Editorial Review:Product Description:Take your car stereo to the next level with Sirius Satellite Radio. You'll never want to leave your car again. Audiovox commander and receiver modules are designed to interface with your vehicles existing radio to access satellite broadcasts.PRODUCT FEATURES:Large LCD Display with Multiple Display Options;Easy to use Scroll/Tune Feature Allows Quick Access to the 100+ Streams;30 Presets with Preset Tuning;Unique Memory Capture Function Stores 20 Of Your Favorite Songs and Can Search All Incoming Streams;Listing and Search Ahead Capabilities By Stream or Artist Nane or Song Title;Time Based Functions Including an On Screen Clock, Alarm, Sleep Timer, and Program Alert;Wireless Remote Control.
Amazon.com Review:Here to bring you commercial-free music, sports, and news listening in a wealth of genre-based satellite streams is the Audiovox SIR-PNP2 Sirius radio receiver. Use of the receiver requires activation of a subscription to Sirius Satellite Radio ($12.95 per month or a one-time fee of $499.99). You'll also need a portable, home, or car docking apparatus. The receiver pulls in the signal, while a docking station provides traditional features like speakers, headphone jacks, and antennas, depending on the accessory. The receiver will produce no audio without an ancillary listening device.
We tested the receiver in 2 different systems: the Audiovox SIR-BB1 Sirius satellite radio portable boombox and the Audiovox SIR-CK1 sirius satellite radio shuttle car kit. Using the receiver under different circumstances--both stationary and mobile--gave a rounded portrait of both the Sirius service and the performance of this particular receiver. As a paid alternative to traditional FM and AM radio, the Sirius service definitely has its benefits. Tons of stations and no commercials--it's hard to beat that. With Sirius, great music is always easy to find.
With traditional radio, the audio signals ride 'carrier frequencies' (modulated waves of air) that a receiver subtracts before rendering a wave as audio. With digital radio, frequencies carry data rather than audio. A receiver simply performs the step of turning the numeric transmission back to audio, much as the decoder chips and analog stage of a CD player turns its digital data into sound. This means you'll hear no static, fuzz, or spurious background noises from Sirius radio. The end result is clear and clean. It also means, however, that when reception gets hazy your audio program mutes briefly rather than getting fuzzy or slightly more distant-sounding. This can prove disconcerting or downright irritating if you're not listening in an area with perfect reception.
When you're not moving, reception tends to be better, though still potentially imperfect, depending on the location of Sirius' satellites. (Owners of digital cable or satellite television will know exactly what they're in for.) But by and large our stationary testing proved seamless, letting us enjoy the many stations included in the Sirius package.
Setup and operation of the receiver is a breeze. There are 30 channel presets (a group of 10 buttons with selectable A, B, and C bands) and an intuitive scroll wheel with push selection for menu navigation.
Lovers of pop and rock music fare the best, but there's a little something for everyone. If you're starved for underplayed classic rock, you'll revel in a channel known as The Vault ('deeper classic rock'), and '80s fans can take their pick of Big '80s, Hair Nation, and First Wave ('classic alternative'). Parents and kids--we checked--will relish the Sirius children's channel, especially in the car.
Unexpectedly rich are the news offerings, which include everything from the major cable TV networks to radio staples like NPR and the BBC, as well as 7 sports networks and a host of 'entertainment' channels (including Court TV). The lion's share of the channels in the dance/electronica group falls to the dance category, leaving it to the lone Chill station to weave a blend of electronica and other hip but mellow (i.e., nondanceable) music. There are only 3 classical-music channels, and for those with short attention spans one of them plays movements of larger works rather than complete pieces straight through.
Beyond the reception issue, the only other major drawback is sound quality, which some may find subpar. Sirius describes its sound as 'digital quality,' a euphemism for 'digital audio with a bitrate so low that we don't want to scare people by revealing what it is.' Whatever it is, its character is very close to what you'd hear from 96 kbps MP3--clear and listenable, but lacking depth, fullness, high-frequency extension, and dynamic range (though radio's always been super compressed). Your awareness of these shortcomings will depend to some degree on the caliber of your playback system. We noted that the classical stations seem to have better sound than the rock/pop stations.
Overall, we found the sound quality to be better than AM radio, nearly or equally as good as analog FM stations, but worse than 128 kbps MP3 and inferior to high-quality analog cassette tapes (though there's no tape hiss with Sirius). But for broadcast music programming, the Sirius lineup is hard to beat and nothing short of a joy to listen to. For additional subscription details, please visit www.sirius.com.
--Michael Mikesell Pros: - Simple setup
- Intuitive operation
- Easy to find great music
- No commercials
- Rich news selection
- 30 station presets
- Modular construction fits a host of docking devices
- Display is highly legible in both bright and dim environs
Cons: - Periodic lost-signal mutes in transit
- Substandard sound quality
- No new-age channel
- Limited jazz, classical, and world-music offerings
What's in the Box Receiver (shuttle) unit, remote control (P/N1363539), 2 AA remote batteries, and a user's manual.
Amazon.com Product Description:Listen to the future of radio today with the plug-and-play Audiovox SIR-PNP2 Sirius satellite radio receiver. The SIR-PNP2 decodes the incoming Sirius digital-quality radio program information from over 100 music, news, and sports channels and delivers an audio signal to your radio or other audio output equipment. It's easily transportable, and enables you to listen to satellite radio programs in your home or car.
