Delphi SkyFi2 XM Satellite Radio Receiver and Car Kit Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)After much research, I finally decided that this was the receiver for me!So far, so good.

I am primarily using this in the car, so I grabbed this version that included the car kit.If you only want one receiver but want to use it in two cars, you will need an extra car kit.It's too annoying to try to move the antenna between cars.I had looked at a few portable units, but I chose this one since it was designed primarily for those in the car, and I wanted the a unit that was going to be easy to use when I'm in the car.

Installation was very easy.I did it myself, and my antenna is on top of my roof near the front.The antenna cord is about 24 feet long, so there is plenty of extra cord if you are in a sedan like me.I ran my cord right under the weatherstripping on the front windsheild as was suggested at cruchfield.com, then through the door and around the door jam.The kit also includes one of those little tubes that you can fit around your cords, as you will have three: antenna, power and the cassette.All cords plug into the base.

I used the air vent base installation instructions (the kit also comes with dashboard mount and a swivel mount, but both can damage your car when you're ready to remove the mounts).The only thing is that I wish it were a little more steady from side to side when I am pushing the buttons.It takes some playing around with to get just right.

The receiver itself has been pretty easy to use.I definitely recommend actually reading the instructions on how to use all of the different buttons.There are 30 memory buttons available.There is also a neat feature that will alert you to when your favorite artist or song is playing, and the alert will allow you to go straight to that channel if you so desire.

One downside is that only the buttons have a backlight.The labels above them do not have these lights.So, until I get to remember exactly where the "jump," "memory" and "menu" buttons are, it's going to be to difficult to use them in the dark.

There is also a 30 minute record/replay function on this receiver.However, anything you save is erased when the unit is turned off.

I tracked this item for a few weeks before I bought it, as I noticed that the price occasionally would change from day to day.Amazon's price when I bought this three days ago was $93.99, and today it is listed about $3 less.Some third party merchants have dropped the price below the Amazon price from time to time, but generally, the Amazon price has been the lowest.

If you buy this item before the end of April 2006, there is also a $30 rebate available from XM.

Although I have not actually been a Sirius subscriber, I took advantage of the online trials with Sirius and XM.I also read some reviews of both and examined their channel guide.Their offerings are very similar.If you are interested in sports, XM has great college ACC/Pac 10/Big 10 channels (I am a UNC grad, so I have to have my ACC sports!), NASCAR and MLB.Sirius offerings are more towards NFL/MLH fans.One review I read said that the music on Sirius tended to be what he phrased as "riskier," which the reviewer defined as playing more deep cuts, etc.I have been very, very pleased with the XM offerings, playlist, variety, talk, etc.No complaints with XM here!

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Product Description:
DELPHI SA10126-11B1 SKYFi2(TM) Bundle Includes: ; DELSA10101 SkyFi2(TM) Receiver ; DELSA10102 SKYFi2(TM) ;Vehicle Kit SKYFi2(TM) Bundle

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Sherwood RX-4105 2-Channel 100-Watt Stereo Receiver Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This Sherwood (noted brand years ago, now mysterious) might be a decent bargain for twice the money. It's stripped down by present standards -- two channels only, no phonograph input. It's dead quiet and extremely clean sounding. I can't hear any emphases or dead spots in the frequencies. The tuner is exceptionally good; I am surprised at the success I'm having with it in a poor reception area, with only the antennas that are supplied. Appearance and quality are fine: nice black steel case, solid buttons, one big old volume knob.It was all I needed, so I'm very pleased. Going to get another for a computer amp.

