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Audiovox Portable Sirius? Satellite Radio Tuner (SIRPNP-2)

Audiovox Portable Sirius? Satellite Radio Tuner (SIRPNP-2)

List Price:
Your Price: $94.88
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Audiovox/Sirius Didn't Meet My Expectations
Review: I had specific expectations for this product. If your expectations are different, you may very well like it.

I live in an area where the FM broadcast signals are weak, and I got tired of the static when listening to NPR. I'd had a satellite TV dish before and the music stations on that system were really great. I expected the same with Audiovox / Sirius but didn't get it. After 3 disappointing days, I returned everything.

Here are the problems I had:

1) Satellite signal was weak. I didn't find out until after I bought it that most people cannot expect the system to work unless they mount the antenna on the roof or somewhere outside. I was unwilling to drill holes in my bedroom wall or window. What signal I could get was very weak, and drifted. It would work for 20 minutes, then stop until I moved it all around again.

2) Audio fidelity was poor, even with 60% signal. The 'streams' must be compressed digital, and the phasing and 'tunnel effect' were way too noticeable. My TV dish offered better-than-CD quality - I just expected the same.

3) The 'NPR' streams were nothing like the NPR I was used to listening to. I am familiar with a certain daily schedule on the FM band, this wasn't it. This is the *only* reason I chose Sirius over XM, by the way.

4) The Audiovox boom box doesn't have a volume +/- on the remote. There was a menu item that seemed like it might do this, but it was difficult to get to, and I can't tell you if it worked or not.

$200 for equipment and $13/month for so many short-comings was too much to swallow. I returned everything.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very Happy
Review: I have now had this unit for a year & I am very happy with it & Sirius. The first few months, we were moving the unit quite a bit between vehicles & the wire on the antennae began to short out. (My son was not as gentle as he should have been in handling it!) Sirius replaced the antennae under warranty at no charge with no problems whatsoever. We chose to put the antennae on the dash, securing it with velcro tape to keep it from sliding. Maybe not what everyone would do, but easy to remove & take in anyone's car you go in. I have had no problems with the Audiovox unit, but bought a JVC SR1000 from Sirius & after 6 weeks it stopped working! Sirius is giving me a full refund, but won't replace it with the same JVC unit. I take it they have had alot of problems with the JVC's. Would definitely buy Audiovox again!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: audiovox home dock antennae problems
Review: i have sirius and was amazed at the variety.. however being a geezer in the music world.. my tastes do not include most offerings .. however the jazz is pretty good .. the classical could be expanded.. sirius has some on line live time (did i mention eric C.?).. events which i wish they would replay more than once..And how do you store a song? or is it something else.. not enough time to figure out the system... the car audiovox sirius system works wonderfully.. the home dock system as someone else alluded to needs some work with the antennae....i cringe at going to some new place and saying hey i bought this when it first came out and now i need you to fix it.. '' cringe'' the home reception is at best.-- --- ...--- ..--- floating in and out frequently..? audiovox offers no site to even ask a question pretaining to that.. oh i guess the owners manuel would help.. now that would defeat the purpose of finding out on here? .. oh i like the blues and folk and new folk.. it's like people are really folking around these days... more than ever.. well what do you expect ... i listen to publik radio and pbs.. oh yes now i have antennae problem display on the screen but no solution offered... alas..I guess i have to go listen to it in the car..? but i still like sirius when i can receive the signal at home. and it's really a cool thing to listen to on the road..... now if gas prices go up i'll really have to figure out how to fix that home dock system antennae.....? chow and good listening..

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: PNP2 and Sirius a great match
Review: I have the PNP2 receiver, and I must say it is really great!<br /> The buttons are easy to press, and the menus are easy to navigate through. The big orange screen is also nice.<br /> The service itself is great. The music channels are great, and I especially like Hits1. I also like listening to the variety of talk channels.<br /> The NFL on Sirius is great. You can hear vertually any NFL game, anywhere in the country! College football is the same way, hear a USC game in Maine (or anywhere in the country for that matter).<br /> The PNP3 is out now, but this receiver is still great. Don't foget to purchase either a car kit, home kit, or boombox for this to work.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Great programming, so so device
Review: I picked up one of these before a road trip though the midwest along with a car and house adaptors. I was attracted to the programming choices and lack of commercials. The service is great on a road trip far away from any major cities. I find I listen to the docked unit all day at work too.

