Customer Reviews

Kenwood KTC-H2A1 Sirius Satellite Here2Anywhere Portable Radio Tuner

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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.

This is my second satellite radio. My first was not what I expected, too many commercials. I read about Sirius service with no commercials and purchased the Kenwood H2A.

So far this Kenwood has given me no problems and was extremely easy to install. I did place the antenna on my dashboard and have no problems with reception. Sirius recommends the antenna to be placed on top of the vehicle. This unit receives a digital signal and in my opinion either you have the digital signal or you don't, quality of sound is excellent. No commercials on the 60 music channels that cover every genre coupled with 40 channels of news, sports and entertainment. The scrolling 4 line display provides song and artist information and has more preset channels than I can use.

I highly recommend this unit and Sirius service. You will never go back to terrestrial radio once you have tried this radio. The monthly cost is less than the cost of one music CD.

First the Kenwood H2Anywhere:

This unit provides my home stereo (Nakamichi receiver and Acoustic Research AR2ax speakers)with the basis of nice CD quality sound -- plus, home kit base was EASY to install. Home kit allows direct input via RCA plug (provided) into stereo.

In the car, it plays nicely with car kit's built-in FM transmitter but there's always a loss of quality with FM conversion as opposed to a direct input. So, if you require optimal quality I suggest using a cassette input, or better yet a direct wiring option and skip the Here2Anywhere and go for a professional installation with a stand-alone car stereo with built-in Sirius. (There are several brands now available -- Sony, Kenwood, Audiovox, Alpine, Clarion). Since my new Volvo has a great factory system, I didn't want to replace the stereo so I went for the plug-and-Play route of the Here2Anywhere with the FM transmitter.

Look over your dash before buying. The Here2Anywhere is NOT as flexible to place in a car as other units. This unit is DEEPER than the others -- it requires placement on TOP of a dash. The Audiovox and JVC units allow placement on the front of the dash since they are slimmer (but taller)-- personally I thought the Kenwood had a bit better sound, but the difference was slight, if noticible at all, totally subjective on my part, and based on listening in a noisy mega store environment.

If you're sure you won't use Sirius in your car, consider the new Kenwood unit made exclusively for home use. But, Kenwood has not released hard SOUND specs that allow a comparison of this unit (...) and the Here2Anywhere (...). But, the home unit has optical output if your home system can handle it.

As for Sirius vs. XM:

I chose Sirius for a few reasons. Sirius has more news and talk radio choices including Sirius Left (liberal talk), Sirius Right (yep. right wing) and SEVERAL PBS commercial free stations. They even have a Gay/Lesbian 24/7 station. XM's talk was largely the regular national talk show hosts that I already receive in New York.

I live in the NY metropolitan area, but still find the PBS stations in my area don't carry the variety of PBS options that are on Sirius. As far as the commercials go, the Sirius music stations (over 60 with every imaginable genre) are TOTALLY commercial free -- only the stations that they rebroadcast (ex. CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, etc.) have commercials.

Sirius has three satellites, not two as XM, and their three have a much higher angle orbit that XM's. So, it is less likely to have it's signal temporarily blocked by trees, buildings, mountains/hills and big trucks, as you drive.

Also, Sirius has just dropped their pricing -- it's now the same price as XM if your subscribe for a year. So, the only benefit of XM (lower price) is now gone.

Of course, the bottom line, pick the service that has the music/news/talk that YOU LIKE best! All of my suggestions mean nothing if you prefer the content of another service!

This is a great product and service. The Here2Anywhere is very easy to use, sounds great in car or especially on home stereo. It mounts in a docking station so you can take it with you. It is such a relief to be able to listen to any kind of music (60 channels music, 40 other stuff) without being assaulted by commercials. Only Sirius offers this. It is actually a stress reliever! It works anywhere in continental US and Canada. I considered some of the XM receivers, but XM has commercials on music channels. After learning that I only looked at Sirius type recievers and chose the Here2Anywhere. Love it.

The Here2Anywhere by Sirius Satellite Radio is the very best thing I've ever owned, except for my new sports car!

When we heard about satellite radio, we looked at both Sirius and XM. Did not know which one to get, so we talked to our friends who have satellite radios. All of them recommended Sirius because they have no commercials on their music channels, a wide range of entertainment and news channels (Discovery, Disney for the kids, A&E, Court TV, ABC, Foxnews, CNN and more). My husband loves the sports channels. He can listen to every single NHL and NBA game. He really likes the fact that the home team announcer calls the games too.

We just found out that starting in 2004, Sirius will broadcast every single NFL game, using the home team announcer. They are also going to have a 24/7 NFL talk show too! So now we are getting a 2nd radio.

We are very impressed that Here2Anywhere is portable. It can be easily moved from our cars into our home stereo system. You need additional docking stations though. It's very easy to set up the docking stations too.

We drive all around the country, and we never "lost" any of the channels. One time, we drove up to Toronto in Canada, we still did not lose our Sirius channels!!!

The sound quality is great, like you are listening to a CD!

The first one died after 2 months of regular use (30 commute AM and PM). The second one faded in and out, the station selection buttons worked sporadically, reception stuttered. The unit also overheats. The display is impossible to read during the daytime due to glare.

Sirius is terrific and a wonderful change from the idiotic morning/evening drive time shows available locally. However, please do yourself a favor and avoid this receiver!

I've gotten more enjoyment out of the Here2Anywhere and Sirius satellite radio service than any product in recent memory. I live for music (all kinds) and the local broadcast stations offer mostly commercials and useless, sometimes offensive, talk. Sirius and the Here2Anywhere offer 60 channels of commercial-free music and 40 channels of talk (if you like that), sports, news, etc. I did not consider XM because the music has commercials almost like regular FM radio. The Here2Anywhere is very easy to use either at home with your stereo (sounds great) or in the car. You can by additional docking stations so the unit can be moved between your house and multiple cars, etc. It is especially good for parties because you can choose any kind of music without stacks of CD's or some lame commercial loaded FM station. I am delighted with Here2Anywhere and Siruis. Man, I listening now, it just rocks!!

Sirius radio is really great. I can't believe I went as long as I did w/o going to satellite radio.

However, this tuner is junk. Mine broke after about 3 months. Then, it took en entire month to get it replaced through Kenwood. Now, the new tuner is starting to have the same problems as the first one.

I'm going to try a different brand next to see if I get better results. It's a shame to abandon the car and home docking kits I already have.

Absolutely worth the extra bucks for commercial FREE on ALL music stations. Sound quality is wonderful, set up is easy. I love my satellite radio! Sirius - Music_On Commercials_OFF

I love it. I am in my car CONSTANTLY. This receiver is great. I picked up the home kit as well, and it works perfectly with my home stereo.

I enjoy the programming. My favorite channel is 22 First Wave... playing Depeche Mode, The Cure, etc. But there is a channel FOR EVERYONE.

I only have one suggestion. It would be nice if the Kenwood had a day/nite switch. The display is difficult for me to read on a sunny day.