Home > Consumer Reviews > Kenwood 50-Watt Sirius® Satellite Radio-Ready CD/MP3 Receiver with Detachable Faceplate and Changer Controls (KDCMP522)

Here are my pro's and con's for this unit.

Pro's:
- Best MP3 player for under $200.
- Beautiful faceplate.
- Customizable displays and colors.
- Great sound quality, with fully customizable Mhz output levels and preamp levels.

Con's:
- Track title doesn't display until 4 seconds after it's played/selected.
- Even with the Loud On and the Bass turned all the way up it still does not produce enough bass.

I gave up listening to any of the local radio stations several months ago. I just couldn't sit through another "hog report" on the local news radio station and the NPR news staff is just a bit to the left of Mao Zedong. Music stations seem to have a longer play list of commercials than tunes. Forget FM radio on long trips and even keeping a dozen CDs in the car doesn't provide much variety. I found out that Sirius is offering a lifetime subscription plan - one payment and you get satellite radio for the life of your radio without any monthly charges (offer expires Jan 2004). I bought this Kenwood Sirius Radio, the Kenwood KTC-SR902 Sirius satellite radio tuner, antenna, and had it installed locally. Activation was easy. Since then I've put close to 1000 miles on my car. I'm not sure if I'm past the novelty of it yet but I love satellite radio. Sixty commercial-free music channels, news channels from ABC, Fox, CNN, BBC, ESPN, plus a comedy channel, talk shows, Hispanic programming, stuff for kids ... 100 channels in all. The Kenwood system works fine and has excellent sound quality. The only time I've lost reception was when I stopped for gas and was parked under the station's metal awning. Bridges and overpasses haven't been a problem. It does play CDs and MP3 discs too. On the negative side, I'd gladly give up the useless LED animation in exchange for larger buttons or something more functional. You do have to spend a few minutes with both the radio's manual and the tuner's manual to understand how to access even the basic satellite features. You can compare XM to Sirius for yourself. I liked what Sirius offered and voted with my wallet. More info on Sirius is on their web page. If you can't find a channel you like on Sirius then you don't need a radio.