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Product Description:
Sherwood's incredibly affordable RX-4105 offers integrated preamplification and amplification, inputs for numerous audio source components, and advanced radio tuning and station access. The receiver delivers 100 watts RMS per channel x 2 for strong, clear sound across the audible spectrum--even at low listening levels. The company has lowered the amplifier's distortion relative to the previous model (the RX-4105), to less than 0.08 percent, while also giving the receiver a new layout borrowed from its higher-end components.
The RX-4105 uses totally discrete amplifiers for all channels (TDAS) to maintain its high power and low distortion. Use the receiver's A and B clip-type speaker outputs to power 2 different rooms, or to biwire a pair of speakers for more efficient amplification (with A outputs driving the woofers, for instance, and the B outputs driving the tweeters--make sure your speakers are compatible if this is a key feature for you).
The receiver also offers a handy 25-key remote control and switching for 2 pair of loudspeakers. Audio inputs switch between and amplify up to 4 additional components, including 2 requiring both inputs and outputs (such as a cassette deck and a VCR). The built-in AM/FM tuner features 30 station presets and auto station setup.
Other features include bass and treble tone controls, a dimmable fluorescent display, and a .25-inch headphone jack for private listening.
What's in the Box
Sherwood RX-4105 receiver, remote control, AC power supply cord, FM indoor antenna, AM loop antenna set, and owner's manual.

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Pioneer GEX-XMP3 Portable XM Satellite Radio Receiver w/ Home Kit Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought an Xmp3 player from Amazon about a week ago. I have to write that it became almost difficult to buy one because I read all manner of both rave and poor reviews. In the end I took a leap of faith and bought one despite identifying with some poor reviewers. The principle poor I read here was absolutely wrong and I want to address that here because the leap of faith I took was in deciding that the poor review was written by someone who likely didn't know how to operate the device.

The poor review stated that you had to view all the channels and could not save favorites so that you could easily go to the channels you like easily. Frankly I couldn't believe that, bought one anyway, and found the feature the review stated was not there in all of 5 seconds. And I am first-time XM device owner and subscriber.

So I want to accomplish two things in this small review. I want to say if you are too stupid to use the device, don't bother writing a review about it. You scare me and anyone else looking for credible information on a device. I just can't stand it when write bad reviews with less then all the facts. This rotten reviewer could have spent a few seconds with the device without even reading the manual and found the settings. It's right on the menu and so I am lead to believe this person has some ax to grind because no one is that stupid to miss the feature.

I do have some complaints, but for the most part, anyone would like this device.

The xmp3 has a very simple menu system on the device itself. You start off by being able to see all channels in a long list or seeing them by group. Once you find a channel you like, click options, then click Add to Favorites. It's so simple I don't know how one bad reviewer missed it. There is a paper channel guide sitting on top of the manual too. So if you just want to type in a channel, like 129, just press the keypad button and type it in. So in just 2 steps you are into whatever channel you want. I know CNN is 122, so I can go to my favorites, or just punch it in. I can't see how to make that any easier.

Someone here mentioned signal problems. I very much want to cover this because that also scared me. I live in San Francisco. And I take public transportation all the time. Buses, BART, I walk, etc. Some city streets allow just2-way traffic. One lane for cars in each direction. If I walk on those narrow streets with 2 to 3 story houses on both sides, then the signal cuts out. If I want on wider streets, it's fine. And there are two kinds of signals. Terrestrial and Satellite. You can get one or the other, or both. And there is a setting in the options that shows you both signals while the music or news plays. So you will see how little signal you need to get the programming. Unlike regular radio, a limited signal does not mean poor quality. It's all you need to get the full experience. It's digital, so it's perfect or it's not. It doesn't need full strength to get a perfect audio output. This is important. Now, the Xmp3 came with a home kit, and I bought an extra one for work. I didn't have to mount the antenna outside at all. Just place it on a window ledge and watch the antenna signal. Aim it around and watch the signal response. It's stupid-easy. I did the same thing at my office. So when I am home or at the office, I plug the xmp3 into the doc, which is already plugged into the external antenna and I get great audio. It comes with a remote control with every home kit. A pair of self powered $20 speakers is all you need to use these with the home kits. It works fantastically and you need only the one device.

Some wondered if you can truly record more than one station at a time. Yes, you can. Keep this in mind because it's important and I'll explain why in the next paragraph where I explain the battery issues also raised in review.

