Home > Consumer Reviews > SIRIUS Stiletto SL100 Portable Satellite Radio Receiver

I have been a satellite radio customer for four years. I started with XM and moved to Sirius about a year ago (no, Howard Stern had nothing to do with my move). I mention this so that you will understand that I am familiar with satellite radio and its occasional downsides.

There is no doubt that the Stiletto is a really cool satellite receiver. Its interface, while not as intuitive as the iPod, is about as close as you can get. Some serious (pun intended) thought went into the hardware and software design on this unit and the graphics are top-notch.

Using the Stiletto in a car or home (with the home or car kits) is a dream. The sound is great and it works just like a satellite radio should.

It also works well over an 802.11b WiFi network, even connecting to a WEP-protected wireless router. On the downside, Sirius really should have included 802.11g so that the Stiletto doesn't bring down the speed of the rest of the network (in case you don't know, if you have a 802.11g network and put a 802.11b device onto it, everything else on the network slows down to 802.11b speeds). Some people have complained that you have to spend more ($1.99 per month) for higher quality internet audio. What bothered me the most is the fact that only some of the channels are available via internet radio.

Where the Stiletto really falls flat on its face is as a portable radio. I'm a cyclist and so I purchased it to use on my daily training rides. I took it yesterday on a short 25-mile ride and was extremely disappointed with its performance. I was able to receive a consistent signal for about 1/4 of the ride, a choppy signal for about 1/4 of the ride, and no signal for 1/2 the ride. I live in the Los Angeles area where there should be plenty of terrestrial repeaters and I was riding in areas where there were no buildings or where the majority of the buildings were single-story homes. Curiously, I had the best reception on some tree-lined streets, but I suspect that's just because I was closer to the repeaters.

Of course, for the best portable reception Sirius will tell you to use the included antenna headphones. Who are they kidding? Not only do these things
look like something from a bad sci-fi movie, they are also the least comfortable headphones I have ever tried. No wait, let me rephrase that . . . these things must have been designed by Torquemada as some sort of torture device. They will make your head and ears hurt after about 5 seconds.

Oh, and by the way, Sirius must not think that Mac users would want this radio since it only comes with Windows software. Duh!

Bottom line: While I really like the design, features, software and graphics of the Stiletto, I will be heading back to Best Buy to return it and the car kit. Since I can't really use it as a portable radio, I might as well spend WAY less on a StarMate 4. If, however, you don't care about consistent portable reception, you want the best satellite receiver I've seen, AND you want to spend 3-4 times more for it than other devices that can capably be used in your home or car, then this might just be the radio for you.

I have a feeling I'm one of the lucky few who has actually received and tested the new Sirius Stiletto. Circuit City delivered my unit on 9/29/06. They might have prematurely shipped the radio to me since the reported release date is listed as 10/4/06. There doesn't appear to be any hands on reviews of this product to date. Please check satellite radio sites Orbitcast and SiriusBackstage for more info. Consider this an amateur review with only about a day and a half's use of the new device. With that said, I can truly say that I really enjoy using the Stiletto. It picks up the signal very well while inside my apt in NYC. When walking outdoors the unit stayed tuned while inside my jeans pocket. During a four mile walk throughout the city my signal was completely uninterrupted. As expected, when going deeper inside of buildings the device lost its signal. Switching to the WiFi connection to get the stations worked great on my apartment wifi, but I had some problems linking up with various other wifi hot spots. You'll want to record and store various programs for use with the device indoors, when without a signal, and for way longer battery life. The slim battery I used lasted only about 2hrs while listening to continuous live satellite radio. The extended battery which comes standard should last much longer but you will definately want to keep this unit charged while at home. It's very easy to use the Stiletto and I like that the device resumes playback to it's previous spot when you power it on and off. The previous S50 did not. The screen is large and bright and the resolution of the fonts and logos is sharp. It's very cool to have all this programming at your fingertips while on the move, though I found myself listening to Howard most of the time. The Stiletto's live feed is fun to surf and really makes you yearn for more battery life. Overall, I'll say this radio is a must have for Sirius fans. Though I wish it were a touch smaller and lighter, it does has a suprisingly solid feel and works well. It's loaded with other features I haven't used. I really recommend this device, but stay tuned for more in-depth reviews of the Stiletto when it finally ships.

Bad job setting expectations by Sirius.

It's only portable if you are standing in the middle of a field with no trees above you and your head is pointed towards the nearest satellite. It probably also is portable if you are in Manhattan near the Sirius headquarters and there are all sorts of repeaters boosting the signal around you. Anywhere else.....you can only play what's you've saved to it. (yea...yea...maybe you can pull an open WiFi signal here and there.)

