Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I received the Here2Anywhere as a Christmas gift, along with a car kit and home kit, and in just a few short days, I can report that I'm a diehard Sirius fan, as much for Sirius itself as this particular receiver.
First, the service. I'm sure some would disagree, but arguably, Sirius is the better choice among the two providers of satellite radio for the US. While XM has some commercial free music channels, ALL of Sirius' music streams are commercial free. That, coupled with excellent variety, well-programmed music, and the superior reception afforded Sirius' high-angle orbit satellites make it the logical choice. The $3 extra each month (vs. XM) is well worth it.
Next, this receiver. Fundamentally, a plug-and-play receiver like this is not going to suit everyone. It's far less "clean" for car use than an in-dash unit, so if you have a thing about cords hanging around, you should go in-dash. But if you carefully choose your location, and your car has the right space available, it can make for a very tolerable installation with the advantage of being able to take the receiver with you anywhere (when paired with the required, optional docking kits).
One thing I especially like about this unit is its largely "flat" design. Most plug and play units (for Sirius and XM) are vertically oriented and don't seem to fit as well in some locations.
Paired with a home kit, this receiver is almost ideal. It's very small and compact, so it'll fit about anywhere, with about any stereo set-up. It's simple to use, and has an IR remote, so even if you permanently set it next to your home gear, it'd be right at home. To my surprise, the unit works fine at home even with its small antenna sitting atop a row of cabinets in my basement office.
There are some shortcomings, however, most probably due to the small size of the unit. First, direct access to streams by number is possible only via the remote control; although once you set-up your presets (of which there are 24) you may not need direct access. Second, while it has a push-button "remember this song and artist" feature, you can't clear out your choices when you're done with them. Also, you can't control the backlight brightness at all. Just generally, it seems Kenwood kept this unit only to the fundamentals, and omitted a variety of refinements that the unit could have benefited from.
But perhaps the biggest shortcoming is that it provides only line level outputs, requiring a separate amp or receiver of some sort to hook it to (and then, only via one of the docks -- the unit does NOTHING on its own without a docking kit). The unit would be somewhat more useful to me if it could also be used as a portable, even if some sort of dock was required to do it... Hook-up an antenna and a set of headphones, and listen with no other pieces or parts. (Or, perhaps Kenwood could develop some sort of boombox style dock for this baby.)
But even with that, the ability to cart my Sirius from home to car to office to car to home again is great -- especially when you're as addicted to the service as I am -- and this unit does that quite nicely.
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Satellite radio listening just got more convenient and more affordable. Kenwood's portable KTC-H2A1 Here2Anywhere Sirius digital satellite radio tuner lets you enjoy Sirius's 100 different streams of music, sports, news, and entertainment programming almost anywhere: in the car, at home, at work, or even on a boat. Slide it out of your home system, into your pocket, and then into your car system, taking access to your favorite streams everywhere you go. Home and car docking kits--the Kenwood KPA-H2C and KPA-H2H, respectively--each include a slide-in mount for the tuner. The kits are sold separately and at least one kit and a subscription to Sirius radio are required for use of the KTC-H2A1.The KTC-H2A1 is loaded with features like multiple search and display modes, 24 stream (station) presets that make finding your favorite stream a snap, and a 4-line dot-matrix LCD that scrolls complete song title and artist information. It even has a stream lock that lets you skip channels you don't want to hear--or don't want your kids to hear.The display is designed to be clearly readable in both home and car, with a choice of normal or large-font characters. Search for music by category or channel type as well as by artist name or song title using the built-in guide.Incredible handy is the ability to save the title and artist of a currently playing song (up to 24 songs) for later recall, freeing you of the risks of trying to commit your favorites to memory or trying to write while you drive. Channel scan lets you check out what's currently playing on another channel while you're still listening to the current stream, and a full-function remote control is also included.Sirius broadcasts 60 streams of 100-percent commercial-free music, as well as an additional 40 streams for sports, news, and entertainment, all in clear, digital sound. There is no limit to the number of systems in which one tuner can be used.What's in the Box Radio receiver, remote control, remote battery, a user's manual, and warranty/registration information.Note: A subscription to Sirius satellite radio is required to activate the Kenwood Here2Anywhere portable tuner.
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