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The dock and its external antenna allows me to listen to the radio where is it most convenient for listening but not necessarily the best location for reception. So you are getting the dock, charger and remote control for only $15. It improves reception and make access to the radio more convenient. My one issue with the dock is that it does not accommodate the case that Sirius itself sells. This is great value from my perspective.My particular application is the recording of various CNBC programs both in the morning and in the evening. The base allows easy attachment to the included AC charger and antenna as well as your stereo speakers. This has worked fine and I am very happy with the reception.In summary, this home dock is an excellent value. Now, I have the Stiletto 2 on my dresser plugged into a surplus pair of computer speakers.
This content is extremely valuable as I work in the financial services industry and need to absorb as much news as possible before the stock market opens. Most of the reviewers of this product are failing to mention its most salient value-add, which is the enablement of convenient upright desktop listening when the radio is far from a window. This is very minor issue, however.One other change I would suggest to Sirius engineers is that they provide a slightly more flexible antenna mounting mechanism. For those using the antenna indoors, it would be helpful to have suction cups or adhesive mounts so it could be affixed directly to glass. When I am ready to leave, I quickly remove the Stiletto 2, plug in the headphones and head out the door.
This allows for uninterrupted recording while I am listening to recently recorded or live programs. In my application, I used double sided tape to attach the base to a relatively narrow window ledge. I would especially recommend this product for anyone who wants to record important programs and/or listen to the radio while the recording is in progress.ProsDramatically improves receptionGreat valueEnables quality recording of shows while the radio is in the most convenient locationEasy upright placement close to external speakers for easy menu navigationConsDoesn't accommodate a case (minor)Antenna mounting orientation is limited So even if the user wanted to use double-sided tape to attach the base to the window pane, the actual antenna would be facing into the room. My urban commute is generally on a bicycle, in a taxi or on a bus/subway, so having a robust method of listening to programs like CNBC Squawk Box for 30 minutes that would be otherwise be wasted is a big productivity gain.As reception deep inside my thick-walled prewar high rise is limited, the remote antenna dramatically improves the quality of the recordings and the overall user experience. While the current antenna pivots on a base, there is a limited range of motion. The external indoor/outdoor antenna with 21' cable costs $34.99 by itself.
So, I have to spend a few extra seconds placing the Stiletto 2 in its case. This made listening to recorded programs while it was still recording not feasible. This allows me to listen to the programs during my urban commute and fast forward through the commercials. Before purchasing this dock, I would place the Stiletto 2 on the window ledge so I could record key programs.
An added benefit with the Stiletto is that I can record up to 100 hours of programs to listen to when I am on a plane and I do all of that recording while it is docked. I use the included antenna (I ran the cord through a window and placed it on my roof according to the instructions) and get great reception. I am very happy with this product. I have owned Sirius radios for over 7 years and this Home Docking Kit is exactly what I expected. I use it to connect my Stiletto 2 to my home stereo.
read on if curious.i have (what is now) an older model of the stiletto, the SL10, which i had always used as a "walkman"-type unit only. i bought an SLH2, and when i removed the pieces from the box for some old-fashioned, hands-on comparison, guess what. can they not take it one step further and -- at a minimum -- at least standardize accessories within a given product line, regardless of model age. "please ignore my 3-star rating for this item; i provided one only b/c i'm required to in order to post. short of an enterprising owner in possession of a dremel, an X-acto knife, some precision tools and TIME, the only way i can see how an SL10/SL100 could work with the SLH2 is to surgically carve away some plastic. THEY ARE NOT. i have none of these, so i returned the item."
i''ve had relatively good success with other sirius home kits (used to have a starmate 1), so i was inclined to get a simple home kit for the SL10, rather than a boombox-type home dock, the soloist model, or other. they are standardizing other design features. why does sirius still make disastrous product engineering decisions like this. as of the date of this review (nov. WHY.
i'm sure the product, in and of itself, is fine, but i bought it for a very specific application, which in theory should have been easily achievable, and instead was not. while the male/female jacks for the A/C power cord, the antenna, and the audio out appear to be the same, sirius -- apparently -- has resized the chassis (a few centimeters in width, and a few more in depth) for the stiletto 2, and then further exacerbated the problem by retooling the mold for the docking cradle, so that now it is sized only for the stiletto 2. comparing/contrasting online photos seemed to suggest the two are interchangeable, and sirius recently has released products with more standardized serial ports, and universal-type docks for other receivers, so it seemed reasonable to assume the newer SLH2 is backwards compatible with the older SLH1. recently, out of necessity, i decided to purchase a home kit for my stiletto. '08), it is almost impossible to find the SLH1 home kit (the one for the SL10 and SL100 models) at retail any longer, so i (rather stupidly) assumed the SLH2 would work just fine.
I am SO glad I got the home kit.we can sit right in our living room and play it through the stereo and it's awesome. :)We enjoy it so much and got the extra memory card so we have 8GB of our own music on it, too. I love the Stiletto 2. I got it as a present for my husband's birthday and it was finally the one time I got him something he would have never got for himself but loves.
The primary benifit to me is the ability to easily connect to a speaker system or stereo. Now we can get full use of Sirius listening indoors with the Stiletto2 and not have to use headphones. stereo phono plugs which allows connection to PC type speaker systems. The 21 foot antenna wire is great to mount the antenna outside or near a widow so you can improve indoor reception.
The mute on the remote does work so at least you can totally kill the sound if needed though it is nessesary to make all other level adjustments at the amp.even the volume control on the radio itself is disabled when plugged into the dock. Some have complained that there is no FM transnitter but that is not a big deal for me. When using headphones (unless they are wireless), you would be near a volume control either on your radio, the amp or the headphones themselves. I intend to see if there is a way which would let me connect some powered speakers into the dock's (standard phono) headphone jack and let me control the volume through that. But if you are using speakers you are more likely to be farther away and have more need of a remote when wanting to adjust the volume. As others have mentioned, you can connect to your home stereo with the included RCA/phono cable but there is also another audio cable with small 1/8"().
On the negative side.it seems curious that the volume control on the remote only adjust levels on the headphones plugged into the dock. Dispite those annoyances, all in all this makes the radio much more useful and I would not want to be without it. You can connect your computer audio output to the line input on the dock and use the line out from the dock to plug into your powered computer speakers and use your computer speakers to listen to the Stiletto2 in addition to your computer audio. Before this we could only receive indoors using the Wi-Fi, but that only provides limited functionality.
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