Satellite Radio

Bottom Line

Bottom Line

Well-Known Member
Oct 6, 2006
1,809
Table Rock Lake(Branson MO)
Boat Info
2003 360 DA
2002 Sea Doo GTI (sold)
2002 300 DA (sold)
Engines
Twin Mercruiser 8.1L
Westerbeke Generator
I am interested in adding satellite radio and looking for input. Should I replace my head unit or simply try to add a unit that is made for cars? Are the car type units easy to install? Post any pics if you have them. I seem to recall some discussion on SRO between XM and Sirius...if either one is better. Thank for the input.
 
I have a portable XM receiver that I use in the car and boat (and in the house for that matter). I just transfer it to wherever I need it. Works just fine. (I think its called a "Roadie" but I may be wrong. Just plugs into a 12v dc plug.
 
We started with the Clarion Sirius radio that came with the boat and liked it so much, we bought the Sirius s50 (cousin to the stiletto) with a home dock kit so we can use it in our cars and in the house. (We're having a communion party for my daughter in a few months and may even use the sirius unit as our music for the dinner/party.) You can use the portable one on the boat but my preference would be to buy a new marine unit with the antenna. You'll get a cleaner install and better reception than with a portable unit. There will be some work and wires to pull however. Not sure if BOE marine caries these but you may want to check there to get some pricing.
 
clarification... what I meant by "liking it so much" applies to Sirius, not the POS clarion radio that came with the boat and has since been replaced...
 
WE have Sirius as well. We had it in both our Infiniti and our Nissan and the boat came with it as well.

Really it's all a preference on what stations you want, both Sirius and XM have about the same thing but Sirius has the NFL network, Howard Stern, Nascar you just need to look at their channel lineups and pick.

They actually are merging as one company but not sure when that will affect the customers if it will at all.
 
Jeff - I really like the the station line up and technical support I have received from Sirius. As a NASCAR junkie, I really like keeping up with the races and the scuttle while at anchor.

Clarion now offers a Sirius ready CMD5 head unit that offers a wireless remote. I presume the remote doesn't require a line-of-sight to make stereo changes. My sirius box fastens behind the electrical panel and "plugs in" to the back of the head unit via CNET cables.

The antennae for Sirius would easily mount to the starboard half of the arch. My arch has a flat spot where the antennae is fastened. I'm not certain what would be involved pulling the wiring to the electrical panel.

Do you have a Clarion unit currently?
 
Can't help on the boat upgrade, but I've got Sirius and like it. Since I've got dish Network for TV service(Sirius is also on Dish Network) it is nice to be able to listen to the same channels at home, in the car or on the boat.
 
+1 on the Sirius and loving it.
I have the Stilletto and love it and would like to hook it up but not sure how.
Seems their are some adapters that will hook up through aux and right into the stilletto?
 
Check with Clarion for certain, but I think the CMD5 uses the same interface cable(s )for your cockpit remote as your existing unit. I have the CMD4 unit with the standard amp and speakers and it sounds good to me....I guess it is a matter of preference.

Not certain about XM, however Sirius offers a 6 month subscription for the boating season, billed once on your CC, then will reactivate it the following year using the same account information. And you can talk with English speaking customer service people.
 
Sirius, imo, is much better than xm with selection of music. The dj's that put together the song and artist lists are far more knowledgeable.

In my discussions regarding this industry, the best example I can give you is the comparison of a few hours of playlists from a classic rock station on each.

While XM will play the same old tired songs from zep, the beatles, ozzy etc... while sirus goes into deeper cuts...(xm will play black dog by zep, sirius will play say in the light)
 
I used the standard car kit for my 250 and plugged it into the Aux jack in front. My 280 has the XMD1 w/ XM665 changer. does anyone know if there is any room on the back of this unit for aux-line in?? either 3/8 jack or RCA?
 
If you put a car kit in the boat and use the same receiver for both car and boat you'll only need one subscription.
 
