Stiletto 2 Review
Sirius Buzz and Satellite Standard have afforded me the opportunity to meet and become friends with some wonderful people. Recently, an SSG contributor sent me her review of the new Stiletto2. She is an avid fan of satellite radio, and is someone who has helped me with articles at SGG and behind the scenes here at Sirius Buzz. A special thanks to J.R. for this review, and to TSS-Radio for working with us on these projects.
STILETTO 2 REVIEW
I am admittedly a compulsive early adopter, and was among the first batch of i-Pod users, but, I became disillusioned quickly, only to be rescued by satellite radio.
What was wrong about the i-Pod? I didn’t like being tethered to a computer for content or new music discovery. I sit at a desk most of the day for work, and didn’t want to spend my free time sampling songs and syncing my device. Since I’m not always in the mood for music, I didn’t like listening to downloaded and stale news and podcasts.
What I did love about satellite radio was access to popular music without the commercials, and the ability to listen to specifically what suits my mood. Shortly after I became a subscriber, I threw away my i-Pod, CD collection, and desk top TV. When I have parties or entertain at home, I pick a mood and turn on the Sirius.
I got the Stiletto 100 when it first came out and it blew my mind. Yes, it has its flaws, but they are minor compared to the abundance of features. I bring it with me everywhere. It has been my constant companion, and secret indulgence.
When the Stiletto 2 came out, I called TSS-Radio and ordered one, anxious to see the improvements. The most significant upgrade is enhanced reception, and more comfortable Altec-Lansing headsets. Next, is the smaller size and sleeker look. It now has a cool factor, which I felt had been lacking. My white, shiny Stiletto 100 used to get smudgy, but the black matte finish of the Stiletto 2 looks and feels great. The color screen and graphics are also improved.
The Stiletto 2 has enhanced Wi-Fi capability with access to commercial hot spots. It also has a microSD card slot for memory expansion. These features were lacking in the Stiletto 100.
I feel that the Stiletto is one of the great undiscovered secrets of our culture. Here is how I use mine:
- In the car, I usually listen to news and talk radio on the go to keep me occupied.
- In the gym, I am never bored. I have access to all the latest music which I constantly update on my Stiletto. I am never in a music rut.
- At work, I have a Soloist speaker system on my desk, and listen to CNBC or CNN to keep current.
- On the subway or places where I might otherwise get bored, I listen to recorded content from my favorite comedy channels, the Foxxhole and Blue Collar Comedy. I actually prefer to listen to certain content that is recorded earlier rather than live because it allows me to skip through those segments that I’m not interested in.
- When I’m indoors without a home kit, say at a friend’s home, I hook my Stiletto 2 up to their stereo system and connect via Wi-Fi. It always impresses.
The biggest secret is the replay function. I set the Stiletto in the Soloist speaker unit on my desk. No need to even schedule a recording, this function automatically saves hours and hours of music content in the replay folder. Then, when I have some free time, I scroll through and save to the songs I like to my “wish list”. This is a really efficient way of getting exposure to new music.
Mostly, I just save songs directly to my Stiletto with the “love” button, but I also download “save to favorites” songs from Yahoo music engine. The love button saves the entire song if you have been listening to that channel for at least 10 minutes. After tagging a song, I frequently download to own on yahoo music engine. As most early adopters, I get bored easily, but never with my Stiletto.
Thanks TSS-Radio for their great product selection and excellent customer service
Here are some features from the Sirius website:
- Schedule and record up to 100 hours of your favorite music, shows or programs.
- Hear it - Love it: Easily store up to 10 hours of individual songs from SIRIUS radio’s commercial-free music with one touch of the ‘Love’ button.
- Listen to standard or premium* SIRIUS Internet Radio over an available WiFi network
- Store and enjoy your personal MP3 music library with microSD memory card support
- Bookmark favorite songs to buy using a compatible online music service
- Purchase and download songs easily using a compatible online music service
- Control live radio with SIRIUS Replay: Pause, rewind and replay up to 60 minutes of live radio
- Store hours of fresh programming automatically from your favorite SIRIUS music channels with Radio Replays - so you always have something great to listen to
- Track your favorite sports action with a Personalized Sports Ticker, Sports Alert and My Game Zone.
- Optimize your listening experience with SRS TruBass and 3D Focus technologies
- Lock and unlock channels easily with parental controls.
