SIRIUS Sportster 5 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit Review

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(More customer reviews)OK.
So after all of the hype surrounding satellite radio I decided to "pimp out" my Sebring by adding SIRIUS to it. In order not to look ghetto as well as match my existing deck I decided to pick one of these up and subscribe.
First, I'll review the device. Then, I'll review the service. Basically, good news then bad news.
The device itself has a very small form factor which I found very appealing. It comes with a mini dock which essentially powers the device and routes its audio and antenna signal. Know that you'll be doing quite a bit of wiring if you do this yourself - I would recommend professional installation unless you're comfortable doing your own car installation stuff. There are 3, possibly 4, wires that you'll be dealing with:
- The CLA (cigarette lighter adapter)
- The satellite antenna
- The FM antenna extender (only needed if you choose that option)
- The line out (only needed if you choose that option)
Now, if all of these ports were in the back of the dock next to each other this wouldn't be so bad, but instead they're on either side. That's a lot of cables to have hanging out, which is why I recommend professional install if you're not comfortable. I decided to do it myself and, to get set up with the "basic" quality which is wireless FM (it's decent, but nothing to write home about) with neat wiring took me about 45 minutes, give or take. That's including mounting (which I'll get to in a moment).
SIRIUS recommends using line out/line in if at all possible. Newer decks have this jack, but some older pre-2004 likely do not, or if they do, it's a proprietary connector that might not work with the Sportster 5. I have the Kenwood MP735U and it works just fine. I found the cable at Circuit City ($24!!!) and it worked like a charm. Took some doing and even more neat wiring, but I did get it to work. I will admit, using the line out spanks the smoke out of the wireless FM or FM modulation options; it's near CD quality, especially on the Jazz and Classical stations. Again, you can use wireless FM and it will sound "okay", but line out will give you the absolute best quality possible; you just have to do another cable.
Mounting the unit has a number of options as well - one of which is not available depending on what state you're in. California, for example, has Draconian laws about vehicles; you can't have anything stuck to the front windshield. Ironically this is the easiest way to mount the device, as the suction cup works extremely well, and you just attach the device to the metal arm and adjust. If you have this option and don't mind the device up in the window, I recommend doing this. I have an old Chrysler CD changer indash not being used; a trip to Home Depot for a $.49 angle bracket did the trick - attached it to the dock with a single screw, then slipped the other end into the CD slot and like magic, it's solid and looks great right underneath the deck. I suppose I could have hard installed it with another screw or two, but I'd rather not.
All said and done the initial hardware investment came to roughly $200. Keep in mind that SIRIUS has cheaper devices that don't look nearly as good. The downside to the devices is the cigarette lighter adapter. In fact the documentation explicitly forbids a direct power tap. This is so disheartening I can't even describe it. I have to keep unplugging it when I turn the car off so it doesn't suck the battery dry. Why can't you have the option of tapping it into the player's alternate power line so it turns on with the player? I'm absolutely mystified at this oversight.
Now, the service. Oh, this will be fun.
The quality of the audio? Stellar. Never heard anything like it except on digital TV's music channels.
The quality of everything else? Horrid. Where do I begin...
- The activation/customer service phone # has extremely long wait times. it took me a total of 5 hours across 10 different phone calls to reach someone who could help me. Do the math.
- Activation/CS reps are clearly stressed over something. I talked to two who were just blatantly rude; one who had no idea what she was talking about, the other a guy who claimed he'd been "...working at SIRIUS for over 3 years and" knew what he was talking about. Funny - since he had no idea that you can't activate with invoice billing on the website (more on that later).
- SIRIUS and Circuit City have some type of conglomeration going on to force you to call to activate. CC offers a "prepaid subscription card" which is supposed to offset the initial charges (more on that later) to get service. Well that's all good and everything except the card cannot be used on the website even though the website acknowledges the card and its value. It says "cannot be redeemed". An Asst. Manager at CC informed me that calling was the only way to redeem the card. Had I known that, I wouldn't have bought that particular card, but a regular gift card that I could use on the web. Because of the aforementioned long hold times, it was a nightmare to do this simple task. The girl even told me "you should be able to use it on the web" - the other idiot claimed "you're just doing something wrong".
- Too much personal information required to sign up. Why do you care what type of car I have? All that should be needed is a credit card (if you choose that payment method) and my address/name. If it's for purposes of theft recovery, that's up to me, the buyer, to deal with that. Which I do - in my auto insurance plan.
- Website will authorize your credit card without activating an account for you. That's money you can't touch until they feel like releasing it - which could be 2 weeks.
- Inability to just sign up for an account without giving billing information and/or buying a device. Why can't I just establish the account and then pay for it? Why force me to buy the deck in order to get service established? If I wanted DirecTV and didn't have it, I call them and activate, and then the hardware comes...not the other way around.
- Website forces you to put in a credit card. You can't do invoice billing as an option. Why not? Because they know every customer would just do that and then they would be getting free service for that month grace.
- Website does not allow you to select month-to-month billing as an option, and by default it hides the quarterly and 6-month options (which would obviously be the more popular for newbies like myself).
- Telephone IVR can't hear properly. I tried to activate through the automated system and it just couldn't understand the letters "D", "I", "O", "N". That's it, and I don't know how many times the chick said "sorry?"
- No trial offered (I'm talking about in-car installation). Why can't I just buy a unit from a store that offers returns, activate a 14-day trial period with a credit card, and then return and cancel if I hate it? Because then they'd have high turnover due to buyers remorse (which I had at one point due to the above issues)
- $15 activation fee which is not disclosed on the hardware documentation. You don't find out about this until you go to the website or you talk to an agent. It should be clearly disclosed on the packaging of the device since you'd be forced to pay that fee by activating the device - not at the very last minute when you're putting in your credit card. On top of that, it's blatantly mob-ish of them to charge: an activation fee, a monthly fee, fee for the hardware, etc etc etc. They already get money from the subscription - remove the activation fee already or annualize it across the subscription.So class, in summary: The customer service is screwed up, and in order to activate properly and get the best billing options, you need to call customer service (which did I mention is screwed up?). DO NOT activate over the web if you're using a gift card. I guarantee you, you will get frustrated.
The quality of the product is top notch. The ability to see who's playing before you select the station is excellent, and the high resolution of this screen makes navigating stations quick and easy. The audio sounds upper class if you're using the line out jack, and setup is not that difficult if you know what you're doing. Once you get past activations you should be smooth. It's just that phase that causes headaches.

