TSS-Radio Blog

In the portable SIRIUS satellite radio world there are only two serious contenders..no pun intended.

SIRIUS Stiletto 100
This radio is was revolutionary for its time. Combining the ability to listen to live satellite radio via the built in satellite antenna and battery and the ability to connect to Wi-Fi wireless internet. When the Stiletto came out it was long sought after by Sirius fans and prized by the individuals who owned them. The few downsides to the glorious Stiletto 100 are its limited 100 hour internal memory and painful antenna headphones(both remedied by the Stiletto 2).

SIRIUS Stiletto 2
The Stiletto 2 is a vision into portable Sirius radio’s future. It combines all the Stiletto 100 strengths and none of its weaknesses. A MicroSD card slot for expanded MP3 storage and a set of comfortable and stylish Altec Lansing antenna headphones adds to its already awesome arsenal. Only after holding the Stiletto 2 can you really appreciate its eminence and glory.

Both are a wise choice if your thinking about upgrading, but if you want to be on the forefront of Sirius’s technology the Stiletto 2 is the way to go!

Recently we got some new pictures of the Stiletto and a really cool Stiletto video:

Here are the pictures (if you click on them they will get big), which are also available at the Stiletto product information page

And here is a link to the Stiletto Video which is a 33-second clip of the Stiletto highlighting it’s features.

We are now making the Sirius Stiletto available for pre-order. This is the email that we sent to our pre-order customers yesterday:

Thank you for joining our Sirius Stiletto pre-order notification list.

As promised, we will keep you updated as we learn more about timing

and the details of the Stiletto’s capabilities.

Timing / Order Process

Based upon our latest conversations with SIRIUS and Directed, we

expect that the Stiletto will first become available to retailers,

including us, near the end of September or in early October.

As a member of our notification list, you have the opportunity to

reserve one of the first Stilettos by following this link:

http://www.tss-radio.com/sirius-stiletto-live-portable-receiver-sl100pk1-p-3836.html

- we expect significant demand for the Stiletto and recommend that,

if you want to be one of the first to get one, you reserve it now.

Simply proceed to the above link, add the Stiletto to your card, and

checkout. Your credit card will not be charged, we just store your

credit card information so that we can charge you when the Stilettos

arrive. This process also checks with your bank to ensure that your

credit card has capacity for the charge.

We have placed a very large order of Stilettos from SIRIUS and expect

to be one of the first retailers to receive them. Upon receiving them

we will ship all orders in the order they were received. If you are

one of the first several hundred to pre-order, yours will be shipped

the day that we receive them, if you are later on our pre-order list

yours will probably ship the next day. We expect to ship all

pre-ordered Stilettos within 2 days after they arrive.

Details on the Stiletto

The SIRIUS Stiletto SL100PK1 is SIRIUS’ first truly portable device.

Unlike previous devices, which can only receiving programming when

docked, the Stiletto can receive live programming while undocked.

That means that you can listen to SIRIUS live while you are jogging,

riding the bus, grocery shopping, etc. However, to receive live

programming you must be in an area where you can get reception. If

you are in a big office building, or a very solid home with lots of

trees around it, or a concrete bunker, you will not be able to

receiving live programming from the satellites.

However, for situations where you cannot get reception, Stiletto can

receive live programming via a wireless internet connection. There

are two limitations to using the Stiletto in this way. First, you must

have access to a wireless network (WiFi, also known as 802.11), for

example, every Starbucks has a wireless network, but you must pay them

to get access to it. We expect that most people will find the

Stiletto’s wireless internet capabilities most useful in their homes

and offices where they have a wireless internet connection but would

not otherwise get reception. Second, only 67 of the SIRIUS channels

are available via the internet. For a listing of the available

channels, visit

This Link and look for channels that have “Listen” printed next to them.

The Stiletto contains 2GB of flash memory to allow storage of up to 100 Hours of

SIRIUS content. By connecting the Stiletto to your PC you can also

upload, store and manage MP3 and WMA files for later listening on your

Stiletto.

The Screen is brighter and has twice the resolution of the S50 screen.