- Surf channels or media files on the fly with large, bright-color display and enhanced media dial
- Add accessories to maximize the experience in your vehicle, home, office or anywhere in between
- Complete kit includes radio, earbuds, headset antenna, battery, AC power adapter, PC cable and My SIRIUS Studio software
and 2GB of internal flash memory. - Schedule recording: record up to 100 hours of your favorite shows or programs
- One-touch recording: quickly store up to 10 hours of individual songs from SIRIUS commercial-free music channels
- Bookmark songs: tag favorite songs to buy using a compatible online music service
- SIRIUS Replay: pause, rewind and replay up to 60 minutes of live radio
- Easy navigation: surf channels or media files on the fly with large (2.2-inch), bright-color display and enhanced media dial
- Advanced audio processing: improved bass and customized listening environments
- Personalized Sports Ticker: real-time updates of your favorite sports
- User-replaceable battery: rated for 4 hours (live satellite), 10 hours (WiFi), and 20 hours (Non-live)
- Complete kit includes radio, earbuds, headset antenna, battery, AC power adapter, PC cable and My SIRIUS Studio software
- A vehicle kit (MSRP $49.99), home kit (MSRP $49.99), executive system (MSRP $149.99), additional batteries and headphones, and other accessories also available
Position - Long Sirius - TSS Radio is a Sirius Buzz sponsor
November 30th, 2007 at 2:50 pm D. Stagner Says:
I’ve had a Sirius plug-and-play unit for the last 3 years as a subscirber. Bought myself a Stiletto 2 with home & car dock as an early Christmas present 3 weeks ago. I love it! Does all the original poster said and always draws comments no matter where I go with it. GREAT unit!
December 6th, 2007 at 10:27 am Jim Says:
I think your the only one that can get reception in the gym… I never can!
December 26th, 2007 at 12:39 pm Ben Says:
I have a stilleto 100 and want to get the 2…. but are the accesores i own for the 100 gonna work on the 2? what has your experience been? I am most concerned with the car kits i have installed.
January 19th, 2008 at 2:28 pm JET Says:
This thing looks awesome, should be awesome, but have had it 3 weeks and barley get signal. Customer service told me that it is not designed for indoor use. It is for outside use mainly. It is so frustrating!! The wifi is alright, doesn’t work in the car.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:20 pm joe Says:
I had high hopes for this device but found it uninspiring and the service was horrible. I live in Stamford, which I expected would get reasonable service but noticed it only works near the harbor- I also took the device on a train ride all the way to VA and it rarely found any signal. Overall I think the device is a good idea but the device needs much more work (basically they need to make it get a signal which seems to only make sense that you would assure such a device would work properly at least in more crowded areas prior to proclaiming a portable radio - if I can only get a signal at the top corner of a mountain in the middle of nowhere the radio is not very useful. I also had trouble with the car kit- my radio was working fine in the car and then after about a whooping month the device stopped working. Apparently the device was not docking with the car kit so I called customer service. To say they were less then helpful would be an understatement. Once I told them the problem they said they would send out a new car kit so I was at least somewhat happy until I called to get the part sent to me. Mind you I had just bought this device/car kit directly through the company’s web page a month ago- they wanted a reciet prior to replacing the broken part! How is it that I must keep a copy of the reciept when I bought it directly from them- this is ridiculous. So now I either have to go through my old credit card statements, send them proof of purchase (which they should already have!!!) or pay for a new car dock kit. To say I dispise this company would be an understatment. Finally I would note that the signal one gets with these radios is anemic at best and will give out the minute you drive under any type of structure. Overall my experience with this product and company have been anything but pleasurable and I would recommend people to just stick with your ipod- bedsides apple knows how to take care of its customers.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:20 am freddy Says:
Hey Joe,
Stop knocking the device. People that buy a stiletto aren’t trying to replace their ipod you moron. You obviously don’t know anything about Sirius and what it’s designed to use. People like you should stick to your queer ipods and pre-recorded content that you spent months of your life collecting and syncing up with your pc. Customer service in this day and age is a useless concept. Buy quality products and learn how to use them for yourself. Stop blaming companies for the fact that you can’t figure out how to use 3-way calling on your cellphone.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:38 pm GetItStraight Says:
Can anyone give me information on a possible Stiletto 3 that may be in the works? I’m looking for a portable as I already have it in my car but like something to listen to when I’m out of the car.
I’ve heard that Mel will be releasing information on the new plans and products around Oct 6 but would like to know if I should just go ahead with getting the Stiletto 2 or if it is worth waiting.
Thanks.