Customer Reviews

Delphi XM Roady XT Satellite Radio Receiver

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

The Roady XT has made some major improvements over the Roady2. First and foremost, artist names and song titles will now scroll if they are longer than 16 characters. Each will scroll twice at the beginning of a song. If you need the complete name/title further into the piece, the best way to trigger the scroll again is to to hit the "display" button five times. This takes you back to the same display mode you were using, and it will begin to scroll again within a few seconds.

The sports ticker is great also. I was able to set it up for every NFL team, so there doesn't appear to be any limit on its size. It's not instantaneous, however; it takes about 2-3 minutes for an actual change in the score to be reflected in the ticker.

There is also a "Jump" button which allows you to flip to the previous channel.

The "Tuneselect" feature now allows you to search for songs not only by the song title, but by the artist name as well. This is accessed through the menu screen. You do, however, have to pick one or the other.

Another big plus: The Roady XT now gives you access to virtually the entire FM spectrum (88.1-107.9) if you want to listen via the FM modulator. The "Jump" button also comes into play here as well. If you hold it in for a few seconds, it will bring up a screen showing the last 6 FM frequencies you used. You can then use the arrow buttons to go to the one you want, then hit "Select." And by setting your in-dash radio's presets to the corresponding FM frequencies, it makes it much easier to adjust the modulator if you start running into interference as you drive.

Tip: The XM antenna also serves as the FM transmitter. If possible, place it close to your regular car antenna.

I own a Delphi SkiFi2 in my personal car and have purchased a Roady XT for my wife and sister-in-law.

The quality of the RoadyXT is excellent! The ease of installation and features it provides the user make it a great bargain. The only critique I have is that I got used to the larger display offered on the Delphi SkiFi2 which makes browsing channels easier to do. Other than that, I'd recommend a RoadyXT to anyone looking for a cheap, good quality sat radio for the car and home.

Great improvement over the Roady 2 and it is amazingly lightweight. I bought the Roady XT after trying to get a home kit for the Roady 2, only to find out the A/C adapter in the Roady 2 home kit didn't want to power up/stay in the Roady 2 (after trying 2 different kits - same thing). Certainly worth $99.

The Roady XT is a well needed update to the previous model because it seamlessly goes back and forth between satellite and conventional AM/FM settings with a simple push of your preset button. The antenna is strong enough that I have mine inside my car and I seem to be enjoying strong enough reception. You may want your antenna outside your car as prescribed by the owner's manual, but I was concerned that the antenna would be too easy to steal or simply vandalize, so based on my installer's recommendation I had my antenna placed on the upper right windshield, inside the car.

The radio's interface is easy to use. You can scan, digitally enter desired station or use presets. The ticker feature is nice and easy to read. Also my professional installer (I recommend professional installation even though this is supposedly a "plug-and-play") said he has installed many satellite radios and he thought this one was the best he has seen.

Bear in mind all satellite radio is not a perfect technology. It's got great content but remember it's vulnerable to reception glitches in the same way that a cell phone is. Going under tunnels, bridges, for example; or driving up in the mountains or by the beach with lots of overhanging structures; even heavy cloud cover can compromise your signal. But even with its similar cell phone weaknesses, I think on balance satellite radio is a good buy, especially for long drives when you don't want to be faced with "cow pasture" radio stations.

In conclusion, the XM Roady XT, with its effortless transition between satellite and FM/AM radio, represents the best technology for this type of radio.

Post Script: Contrary to my installer's advice, the radio works better with the antenna mounted on the dash than it does in the upper right window.

Update 8/20/06: If I could do it over again, I'd only get satellite radio if it was pre-installed in the car because my installer, as a result of moving a car panel, has made a rattling sound in the side car panel, which he removed to put in the radio. Don't get one installed, only pre-installed.

Final Update on 12-15-07: I did not renew my XM subscription. As I said, the installation resulted in car rattles and vibration noise. The actual satellite sound was unacceptable: loud hissing, static, sometimes outright lack of reception, compromised fidelity even in best conditions. Living in LA, I have so many terrestial radio choices plus "radio" websites such as Pandora leave me with no desire for satellite radio.

