Customer Reviews for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
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SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
Model: SDSV6V1
SKU: 9530162
UPC: 884720011740
This SIRIUS Satellite Radio receiver features an EZ Connect dock for simple connectivity and 10 station presets so you can find your favorite channels. Universal docking capability allows you to easily transition from your vehicle to your home.
Average Customer Rating:
4.2
out of 5
(14 Reviews) 14
Rating Snapshot 14 reviews
5 stars
7
4 stars
5
3 stars
1
2 stars
0
1 star
1
93% of reviewers would recommend this product to a friend
(
13 out of
14)
Customer Reviews for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
Review 1 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
Good Overall Entry-Level Sat. Receiver
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: JonnyinAtlanta
from Atlanta, GA
on 09/17/2010
Value for Price
4.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
2.0
What's great about it: It does the job. Good price.
What's not so great: I needed to add the FM Direct Connect to directly connect the receiver to my 2001 vehicle radio due to FM interference.
I got this receiver in mid-June and waited to review the product so I could give an informed opinion. First of all, Sirius radio is excellent. I have not listened to one bit of FM or AM radio since I got Sirius. The content is excellent. I listen mostly to Howard Stern, college football, news, and country. The content is great. The display shows the score and quarter of the game playing, the song and artist of the music, the guest that is currently on Stern or the political stations, and even shows a ticker when you listen to the financial stations. Also, there is a jump station for traffic and weather.
If you commute much, this thing is almost needed to retain sanity.
I have zero trouble with getting a signal unless I'm stuck in a tunnel. I've been to the mountains with trees covering the space above the roadway and have had zero problems with receiving the signal. I live in the city of Atlanta and figured the repeaters here kept my signal strong. I've traveled to the rural parts of Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina (the Appalachians extensively) through all sorts of terrain with heavy tree cover and have had zero problem with satellite reception.
Which brings me to the one ding to this product: If you don't have a direct connection to an AV port in your vehicle, like me (before an upgrade), you will have to use the FM antenna connect. What you do is program some stations on your receiver, like 98.7 and 101.3 and so on, and match your vehicle radio's station to that particular station. The quality, if there is no station competing at all with your particular setting, is fair. If there is a radio station competing with your setting, forget about it. You will get interruption after interruption. It's horrible. And if you are traveling 40 miles, even if you have a good setting, you will have to change it because you will enter into other broadcasts. And if you live in a major metro, you are SOL anyways. There is SOOO interference in Atlanta (I understand it is impossible in NYC and DC) that I had to change stations 3 times on my 20 mile commute. When I drive to state and national parks, I have to change the station every 20 miles or so because if 89.3 is clear now, it won't be clear in 20 miles.
So, I installed the FM Direct Adapter which runs for $30 at Best Buy. I cleanly installed it myself (I have a Haynes manual and extensive DYI experience) in less than one hour. It is worth the $30. If you don't have DYI experience or don't want to chance it, have Best Buy install the whole thing. Adding the FM Direct Connect is pretty much the same thing as cleanly installing the antenna and power.
Bottom line, get the FM Direct Adapter if you don't have the ports already available in your vehicle. The sound quality is much better with a direct connect and it alleviates the inconvenience of EVER changing stations on the vehicle radio again. However, I gave this product a 4/5 primarily because I had to install an additional component. I really believed buying the receiver would be enough.
The sound quality is good to excellent. It is better than a clear FM station but not as good as a cd playing playing in your own cd player.
The ease of use is incredible. I had no problem setting up my jump station for traffic and weather (an excellent feature for commuters), had no problem setting my presets, and have no problem navigating the menus. It is grandmother simple in that my grandmother could operate this thing and she is 79.
The features are very sparse which makes sense: This is the entry-level satellite receiver for Sirius. There are only 10 pre-sets, no memory to play back saved content (more advanced receivers will store x amount of minutes of programming), and the display is a simple backlit LCD. The display, as noted above, does give information ranging from song and artist or score or guest or subject of the news segment, but not much more. Which is fitting for the entry level unit. Sidebar on the simplicity: I suspect if I'd gotten a fancier unit, I would have broken it by now. I've dropped the unit (I remove it when I get home; I live in a part of the city where vehicle break-ins are common and park my truck in the street) twice and tripped and fell with it in my hand and broke my fall with the hand holding the unit. It still works.
If you are hard on electronics like me (my phones typically last 9 months between replacement), get this unit. It is so tough because of it's lack of features and cool color screen.
In conclusion, I not only would recommend this product (in addition to Sirius), but have recommended this to friends and co-workers. I bought the boombox a month later to enjoy the music in my house and when I'm working in the yard. The receiver has held up and done its job. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves listening to news, or Howard Stern, or music, or Martha Stewart, or sports, or old-time story telling radio, or books, or NASCAR, or or or.
It's a good product with an excellent service for a good price.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+23points
23out of 23found this review helpful.
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Review 2 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
Great product, great radio
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: CaliJoe
from Ca
on 08/12/2010
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
3.0
What's great about it: everything
What's not so great: An on screen clock and included remote would be nice, but for the least expensive unit, it's no big deal.
