Like most home stereo systems, mine has a tuner, but radio reception in my neighborhood is so pathetic I rarely use it. Maybe that's why trying out Kenwood's $299 DT-7000S Sirius Home Tuner was such an enjoyable experience.
Initially, I feared I'd have to climb 30 feet to stick a satellite antenna on my roof. But I got very good reception by simply placing the unit's antenna (the size of a card deck) on a ground-floor wall.
Hooking up to my receiver was straightforward (the product manual is first-rate), and within seconds of activating a $13-a-month Sirius radio account, I had access to the satellite service's 120 channels of music, news, weather, and sports. (The subscription rate falls to a modest $7 a month if you are already getting Sirius service for another device.)
Sound quality for music programming was simply outstanding for radio. While still not quite CD-quality, it's vastly superior to what my conventional tuner has produced when I've used it in areas with excellent reception.
Stereo separation was very good too. The unit can play surround sound via an included digital cable connection, but I didn't try out that feature.
Though the DT-7000S is fairly priced for a high-quality stereo component, I'm not enough of a radio listener to commit to a Sirius subscription. But if you frequently listen to radio at home and want tons of programming choices, the DT-7000S deserves your attention.
Ramon G. McLeod