Some complain the battery only lasts for 4 to 5 hours in live mode. First, live means you are listening to Xmradio live, and not recorded. The XMP3 player can play MP3s, WAVs, and recorded XM radio, plus live XM Radio. There is an easy way to extend the use of the radio to meet anyone's enjoyment needs. I have owned 5 iPods, 4 Zunes, 3 Zen Players, and 2 Rios, plus a Sansa. I have listened to over 200 audible books. I listen to podcasts more than anyone I ever met. I've been listening to portable audio for over a decade. So Xmp3 has a lot to live up to. I'm just as tough on a device as anyone else.

I want to give a quick example of how I use it and you can apply this to the battery issue. Because my method solves all the problems of battery, signal, etc in my opinion. So open those eyes wider and pay attention. The reality that this records 5 stations at once is the key. In the morning before the New York Stock Exchange Opening bell, I am up and getting ready for work. I record CNN, Bloomberg, and CNBC at the same time for about an hour. I can mostly listen to one of those live as I get ready for work, but the other 2 are recorded at the same time. When I hit the street to take my bus, I listen to the other recorded programs to avoid any signal issues. The information is still fresh, and I get no signal problem as I did record this while the unit is mounted into the external antenna. Playing back recorded programming, audible books, or mp3s makes the battery last 16 hours. So my point is, when you are listening to something live take the opportunity to record other stations so you maximize your listening time. It's easy, and it works well. And you get to use the device all day. Again at 4:00PM at work I set it to record the stations I want for an hour. So that at 5:00PM when I leave, I am listening to recorded shows from 1 hour ago and again, little battery drain, and no signal problems on the way home because it's recorded playback. What's the difference in listening to 1 hour ago programming? In fact, it's better. Let me explain why. When you record a channel for 60 minutes or more and then play it back, you can skip ads as easily as you can hit the "Next" button. The recorded shows are divided up by every change. If a ad comes up, it's considered a segment which can be skipped in playback. So when I listen to record news, I can quickly listen to the news by skipping ads. And it's even easier than a tivo! Just one tap of skip, skips one ad. If there are 3 ads in a row, you can skip 1, 2, and 3 times to skip all three ads. Easy as pie and you'll love it. So believe me, you want to take advantage of recorded shows when you go for a walk. You skip the bull, get perfect audio, and can listen just like live or skip ads. Up to you.

So I have to say, in terms of the device itself, it's a 5 star device. After reading poor reviews, I'm glad I tried it anyway. If you are on the fence, go for it. You will see as I have see that the device is fantastic. That's where the rave reviews come from. Those are from those folks that have a brain in their head and don't have some ax to grind.

Now I do have gripes, but they have to do with the XM2Go Music software. This software is not a music manager as you might think. It should not be compared to iTunes or Media Monkey, because it's honestly not a music manager at all. It's more of an upload tool to upload mp3s or WAV files to the device. Read on...

I thought the XM2GO app would be a full music manager, but rather what it does is allow you to easily setup a program record time if that's what you want. You can use it to upload music to your SD card. But the best way to do this is by organizing what you want to upload to the device into a single folder before you upload it. If you already have a full music collection on your hard drive that is stored in the file system by artist and you want a small subset of favorite tunes, you're going to go crazy with XM2GO because you will have to pick one by each song using a director tool in XM2GO to hand pick each song and choose upload. It's insanely stupid.

I use Media Monkey instead of iTunes. And in Media Monkey, I can take my favorites playlist and sent a copy of the songs in that playlist to a folder on my desktop in Windows. Then I use XM2GO to upload the contents of that single folder to the SD card. This gives me my favorite MP3s on the XMP3. I find this the fastest, easiest way to deal with the extremely lousy XM2GO software, which didn't even come with my player. I had to download it. The one real complaint I have with the XMP3 player is not with the device. It's with the Music app from XP / Pioneer. These two companies absolutely blew it on the software. You can work around this as I said, but it would have been great to have a more full-featured music app so that you can easily manage podcasts and mp3 playlists on the device. The way it's done now makes me want to visit with Pioneer and XM and slap these stupid programmers. I don't know why it is so hard for these companies to see what needs to be done to make something simple and enjoyable to use. It's as if they have no brains in their skulls, and know that's not true. It's not a show-stopper. I'd buy the device all over again even knowing what I know now.