This is my second unit (got it for the a la carte option) in the last 3 years and i have not gone to fm radio since my first sirius receiver. Have turned many of my friends to satellite and they also love it. Activation online took less than 15 minutes, was easy and pain free. Great, no frills receiver for listening, in the car and at home. Bright, clear screen, firm rubber buttons feel built to use. Didn't even have to replace my existing sportster 4 car hardware to use, even the old remote worked it, which is great since this one doesn't come with a remote. When I have it in the car, it's not a problem not having a remote tho, and dollar amount for the included options on other units seems high anyways.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+3points
7out of 11found this review helpful.
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Review 3 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
GREAT VALUE!
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: TulareMama
from Tulare, CA
on 06/20/2010
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
What's great about it: EVERYTHING!
What's not so great: NOTHING!
After having SIRIUS in my Chrysler for the last 3 years then buyibg a Suburban I needed a Cheap fix! This kit was the answer!! My hubby installed in about an hour and We were up and running!! Great for $50!! Thans BEST BUY!!
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
1out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 4 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
AWSOME!
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY
from Miami
on 06/19/2010
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
What's great about it: Everything except the customer service and online account.
What's not so great: The Customer Service and Online Account.
I bought two of these radios about two weeks ago because Best Buy was having a special; 2 radios for $99.98! I went online setup the radio in one of my vehicles and went online to register and activate the radio. I then installed the other radio and attempted to register and activate it online. They would not allow me to log into the account that I had just created. I called Customer Service and the gentleman I spoke with was no help at all and said that the first radio was not activated although I could listen to several channels (unknown to me that I was not receiving all of the ones in my package). I called back a few days later and reactivated the first radio and then I began to receive all the channels and my online account worked. I then activated the second radio online and it worked for a day and suddenly stopped working. I called Sirius back and activated it again. After that, I noticed that I was receiving channels that I shouldn't on the second radio because the gentleman i spoke with choose the wrong package, so I went online and changed the package and the next day everything worked well. I drove across the country with this radio and the only negative thing I have to say is if you are going to use the FM transmitter, it is a bit of a pain changing the frequency every 20-100 miles. There were also a few places where I could not find a vacant frequency. I would recommend using the included Audio Cable if you have an AUX in port in your vehicle. or using a cassette adapter. I am quite satisfied with this product and would definitely recommend it to a friend!
I would recommend this to a friend!
+8points
8out of 8found this review helpful.
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Review 5 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
least expensive and works
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: johnclod
from New Mexico
on 05/18/2010
Value for Price
4.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
2.0
compatable with my other set-ups...................................
I would recommend this to a friend!
-4points
1out of 6found this review helpful.
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Review 6 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
Listen Before You Leap
Customer Rating
1.0
Posted by: Dwight115
on 05/10/2010
Value for Price
1.0
Sound Quality
1.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Features
2.0
What's great about it: Easy to install
What's not so great: Sound Quality is Terrible
This service may be great for talk radio, but for music it's not even close to FM radio. If you have any experience with mp3's you know that bitrate is everything as far as sound quality goes, this sounds like 128 kps at best. I've paid for the service in my car and it's too late to return it but I would caution anyone who is considering satellite radio to listen before you leap. Also, the price of service is inflated with a $ 15 "activation" fee and $ 21 royalty fee that is not disclosed in the advertised monthly rate.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
-8points
14out of 36found this review helpful.
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Review 7 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
I love this radio
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: dugw
from Aliso Viejo CA
on 05/02/2010
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
5.0
What's great about it: Small size you can preset 5 fm channels for best reception
What's not so great: hard to work the preset buttons
I had a JVC unit, Wow what a difference. You can choose any fm channel. Easier to install. I bought the boom box. Great sound from the boom box. There are a few more channels that was avaliable on my old JVC unit. The only complaint is using the preset buttons. Sometime the preset buttons doesnot change the channel or will add a new favorite. I wish there were more preset buttons. I also wish it had a clock.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 8 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
Sirius Radios Need adators
Customer Rating
3.0
Posted by: sdfgsdfg
from Washington
on 04/11/2010
Value for Price
1.0
Sound Quality
3.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Features
3.0
What's great about it: Great variety any where you go
What's not so great: REQUIRES FM ADAPTER at 30 dollars more
NOTE: Sirius is great, but the new radios require an FM adaptor for 30 bucks because the internal FM transmitter has such low power that it wont reach an antenna1 foot away. The old radios would easily TX to your car radio and beyond New Sirius radios WONT do this because the FCC made them lower the power at the transmitter, so be ready to pay for the adaptor and to dissassemble your dash board. This is NOT EASY unless your car has an audio jack on the FRONT of the radio. Dont get me wrong, I love the service, but when I switched from an older sportster to the new Stratus, it required a weekend and 30 dollars more to install in my Ford Explorer.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+5points
5out of 5found this review helpful.