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With a stylish new gun-metal grey finish, the Sportster 5 satellite radio receiver sports a new slim profile while still maintaining the same great features for which the Sportster series is known. Highlights include a large, multicolor, easy-to-read 6-line display, plus a rotary tuning knob for added convenience. The Sportster 5, conveniently transportable between home and car, is easy to use and features Sirius' universal dock for simple installation. Optional universal accessory docking kits and audio systems conveniently allow for use in the home, boat, office, and multiple vehicles.
An easy-to-read, six-line, 2.7-inch multi-color display helps keep tabs on the channel name and number, category, artist name, song title, and time simultaneously. The receiver also lets you program up to 30 presets of your favorite streams, as well as search by stream, artist name, song title, or category. And with a quick press of the one-touch jump button, you can instantly switch between traffic and weather reports for your city and any of your preset music, news, or entertainment channels. Other programming details include an S-Seek function that stores your favorite artists and songs and alerts you when one is playing on any of the music channels, direct station tuning via the numeric buttons, and a channel lock option. Time functions include an onscreen clock, alarm, and sleep timer, as well as a program alert that allows the unit to switch to a preprogrammed stream at a selected time.
The Sportster 5 really earns its stripes, however, with its variety of enhanced features designed specifically for sports lovers. The Game Alert feature prompts you when your favorite NFL or other sports teams are playing on Sirius. The Game Zone lists all of your favorite teams in one virtual category and lets you select a different team from each of the various sports leagues, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, and college sports. And what sports fan could do without the Sportster's instant replay function, which lets you pause, rewind, and replay 60 minutes of live radio? As soon as you tune to a channel, the receiver automatically begins storing the audio for later playback.
The Sportster 5 also includes a built-in FM transmitter that sends Sirius radio programming to your vehicle's FM tuner, so you don't have to make a direct connection to enjoy the full array of channels. Simply set an empty FM frequency on your radio and tune the Sportster 5 to the same frequency. This function also works with other FM tuners, such as the one on your home stereo, but is easily paired with the car thanks to the bundled vehicle kit, which includes everything you need for listening to Sirius while driving. Parents also have control over channels and channel lockout. Measuring just 9.5 x 7.5 x 3 inches, the Sportster 5 weighs a mere 3.7 ounces.
About Sirius Sirius Satellite Radio delivers more than 130 channels of music and programming via crystal clear direct satellite feed. In addition to 69 channels of commercial free music listening, Sirius also delivers 65 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic, and weather forecasts. Sirius--the official satellite radio partner of the NFL, NASCAR, and NBA--broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL and NBA, as well as live NASCAR races. All Sirius programming is available for a monthly subscription fee.
What's in the Box Sportster 5 satellite radio receiver, remote control, vehicle docking cradle, vehicle power adapter, vehicle antenna, suction cup and vent mounts, FM extender antenna, getting started guide, installation/user's guide, accessory brochure, and programming guide.

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