The sound quality and reception of my Roady XT using the built-in FM transmitter is tremendous at home as well as in my car using the car antenna on my dash and on my couch. It may have something to do with living in the San Jose area though. Pretty slick little radio. I am impressed. Good job Delphi!

Ok, I don't have the RoadyXT "yet", but I do have the Roady2 and originally had the first Roady model. And I have to say that I was most satisfied with both units, and with the XM service in general. There are some people that will NEVER be happy with anything - give 'em $100 and they'll complain that gas costs 1/3 of it. :| So, don't believe the negativity you hear in reviews of this product (e.g., Early Adopter (Denver, CO USA)). From everything I've experienced (I don't own one, but I've used one quite often and will be purchasing one in the next few days), this unit is great. Yes, there are things that are less-than-stellar about it - for example, using the FM transmitter is irritating sometimes, especially if you're travelling interstate and going through town after town. Frequencies will change, thus making you switch the transmitter station. But that isn't uncommon to ANY device using an FM transmitter; so again, don't believe the negativity. The buttons on this unit are small, yes, so having a remote will work much better than trying to use the buttons on the unit itself. But is that so crazy? Your eyes should be on the road, not on the unit for more than 2 secs to see a song title or something to that effect. And the whole notion of having to do some "difficult installation" in your car...you don't. I performed an "installation" in my car, just b/c I didn't want wires hanging about all around the radio. But if you don't mind it, don't think twice about an installation. And if you DO decide to "install" it, there are NUMEROUS places to find out how to remove the radio dash cover long enough to slide wires behind it - www.xmfan.com, www.xm411.com to name a couple; there are countless numbers of people more than happy to help give you advice about using the radio and "installing" it.

So again - if you're just looking for the next gadget to let you down b/c nothing seems to satisfy you, then don't waste your time with the RoadyXT, or waste XM's service reps' time trying to appease or convince you of its worth. If, however, you want a great product and a great service (especially considering the inane garbage free radio offers), then consider this product. I don't think you'll regret it.

Just bought this incredible little gem during the Boxing day sales.What can I say , other than completely outstanding!I live in Miramichi, New Brunswick Canada and the selection of decent radio is non existent. I originally drove to the city Moncton to get to the closest retail store that sells satellite radio...150 Kms away. I installed the unit in my car in the parking lot immediately after purchasing it,(10 mins total) wrote down the activation # and went back into Future Shop to use their computer to activate my service at XM online( I really didn't want to be subjected to the garbage on the radio for the drive home ...all 5 stations worth!. The XM subscription was 12.99 per month which you can buy in quarterly installments if you wish ,so only 40$ for 3 months to start.Normally there is a 15$ one time activation fee,but due to the promotion XM had for its service being available now in Canada finally, it was waived if you activated before Dec 31st.
Regardless, a real pittance compared to what you get!.My service was activated within 10 mins of leaving the store. Well let me tell you ,I was completely blown away by the scope and quality of selection available.I went from Jazz to Rock to Classic radio and BBC news with pristine reception the entire drive home,which I might add seemed more like 30 mins than 90 that it actually takes. I was quite honestly disappointed when I got home that I couldn't continue to explore the stations more ...so of course I sat in my driveway for at least another hour when i pulled in, my neighbours already consider me odd so this wasn't out of the ordinary I guess.
Anyway after getting inside and reading the instruction manual I only then noticed that there was a home docking kit for the Roady as well. Needless to say I phoned Future Shop back and asked if there were any in stock, the salesperson said there were only 2 left til mid Jan, he was instructed to hold onto 1 until the next morning under penalty of death.I drove back again the next morning to pick it up. The built in FM transmitter is incredible!!! I just plug the Roady onto its cradle, tune in the antenna, set the roady freq to 88.3 or whatever unused freq there might be and bang, perfect reception and clarity coming from every stereo in the house! At first I assumed the Roady would have to be within inches or feet of the receiver for it to pick up, I then went to the kitchen and turned on the stereo there, voila again perfect. The bedroom , the basement gym and then the unattached garage all perfect. By this time I was beyond impressed ,but of course I am always curious to see the limitations of my toys.Next experiment was to get in my car and tune the car stereo to 88.3 ,about a block away I finally lost the reception.I even screwed with my uncles head who lives 5 houses over, I told him to turn on and tune in his stereo to the same, then asked him to pick whatever genre of music he wanted and I would make it play from his stereo..It was pretty funny after I switched through 4 different satellite stations to his exact requests. Anyway in closing it is fantastic, don't even consider buying without the home kit as it is pretty dumb to pay 13$ a month only to have in the car. Anyone who writes in saying they are unsatisfied with it is probably fairly dim to begin with and is not calibrating the antenna or unit properly. P.s I realize on the website that the home antenna should be placed in a window with a southern exposure for optimal reception , but oddly enough out here at least it appears to be west for me..it has a signal strength bar level built in that shows you how good your signal is as you move the antenna around.. so it really is idiot proof...just be patient with getting the signal for a minute or 2 then no problem.

