Customer Reviews

Sirius SLH2 Home Install Kit for the Stiletto 2 Portable Radio

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Most of the reviewers of this product are failing to mention its most salient value-add, which is the enablement of convenient upright desktop listening when the radio is far from a window. The base allows easy attachment to the included AC charger and antenna as well as your stereo speakers. The external indoor/outdoor antenna with 21' cable costs $34.99 by itself. So you are getting the dock, charger and remote control for only $15. This is great value from my perspective.

My particular application is the recording of various CNBC programs both in the morning and in the evening. This allows me to listen to the programs during my urban commute and fast forward through the commercials. This content is extremely valuable as I work in the financial services industry and need to absorb as much news as possible before the stock market opens. The dock and its external antenna allows me to listen to the radio where is it most convenient for listening but not necessarily the best location for reception. My urban commute is generally on a bicycle, in a taxi or on a bus/subway, so having a robust method of listening to programs like CNBC Squawk Box for 30 minutes that would be otherwise be wasted is a big productivity gain.

As reception deep inside my thick-walled prewar high rise is limited, the remote antenna dramatically improves the quality of the recordings and the overall user experience. Before purchasing this dock, I would place the Stiletto 2 on the window ledge so I could record key programs. This made listening to recorded programs while it was still recording not feasible. Now, I have the Stiletto 2 on my dresser plugged into a surplus pair of computer speakers. This allows for uninterrupted recording while I am listening to recently recorded or live programs. When I am ready to leave, I quickly remove the Stiletto 2, plug in the headphones and head out the door. My one issue with the dock is that it does not accommodate the case that Sirius itself sells. So, I have to spend a few extra seconds placing the Stiletto 2 in its case. This is very minor issue, however.

One other change I would suggest to Sirius engineers is that they provide a slightly more flexible antenna mounting mechanism. For those using the antenna indoors, it would be helpful to have suction cups or adhesive mounts so it could be affixed directly to glass. While the current antenna pivots on a base, there is a limited range of motion. So even if the user wanted to use double-sided tape to attach the base to the window pane, the actual antenna would be facing into the room. In my application, I used double sided tape to attach the base to a relatively narrow window ledge. This has worked fine and I am very happy with the reception.

In summary, this home dock is an excellent value. It improves reception and make access to the radio more convenient. I would especially recommend this product for anyone who wants to record important programs and/or listen to the radio while the recording is in progress.

Pros
Dramatically improves reception
Great value
Enables quality recording of shows while the radio is in the most convenient location
Easy upright placement close to external speakers for easy menu navigation

Cons
Doesn't accommodate a case (minor)
Antenna mounting orientation is limited

I have 2 of these (and 1 mobile dock that I use at my office location), one in my "computer" room and 1 in my garage connected to a boom box.

I have been able to place the antenna indoors & get good to great reception (depending on where the satelite is at the time) with no dead time. (this is toward the ceiling of the room, did not need to place in the attic or outside)

I only have the line out connected to either my computers sound system or the boombox in my garage (no reception on the Stiletto 2 alone in there). When connected via USB to transfer some of my music to the SL2, it can be VERY slow. (was the same with previous SL100)

Not sure if this applies to this dock & the SL2, but on my previous Stiletto 100 and home dock, doing a software update through the dock was hit or miss. Once thought it became corrupt (with tech supports help also!) but doing it again using the dirrect connect cable, all went well.

Also by being in the dock (as other have said) works for recording stuff to listen to later (IE: Dark Wave on Sunday nights from 22 & then listen to in the morning at work!)

As a FYI, if you need more the 21' to place your antenna, use the 50' extension. I use this at work so I can place the antenna way across the office to where I have line of sight to a terrestial repeater (else 0 reception where my cube is) & get a solid 2 bars!

Awesome You MUST GET THIS if you have the STiletto 2 Very usefull and everything you need all you need to really get moving is a good or cheap pair of computer speakers and have this kit and you can have all you require to get BABABOOEY, "Howard Stern" anywhere .SIRIUS Stiletto 2 Portable Satellite Radio with MP3 Player

Not sure what the other reviewer was attempting to connect to. The docking kit is made to connect to the RCA inputs on your home stereo system. If you intend to connect it to a radio that does not have RCA inputs, then I agree it would just be a fancy charger at this point.

Easy to set up, however you might need an antenna extension if you do not have a window near by.

I am very happy with my home kit for the stilletto 2. Easy to install and sounds great...VERY HAPPY with this product.

I bought my husband the stilleto for his birthday, it wouldn't work in his car with the regular car adapter and he didn't like the idea of a satellite radio enough to buy the enhancer.
So I LOVE the idea of listening to talk radio so I bought the home unit so I can listen at home. I have it plugged into some speakers at home.
The reason I bought the stilleto was so I could record programs but that only works if you use the satellite not wi-fi and the attenna on the home unit is not strong enough to get satellite in Northern Lower Peninsula Michigan.
A HUGE dissapointment. It does work great with the wi-fi though. Very small and doesn't take up much counter space which is a plus.

Easy to install. Once I got the signal working (took a day or two before the sound quality was clear without fuzz), it works well. Now, I just turn it on and it works great--sound and all. I get to enjoy my Stilleto 2 more often now.

Got this for free around Christmas when I purchased the Stilleto 2 radio. I use it through my home theater system and the sound is great. The remote come in handy for when I'm across the room.

I have owned Sirius radios for over 7 years and this Home Docking Kit is exactly what I expected. I use it to connect my Stiletto 2 to my home stereo. I use the included antenna (I ran the cord through a window and placed it on my roof according to the instructions) and get great reception. An added benefit with the Stiletto is that I can record up to 100 hours of programs to listen to when I am on a plane and I do all of that recording while it is docked. I am very happy with this product.

The primary benifit to me is the ability to easily connect to a speaker system or stereo. As others have mentioned, you can connect to your home stereo with the included RCA/phono cable but there is also another audio cable with small 1/8"(?) stereo phono plugs which allows connection to PC type speaker systems. You can connect your computer audio output to the line input on the dock and use the line out from the dock to plug into your powered computer speakers and use your computer speakers to listen to the Stiletto2 in addition to your computer audio. The 21 foot antenna wire is great to mount the antenna outside or near a widow so you can improve indoor reception. Before this we could only receive indoors using the Wi-Fi, but that only provides limited functionality. Now we can get full use of Sirius listening indoors with the Stiletto2 and not have to use headphones. Some have complained that there is no FM transnitter but that is not a big deal for me. On the negative side...it seems curious that the volume control on the remote only adjust levels on the headphones plugged into the dock. When using headphones (unless they are wireless), you would be near a volume control either on your radio, the amp or the headphones themselves. But if you are using speakers you are more likely to be farther away and have more need of a remote when wanting to adjust the volume. The mute on the remote does work so at least you can totally kill the sound if needed though it is nessesary to make all other level adjustments at the amp...even the volume control on the radio itself is disabled when plugged into the dock. I intend to see if there is a way which would let me connect some powered speakers into the dock's (standard phono) headphone jack and let me control the volume through that. Dispite those annoyances, all in all this makes the radio much more useful and I would not want to be without it.