Product Description: The Delphi XM SKYFi radio combines the advanced features with a compact design and ease of installation, all at an affordable price.
Amazon.com Review: Delphi's potent and pocket-friendly SA10000 XM SKYFi satellite radio receiver flits easily between home and car and puts XM Radio's wealth of music, sports, and news offerings at your fingertips, whether you're accessing the service's 100-plus channels via the receiver's stylish faceplate or through the supplied remote control. We found the receiver's display and controls well laid out and easy to navigate. More importantly, XM's radio service is every bit as enjoyable as its hardware is simple.
Use of the receiver requires a paid monthly subscription to XM Satellite Radio ($9.95 per month, no contract required). You'll also need either a car or a home docking apparatus such as the Delphi SA10002 XM SKYFi vehicle kit or the Delphi SA10034 XM Portable CD audio boombox (whose use is by no means limited to the home). The receiver pulls in the signal, while a docking station provides DC power and traditional features like speakers, headphone jacks, and antennas, depending on the accessory. For this review we used the XM portable boombox. It bears repeating: the SA10000 receiver will produce no sound without an ancillary listening device.
The XM service offers good music with minimal repetition whichever direction you turn, all conveniently arranged by category or by channel. Using the remote's display button, you can even view the artist or the name of the song currently playing as you scroll past stations. XM's channels break down into 68 music channels (all of them commercial free), 33 channels of news (ABC, CNN, Fox, and a host of other mainstream networks), sports (led by 2 ESPN and 2 NASCAR channels), talk, and entertainment (Discover, E!, others), as well as instant traffic and weather updates for 21 major U.S. metropolitan areas.
Within the major music categories--rock, "hits" (pop), country, jazz/blues, and urban--subgenres abound, offering many exciting places to revisit classics and discover new favorites. Notably anomalies are channels devoted to new age (Audio Visions), progressive-rock/jazz fusion (XM Music Lab), rock bands lacking record contracts (Unsigned), and great moments and music from films (Cinemagic). There's even a channel for Starbucks' excellent HEAR Music, centered on jazz musicians and singer-songwriters and the musicians who inspired them.
Underserved are classical music (3 channels cover orchestral music, vocal music, and single movements of larger works), children's music (teens may enjoy Disney radio, but XM Kids is just plain soggy), world music (7 channels, 4 of which are Latin and 1 of which is devoted to music from Jamaica), and--most surprisingly--electronica. XM's dance and electronic music leans heavily on beats, going mainstream with hip acts like Royksopp, Moby, and Zero 7.
The receiver offers 20 station presets (2 banks of 10) and 10 memory settings, which recall artist, song, and station after the fact so you can make notes or hunt out CDs later.
To evaluate XM's sound quality we fed the headphone output from the SA10034 boombox to an integrated amplifier and speaker setup. Quality proved remarkably consistent channel to channel. Relative to our CDs and MP3 music files, the quality of the XM service sounds closest to 128 kbps MP3--wholly listenable and usually downright enjoyable, if not as smooth, full-bodied, and detailed as linear (uncompressed) CD sound.
Bass is decent--a little hyped on rock material, like FM radio--and the treble frequencies sound natural and free from most of the artifacts often heard in lossy digital compression. XM's classical programming sounds even better than its rock programming, with fewer artifacts and a wider stereo soundstage. Better than FM? For its silky background quiet and slightly wider dynamic range, we'd have to say yes. --Michael Mikesell
Pros:
Simple setup
Excellent sound quality
Great indoor reception
Consistent audio quality, station to station
Commercial-free music channels
Excellent pop and alternative-rock selection
Dedicated progressive-rock/fusion channel
Deep country/folk, urban/R&B, and jazz/blues offerings
Includes a new-age channel
Localized traffic and weather updates
Cons:
Not usable without ancillary hardware (a headphone jack would be nice)
No NPR (though XM Public Radio is a good approximation)
Minimal electronica coverage
Limited classical selection
Weak children's offering
What's in the Box Delphi XM SKYFi radio receiver (SA10000), wireless remote control, 1 CR2032 lithium battery, and operating and quick start guides.
