Sirius Starmate Replay ST2

• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 20 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

• 1
• 2
• next

• Sort by: Most helpful Highest rating Lowest rating Most recent

• 6 stars

  Quick plug-and-play install, lacks some details found on most XM hardware

  by jdd5300 on January 8, 2006

  Pros: Small, nice display, easy to use, great features

  Cons: Poorly engineered mounting options, awkward connections

  Summary: I purchased this unit after Christmas as I slowly and regretfully made the switch from XM to Sirius, mostly to listen to Stern in the mornings. As a 4 year ...

  Read more

  Summary: I purchased this unit after Christmas as I slowly and regretfully made the switch from XM to Sirius, mostly to listen to Stern in the mornings. As a 4 year subscriber to XM, I have been extremely satisfied with signal, programming, and hardware options. This unit has a lot of great features, but lacks some amenities that would not have been difficult to incorporate.
  
  1. Mounting hardware included in package - from satellite radio's debut several years ago I have always disliked the installs that make the unit look like a taxi meter on the dash board. The suction cup mount is cumbersome and ugly. Your best bet is to find a universal mounting kit from a local retailer or an online store. If you like the way it looks stuck to your windshield it will do the trick.
  
  2. From car to home/office - if you plan on moving the unit from your car to your house of office everyday, go for the Sporster Replay with the nice docking station. Similar to XM's Roady, this unit requires that you remove the antenna, power plug, etc. every time you move it. Not only do the wires look bad coming out the side of the unit, but I believe the constant removal and replacement of the antenna plug will lead to a loose or damaged connection. If you're going to leave this unit in one place, it's no big deal.
  
  3. Accessories - the home kit is weak and overpriced. Again, no docking capabilities, just a bunch of wires to plug back in. Also, no boombox for park or beach enjoyment.
  
  Overall I like the display and the layout of the unit. However, after a week I am already thinking about putting this one on Ebay and going with the Sporster replay. Yes, it's bigger and more expensive, but it has the same features and is better for home and car use.

  Show less

  10 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Static Solution makes this a PERFECT 10

  by jvswerbo on December 27, 2005

  Pros: Sports, Shade 45, Howard, Easy Install, Installation Options

  Cons: Static (until.......)

  Summary: I got this radio for Christmas and couldn't be happier. The face is bright and easy to read. The programming is broad and extensive. One of my favorite features ...

  Read more

  Summary: I got this radio for Christmas and couldn't be happier. The face is bright and easy to read. The programming is broad and extensive. One of my favorite features is the game alert for sports teams and the 44 minute rewind feature. Did you just miss a song you like? Just hit the rewind and you can listen to it from the beginning. So people have been having trouble with static but someone on sternchat.com mentioned that you can remove your car's antenna to get crystal clear reception. I tried it myself and it was 100% effective. I suggest anyone with a Sirius radio should try this since "Regular Radio" will be pointless to listen to once you get Sirius.

  Show less

  3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  Good reception, but bad design

  by Duckfart on January 11, 2006

  Pros: Easy install, bright display , replay function and 30 presets.

  Cons: awkward design, including the location for wires.

  Summary: I signed up only for Howard but enjoying many other stations now. This unit works well in the car and home( I have the home kit) but I wish they ...

  Read more

  Summary: I signed up only for Howard but enjoying many other stations now. This unit works well in the car and home( I have the home kit) but I wish they had placed the connection on the back and not on the side. It could use din style plugs rather then the individual wires for pwr and ant. I also wished they would have not made one side rounded, rather had it look like the face plate of a car stereo.

  Show less

  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 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 ...

  Read more

  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.

  Show less

  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 4 stars

  AM Quality Sound

  by rdox on July 2, 2006

  Pros: The display looks great

  Cons: The sound is not so good

  Summary: I just purchased the Replay ST2 and I must say I do like the looks, it is very easy to use and navigate. The problem that I found was with ...

  Read more

  Summary: I just purchased the Replay ST2 and I must say I do like the looks, it is very easy to use and navigate. The problem that I found was with the quality of the sound, it reminded me of listening to AM radio.
  
  I used several of the FM presets and to no avail, it still sounded terrible.
  
  I called Sirius directly and was informed it was a common complaint and suggested I try the Sirius One unit. Circuit City has it for sale this week (7/2/06) for 29.99. I purchased one and although the display leaves a lot to be desired, it sounds much better.
  
  Sirius also gave me a free month, I guess as a kind gesture for the sound quality problem I had.
  
  Good Luck!

  Show less

  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 1 stars

  Buyer Beware!

  by joekhul on September 6, 2006

  Pros: Radio Good

  Cons: Programming Bad

  Summary: If you like Howard Stern, music or sports, then this service is for you. But if you signed up for the talk and entertainment and news channels, you're in ...

  Read more

  Summary: If you like Howard Stern, music or sports, then this service is for you. But if you signed up for the talk and entertainment and news channels, you're in trouble. Sirius does not have enough channels to carry Stern and music and sports so the rest of the subscribers have to suffer by having their programming pre-empted for the BIG 3 of Sirius. And no where does Sirius warn or advise you that your channels may be pre-empted for what Sirius thinks you should hear. Shame on you Sirius for your DECEPTIVE ways!

  Show less

  1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  Programming Issues and lack of customer service

  by LamontK on September 6, 2006

  Pros: The receiver does what it's suppose to

  Cons: Dishonest programming promotion

  Summary: This Starmate works as advertised. I had no problems installing it. There's really nothing to it. My problem is, I specifically signed up for 'satellite radio' because I thought ...