We have spent significant time playing with a demo Stiletto from

SIRIUS and we really like the interface. The navigation on the unit

is easy and intuitive, essential for a device of such complex

functionality. Based on our early experiences, we expect there will be

far fewer initial problems with the Stiletto than there were with the

S50.

Future Firmware updates allow the device to get even better over time.

A big advantage of the Stiletto is that it can download firmware

updates from a wireless internet (WiFi/802.11) connection. That means

that, if you like, you can use the full functionality of the Stiletto

without ever connecting it to a PC (Apple-users will love this).

Firmware updates are optional.

While you don’t need any accessories to get the full functionality of

your Stiletto, there are a wide variety of accessories that will allow

you to get SIRIUS content in a wide variety of contexts:

The Stiletto Vehicle Kit will allow you to connect the Stiletto to

your car stereo and will be available at the same time as the Stiletto

for $69.99 – you can pre-order your vehicle kit here - http://www.tss-radio.com/sirius-stiletto-vehicle-docking-slv1-p-3905.html.

The Stiletto Home Kit will allow you to connect the Stiletto to your

home stereo and will be available at the same time for $69.99 – you

can pre-order your home kit here - http://www.tss-radio.com/sirius-stiletto-home-docking-slh1-p-3904.html

The Sirius Soloist is a small docking station with built-in cutting

edge NXT flat-panel speakers and will be available shortly after the

Stiletto for $149.99. The Soloist is perfect for using with your

Stiletto in an office or a small room in your house that does not

already have a stereo system. You can pre-order your Soloist here – http://www.tss-radio.com/sirius-soloist-universal-sound-dock-p-3902.html

The Stiletto Boombox is a standard SIRIUS boombox that works with the

Stiletto and will be available shortly after the Stiletto for $99.99.

The Boombox is useful for the deck, a boat, camping or other

environments where you want a solution that is rugged and portable.

You can pre-order your Stiletto Boombox here - http://www.tss-radio.com/sirius-stiletto-boombox-slbb1-p-3891.html
Keep in mind that the Stiletto does not come with any of the above

accessories. We expect that the accessories will be in short supply

as well; if you would like one, please reserve it by following the

above links and proceeding to checkout.

We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more about the timing

and functionality of the SIRIUS Stiletto.

Thank you,

TSS-Radio Team

773-772-4340

The SIRIUS Home Connect Receiver was released last month without fan fare. With that said, this could be one of the coolest SIRIUS products to date. This piece allows you to add SIRIUS Satellite Radio to any SIRIUS Ready Home Stereo and control it with the receiver. As of the release of this unit, there is only one stereo available that is compatible, the RCA RS2058 but there are many more on the way. We are now carrying the RCA system along with the SIRIUS Connect System here at TSS-Radio. I decided to give this system a test run.

The RCA system is a small bookshelf system that is only slightly larger than a large boombox. The main unit and speakers are separate, so the speakers can be placed apart to improve the stereo image. Each speaker features a separate plastic cone woofer and tweeter. It also features a built in 5 disk cd changer and a removable, portable MP3 player and recorder that will allow you to record from CDs, the Radio and SIRIUS (if set up properly). It also includes a wireless remote and 3 AAA batteries for the remote and MP3 player.

Setting up the RCA is simple for anyone who has connected speakers to a receiver. Next I set up the SIRIUS Home Connect, which was also very simple. It required connecting a single 8 pin cable between the stereo and Home Connect, connecting the SIRIUS antenna, and then plugging it the AC power. The one trick in this setup is that if you only connect the 8 pin cable, you will not be able to record SIRIUS content. You will need to connect either the RCA or optical audio outputs to you recorder. In the case of the RCA unit I tested, you need to connect the audio to the auxiliary inputs to be able to record SIRIUS. This good in the sense that you can record SIRIUS, but you will have to switch to Auxiliary mode in order to record, which means you will not be able to change channels and it will not record the artist info al la the S-50.

