Sirius Starmate 3 or Sirius Starmate Replay

A local store have one of each, a Sirius Starmate 3 and a Sirius Starmate Replay for about the same money. I have no experience with satellite radios. So the question is, is either one worth buying and which one would be the better radio? One is $50 and the other is $55. Are the prices about right? Thanks in advance for your answers. Paul

I have NO idea which one is better, I reckon the only one can answer that one is you, after looking at the features...if one has features that you will use, then get that one...probably the quality is the same...

However, in terms of Sirius radio, I can tell you that the investment in this format is well worth the investment, if you like listening to particular genres of music, talk, sports, what have you...It's a fairly pricey amenity, about $120 a year, I think, however, I believe you can get a lifetime subscription for about $400 or so, and over the long run, that is WELL worth it...try it for a year, if ya dig it, get a lifetime subscription, and don't die for a while...

Plus 1 on satellite radio. I have it in my car and I haven't listened to any other format since.

I suppose satellite radio works for some folks, but I hardly ever listened to XM when I had it on the bike and I just let Sirius lapse after 7 years in the cage. Most of what I listened to was the BBC World Service.

tommcgee said:

I suppose satellite radio works for some folks, but I hardly ever listened to XM when I had it on the bike and I just let Sirius lapse after 7 years in the cage. Most of what I listened to was the BBC World Service.

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Sirius or any other audio device would be wasted on me on a bike, too...that's exactly why I ride a bike...getting away from it all...now, why would I wanna bring it all along with me!!! But if ya gotta listen to something, I sure like Sirius so far, I've only had it about three years so far, but I'm sold!!!

Sirius Radio

I have the Sirius Starmate 4 in my car and I collected everything that I need over the winter in order to hook it up to my new 2009 RT. I have tested it and it works great! I love satellite radio and haven't listened to the regular radio except on my RT last summer. I love the Bluesville station on Sirius/XM and listen to it in the car and at work when I can.

Both of the radios you are looking at are older models which is why they are selling them at a less expensive price. On the Starmate series they began offering the ability to "pause" your radio like a VCR or DVR and then pick up the music where you left off with Starmate 4 and above, the Starmate Replay was I believe the first attempt at creating what I just described. Regardless of which one you buy what will be the most important is being able to find the other components you'll need in order to hook this up to your bike. So I think that what parts are available for each of these would seem to play a major role in the decision making process. I'd go to
myradiostore.com and look around to see what is available for what. In terms of radios and parts, I'd look around E-Bay, they can be had at a much lower price. I would recommend the satellite motorcycle antenna they are selling at myradiostore.com, it is much better than the standard puck-type ones. Good luck with your project!

Don

I have XM on my bike and I love it. Had it for 4 years. Listen to radio every time I ride. That IS my way of getting away from it all. To me it just make riding so much more pleasurable and you always have a signal.

I've had a Sirius Starmate Replay ST2 (2005'ish era) mounted on the clutch reservoir of my RT for a few years. One nice thing about the ST2 is it was designed to use 12v power. There have been a few weaknesses that I've experienced.

The magnetic mount on my antenna was not strong enough to hold it to the mount in the face of the vibrations experience from the R motor. It tended to migrate around. The small surface also seems to cut down my reception in certain situations that I don't notice with the same antenna and receiver in my car.

The mounts and plug connections are not very robust. I have to use electrical tape to keep the receiver and the connections in place. This is one of the things I recommend you pay the most attention to in your decision.

The audio out is pretty weak. I have to boost the volume as high as it will go to get a decent level into my Autocom.

Obviously, these are not very water resistant!

Overall, I've enjoyed the listening options available on Sirius.

Good luck!