First the good points. The display is excellent. Shows up well in any lighting conditions. A real plus in a moving vehicle. It's easy to "program" and as I've read in other reviews the service is real good about using the same artist and song titles on all of the streams. This means that if you program it to alert you when a song comes on it will find it spelled the same whenever it plays. The terrestrial repeaters are great around a city where buildings can block signals. I'm able to leave the antenna on the dash instead of the roof.

The so so points. The audio quality through the FM transmitter is not impressive. There are only four frequencies to choose from and it turns out that in my city all of them have strong broadcast stations which sometimes bleed through.

The bad points. This thing runs hot and is not small, about the size of a large paper back book. So moving it between your car and house/office requires a bag. Also the display on mine got scratched right away. I found that this device trips off my radar detector and interferes with UHF two way radios such as ham/FRS/GMRS. I suspect that the antenna system is bleeding lots of RF. The cradle is difficult to set the unit into. Has a very vague feeling to it. After about five months of moving it between car and office the antenna connector on the back of the received got damaged by the cradle. Now whenever I move it I need to use a tool to bend the connector back into place otherwise it won't seat properly an the antenna won't make contact. The range on the remote is only about four feet. Not enough for the home user.

I think in the future I'll look for an audio system with a permanent built in satellite receiver. Then I can leave this one in the home dock and stop moving it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my best-ever electronics purchases
Review: I suspect that any music lover will be overwhelmed by this technology regardless of whether Sirius or XM products are chosen. I decided on Sirius because its demo displays were actually working in the local stores I visited - probably just a coincidence (...). I chose Audiovox over JVC because the unit fit better in the console space of my cars. Definitely not technological choices.

This unit seems quite substantial and is very easy to operate. To reduce antenna "dropouts," you need to very quickly identify and use the "Antenna Aiming" Menu choice. This shows two bar graphs which display the relative strengths of the satellite and terrestrial backup signals. I had no problem with the cars, but I did need to experiment to find locations in my bedroom and kitchen generating "7 bar" or greater signals which consistently deliver excellent sound with no dropouts. Even in these locations, I have found that electric motor-driven devices such as adjacent bathroom fans, dishwasher motors, etc., will degrade the signal, probably due to magnetic field interference; and it doesn't need to be much, given the relatively small size of the signal and the sensitivity of the equipment.

The Web-based activation was straightforward - I was listening to music streams within 5 minutes of completing the process.

I haven't had this unit long enough to experience quality problems(...). I have accidentally dropped it once, and it seems unaffected. If it does malfunction, I will definitely have it repaired or replaced with a similar satellite receiver - this should be the future for broadcast audio.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: garbage -garbage and finally crap
Review: I was very excited to get it and when it worked crappily forget it. It constantly faded in and out and had to be turned on again and again and the static didnt help. The customer service line was a real joke with no help. Dont buy this---i returned it for a JVC unit which works great---good luck.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: reception
Review: I would not have bought this unit if they told me it would cut out all the time on back roads were there are trees. advice to all who want this dont do it for your auto, it is no good buy cds

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Excrement
Review: I've never owned or used a worse piece of electronics.

When used in my home, the sound cuts out during the slightest voltage sag (e.g. the light that comes on when the fridge door is opened). It also randomly and abruptly starts producing static for which the only remedy is to turn it off and back on. However, NONE of my many other electrical components experience the same problems.

When used in the car (professionally installed by Circuit City), it usually only produces static. I have to repeatedly turn it off and back on until it finally starts working. I'd guess that it works about 1 out of 7 tries.

I tried calling Audiovox technical support and they were totally useless, telling me they've never heard of these problems before and couldn't even offer any suggestions for a fix. I replaced both the receiver and the cradles under warranty from Circuit City, but the same problems remain.

It's junk, stay away.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Get This Item Free Until Nov. 24
Review: If you weren't able to make it to Howard's free Sirius equipment giveaway in New York City on Thursday, visit the Sirius web site at Sirius.com/offer/sternrally and enter code 263 in the promotion code box, and certificate number HS7436 in the ''referral ID" box, to get a free receiver and car or home kit. There is a catch though, you have to sign up for an annual subscription at a cost of $142.25. The offer expires on November 24th.


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