  Read more

  Summary: This Starmate works as advertised. I had no problems installing it. There's really nothing to it. My problem is, I specifically signed up for 'satellite radio' because I thought I would be paying for priority channels. That is not the truth. Sirius Radio is designed more for music and sports listeners. They offer NFL, NBA, NHL--and NASCAR soon to come....but they DON'T have enough channels to carry all these! So what do they do? They merely pre-empt the channels you signed up for (and pay for), and bump your programming. So if you signed up for TALK radio and ENTERTAINMENT programming (e.g., Radio Classics, ABC Talk, Discovery Channel, etc.)....well, you 'may' be hearing that programming or you probably won't, especially if it is the NFL season or the NBA or the NHL or whatever. It's like normal terrestial radio, from people who decide what you will hear and when you will hear it--except now you're paying for it! No where does Sirius advise you that you're at their beck and call. 24/7 selective programming? Forget it. And try contacting them. Their '24 hour response' promise drags out into DAYS. And their response? Sports programming is more important to Sirius than the programming YOU signed up and pay for. In other words--stuff it. If you like hip-hop and sports, then Sirius is probably for you. But if you sign up for the ENTERTAINMENT and the TALK or NEWS channels--forget it.

  Show less

  1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  Terrible Customer Service/relations

  by jellodiver on January 12, 2006

  Pros: Howard..... That's about it.

  Cons: It's not digital quality sound*; suction mount fits nowhere convenient**; Terrible C.S.***; etc. etc.

  Summary: Ok... first off... the only reason to get Sirius is for Howard Stern... Sirius offers nothing special in the way of programming other than this one thing, (which, after my ...

  Read more

  Summary: Ok... first off... the only reason to get Sirius is for Howard Stern... Sirius offers nothing special in the way of programming other than this one thing, (which, after my griping, will be the reason I continue to take it up the a$$ and be a Sirius Customer). With that said, here are my specific complaints:
  
  *If your car does not have a 1/8 inch input, you're going to be listening to fm quality radio.... for 13 dollars a month. Why not just listen to regular radio? You can generally get similar programming (with a few exceptions) and even the sports package is not top notch.... go watch ESPN and get a satellite tv dish for your car. (that's a joke)
  
  **I drive a Pontiac Vibe... the suction cup mount only sucks on to the windshield (in perfect view of the road and obstacles as well as leaving me dangling wires from the device) of my car... not the dashboard, and not over the controls... This is pointless. Might as well give me a potato masher instead. That I could actually use.
  
  ***Customer Service is awful. My receiver is on the fritz (aka broken, caput, no longer functioning). It only powers up to show the sirius logo and does nothing after that.... After waiting an hour to reach a customer service rep for the problem he gives me another number to call for the specific problem. 2-3 minutes of voice activated recordings brings me to another moron who can't explain the problem (or speak english correctly) or give me any way to fix/restart the device so now it has to be sent back.... ON MY DIME. I've had this device for 3 weeks. The rep offers no compensation or extra months of service for my inconvenience of having to dismantle the antenna from my car, and best of all... The device is on back order for 2 MONTHS!!!! I need to send mine back today and wait 2 months for a new unit. Garbage. So, no Howard for me for quite some time... what a bummer... WAAAAHH as artie would say.
  
  ****ETC.
  
  1. If you have 2 gift cards they only let you cash 1 in on signing up for service (leaving you with a pointless 30 dollar credit to your account)
  
  2. There are no other quality radio personalities.
  
  3. Did I say terrible Customer relations?
  
  Bottom line- When you pay top dollar for a service, you expect top notch results. I'm not extremely mad that the device is broken because I'm sure there are anomalies(although that does speak to the quality of product). I am mad that the money spent on the product does not equal the experience in return. BAD Sirius!

  Show less

  1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 3 stars

  FM transmitter is weak, Unit is a messy install in a car.

  by xx7xx on April 27, 2007

  Pros: Easy to use

  Cons: Car Mounting bracket, FM transmitter, small button size

  Summary: I bought this unit for Christmas 2006 with the car mount kit and the Boombox. When I use the Starmate in my house in the boombox, the sound is decent ...

  Read more

  Summary: I bought this unit for Christmas 2006 with the car mount kit and the Boombox. When I use the Starmate in my house in the boombox, the sound is decent and the reception is ok. However I like to transport the unit between my house and the car. On a scale of 1-10 for car use I would give it a 1. I travel a lot for my job and take it with me everywhere I go. The windshield suction cup does not hold, the FM transmitter is so week I spend more time looking for a empty station then actually listening to the satellite radio. An additional FM transmitter or a cassettes deck adapter is absolutely required. To install the unit into a car you need no less then 4 cables, there is no ca-dock available for the replay so the install looks REAL messy.

  Show less

• 1 stars

  Awful product; Awful customer service

  by pfsax on January 8, 2007

  Pros: SEC sports

  Cons: Customer service is extremely unhelpful. Product may not work.

  Summary: I would not recommend Sirius to anyone. It took over 6 months for me to get a replacement radio. they still have not sent what they were supposed to send. ...

  Read more

  Summary: I would not recommend Sirius to anyone. It took over 6 months for me to get a replacement radio. they still have not sent what they were supposed to send. I have been hung-up on by customer service people. And if they don't hang up on me, they send me to another departmet...who in turn, sends me back to the original department so I get the pleasure of explaining the situation again. I wouldn't wish this trouble on anyone!!!!!

  Show less

• 1
• 2
• next

See pricing