Reviews of Sirius TTR1?

hexagram

Medicinal & Recreational.
Oct 11, 2008
2,760
97
48
Seattle, WA
SIRIUS on my Xbox 360 never times out. :bigthumbup:

Still though... It would've been nice to have an alarm clock that wakes you up to your favorite SIRIUS channel.
 

jbjonas

New Member
Nov 15, 2009
16
0
1
I got mine today and set it up. I'll let everyone know how it goes after I test for sure whether it times out after 90 minutes.

I am very happy so far. Sound quality is decent for an alarm clock - which is what I wanted it for. I think it looks nice on my nightstand. The interface is very easy to use - I like the look of the display. My favorite is the 2 alarm settings. I use both - on to turn on Howard at low volume at 6 AM, and the other to wake me up with howard much louder at 7 AM.

I wouldn't suggest it as a device to play Sirius at any volume or to fill a room. I think it is really much more of a bedside alarm clock than a "TableTop" Radio for an entire room... (but that's what I was assuming when I asked for it as a gift anyway)

I'll add more as I learn. I'm glad to answer any questions if there are any.
 

hexagram

Medicinal & Recreational.
Oct 11, 2008
2,760
97
48
Seattle, WA
I might get it just to keep at my bedside, but they're going to have to drop the price first before I pull the trigger.
 

jbjonas

New Member
Nov 15, 2009
16
0
1
Update: So far the alarm functions are exactly what I need/want, so I'm very happy. It almost seems like the TTR1 must have been designed as an alarm clock - now that I think about the "snooze-bar" button on the top of it that you can use for snooze or sleep functions. However, I think I have changed my mind over my earlier statement that I wouldn't use it to fill a room. I live in a small apartment, and the radio has done a fine job of playing music loud and clear enough to hear from the bedroom, through the kitchen and bathroom. It's certainly not going to be as loud as a stereo or even a boombox, but it does a much better job than I thought of "filling a room".

I have experienced the time out once after 90 minutes. I must note that I had to consciously attempt to not touch the radio for that long just to see if it would time out. Under normal use I don't think I would ever go that long without changing the channel or volume anyway. However if you were planning on using the line out of this radio to pipe music somewhere or stream it, you might have a problem with the timeout.
EDIT: I tried reproducing the time out again, and the radio actually played for over 4 hours (without my touching any buttons on it). So I'm a bit confused about whether this time out is real or not. I should note that the message on the display after the first time was "Stream Closed" so perhaps that was something else and not truly a time out.

:bigthumbup: I highly recommend the TTR1 as a wireless Sirius Internet alarm clock (notably with a bit more punch than your typical small alarm clock).

:confused: On the other hand, I would think twice if you're looking for something more than that.

EDIT: I should also mention that the user interface is great. The display is clear and pleasing to the eye; the auto-dimming feature is also nice. The menus make sense and it is easy to configure. I have a WiFi setup with a 16 digit encryption key and MAC filtering - using the quick reference guide I set up WiFi and my Sirius account info and was using the TTR1 within 10 minutes. I especially appreciate the sensitivity of the 'tune' knob - which is used for many functions. It seems to be 'acceleration' sensitive so it can be used for fine control but will also scroll rapidly with a quick twist of the knob. All in all I give the user interface an A+.
 
Last edited:

wpicha

Member
Oct 14, 2008
60
0
6
Cleveland, OH
I've had this radio about a week, and it hasn't timed out after 90 minutes for me. I've gone over 3 hours a couple of times without touching it, and it kept playing.
However, on Christmas day I left the house and left it on. I was gone about 7 hours, and at some point the stream stopped with the same "Stream closed" message.

I really like it too, and the sound is acceptable through its speakers. I've also used the line out to plug it into my stereo, and it then sounds fantastic.
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
27,230
13,833
168
Toronto, ON
Mine is due to arrive at my home from TSS tommorow. When I get home again (am in Saskatoon this week) I will add my review. I know DAB can hardly wait. :)
 

jbjonas

New Member
Nov 15, 2009
16
0
1
I've had this radio about a week, and it hasn't timed out after 90 minutes for me. I've gone over 3 hours a couple of times without touching it, and it kept playing.
However, on Christmas day I left the house and left it on. I was gone about 7 hours, and at some point the stream stopped with the same "Stream closed" message.