As far as performance goes, the RCA looks good and sounds great. It has a number of preset EQ Curves that are set for specific music types (i.e. jazz, rock, pop) and a single level bass boost. I found that the most universal EQ curves were “Rock” or “Flat” (if you want to call Flat a curve…). The other curves were good with there specific genres, but “Flat” and “Rock” really sounded good with most music. The bass boost was overkill for most styles of music besides Hip Hop and R&B were it really added some ommpp to the bass. While listening to rock, jazz or classical it was just to muddy with the bass boost on, but without the boost it sounded great.

The big selling point for the RS2058 besides the SIRIUS Ready feature is the included MP3 Player. The top of the main section of the unit has a cut out with a USB port where the MP3 player rests while docked. The MP3 player can be fully controlled with the remote control. It allows for recording of tracks from CD, FM and Am Radio, and from the a auxiliary input. As I mentioned before, you can record SIRIUS if you have the audio output from the Home Connect Tuner plugged into the AUX input.

Plugging in the Audio Output from the the Home Connect to the RCA units Auxiliary Input

The real Beauty of the MP3 player is that it can be removed from the unit and used a portable MP3 player and also has a built in USB connection for transferring files to and from your computer, AWSOME!!!

If you are looking for a home SIRIUS System and a need a new home stereo, I believe we have a winner with the RCA RS2058 and the SIRIUS Home Connect.

We carry a lot more SIRIUS antennas than most other stores and are frequently asked, “which is the best deal”? The answer depends on your preferences, but hopefully the description below will be helpful:

We carry 6 SIRIUS antennas for the car:

Directed Electronics SIRIUS Replacement Antenna for $29.99 - this is the default antenna that a lot of other stores carry. It is similar to the antennas that were shipped with most SIRIUS radios about a year ago and it ships in a nice box.

SIRIUS Radio Antenna for $23.95 - this is a cheaper antenna that is functionally the same as the directed electronics one. We buy them in bulk and they come in simpler packaging (a plastic bag with a label).

SIRIUS Dot Micro Antenna for $39.99 - this is a higher gain antenna and, if you are in an area where you get poor reception, will offer you better reception. The Dot Micro is the antena that is shipped with most modern SIRIUS radios, including the S50, the Sportster 4, etc.

SIRIUS Mobile Dot Micro Antenna for $25.95 is functionally the same as the other Dot Micro antenna - it is also a higher-gain antenna and it looks exactly the same - but we buy them in bulk and they ship in simpler packaging.

The Terk SIR-Mini SIRIUS Antenna for Older Receivers for $39.99 uses the old-style plastic FAKRA connector. This antenna is only useful if you have a SIRIUS Radio that is more than 2 years old. Check your existing antenna to see if it has the old-style connector before ordering this product.

The XACT SIRIUS Antenna for $29.99 doesn’t really have any advantages over the other antennas. We don’t usually recommend it, but some people with XAct SIRIUS radios feel more comfortable with an antenna that carries the same brand-name.

We also carry 3 antennas for use in the home:

SIRIUS Home PNP Antenna for $34.99 is the same as the antenna that comes with most SIRIUS home radio systems and the home kits for SIRIUS PNP Radios.

SIRIUS Home Outdoor Antenna for $39.95 is an antenna that plugs into your SIRIUS home system, has a long 30-foot cable, and mounts on the outside of your home. Sometimes people need the outdoor antenna because the construction of their house or the foliage around their house makes it difficult for them to get a strong signal with an antenna inside their house.

The Monster SIRIUS Dish Mount/Outdoor Antenna for $79.99 also an outdoor antenna for use in the home, but it is a bit sturdier and also much more expensive. The cheaper home outdoor antenna is a better deal and we usually recommend it over the Monster one.

We also have 1 antenna that is specifically designed to be used in big trucks called the SIRIUS Truck antenna for $54.95. It can be mounted on a variety of places on a truck including the mirror mount, flap mount, air dam shield mount.

We also have an antenna that is designed to be mounted on boats - the TERK SIR5 SIRIUS Marine Antenna for $69.95.

After months of eagerly anticipating the SIRGM1 SIRIUS GM Connect we finally received our first small batch. It was only a tenth of what we had placed orders for back in November and December. That small batch we sent out to the first group that had pre-ordered it from us. We should be getting some more in over the next few weeks.