Amazon.com Product Description: Step into the future of radio with the Delphi XM SKYFi radio receiver, which connects to the XM satellite radio network and over 100 channels of programming. You'll get crystal-clear reception, whether at home or on the road, thanks to XM's powerful satellites and vast network of repeater stations throughout the continental U.S.
With the SKYFi vehicle kit, the SKYFi radio receiver is easy to set up for satellite transmission through your car stereo.
Note that the SKYFi radio receiver requires a monthly subscription, as well as either the separately available home or car connection kit to receive XM radio signals.
The sleek, compact SKYFi radio receiver features a large orangish-red 5-line display (with adjustable font size) that displays song title, artist, channel category, and channel name/number information. It has control buttons for on/off, saving song information to memory, and preset programming (up to 20 presets), as well as a scroll wheel that enables you to quickly search through the channel categories and stations. The SKYFi radio receiver also comes with a remote control with the same control buttons as well as an audio mute control. The remote control uses a 3-volt CR2032 lithium battery, available at most retailers that carry electronic products.
The SKYFi radio receiver inserts neatly into the SKYFi Boombox for satellite radio wherever you want to take it.
You can listen to one station while previewing program information on up to five other channels. Additionally, you can save the song and artist information displayed on the SKYFi radio receiver to help you remember your favorite songs when you hit the CD store. The line-out level control adjusts the audio level if it is too high, causing distortion, or too low for your car.
What Is XM Satellite Radio? XM Satellite Radio was the first satellite radio service to be offered in the U.S. It features a state-of-the-art broadcast center in Washington, D.C., two Boeing 702 satellites (providing 18 kW of power--the most powerful commercial satellites ever built), and approximately 800 terrestrial repeaters located throughout the continental United States for seamless transmission. Service is not available in Hawaii or Alaska.
XM Satellite Radio offers 101 channels, including 70 music channels, over 35 of which are commercial-free, and 31 news, sports, talk, and children's channels, broadcast coast to coast in digital quality. Basic service is available for a monthly subscription fee of $9.99, with premium channel(s) available at an additional monthly cost. Under the XM Family plan, subscribers get a discounted rate of $6.99 per month for additional radios.
XM's programming partners include Sesame Workshop, NASCAR, Associated Press, ABC News, CNBC, CNET, BBC World Service and BBC Concerts, Radio One, CNN/Sports Illustrated, Hispanic Broadcast Corporation, Disney, and ESPN.
What's in the Box Delphi XM SKYFi radio receiver (SA10000), wireless remote control, one CR2032 lithium battery, and operating and quick start guides.
XM Customer Care is Terrible I have been an XM Radio subscriber since July of 2003. My original radio was a SKYFI. It was great. In July my two year subscription expired, and I renewed for three years. In September I decided I wanted to use the service in a second vehicle. In order to use the same radio in both vehicles I was forced to Purchase a SKYFI II. I was told all I would have to do is switch the radio to my existing account. I did as told and for the last four weeks I have had no service.
I have spent at least five hours on the phone with XM's Customer Care and, like a previous reviewer, I have received nothing but blow off answers.
There is a problem with their software that does not allow the switch to the new radio. I have asked them to close my account and refund my money for the subscription, but they tell me they can't do that until they fix the problem with their system software. In other words, when they fix their system so they can activate my radio, then they can refund my money.
I have also asked them to send me a new radio, but they refused.
When I mention that I want a refund so I can switch to Sirius the hang up on me.
I'm stuck with about $200.00 in equipment and $300.00 in a worthless subscription.
Be careful.
