When Sirius and XM began offering their fee-based satellite services a few years ago, many radio lovers took note--and then went right back to old-fashioned-but-free AM and FM. But satellite is catching on: XM now has more than 2 million customers, while Sirius has 800,000.
Why are folks now deciding that satellite radio is worth the not-inconsiderable investment ($10 a month for XM, $13 a month for Sirius, and at least $100 for a satellite-capable radio)? For one thing, both services are ramping up aggressively, adding new stations and signing deals with free-radio stars ranging from Howard Stern (who will be moving to Sirius in 2006) to the ex-host of NPR's
Both services offer ad-free music in an array of genres, some 120 stations, and reception almost anywhere in the continental United States (except under bridges and in tunnels). They share some programming options (such as CNN Headline News), but they also offer exclusive channels, so you'll want to compare lineups before choosing.
Sports fans face a dilemma. Sirius has long been, er, serious about sports; it holds exclusive satellite rights to NFL football and NHL hockey games. For its part, XM has sole rights to NASCAR, and recently won rights to Major League Baseball for the next 11 years. Hence, your options are either pro football and hockey or pro baseball and auto racing--unless you splurge and get both services and two radios (satellite radios work with either XM or Sirius, not both).
Both services present a rich variety of news, talk shows, comedy, and other content beyond simply music and sports. For additional details about these two networks, see "A Quick Guide to Satellite Radio."
Whether you choose Sirius or XM, you'll need a radio designed to work with that particular service. There are plenty of options, but each of the following six devices offers a feature rarely found in other products, and each is certain to enhance your listening.
XM Hardware
Until now, satellite radios have been more transportable than portable: You might have been able to remove one from your car, but you couldn't listen to it elsewhere without extra-cost complications such as an external antenna and power source. Delphi's pocketable (though chunky) MyFi breaks new ground as the first truly Walkman-like model, with a battery that's good for 5 hours and a built-in antenna that lets you listen anywhere you can get a signal. When you're someplace satellites don't reach, you can listen to up to 5 hours of audio that you've recorded previously. The device also comes with TuneSelect, which alerts you when favorite music is playing on any channel, and it can display stock quotes and sports scores on its big LCD.
Like Delphi's SkyFi2 and Roady2, and Sirius's Sportster, the MyFi has a built-in FM transmitter that can broadcast sound to any radio (although getting a clear signal in major cities can at times be a problem). Bundled earphones let you listen while on the run; but as with most personal-audio devices,you can dramatically increase the unit's audio quality by buying better headphones.
At $350, the MyFi is by no means inexpensive, but it qualifies as the closest thing yet to an all-purpose, go-anywhere satellite radio. And it, unlike most competitors, comes with a full complement of accessories, including both a home kit and a car kit with external antennas, power sources, and mounting equipment.
The $130 Delphi XM SkyFi2 portable receiver is a worthy successor to Delphi's original workhorse radio. This sequel's best feature, without question, is a TiVo-like capability that saves the most recent 30 minutes of radio to internal memory, so you can pause or replay whatever you are listening to. This feature let me replay a favorite song again and again, thanks to Back and Forward buttons. (Be aware, though, that the radio clears out its 30-minute buffer each time you turn the device off.)
Like the MyFi, the SkyFi2 has a built-in FM transmitter and TuneSelect, a feature that helps you track down your favorite music. The unit's big LCD screen is easier to read than its predecessor was, in all kinds of light, and you can arrange for it to display stock quotes, sports scores, or the time of day. Car and home kits are available for $70.
Similar in its dimensions to a deck of playing cards, the Delphi XM Roady2 ($130) is only half the size of the SkyFi2, so it's less likely to block controls on your car's dashboard. It's also easier to carry in a pocket between your car and your home. And unlike the SkyFi2 and the Sportster, it comes with every accessory you need for in-car listening.
This little radio does make some compromises, however: Its small screen can be difficult to read; it lacks the SkyFi2's cool 30-minute memory; and though it can show you your 20 favorite delayed stock quotes, it can't display sports scores and other information. But if size matters, the Roady2 is a great, economical choice.
The PlayDock is a $200 transportable "home base" system that turns Delphi's XM Roady2 radio into a boom box. It provides two primary speakers and a 15-watt powered subwoofer that sounded quite good, though slightly bottom-heavy, to my ear. The unit has a couple of distinctive features. First, it looks like a small space heater, which is bad if you seek the sporty form of a boom box, but good if you want your radio to fit discreetly into any room. Second, it has a rechargeable battery, which I ran continuously for about 7 hours. This mobility lets you cart the PlayDock around without an AC adapter, all the while saving money on batteries. The system tips the scales at a rather startling 14 pounds; so despite having a convenient built-in handgrip, it's more cumbersome than a traditional boom box. Nevertheless, the PlayDock rates as an unconventional (albeit slightly pricey) winner.
Mindful of its exclusive contract to broadcast all NFL games, Sirius has given the Sportster SP-R1 some unique features for football fans. For starters, when your favorite team is playing, the Sportster will sound and display an alert and take you directly to the appropriate station (the radio provides alerts for 20 favorite songs and artists, too--or for additional sports teams). And the unit permits you to scroll through scores and text-based play-by-play reports for pro football, baseball, and hockey games, as well as other sports.
I do wish that the Sportster offered more slots for tracking favorite teams and that it had a TiVo-like recording feature, as Delphi's XM SkyFi2 does. But it costs just $100, and it has a big screen and lots of presets, making it a great all-around choice if you're on the Sirius network. Car and home kits are available for $50.
The beauty of Sirius's $100 Sportster Boombox SP-B1 lies in its portability: This add-on for the Sportster tuner weighs only 6 pounds. You can carry the unit around the house, to the beach, or anywhere else (though operating the Boombox away from AC power means fueling it with eight D batteries, which are rated to last for about 8 hours). Setup is easy: Slip your Sportster into a docking slot on the face of the Boombox and then attach the box's 20-foot antenna (which tucks away into a compartment when it's not in use). The Boombox's quartet of speakers yielded full audio; its power (5 watts per channel) is adequate for most situations but seemed a tad weak in noisy settings. The Delphi MyFi is an even more portable unit for personal listening, but the Boombox is a good choice if you plan to share the music.
| Delphi MyFi |
$350 | XM | Portable radio | The first satellite radio with true Walkman-style portability can record 5 hours of programming; not cheap, but comes with everything you need to listen in the car, at home, or on the go. |
| Delphi XM SkyFi2 |
$130 | XM | Radio | TiVo-style recording saves 30 minutes of radio to memory. FM transmitter allows wireless transmission to any radio. $70 cradles are available for cars of home stereos. |
| Delphi XM Roady2 |
$130 | XM | Radio | Small size makes the Roady2 easy to add to a car dash or to tote around; includes FM transmitter. The small screen can be tough to read. No kit is required for connecting to a car stereo. |
| Cambridge Soundworks PlayDock |
$200 | XM | Boom box dock | Built-in rechargeable battery makes the PlayDock affordably transportable; includes a fairly powerful (but bass-heavy) subwoofer. Requires the Delphi Roady2. |
| Sirius Sportster SP-R1 |
$100 | Sirius | Radio | Alerts you when favorite sports teams are playing on air and can display play-by-play scores. $50 cradles are available for cars or home stereos. |
| Sirius Sportster Boombox SP-B1 |
$100 | Sirius | Boom box dock | Lightweight and inexpensive, with good sound, but it's a power guzzler, demanding eight D cells for non-AC use. Requires the Sirius Sportster radio. |
Helmut Kobler