Product availability is something that our customers don’t always understand in the manner product gets to us. We place our orders with the distributors early, very early. When the product gets imported to them, usually from Asia, it will get shipped out to the dealers that had ordered it. That’s when it’s something that is easily available or in plenty supply. When it’s a product that’s in High Demand and Low Supply things change. And this is the case with the GM Connect XM to SIRIUS kit, as was the case with the Sirius S50. If it’s very popular and in lower supply, the distributor loses some power over who get’s shipped product and SIRIUS takes over a bit more. This is a common practice. SIRIUS may have a deal with Circuit City or Radio Shack or Best Buy in which they may receive a product earlier than the smaller independent dealers such as ourselves. The problem with the big box stores is that for the product to get from the main distribution centers to the actual consumer takes far longer in terms of time. For the most part we get things faster than the big box stores. It’s just unfortunate that at times we have many customers anticipating product from us and we have no control over it getting to us despite placing those orders far in advance.

This next week we have three big products coming in. The first one will be arriving on Wednesday, which is the SIRIUS Connect Home Tuner SC-H1. This was first announced at the 2006 CES Electronics show. It’s similar to the SIRIUS Connect Units for the Cars in the sense that it allows SIRIUS in a SIRIUS-Ready Unit, but this time it’s for Home Receivers. The next two products that we will be getting in on Thursday will sell fast, they are the Home and Car Kits for the Sportster 4, and later other SIRIUS Plug and Play Receivers as well as the SL100TK1. Not only is this a sigh of relief for Sportster 4 owners but it’s also a sigh of relief for those interested in the SL100 because once the SL100 comes out they will be able to have their Home and Car Kits ready to go. The SUPH1 is the awaited SIRIUS Universal Plug and Play Home Kit for the Sportster 4 and some newer model SIRIUS Radios, but currently only the Sportster 4. It will later work with the SL100TK1, the Sportster 3 ( a toned down Sportster 4), Starmate 3, Streamer GT3, and Streamer 3. If you have had a SIRIUS Home Kit before, the kit is pretty simple. It comes with the Home Cradle for the Receiver, a Wall Power Source for it, Home Indoor/Outdoor SIRIUS Antenna, and Audio Cables. As for the Extra Car Kit for the Sportster 4, we will also have the SUPV1. It includes everything you need to Dock the Sportster 4 Radio Receiver in another car. It includes a SIRIUS Radio Car Antenna, 5V AC Power Adapter, Car Cradle, and Mounts. We will allow orders to come in on Monday or Tuesday for the Kits that will ship out on Thursday.

Other than that, this next week we are also excited about our new Shipping option of DHL Express to Canada. Oh how fast it is.

Things are heating up in the world or Sirius Satellite Radio receivers. There is now a possibility of 2 new portable units being available by the end of 2006. You may already be aware of the Live Portable model sl100tk1 that has been announced and now there is talk of another unit being made by Hummax, which is the company that produced the S50. Only time will tell if either of these units comes to the market, but in the mean time, you can email us at sales@tss-radio.com and we will email you any new info about these units as it becomes available.

While we are on the subject of portable SIRIUS, we have begun carrying headphones by V-Moda as replacements for the stock SIRIUS S50 Headphones. I figured it would be a good idea to give them a listen to see how they compare to the original S50 stock “ear bud” style headphone.

I am not a big fan of traditional ear bud style headphone because they never fit in my ears correctly and fall out while I am walking. When we received the V-Moda headphones, I was immediately drawn to the Bass Freq model due to the rubber in ear style of the ear buds. They have a small silicon ear bud that fits directly in to your ear that I found fit much snugger and more comfortably than the original S50 or for that matter any other ear bud I had ever tried.

I did a head to head with my original S50 headphones listening to some of the songs I had recorded off of SIRIUS. The first thing I noticed was a substantial difference in the stereo imaging of the V-modas and the S50 stock headphones. The Stock S50 headphones sound mono to me. It is very hard to place were an instrument is coming from in the stereo feild. The V-Moda Bass Freq have a nice wide open stereo image that add a more natural dimension to the music.