Amazing I was sick and tired of hearing dj - chatter laughing over inane thing like going to the super market. I would go through my entire commute without listening to a single song. That made my choice clear, I needed music and didnot want to carry out a huge bag of cds with me all the time. I tried ipod with itrip but the fm transmitter never worked. Finally i decide to give satellite radio a try. Some one told me Sirius was better for talk radio. I had it with talk on radio and wanted to listen to some music. So i went for XM. I absolutely love it. I fell in love with it when the first song I heard was from my favorite artist. It is so cool. I had a little trouble activating it because i had to call twice to get the job done. But other than that the service has been flawless. Okay if you into tunnels you lose the signal but the 30 minute replay feature is there to save the day. I love the constant stock ticker, the artist - name and song display. The feature when it beeps when my favorite artist's song is playing on any of its stations. If that is not all I can listen to it online at work for free. Did I say i love it?? Oh yes I do, my gf hates it, but she will get over it ;-)
Poor quality with no service. I purchased one of the these directly from xm. It never worked. XM acknowledged it was defective equipment but refused to refund it. For the most part the xm customer service is absolutely terrible, either ignoring you or providing blow off answers.
Magnetic antenna not water resistant I purchased my XM Radio Skyfi system from Best Buy just before a cross country trip. My wife and I love it. However, after losing the signal a few times in the rain and then losing the signal for a few days after a heavy rain. I discovered that the magnetic antenna supplied with the system is "known" to be a problem. Best Buy techs know it. And Delphi, the suppliers of the system know it. When I called tech support at Delphi, I got a curt recommendation to seal the area of the antenna where the wire enters the antenna - then I wouldn't have any more problems. In other words, their problem was my problem. The Best Buy techs graciously told me if I got any kind of replacement antenna, they would replace my antenna at no charge. I couldn't find a replacement. The Delphi people need some customer service training. So, if you buy this system, save yourself some trouble and seal the area where the wire enters the antenna. If it weren't for the antenna problem, I'd give the system five stars.
Service is 5-star, radio is 4-star I purchased the Delphi SkyFi radio about 2 months ago. XM Radio is great and I rarely listen to AM or FM anymore -- only when I need to hear local news. I drive a whole lot, so the XM radio service is great to have whenever I drive through areas that have little or no regular radio service. No matter where I drive, I always have 100+ stations to listen to. There's a wide variety of music, sports and talk. And, the weather/traffic stations are great too!
My complaints with the XM radio service: (1) some of the stations, by category, should be arranged more sequentially, and (2) the service only provides something like 16 characters for artist and title, which is really short. Can't understand that.
As far as the Delphi SkyFi radio, it's great too! The sound is wonderful and there are 20 presets to save favorite stations. The only real problem with the Delphi radio is that it is difficult to read the radio face in daylight - daylight washes out the display. Also, the plastic on the display reflects just about any form of light, so during the daytime just placing your hand in front of the radio (and reflecting light onto the radio face) causes the light to be reflected back and further washes out the display. Just before dusk and until just after dawn, it's very easy to read the display. I don't know why Delphi chose two contrasting levels of amber to use in the display. Looks nice, but it's not very functional. Perhaps a standard green on black LED-type display would have been a better choice for making it easy to read regardless of the light level. Of course, when I use the Delphi radio inside the house, the display is very easy to see.
If you choose to connect the Delphi to your home stereo system, you'll be pleased. We turn on the radio and hear commercial-free music inside and outside the house. Forget TV! XM radio provides a better selection of music than the digital cable system. Just make sure when you choose to connect this to your home stereo system that you order the extra XM radio antenna extension cable. It's unlikely that you will be lucky enough to place the XM antenna right next to your home stereo system.
I paid for the XM service for one year in advance for the small discount. 2 and 3 year plans provide bigger discounts. I can't imagine giving up the service. I wonder just how successful ground-based digital radio will be whenever it arrives. Maybe it will be free, but it will have a whole lotta commercials and annoying DJs, and if you travel in rural areas there still will be few stations to listen to.
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