Portable - yes you can pick it up and carry it with you.
Portable Satellite - nope, not even near. When it's portable it's not getting live satellite feeds.

Other cons:
-The antenna headphones are clunky and uncomfortable.
-You cannot have the power adapter and antenna headphones plugged in at the same time. This makes it impossible charge while listening without purchasing the options car or home kit. This may not seem like a big deal - but remember it does not come with a car or home kit - so especially during setup you may want the power and antenna headphones connected at the same time.
-The headphone connection is on the base of the unit. This makes the usability of the unit a little clunky. For example, if you'd want to use the machine while on a treadmill or exercise bike you might want to have the unit set so you can actually read the display right-side up; however the headphones connect through the bottom so you would need to rest it on it's side.


There are some positives:
-The visual design of the unit is very slick, very cool looking (though suffers from some usability issues mentioned above)
-The setup (even WiFi) was very straightforward and took only about 5 minutes
-The user interface is great - big improvement over the Sirius Sportster unit I also own.

Overall I regret the purchase and would not recommend to others. If you want this level of "portability" you could just plug any other Sirius radio into your favorite MP3 player - record what you want and carry around the MP3 and listen off-line the next day!

I have had my stiletto for just over a week now and I really like its features. I am an experienced satellite radio user (4 years) so I am used to some of the things that are wrong with this unit, which someone unfamiliar with satellite radio will have to get used to. If you are looking for a perfect satellite signal, you will not find it with this unit in most cases, but if you can tolerate limited dropouts then I highly recommend this portable satellite receiver.

The navigation of the unit is brilliant, and the display is easy to read, no problem recording any content either.

The Wi-Fi connection seemed to work pretty good, only buffering once in a half hour time span, but the Wi-Fi does not offer all of the channels (NFL and other sporting events are not included in the standard internet package.)

The satellite connection is not perfect, which is why I gave the unit four out of five stars. I bought this unit because I do a lot of running and biking outside and get sick of listening to MP3's, so I used to listen to "normal" radio but I was frustrated by the commercials. The thought of commercial free radio while I run or bike really turned me on to the stiletto.
Running through parks with lots of trees the connection was not constant, and did break up every so often. (I live in Toledo Ohio where there probably isn't many ground repeaters) So I think I might have to use my MP3's saved on the stiletto when I run in the park.
On the contrary when I went on my bike this weekend the satellite worked nearly flawlessly during my one hour ride. I was able to listen to any of the programs on Sirius with very little if any interruption in signal, so I highly recommend this unit to cyclists, or runners who run on roads, or where there are little obstructions to the sky.

I also used the antenna/headphones while studying indoors and just put the antenna up to the window and used my regular headphones to listen and had no problems.

Another reviewer had mentioned that the sleep mode threw him off and it is a bit confusing at first, but just holding down the button will turn the unit off.

Overall I am very pleased, but am still waiting for the car kit and an arm band.

I recommend this to anyone who is sick and tired of their MP3 player or regular radio, this will really energize my workouts and I am sure it will help others as well.

I've had my Stiletto for a week and a half now and have been using it almost continuously since I got it. I honestly can't say enough good things about it! When I first heard about all of the features it was to have, I was concerned that the user interface would be complicated or that new features would be offered as a trade off for other features, but my worries were unfounded. Here are some key observations from my use thus far:

*The software is visually appealing, incredibly easy to use and navigate.

*I was pleasantly surprised to find that the surface is at least somewhat resistant to scratching (MUCH unlike the iPod which has a similar surface and cannot be TOUCHED without damaging it), and cleans very easily.

*With the antenna headphones it holds a signal extremely well and has an integrated antenna (technically you could use your own headphones if you could figure out a way to keep the top of the stiletto within clear view of the sky.)

*The Wi-Fi feature truly sets it apart from anything I've seen before and is incredibly useful when you can't get a clear view of the sky.

*Everything is included, including the antenna earphones, earbuds, a charger and 2 BATTERIES!! (Extended life and a low profile.)

*One touch recording allows you to very easily record Sirius content on a timed basis OR will automatically clip a song. EXCELLENT FEATURE, just hope the RIAA doesn't climb all over Sirius like they have XM for offering a similar feature.

My only suggestions would be that an external antenna be offered that is not integrated into a pair of headphones. I don't really like the in-ear headphones and would like to see Sirius follow the lead of XM, whose portables come with an extremely small external antenna that is independent of the headphones. Furthermore, I wouldn't say that this device should be seen as a worthy replacement of the iPod. It simply doesn't have enough storage space. While you can upload your own content to it (Not AAC) it is primarily a Sirius radio. Nonetheless, I cannot say enough good things about it... Has totally transformed my Sirius listening experience!