have had this radio and associated service for a year now. I have docks in 3 cars, a cradle for my home stereo, and the boombox on my desk at work. I listen to it about 10 hours a day.
Pros:
presets! 30 of 'em! I can't fill them up, but that keeps me going back to the station directory and checking out new stuff.
Adjustable brightness on the display. Used to keep it at full brightness (default from factory) but that was too bright at night. Dimmed it down and it's fine now.
ease of use. Sure a dial would be nice, but navigating by button isn't bad and you can surf categories as well as move up and down a channel at a time.
Good sound quality - with a direct connection. Audiophiles have dissagreed on this, but I have it in a '95 convertible where CD quality sound would be unnoticed due to noise from wind and loose car parts. Headphones on the boombox sound just fine to me, and I can crank the home stereo and it still sounds good to me.
Durability. It has neatly withstood a year of daily switching between multiple docks and the plugs are not worn or loose. A carry case to protect it in my bag would be a nice accessory though.
Song Alerts. Always nice to be able to catch my favorite songs/artists no matter what channel they are on.
Cons:
Build quality. Some of the buttons are quirky. The "Down" button initially didn't work at all, but later kicked in and has been intermittent since.
FM transmitter. Useless. Shouldn't even include it as a "feature". In the cars I use tape adaptors in two and a direct AUX connection in the third and sound is great.
Now that I have had it for a while, I can say I am happy to have this unit and the service.
Don't buy this, no FM transmitter 2008-04-13
I had the original starmate, worked great except the plug wore out. It Then I bought this Starmate 4. It doesn't transmit. The new improved, "joke" antenna wire is set next to my car antenna & it still works poorly. I'm bringing it back. Don't know what to try next?
I have mixed feelings 2008-04-12
I've had Sirius Radio for almost a full year now. It took a couple weeks to grow on me, I prefer it over terestrial radio for the most part, but I still have some issues with it.
Pros:
1. Less commercials, always good.
2. Lots of music and talk options. There's even comedy stations.
3. BBC News; no frills, straight news
4. "Left of Center" and similar channels can help introduce you to music you may not have found otherwise.
5. No more losing a good station as you're travelling!
6. The "Radio Classics" station!
Cons:
1. Despite having less, the commercials are pretty stupid.
2. While good if you like basketball, football, or baseball, Sirius sucks for Hockey fans.
3. There's a lot of weather stations by city, but you have to memorize the station, or scroll for a long time to find yours.
4. If you're in a big city with lots of radio, you'll find yourself having to keep selecting a different frequency... sometimes you're always plaqued with interference.
5. While there is a lot of great talk, there's no local talk which is considerabley more interactive and accesable to the audience (well, in Pittsburgh at least).
6. I find myself staring at the screen trying to find out who, or what, I'm listening to... might be hazardous to your driving. I recomend buying the windsheild suction mounter.
7. Some of the music stations are no different than regular radio (i.e. repitious, only plays the hits, etc.)
I do love the Sirius, especially for longer drives. I really hope the merger goes through... I'd be irrate if it didn't. In the meantime, I'm glad to have Sirius, cons and all.