So I have not been able to get my TTR1 to "time out" after 90 minutes. However, I think I've determined when/why the 'Stream Closed' message is occurring. Whenever I have a channel playing and then I open another player on my Internet connection (same WAN IP), both players play together for a minute or 2 and then the TTR1 stops and displays 'Stream Closed'. This has occurred when I use SiriusWM6 to play Howard on my laptop (gotta have it in the shower). It also has occurred when trying to play Sirius via the iPhone app - with the same Sirius user ID, and the iPhone on my WiFi (and hence the same IP).

Not a big deal, but perhaps an explanation. I'm curious if wpicha was listening via another internet connection when he got that message on Christmas day... :idunno:
 

DAB

Mod Emeritus
Oct 9, 2008
9,434
149
63
Louisiana
I think I've determined when/why the 'Stream Closed' message is occurring. Whenever I have a channel playing and then I open another player on my Internet connection (same WAN IP), both players play together for a minute or 2 and then the TTR1 stops and displays 'Stream Closed'.

This totally makes sense since they aren't going to allow you to have access to streaming interest connectivity on multiple devices rather it be the TTR1, the iPhone app or even a 3rd party PC player. You can only have one streaming device connected per account.
 

wpicha

Member
Oct 14, 2008
60
0
6
Cleveland, OH
I've had the opposite happen: I was listening with the online media player at work, and my wife turned on the TTR1 at home - my stream at work closed.

The one time the TTR1 timed out on my was Christmas when I wasn't home; I've listened for multiple hours since then with no timeout. Possibly my wifi connection dropped that day to cause the stream to close.
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
27,230
13,833
168
Toronto, ON
I've had the opposite happen: I was listening with the online media player at work, and my wife turned on the TTR1 at home - my stream at work closed.

The one time the TTR1 timed out on my was Christmas when I wasn't home; I've listened for multiple hours since then with no timeout. Possibly my wifi connection dropped that day to cause the stream to close.

I think the second connection remains active while the first one gets closed. So your wife would have got the connection while you got booted. If you reconnected, her stream would have closed.
 

jbjonas

New Member
Nov 15, 2009
16
0
1
That all makes a lot of sense. And I can confirm that the newly opened stream stays open and the earlier opened stream gets closed.

I wonder why Sirius would include that line in the manual:
Stream Closed = The radio may have timed out due to lack of activity. Turn your radio off and on again. To prevent a time-out, periodically adjust the volume, change the channel, or enter a menu, etc.

It does make it sound as if the stream times out after a set amount of time, but as we've all confirmed, it does not... I wonder if that is just covering their @$$ in case they decide to change the service so the TTR1 does time out??
 

jbjonas

New Member
Nov 15, 2009
16
0
1
That was confirmed a long time ago when using 3rd party apps etc.

My apologies. I didn't mean to imply that I was the first one to confirm it, I merely was agreeing with IdRatherBeSkiing when he said
... I think the second connection remains active while the first one gets closed...

By the way, Happy New Year everyone!
 

DAB

Mod Emeritus
Oct 9, 2008
9,434
149
63
Louisiana
My apologies. I didn't mean to imply that I was the first one to confirm it, I merely was agreeing with IdRatherBeSkiing when he said

By the way, Happy New Year everyone!

No problem, I understood what you were saying. I just wanted to clarify that this had been discovered a long time ago when many of these 3rd party streaming software were released.

I do think the only exception is the Steletto which actually uses a different streaming server for it. I think you can stream on it and with a 3rd party application without getting kicked off. Not sure about now though it has been a long time since I had a Stiletto.

Sounds like you are enjoying your TTR1! Thanks for the review and answering questions. It is always nice to have someone that can provide first hand information.

Happy New Year!
 

shabadoo25

Member
Oct 12, 2008
669
15
18
OK, I got to play with one of these the other day, and it seems like a great, great unit.

It is very instinctual to set up, and it locks into your online stream very quickly. It is also very sharp looking, and looks great sitting on a nightstand. The yellowish display is very attractive, and it uses the Net to keep your time accurate. It has a very nice sound, too.

I would recommend this to anyone with wifi looking for a bedroom satrad solution.