You can add audible content to the Xmp3, but not on the SD card. It goes on the devices built in memory. And recorded XM radio also goes on the device memory. So the SD card is truly good for MP3s and WAV files.

Now a few other points for first -time XM people. If you use the web app to play content online you can click a button and buy the song from Amazon. I love this feature. So listening via a laptop over the internet is a good idea and can help you discover new songs to buy. BUT! And I mean BUT, some stations are not available online. No Bloomberg or CNBC for example. Don't count on every station being there exactly the same way as on the device. Because of this, I strongly recommend getting a home kit for your home and office. If you just think it through a little you'll find that the battery, being mobile, etc are all not a real problem. Even for those walking around dense cities as I am.

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Product Description:
Record What You Love, Listen When You Want! Introducing the Pioneer GEX-XMP3 Portable XM Satellite Radio with MP3. Providing you with the best of both worlds.
With the XMp3, the Music Never Stops
Loved that song, really want to hear it again? Miss that MLB play or joke on one of the comedy channels? Pause and replay it. Know you'll miss the game? Record it and play it again the next day, or on the drive home. In the car with your kids? Listen to 20 on 20 or XMKiDs while simultaneously recording the game, your favorite show, or the station you can't get enough of to listen later.



Live XM: Enjoy over 170 channels of music and exclusive content.




The NEW XMp3 offers:

More ways than ever to record up to 100 of your favorite XM programming
Automatic Recording: 15 - 30 hours
Multi Channel Record up to five channels at the same time
DVR like feature pause and replay 30 minutes of live XM
Smaller and lighter form factor
Larger and more vibrant color display
Improved User Interface and track wheel
Micro SD Slot! The XMp3 is microSDHC compliant and works with standard or high capacity microSD cards (up to 8GB).
New Exclusive XM2go Music Manager compatible with XMp3 and backward compatible with Inno, Helix, Nexus, and SkyFi3

Record up to 75 hours of programs or 10 Hours of songs.


Compact and easy to cary at only 3.1 ounces.


Live XM

Enjoy over 170 channels of music, sports, news, talk, entertainment, and exclusive content
Set up to 99 Favorite Channels
TuneSelect: Be alerted when your favorite artists or songs are playing on any XM channel
XM Programming Guide: See the best of XM and choose to be alerted when it is playing or schedule to record it

Recording

More ways than ever to record up to 100 your favorite XM programs -- automatic, scheduled, one touch -- and save time by recording up to 5 channels at the same time
One-Touch Recording of up to 10 Hours of Individual Songs
Schedule Recordings of up to 75 Hours of Your Favorite XM Programs
Automatic Recording of up to 15 - 30 Hours of Your Favorite XM Channels
Save Time -- Record up to 5 Channels at the Same Time

MP3
Enjoy your personal music collection (MP3 and WMA files) collection with the micro SD card slot. Compatible with standard or high capacity microSD cards, the XMp3 is microSDHC compliant.
XM2go Music Manager

Schedule Recordings of up to 75 hours of your Favorite XM Programs
Manage your music: Create and modify playlists of your own MP3 collection or your XM recordings
Online Programming Guide: Discover new music by seeing what's playing on XM for the next week
Bookmark and purchase songs from compatible online music services including Napster
Purchase and listen to your favorite audio books from Audible.com/xm

Other Key Features:
GameSelect: Be alerted when your favorite sports teams are on any XM channel Info Extras: Keep track of selected sports scores and stocks


What's in the Box
GEX-XMP3 Portable XM Satellite Radio with MP3, wireless remote control, headphones, operation manual, warranty sheet

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