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Review 9 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
Great Radio
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: Tim60
from Dubuque Iowa
on 03/15/2010
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
What's great about it: really like Sirrius programming
What's not so great: nothing
Very happy with this radio, my last radio was a kenwood, this one is much smaller in size, which is a plus. I was so happy with the custom install job. Josh at Dubuques Best Buy done. I had him install one in my other car. he fabricated a bracket, so it mounts right below my other head unit . sounds great with the Rockford amp and subs he installed. well worth the price to have professionally installed. best buy installation really does top Quality work, and their reasonable in price. ~Tim~
I would recommend this to a friend!
-1point
0out of 1found this review helpful.
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Review 10 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
SIRIUS Stratus 6 Sat Radio with Best Buy install
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: DaveW999
from South Windsor CT
on 01/11/2010
Value for Price
4.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
4.0
What's great about it: Exactly as promised
What's not so great: A little hard to push the buttons while driving
Radio is fine - exactly as expected. I'm new to Sirius - and it is not exactly commercial-free - there are Sirius-XM commercials. Installation by Best Buy auto team is first-rate - very clean. I'm happy with my purchase.
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
1out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 11 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
great for price
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: lebrowski29
from bainbridge,ny
on 01/11/2010
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
4.0
What's great about it: simple and does the job.
What's not so great: lengthy process at sirius to add to an existing account,has just basic features.
works great once you sit through activation at sirius. love the portability. i use it in two different vehicles and the boom box.
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
1out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 12 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
Great receiver
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: Danc83
from Hickory, NC
on 01/08/2010
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
4.0
Great and easy setup. worked well and did what is should
I would recommend this to a friend!
-1point
0out of 1found this review helpful.
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Review 13 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
Love this thing!
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: SixgunBill
from Oklahoma City, OK
on 12/30/2009
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
What's great about it: Easy to install / sounds great!
What's not so great: Small buttons are hard to find/hit while driving
Installation was a breeze. The only problem I had was reaching the recommended location for the antenna. I have a pickup and it was difficult to reach the area above the middle of the windshield. But with a little effort and a new hernia, the antenna is in place! The rest was easy except for the inside mount not sticking to my dash. In the manufacturer’s defense, I was installing it in forty degree temperatures. I ended up using a couple of screws in an out of site location. Everything else went great. I had no trouble registering on the Sirius website. I did have to use a second FM frequency to get good reception. There are no Bluegrass stations in Oklahoma City, so it’s great to be able to listen to music the way God meant it to be Over a dozen Country stations, but only for Bluegrass. Come on Sirius, give us hillbilly’s what we want! Overall, I couldn’t be happier.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+4points
4out of 4found this review helpful.
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Review 14 for SIRIUS Stratus 6 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit
Great quality product for the price.
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: Zumbale
from Clarksville, TN
on 11/23/2009
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
5.0
What's great about it: Easy to install yourself, clear instructions from manuals in box, great value as a no-frills satellite radio.
What's not so great: Online account setup is USELESS!! It is also VITAL that you buy an Direct FM adaptor or you'll never get a clear signal.
This radio is outstanding and is a great value for someone either on a budget or who might be like me and just prefer a no-frills satellite radio. The installation can be done yourself relatively easily (at a technical expertise level needed at about 3 to 5 out of 10). There are plenty of save slots for favorites and a LOT of great variety of programming. I chose the A La Carte programming that includes 100 channels, so I'm able to get a ton of music channels as well as all of the sports stations, news, talk radio, and a nice bit of entertainment programming thrown in too, only for 14.99!
There are some things you should be aware of that I ran into when I bought this radio. First and foremost it states that it is able to broadcast using only the FM transmitter to your vehicle's radio antenna. Unfortunately this isn't something that works very well. I had a lot of times where I would get overlying static over the satellite signal. This made it necessary to have to search for another pure static or no signal station, and sometimes even that doesn't work well enough because you'll still get bleed-through signal interruptions and static which will break up the signal. I wholeheartedly recommend that you purchase the FM Direct adapter and hardwire it in, which will basically eliminate this completely.
One other thing you should know is that I also had to buy an adapter for my FM direct adapter (ain't that just great? An adapter for an adapter??). After I installed the box and hooked up the power cord, I realized that the antenna plug from the FM direct adapter was too large and it wouldn't fit onto my vehicle's antenna line. I had to go back to the store and pick up the adapter, and after that everything worked perfectly. It would be best to ask the folks BestBuy if you'll need to buy an adapter like this, depending on your vehicle. If you don't, you'll be riding along in no time after installation, but some folks might run into the same issue I did.
Now for the account setup issues I had. After I installed my the Sirius equipment I went online to set up an account. After nearly two hours trying to get it set up and running into several website difficulties (I prefer to handle things myself if possible) I placed a call into Sirius Customer Service and got everything set up right away. The customer service representative actually told me that because of the large volume of people on the system it sometimes will not allow new accounts to be created. So, if you want to save yourself some time, just call in straight away to the customer service department to create your account after installation.
All in all, I couldn't be happier. This is a great product, and all of the minor issues aside, I would definitely recommend this to someone else to buy. It's a great value!
I would recommend this to a friend!
+7points
7out of 7found this review helpful.
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