Radios & ReceiversThis is the place to talk about all the high-tech SIRIUS radios: Kenwood, Pioneer, Clarion, JVC, Alpine, Audiovox, Sony, XACT, and more!
View Poll Results: Are you getting Kenwood or Audiovox home unit?
While I'm extremely confident that the Audiovox will be one awesome product, this is why I'm getting the Kenwood home unit:
1: Adjustable text display. The sirius rep told me that you could have it display 4 lines of text (channel, artist, song, album) but if it was too small from far away you could condense it to 2 lines of text (artist & song) or all the way to big fat one line of scrolling text (scrolling the artist, then the song). That is WAY cool.
2: Memo button. If you like the song you hear, you can hit the memo button and it will write it down in its memory for you for future reference. That way you can go back & look at the songs you liked so you can go buy the album. I'm pretty sure from what I've read that Audiovox has this.
If Audiovox had both these features though, I'd probably go with it because its so thin & sleek lookin!
First off, a neither choice should be another option(although I am getting one of the PNPs). Secondly, is it just me, or does the Audiovox look thicker than the Skifi? Thirdly, what does the Audiovox have over XM's Skifi?
Does the Kenwood H2A have a display mode which shows the artist and song title on separate lines so both can be seen with a quick glance at the display? The channel and category names are not important to me; I know what channel I'm listening to. None of the pictures of the H2A have shown the artist and song title on separate lines. I'm beginning to worry I may have to wait for the Audiovox.
The good news is that we will have a choice in regards to which form factor we like best. Kenwood makes good quality audio products. Audiovox, while they have some good products, audio wise, they haven't had a very good reputation, so we will have to wait and see on that one.
It is a good a valid question as to if the H2A shows all the info on separate lines? Song title, artist etc as it appears that it just scrolls them on a single line one being smaller text, one being larger text. So maybe one of these folks that actually have it already could confirm this. Again this will be a personal preference thing. I kept my Skifi on the larger text that scrolled both, so for me it won't sway my decision, but I was just wondering.
The size of the Audiovox... some pictures make it look thinner, some make it look thicker... I don't know which it is.
I also want to stress this. The Audiovox has the special cradle that is FM Transmitted, NOT MODULATED... there is a difference, because based on my experience, transmitters are apt to experience interference and hiss, so again this is going to depend on the quality of the transmitter that Audiovox uses. Its a GREAT idea, I like it, lets just hope the transmitter is powerful enough to do a good job.
In comparison to the Skifi, it appears that the Kenwood and Audiovox match its every feature, but offer the song seek feature and the audiovox offers the fm transmitted cradle. I think the blue LCD will be easier to read during bright light too. The skifi is terrible to read in direct sunlight.
Well that's my two cents... I am getting the Kenwood.... I'll have 30 days to send her back if for some reason I don't like it. But I can't imagine that happening... LOL
Gonna wzit and let you all be the fall guys for me. By the time seen some "Kenwood vs AudioVox" threads and some "ARRRGH! This _____ sucks!" threads, I'll know which one to get.
Now that I've given it some more thought, having two lines scrolling text of different lengths might be a bit mind-boggling. Scrolling isn't an issue with the SKYFi since XM's 16-character limit is so darn restrictive. I'm looking forward to longer artist and song title names and I'm willing to make some sacrifices.
Now that I've given it some more thought, having two lines scrolling text of different lengths might be a bit mind-boggling. Scrolling isn't an issue with the SKYFi since XM's 16-character limit is so darn restrictive. I'm looking forward to longer artist and song title names and I'm willing to make some sacrifices.
Yes having two lines of scrolling text, I can comment on that because the Jensen unit does this on the hand held remote. You basically have to force your eyes to look at one line or the other. I think incorporating the title and artist into a single scrolling line was the right way to do it. You can then make it smaller or larger depending on if you are closer or further away from it.
The Skifi... XM.... don't even get me started with their limited text, this was the dumbest thing they ever did. Why such a short limitation was ever done is beyond any ones understanding. It was thought they would fix this with the 2nd generation tuner etc. However, it seems to be their system that has the limitation.
I went to the local cc located in Abq NM and i asked the salesman when will the kenwood h2a go on sale
he told me they dont have a date for that item as of yet so i dont know
when it will get here locally
The Skifi... XM.... don't even get me started with their limited text, this was the dumbest thing they ever did. Why such a short limitation was ever done is beyond any ones understanding.
Tis a problem at the sending end, not the receiving. I don't mind either since most song names arent that long, and it's not like I don't see it with Sirius ever either ("Third symphony string quartet in G mino"... Mino?)
Looking at two lines of scrolling text isn't as hard as you think, Dab. As long as the letters don't scroll too fast anyway.
I'm interested in both. We'll see what happens. I wish we could get more Kenwoods out there though! I had mixing reports at first as to how many different ways it could display info.
I'm just don't like playing Name That Channel as I browse from "NuCntry" to "RdHouse" or whatever.
and it's not like I don't see it with Sirius ever either ("Third symphony string quartet in G mino"... Mino?)
Well sure you will see it on SIRIUS too on Mixes and symphony type where they try to list everyone. But hey, I'd rather have 36 characters than 16 anyday of the week. There are often times on XM that I didn't even know what it was they were trying to communicate. These Die hard XM'ers always say.. oh its no big deal. But they just accept it, cause that what they are stuck with like it or not. SIRIUS took a more realistic approach with the 36 characters. Again you will see it on SIRIUS, but nearly as much as you do on XM.
Quote:
Looking at two lines of scrolling text isn't as hard as you think, Dab. As long as the letters don't scroll too fast anyway.
Well.... I have a Jensen and it srolls two lines and I do find it hard without forcing my eyes to one line or the other. I perfer the single line scrolling rather than two.
Quote:
I'm just don't like playing Name That Channel as I browse from "NuCntry" to "RdHouse" or whatever.
What you are experiecing is a shortcoming in the Audiovox, the Jensen does the same thing on the streams. My Kenwood Tuner however does not do this, its spells out the Catagory and the Stream fully. As will the Kenwood Plug and Play I am sure. I am not so sure about the Audiovox, hopefully they have fixed this in their Plug & Play unit. But who knows, since no one has one of those yet.
1. I love Kenwood's products. I'm on my 3rd Kenwood HU in my car, (2nd Excelon) and have to say I'll never buy another brand of car stereo. I've had Alpine, Sony, Pioneer, and others, but for the past 4 years its been Kenwood all the way. Great sound, great features, and I've never had a problem. (even with the motorized MASK faceplate I had on my X811- I was really skeptical of the idea, but it never did fail. That HU is now in my girlfriend's car.)
2. The H2A will be out sooner.
3. I've never heard an Audiovox audio product that I've liked the sound of.
My wife is definately getting the Kenwood. It fits her Santa Fe's dash perfectly.
My dash on the XG350L is another story. A skinny unit like the Audiovox (and now the SKYFi) fit alright, but there is no place to put a wider unit, except on top of the dash (which I don't like). So we'll see.
I still have some doubts like everyone else about the quality of the Audiovox. Still, it looks great and I might have to give it a shot.
__________________
Visit the NEW community for all things Digital Radio, including SIRIUS:
Why I'm getting the Kenwood, not Audiovox
None of the pictures of the H2A have shown the artist and song title on separate lines. I'm beginning to worry I may have to wait for the Audiovox.
Linear Mode