The SIR-PNP2 lets you enter your desired channel stream number directly, or search for programming by scrolling through the category list. You can program up to 30 presets of your favorite streams, as well as search by stream, artist name, song title, or category. You can also store up to 20 artist/song title combinations, and the SIR-PNP2 can search the incoming Sirius signal and alert you if it matches the artist/song title stored in memory. The Look Ahead feature allows you to stay on and listen to the current radio stream while browsing other streams to see what's playing. Time-based functions include an alarm, sleep timer, and program alert that allows the SIR-PNP2 to switch to a preprogrammed stream at a selected time.
The SIR-PNP2 has a 6-line amber monochrome display featuring artist name and song title. Two information bands at the top and bottom of the display show stream channel number and name, signal strength, clock, and category name. The multiline display can be configured into a larger display that will scroll artist, title, stream name, and number. It has a 10-level brightness/contrast control, and an autodimming feature that adjusts brightness control for day and night driving conditions.
The SIR-PNP2 Sirius satellite receiver must be used with one of the following adapter kits:
- Audiovox SIRHK1 home kit
- Audiovox SIRCK1 vehicle kit (with wireless FM transmitter)
- Audiovox SIRCK2 vehicle kit (without wireless FM transmitter)
Sirius satellite radio is a subscription service that provides up to 100 channels of programming, from digital-quality music to news, talk, and sports. It is available only in the lower 48 states--not available in Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories.
What's in the Box Audiovox SIR-PNP2 Sirius satellite receiver shuttle unit, remote control (P/N1363539), and 2 AA batteries.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
-
It Sucks! Big Time!
It's a wasted piece of junk. It never worked right and is too bulky and downright dumb! I feel ripped off.
After a year of it constantly failing, I smashed it to pieces and canceled my subscription to this unit! Been happy ever since!
Rating: -
Audiovox Sirius Radio
This Satellite Radio Receiver only has 5 frequencies that you can use to tune into on your car stereo. The area in which we live,(Eastern PanHandle of WV), those frequencies already have something on them that causes interference, so we are forever switching freguencies. We can use this radio on our home stereo though. It's big and bulky, and it gets hot setting on the dash of the car, but other then these problems we like the radio. We also have the Sirius Sportster Satellite radio that works better in the car because you can use any freguency and is a smaller radio.
Rating: 
-
Just about the Audiovox SIR-PNP2
I've owned this 'brick' about 2 1/2 years and have been reasonably satisfied. It does run hot, but it seems to be able to function well regardless. I have not had a problem with the unit. Reception is good in most areas, and when it isn't, usually there is a reason - trees, bridges, etc - or strong signals from terrestrial stations on the same FM band. Switching to other bands (there are 4 settings in the car docking station) sometimes improves the signal reception over FM. I also have the boom box, and it works well as long as you position the antenna to pick up the satellite. That sometimes can be difficult. Overall, I have to recommend this product. It has not failed me in 2 1/2 years and continues to work well. Mounting the unit in the car cradle takes some practice and care. I have managed not to damage my unit even though the way the radio plugs into the cradle seems somewhat fragile. I read reviews of some of the newer units, and considering what problems many people encountered with those units, I'd buy another one of this model if I was in the market. Oh, why do I call it a 'brick'? Doesn't it resemble a brick? It does to me! It's not the most attractive satellite radio unit on the market, but it gets the job done pretty well for me.
Rating: 
-
Good Features. Watch out for quality and support.
This review focuses on the SIR-PNP2 hardware. Search the Web for commentary on Sirius content.
I've owned the Audiovix SIR-PNP2 for over a year now. I use it in my car and at home.
Positives:
*Excellent display (title, artist, channel, contrast, readability, night driving and day driving.)
*Good user interface.
Negatives: I've had multiple problems with the hardware and Audiovox service
*Runs ridiculously hot.
*Poorly designed dock connectors. They don't align very well during docking and eventually bend or crush themselves, even with careful use.
*My first unit developed a high-pitched "whine" after about 4 months of use.
*My second unit (warranty replacement) doesn't whine but has water stains on the *inside* of the display window, gets decidedly worse reception, doesn't sound as good, and has connectors that bent and crushed not too long after the warranty expired.
Audiovix Service: If you send in a return, you get a letter touting world class support. But is really just self-congratulatory wishful thinking. The policy as I experienced is is more like "Deny Everything, Blame the Customer." If you persist and send in your radio twice, (at about a month per shot) they send you a replacement with similarly bad (but different) problems.
Rating: -
All things considered.
Why does XM have millions more subscribers than Sirius? There's a reason.
I've owned the Audiovox PnP2 receiver since it first came out.
You've already heard that the Audiovox PnP2 receiver runs really HOT. This is true. The orange display is easy to read. The push buttons are fairly small. The remote has a goofy button pattern. The receiver has no rewind capability. The boom box accessory has poor speakers but replacing those speakers with car door speakers from Wal-Mart is an easy fix.
If you want no holds barred raunch talk on your satellite receiver then Sirius is the best choice for you. There are no channel lock out features in the PnP2 receiver. I wish I had picked XM but I have a Sirius' "lifetime of the radio" subscription so I'm pretty well stuck. Sirius paid multi-millions to get Howard Stern and now can't afford to keep FOX News in their line up. There are still Sirius sound quality issues. In the early days Sirius had great music fidelity and poor voice fidelity. After adding a bunch of Canadian channels, traffic channels and experimental video the Sirius music fidelity has greatly suffered. Music fidelity today is at or below AM quality. So-so bass and treble. Talk channel fidelity remains also so-so.
Sirius has fairly good sports coverage but will be losing NHL and doesn't have MLB. Both Sirius and XM have never offered an instrumental only easy listening channel but that's for another discussion.