Discount: Delphi SA10000 XM SKYFi Radio Receiver

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Delphi SA10000 XM SKYFi Radio Receiver

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On Sale Today!
05th of December 2008





The Delphi XM SKYFi radio combines the advanced features with a compact design and easy installation, all at an cheap price.

Review:
Delphi's potent and pocket friendly SA10000 XM SKYFi satellite radio receiver flits easily between home and car and puts XM Radio's money of music, sports, and news offerings at your fingertips, if you are 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 will also need either a car or a home docking device like the Delphi SA10002 XM SKYFi car kit or the Delphi SA10034 XM movable audio cd boombox whose use is by no means restricted to the home. The receiver pulls in the signal, when a docking station gives DC power and conventional features like speakers, headset jacks, and antennas, based on the accessory. For this review we used the XM movable 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 group or with channel. Using the remote's display button, you may be able to view the artist or the name of the song now 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 two ESPN and two NASCAR channels, talk, and entertainment Discover, E!, others, also as instant traffic and weather updates for 21 big U.S. metropolitan regions.

inside the big music categories rock, "hits" pop, country, jazz/blues, and urban subgenres abound, offering many thrilling 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 missing record contracts Unsigned, and great times and music from films Cinemagic. there is a channel for Starbucks' excellent HEAR Music, focused 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 bigger works, children's music teens may enjoy Disney radio, but XM Kids is just plain soggy, world music 7 channels, four of which are Latin and one 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 ten memory settings, which recall artist, song, and station after the fact so you may be able to make notes or hunt out CDs afterward.

to assess XM's sound quality we fed the headset 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 typically downright enjoyable, if not as smooth, full bodied, and in depth 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 frequently heard in lossy digital compression. XM's classical programming sounds better than its rock programming, with fewer artifacts and a wider stereo soundstage. Better than FM? For its silky background calm and somewhat 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 headset jack could 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, one CR2032 lithium battery, and operating and fast start guides.


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 will get crystal clear reception, if at home or on the road, thanks to XM's powerful satellites and vast network of repeater stations during the continental U.S.

With the SKYFi car 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, also as either the individually available home or car connection kit to get XM radio signals.

The sleek, compact SKYFi radio receiver features a big orangish red 5 line display with adjustable font size that displays song title, artist, channel group, and channel name/number info. It has control buttons for on/off, saving song info to memory, and predetermined programming up to 20 presets, also as a scroll wheel that enables you to swiftly search through the channel groups and stations. The SKYFi radio receiver also comes with a remote control with the same control buttons also as an audio mute control. The remote control uses a 3 volt CR2032 lithium battery, available at most merchants that carry electronic merchandise.

The SKYFi radio receiver inserts neatly into the SKYFi Boombox for satellite radio wherever you want to take it.

you may be able to listen to one station while previewing program info on up to five other channels. also, you may be able to save the song and artist info displayed on the SKYFi radio receiver to assist you remember your beloved songs when you hit the CD store. The line out level control changes the audio level if it's too high, causing distortion, or too low for your car.

What Is XM Satellite Radio?
XM Satellite Radio was the 1st 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 roughly terrestrial repeaters located during the continental United States for seamless transmission. Service isn't available in Hawaii or Alaska.

XM Satellite Radio offers 101 channels, as well as 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 channels available at an extra monthly cost. Under the XM Family plan, subscribers get a discounted rate of $6.99 per month for extra radios.

XM's programming partners include Sesame Workshop, NASCAR, related Press, ABC News, CNBC, CNET, BBC World Service and BBC Concerts, Radio One, CNN/Sports Illustrated, Hispanic Broadcast company, Disney, and ESPN.

What's in the Box
Delphi XM SKYFi radio receiver SA10000, wireless remote control, one CR2032 lithium battery, and operating and fast start guides.




Delphi SA10000 XM