I also have a Roadie XM unit that goes from the house to the Boat to the plane. I have XM built into my Acura RL (best sound system in any car OEM today).
The very neat part about the Roadie is that it can record songs or search for artists you like and store a play list to a built in hard drive.
XM is not a bad media but I have heard that the other guys have more diverse content.
Like IBM and Mac both will evolve.
Also since I have 2 subscriptions one is only $6 monthly.
The XM for my car has XM traffic that intergrates with my acura's GPS system to keep me out of Atlanta traffic. XM also has weather,I don't think the other guys do.
 
Hotlanta said:
I also have a Roadie XM unit that goes from the house to the Boat to the plane. I have XM built into my Acura RL (best sound system in any car OEM today).
The very neat part about the Roadie is that it can record songs or search for artists you like and store a play list to a built in hard drive.
XM is not a bad media but I have heard that the other guys have more diverse content.
Like IBM and Mac both will evolve.
Also since I have 2 subscriptions one is only $6 monthly.
The XM for my car has XM traffic that intergrates with my acura's GPS system to keep me out of Atlanta traffic. XM also has weather,I don't think the other guys do.
Click to expand...

FWIW, the Stilletto does this too. Sirius also has a button that "jumps to" traffic and weather at the touch of a button. The new stilletto also has a media stick option as well as internal memory. The unit will also record segments of your most listened to channels for those times when your on a plane or something like that. One last thing is you can set it to record shows or segments that you want to have on memeory
 
Weave said:
FWIW, the Stilletto does this too. Sirius also has a button that "jumps to" traffic and weather at the touch of a button. The new stilletto also has a media stick option as well as internal memory. The unit will also record segments of your most listened to channels for those times when your on a plane or something like that. One last thing is you can set it to record shows or segments that you want to have on memeory
Click to expand...

Don't want to hi-jack the thread but how do youl ike the Stilletto? My wife and I run marathons and she would rather have a portable sat -vs- iPod for training. Is the stilletto portable enough to run with?? Seems too big for me. And what are the "headphones" with boult-in antena all about. The antena doesn't pitch forward too much does it?:lol: just kidding, are the ok for this application or should I wait for the technology to advance a bit more?
 
I tried sattelite radio and found I was still changing stations. Now I just run my iPod through the radio. I have 14 hours of music that is my "greatest hits." I like it much better than sattelite and I don't pay a monthly fee.
 
NorCal Boater said:
I tried sattelite radio and found I was still changing stations. Now I just run my iPod through the radio. I have 14 hours of music that is my "greatest hits." I like it much better than sattelite and I don't pay a monthly fee.
Click to expand...

Thats the big misconception of satellite. You are not going to get a greatest hits per se, but a genre of music and content at your disposal. FOr example, there is a reggae station, a jazz station, several alt rock, several classic rock, pop etc...all commercial free. I use my iPod when I am in a certain mood for songs I specifically want to listen to, but I listen to the satellite when I want a mixture within a specific genre. THus my beef with XM playing the "same old" vs. the Sirius which proclaims deeper cuts from artists. I am also huge fan of listening to what is new in the alt rock scene, and satellite seems to be the cutting edge, way before any terrestrial station finally gets the balls to play it.

As well, the talk on sat radio is far superior, again allowing a multitude of points of view, and since they do not fall under big brother, are freer to give that point of view.

I enjoy both my iPod and satellite equally, but for different reasons.

Additionally, I have heard songs on some of the stations (the 90's station, or even the 80's stations) that I have forgotten and was very glad to hear again. Specifying a genre as they do allows for a more diverse playlist of songs you may not even think of, but are happy to be reminded of.
 
Last edited:
I understand your point regarding both. However, at my age (57) the only CDs we buy are either Greatest Hits or soundracks. I travel by air for work about 40 weeks a year and if I didn't have my ipod and noise cancelling earbuds, I would probably get arrested by the air cops. I spent a considerable amount of time getting all the songs I like on the 'pod. I didn't mean to imply that my way was the best. I am only saying what works best for me. Now if I could just find a way to get all of my wife's Parrothead crap off of there....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,173
Messages
1,427,916
Members
61,086
Latest member
MrWebster
Back
Top