I found that the Bass Freq headphones had a much cleaner, more natural sound. The S50 Stock headphones sound compressed and have an almost FM radio exaggerated sound where as the bass freq headphones have a much cleaner crisper open sound. The S50 stock headphones sound more superficially loud, but the bass freq really has a much more pleasant clean sound. The big question is “how was the bass?” Considering that V-moda named these “Bass Freq”. Compared to the original S50 headphones that sounded mushy and undefined in the mids and lows, the V-Moda has a nicely defined sound where all frequencies can be heard loud and clear. The bass is tight and natural in the Bass Freqs. I do have to say that these may not satisfy any one who is looking for the kind of head shaking bass that a large, over the ear headphones can supply but they are worlds better sounding the original S50 phones IMHO.

I hope everyone out there had a terrific 4th! The illegal fireworks here in Chicago were like nothing I have ever seen. It sounded like a war was going on…Anyway, I posted a banner on the front page of TSS-Radio.com the other day about the new Sirius Live Portable after seeing Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius flash one at the at the Convergence 2.0 Conference. This has already caused some confusion, and I just wanted to clear it up. We put up this banner to encourage people to email us so that we could keep them informed of new information as it becomes available, not so that people could “pre order” this unit that may or may not be available this year. Unfortunately our website shows any item that is not currently available as some thing that can be pre ordered. This is not the case, although we will order enough of the Live Portable when it does come out so that anyone who has sent us email will be able to get one.

Now, what you really want to know is what do we actually know about this Live Portable unit? Well we know that it may be out AROUND August and that the projects name has been changed from Belagio to Stiletto. Also, we know that the working model number is SL100TK1. That is just about all we got for now, but if you email us, we will let you know more when we do. On another note, if anything on TSS-Radio.com says it is on backorder, say like the Outdoor Home Antenna, you can email us at sales@tss-radio.com and we will email you as soon as we receive more!

As usual, things have been going great here at TSS-Radio. The weather is great and its the time of year for installing that new SIRIUS system in your car or truck!
I have been taking pictures to help everyone out with their install. We have added detail pictures to all of the antennas so that you can now see what the connectors on each one are like. Hopefully this will clear up any confusion about which antenna you need for your receiver. As you may or may not know, there are 2 types of antenna connector. The first type is the Fakra connector which is a square plastic connector and only found on much older receivers like the Kenwood and some OEM SIRIUS car receivers (i.e. Infinity). The other type is a regular SMB which is what the majority of receivers and docking stations have. The SMB can be straight or right angle. I have also added photos to the Truck antenna to make it easier to see what the mounting hardware is like.

In other TSS news, we will be getting the much sought after Home Antenna back in stock. The Home Antenna can be mounted on the outside of your house for a clearer view of the sky. We have also just added a part that will help you get a cleaner looking vehicle Installation is the 12v Power Hardwire Cable. This cable will allow you to have the power for your 12v receiver hardwired to your cars power, NO MORE CIGARETTE LIGHTER ADAPTER!
While we are on the subject of antennas and installation, we would love to see your Sirius Installation! If you live in the Chicago area and have a great Sirius Installation in your vehicle, email me at ross@tss-radio.com. Have a great 4th!

Ross

Good things have been happening here at TSS-Radio. We are finally settling in to our new digs here in the Windy City and things are really falling in to place! Our new space is great and all is well. Hopefully all is well with you also.
There have been a number of new and old items that have been generating many questions. I am going to try to answer the most asked questions right here… Our favorite new item is the new Sportster 4 Receiver, but many have been asking about the release dates for a boombox and homekit. We believe that the home kit will be here in July and the boombox will be here in August. These are only guesstimates, so don’t take our word on this one.

Another frequently asked question is “when will the GM Sirius Connect be released?” This is a part that will allow you to convert your XM ready GM stock headunit to a SIRIUS Satellite receiver. This was supposed to be released last year, and Howard Stern has mentioned that it is available on air a few times recently, but unfortunatelyHoward is wrong and it is has not been released. The release date that we have gotten from SIRIUS is August, but we will keep you informed of any news with this unit.

The other big question is “When will the Outdoor Home Antenna be back in stock?” and we have good news on this one! It will be back in stock next Friday, June 30th!!! Stay tuned for this fabled parts return…