Blaupunkt America SR04 SIRIUS Radio Receiver
Out of stock |
Similar in Satellite Radio Receivers
- Usage: Car Home
- Design: Compact
- FM Transmitter: 12 Frequencies
- Service: SIRIUS
- Overview
-
Reviews
-
Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Blaupunkt America SR04: It's not perfect, just pretty good.
Pros
Display easy to read at night, Cool style, small size, nice remote control.
Cons
Display hard to read in sunlight, only 10 S-Seek, Station name display "bug".
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If you aren't willing to wait until the new PNP 3.0 receivers are released later this year, then this is still a good option.
I bought the Blaupunkt America SR04 about a month ago and had it professionally installed (I can't commented on the ease of installation).
I've never had a satellite radio before so I did my best to look at the available models and picked the one I thought would be the best. I really liked the blue on black display (I found the other red, orange, and green displays available in other models not so easy on the eyes). I also went on faith that Blaupunkt would sell a quality product.
First impression: The first thing I noticed is that it looked really cool in my car, not that it really matters in the long run. I just thought that some of the other Sirius receivers looked kind of goofy, clumsy, and large.
Price: I paid $159 (retail) because I wanted to buy it from an authorized dealer that could install it for me. I've seen it advertised online for less but then I would have had to take it in somewhere else for installation. The extra few dollars I paid at retail was worth it to me so I could take care of everything in person and at one location.
Sound: The sound is excellent. I don't have any complaints about the sound quality at all.
Size: It's a nice small compared to some of the other receivers out there. Using a "Pro-Fit" mount I had it installed nicely next to the existing car radio. It sits there nicely and is not in the way of anything.
Color: It's a shiny black and shows fingerprints pretty easy. I just clean mine up with a soft cloth and it looks fine. Recently I did see pictures of a future model that will be a metallic gray but that hasn't been released yet.
Display: The display at night is great. It is easily read from any seat in the car. The problem is during the day. The display is very hard to read in normal daylight. Changing the brightness and contrast didn't seem to help. The default setting is at maximum brightness. When I tried to increase the contract, it caused the black to appear as an odd pattern of black and gray vertical strips (almost like the text was bleeding). I quickly set it back to the factory default setting and just have to live with the fact it can be hard to read during the day. During some research I found that I am one of the few people that have a receiver that displays an abbreviated station name in the main display instead of the full station name. In Blaupunkt's defense they told me to exchange the receiver under warranty. The problem is I found 2 other people online with the same problem so I know it's not an isolated issue. I have a lifetime subscription and Sirius will only transfer it to a new receiver if it is replaced under warranty. Knowing that I will be exchanging my receiver before the warranty expires.
Buttons: Overall I like the button placement. They can be unresponsive at times meaning I push on Station or Category buttons and nothing happens. I don't know if I'm not pushing hard enough or if I am pushing them too rapidly. I tend to use the remote control buttons 90% of the time and they work great so I think it's an issue with the receiver's buttons and not the receiver itself.
Remote Control: I love the remote control. It's very small and all of the buttons are placed for ease of use. I like it a lot more than using the buttons on the receiver so I use it most of the time.
FM Transmitter: I live near a big city so the wireless FM Transmitter isn't as strong as I need it to eliminate all of the static. It does come with a plug-in FM antenna that seemed to eliminate at least half of the static. To eliminate it completely I would have to plug it into an aux input but my stereo doesn't have one.
S-Seek: There are only 10 S-Seek slots available to store your favorite songs. I don't use it so that's not a problem for me. I've heard other people complain that it doesn't have the 30+ slots like other receivers. Being that it's a newer model you would expect it to have at least 30 or more like the competition, but it doesn't. Since I don't use them (yet) it doesn't bother me.
Home Kit: I purchased the Home Kit because I want the option of using my receiver indoors. The only problem I had was with the antenna connection. Its placement causes a nasty bend in the antenna cable when the receiver is tilted forward. I've read the antenna cables are fairly fragile and you do not want to bend or kink the cable in a 1 inch or less area. Initially I just left the receiver tilted back about 45 degrees so it wouldn't place any stress on the cable and kink it. Later I drilled a couple holes in the base of the home kit so I could feed the antenna wire through the holes and plug it into the connection. Now I can tilt the receiver all the way forward without worrying about damage to the cable.
