JVC KT-SR2000 Plug 'n' Play Sirius Satellite Radio Receiver

• PDA-shaped Sirius satellite radio receiver lets you listen to over 100 streams of Sirius satellite radio programming
• Receiver has 18 presets, 20-song memory, and a remote control; features an easy-to-read LCD
• Can automatically alert you to your favorite songs or switch to a stream at preselected time
• Sirius radio service subscription and 1 of JVC KS-K6012 or KS-K6013 (car or home docking kits) required for use; each sold separately
• Measures 2.7 x 4.4 x 1.1 inches (W x H x D)

Chose Sirius for content reasons, after shopping extensively for Sirius PNP receivers, chose the JVC unit for the following reasons:

-small size "PDA style" -can fit in your pocket

-super bright/readable screen -crisp 'red LED' on black background

-wanted a second generation receiver from mfr who had first gen experience (JVC 2000 supersedes 1000)

-reputation for very good antenna

-rumor that soon-to-be release boombox will be superb

I was not disappointed. Installed in car with antenna on dash and experienced very few drop outs despite less than optimal antenna location. Did notice a bit of hiss with the integral FM modulator, so opted for direct connection to my "MP3" Aux input on the car stereo... beautiful sound with the direct connection. Screen indeed readable in bright sunlight. Channel/category switch on the unit a bit clunky (though buttons on remote are fine = "real buttons")... other than this I'm highly satisfied. The 18 presets on the unit more than enough for me and suction cup dash/window mount that comes with the car kit seems bulletproof and very tight (especially vs. double-stick tape approach with other units). Nice thing about the PDA form factor when used in the car is that it's easy to slip in your pocket if leaving the car in a theft-prone area. Unit runs warm but nowhere near as hot as I thought it might given other online comments.

Sirius programming seems a bit more oriented to older demographic vs. XM. I liked (1) extensive news including PBS/BBC/PRI/World, (2) reggae/tropical/vacation channels, (3) tighter music genres in general (vs. more thematic on XM)... and in 2006 am looking forward to Howard Stern's move from FM to Sirius. Only programming on XM not on Sirius that I miss is MSNBC. Also note that Sirius traffic/weather is slightly less convenient since they put two cities on each channel, cycling coverage through each.

Looking forward to getting the boombox for the JVC KT-SR2000 soon... this appears to be simple, clean aesthetically (would look ok at home) and has a bass-boost capability... a/c adapter and antenna with 20' cord included.

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I have had the JVC KT-SR2000 with Sirius service for about 6 weeks now. It is a lot of fun and provides constant variety while driving on a long commute. But the ideal I had envisioned about satellite radio did not come to fruition.

PLUSES:

Excellent selection of stations, including many sub-genres of Rock, Jazz, Classical, News, etc.

Easy to set up with the car kits

Compact size head unit

MINUSES:

Sound quality through the FM transmitter is terrible. The music stations sound a little better than AM, and the news/talk stations sound worse than AM (I am listening to this through a Lexus OEM stereo). If I compare to my iPod with Belkin FM transmitter, there is no comparison the iPod sounds as good or better than any FM station.

Sound quality through the home kit, with direct connection to home stereo system, is also poor. There is little dynamic range, the music tracks sound compressed, the bass is muddy, and the highs are truncated.

The music stations have annoying DJ's in between songs what for? Everything I need to know (artist, song title) is right there on the screen. Get rid of the DJ's, eliminate their salaries, and instead lower the monthly service charge!

Maybe the in-dash Sirius units sound better? I hope so.

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I recently bought this radio, primarily for my car, but also got the home dock. It was easy to set up and install both types of kit. Unfortunately, the sound quality was very poor in both configurations. The FM modulator for the car was pretty close to hopeless. It only has maybe 10 channels. I found one that was free, luckily. But even with a clear channel, the sound had a terrible hiss, that went up and down in volume at apparent random even when everything was stationary. The occupied channels actually worked about as well (still lots of hiss)except when the underlying channel broke through. Even disregarding the hiss, the sound quality on the music was not very good.

I thought the problem was probably with the FM modulator, so I tried it in the home dock, connected to a *very good* home hi-fi system. The hiss was gone, but the sound quality was completely unacceptable. For whatever reason, this particular receiver doesn't like the compression artifacts very much. Satellite radio quality is, AT BEST, about like an average MP3, with highly compressed signals (some channels better than others). This receiver seemed to exacerbate the effect, and it sounded a lot like a tin can and string "telephone" most of the time. It was vert irritating very quickly.

The form factor (about the size of a modern walkie-talkie) was fine, and pretty easy to fit in the car. It also seemed to be pretty solidly built. But all of that is completely moot if it doesn't work properly.

I returned the receiver and both kits the next day.

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I chose this model because it came with the only magnetic mounting antenna I could find. It's a breeze to switch to other vehicles. All the other units I looked at had an adhesive mounted antenna (for cars), too permanent for me and I have 3 cars.

The best part about this unit is that when you attach the included FM antenna wire to the thing (like it says in the manual)it can be picked up by every radio on all 3 stories of my house and on my walkman in my backyard.

I was initially worried about getting sat. radio because I like listening to my walkman while out working in the yard. The transmitter reaches all over my yard great and I can even tune in on a radio out in my shed with the unit on in my house. I keep it in an upstairs bedroom on the top floor of my house and it reaches to the tuner in the basement fine.

I love the programming as well and would highly recommend this unit to anyone because of its portability between vehicles with one antenna and its transmitter that whill cover every radio in your house (and yard).

I was told at the store this product has an excellent fm modulator. Very wrong. This was the reason i bought it and am very disappointed. Do not buy unless you have a direct hook up.