Terk Terk XM Commander Satellite Radio Receiver

• Reviewed by: brian5280

  Strengths: absolutely none

  Weaknesses: the sound quality, the programming

  Overall: This is by far the worst purchase of my life. The sound quality is horrible. The programming is awful. It's difficult to use. I've never felt so ripped off by a product before.

• Reviewed by: nolefan32

  Strengths: Small size, big display, great sound, ease of use, minimal wires

  Weaknesses: Limited display options, hardwired

  Overall: I just had the XM Commander installed in my car within the last week, and I'll never listen to FM again. The sound is great, even FM modulated as my head unit didn't have aux inputs, and the small size is a tidy bonus. What attracted me to the Commander was that it hardwired into the car. Even though it's what I specifically wanted, I list it as a weakness because I'm aware there will be those who would prefer portability from home to car to office, possibly to use it as a walkman. The commander stays in the car. The reason I liked that is that hardwiring the unit meant I didn't have a lot of cabin clutter to deal with, like wires and adapters and the like. There is only one cable that runs to the display unit (and with creative mounting, you don't even have to see that cord); the master unit is stashed behind the dash, out of sight. The display has plusses and minusses. It's biggest plus is that it's big, even on such a small unit, so it can be easily read at a glance even while driving. It also allows previewing of songs playing on other channels without actually switching to them -- you never have to switch to a station that's currently playing a bad song. The drawback is that the color of the backlight can't be changed, so it may not match the other lights in your interior. It also has only two lines, which can be switched between displaying the song and artist, song and channel name/number, or artist and channel name/number (I keep mine on artist and song, and it does briefly display the channel name/number while changing channels). And the display doesn't scroll or anything of the like, so long titles or artist names can sometimes be cut off. As for why you should be considering satellite radio in the first place, better sound, huge selection of channels (150+ on XM, 130+ on Sirius), no commercials on most channels (including all the music channels), and the same programming coast-to-coast, even in the middle of nowhere.

• Reviewed by: the_golden_age_flash

  Strengths: Great radio system and my son really loves it!

  Weaknesses: Could stand to be a little more colorful, but still sleek design!

  Overall: I purchased the Terk XM Commander Satellite Radio Receiver for my teenage son for Christmas. He had it installed locally and it has worked flawlessly. Great system at a very good price. I think I'll purchase one for my Honda Element!Highly recommended, highly satisfied.

• Reviewed by: steindorff

  Strengths: Signal strength and FM modulator sound quality are excellent. Size is perfect for mounting in most car ash trays.

  Weaknesses: Cannot change the color of backlighting to match the rest of your car's gauges.

  Overall: Outstanding sound quality for an FM modulator and small size make this unit ideal for professional installation in your car's ash tray. My only complaint is that the XM Commander's display is a bluish-white while the rest of my car's gauges are green. On my old Delphi Roady I could change the color of the backlight. Minor gripe for a great unit.

• Reviewed by: nathancgreen

  Strengths: size

  Weaknesses: on the view screen, you can only see two of three things:channel, name of song or show, singer or host. You can pick which two you want to see

  Overall: I really like this radio. I has the ability to directly hook into an input on your car sterio as well as an FM modulator. I was able to mount mine in the ashtray of my truck easily. It can be hidden by closing the ashtray door. Works well.