Boombox: Currently there isn't a boombox available for the SR04. I did see pictures of one from the CES earlier this month so hopefully it will be available soon. I think that will make a nice addition to the SR04 line of accessories.
Overall: I think it's a good receiver. It ain't a Home Run but it's definitely a Base Hit. Maybe the newer PNP 3.0 receivers that will come out later this year will make me wish I had waited, but for now I am happy with my choice.
I've never had a satellite radio before so I did my best to look at the available models and picked the one I thought would be the best. I really liked the blue on black display (I found the other red, orange, and green displays available in other models not so easy on the eyes). I also went on faith that Blaupunkt would sell a quality product.
First impression: The first thing I noticed is that it looked really cool in my car, not that it really matters in the long run. I just thought that some of the other Sirius receivers looked kind of goofy, clumsy, and large.
Price: I paid $159 (retail) because I wanted to buy it from an authorized dealer that could install it for me. I've seen it advertised online for less but then I would have had to take it in somewhere else for installation. The extra few dollars I paid at retail was worth it to me so I could take care of everything in person and at one location.
Sound: The sound is excellent. I don't have any complaints about the sound quality at all.
Size: It's a nice small compared to some of the other receivers out there. Using a "Pro-Fit" mount I had it installed nicely next to the existing car radio. It sits there nicely and is not in the way of anything.
Color: It's a shiny black and shows fingerprints pretty easy. I just clean mine up with a soft cloth and it looks fine. Recently I did see pictures of a future model that will be a metallic gray but that hasn't been released yet.
Display: The display at night is great. It is easily read from any seat in the car. The problem is during the day. The display is very hard to read in normal daylight. Changing the brightness and contrast didn't seem to help. The default setting is at maximum brightness. When I tried to increase the contract, it caused the black to appear as an odd pattern of black and gray vertical strips (almost like the text was bleeding). I quickly set it back to the factory default setting and just have to live with the fact it can be hard to read during the day. During some research I found that I am one of the few people that have a receiver that displays an abbreviated station name in the main display instead of the full station name. In Blaupunkt's defense they told me to exchange the receiver under warranty. The problem is I found 2 other people online with the same problem so I know it's not an isolated issue. I have a lifetime subscription and Sirius will only transfer it to a new receiver if it is replaced under warranty. Knowing that I will be exchanging my receiver before the warranty expires.
Buttons: Overall I like the button placement. They can be unresponsive at times meaning I push on Station or Category buttons and nothing happens. I don't know if I'm not pushing hard enough or if I am pushing them too rapidly. I tend to use the remote control buttons 90% of the time and they work great so I think it's an issue with the receiver's buttons and not the receiver itself.
Remote Control: I love the remote control. It's very small and all of the buttons are placed for ease of use. I like it a lot more than using the buttons on the receiver so I use it most of the time.
FM Transmitter: I live near a big city so the wireless FM Transmitter isn't as strong as I need it to eliminate all of the static. It does come with a plug-in FM antenna that seemed to eliminate at least half of the static. To eliminate it completely I would have to plug it into an aux input but my stereo doesn't have one.
S-Seek: There are only 10 S-Seek slots available to store your favorite songs. I don't use it so that's not a problem for me. I've heard other people complain that it doesn't have the 30+ slots like other receivers. Being that it's a newer model you would expect it to have at least 30 or more like the competition, but it doesn't. Since I don't use them (yet) it doesn't bother me.
Home Kit: I purchased the Home Kit because I want the option of using my receiver indoors. The only problem I had was with the antenna connection. Its placement causes a nasty bend in the antenna cable when the receiver is tilted forward. I've read the antenna cables are fairly fragile and you do not want to bend or kink the cable in a 1 inch or less area. Initially I just left the receiver tilted back about 45 degrees so it wouldn't place any stress on the cable and kink it. Later I drilled a couple holes in the base of the home kit so I could feed the antenna wire through the holes and plug it into the connection. Now I can tilt the receiver all the way forward without worrying about damage to the cable.
Boombox: Currently there isn't a boombox available for the SR04. I did see pictures of one from the CES earlier this month so hopefully it will be available soon. I think that will make a nice addition to the SR04 line of accessories.
Overall: I think it's a good receiver. It ain't a Home Run but it's definitely a Base Hit. Maybe the newer PNP 3.0 receivers that will come out later this year will make me wish I had waited, but for now I am happy with my choice.