[...]No annoying DJs or commercials or the same crappy six songs played every hour like on most commercial airwaves radio stations. XM brings deeper cuts and much longer playlists. We're discovering songs and artists we'd never hear in the marketing driven soulless commercial world monopolized by Cox and Clearchannel owning most the markets ramming the same stupid songs only a troglodyte would enjoy.

But hey, this is a review of the actual Delphi roady. First Amazon's end of things was seemless and perfect as ever, that's why Amazon is far and away the best shopping experience of any online store, hands down. When we got the unit we couldn't believe something so small (easily fits in my hand) could be that feature packed. Setting it up, as others have mentioned, is a bit frustrating through XM's automated system but 15 minutes later we were activated and listening to many channels of great varied music.

It should be noted we bought the home kit for the stereo, which was the first experience, that sounds great and made our tuner obsolete instantly, other than NPR there's nothing to listen to on conventional radio anyways. The car set up was rather effortless but like others point out mouting the antenna is a pain. It's not as big a deal as some reviewers made out though. We simply ran the wire down to the floorboards, under the seats to the back, up the rear piller and put the little manget end on the roof closing the wire in the rubber gasket to the liftgate to the RAV4. Viola. Music to go!

At first it's a bit intoxicating with all the channels making it hard to drive trying to see "oh, who's this, wow they're good" but over time you get better at glancing from the road to the display. It's a small unit so the buttons are a bit small but very easy to press and use even with bigger fingers. The only gripe, and it's not worth removing a star at all, is the display can't show you the station, the artist, and the song all at the same time. Your only options are artist and song, station and song, or station and artist. So if you're on a station and want to find out what great song you're listening to you have to reach over and hit the "Disp"(lay) button, it's an extra step. Other than that it's a very readable display with a bunch of choices in color illumination.

This is a great unit, highly recommended, as is XM. Ditch your normal radio and open your ears, XM rules!

I've had my Roady XT for about three months- it worked fine for about a week but then I started having problems getting a continuous signal. Finally, the receiver stopped working completely. When you call the poorly trained workers in India or Pakistan or wherever XT hides out at, they all have one script they read asking you irrelevant questions about your radio. If you call again, the next person asks you the same questions over again, as they have no procedure of creating a "case" to review each time you call. They are a complete joke of a company.

My husband gave me this Roady for a Christmas present last year, and I have enjoyed it so much that I'm buying one for my mother-in-law for Christmas this year!

I'd say the set-up is easy. Here's how it works ... the Roady has an antenna (flat, rectangular, magnetic) that receives the XM signal. You place it physically close in proximity to your car antenna on the body of your car and the XM signal is transmitted to the car antenna and through your FM radio. All you have to do is coordinate the receiver and your radio to the same station. Setup this way takes 5 minutes or less. Another option is to have the Roady professionally installed (hardwired) into your car. Next, you call XM to set up your subscription, and about an hour later the receiver is picking up the XM signal and you're good to go.

Reception is super, even in the rural south where cell phone signals are poor! I drive 2 hours a day between home and work and always run out of a station's coverage area. It is so great to be able to listen to a station or show for the entire commute. And there is wide variety of programming ... something for everyone ... pop, alternative, country, christian, latin, classical, jazz, broadway, oldies, tons of news/sports/weather channels, even comedy.

I would definitely recommend this product! There's just a couple of reasons I rated the Roady 4 stars instead of 5. All the wires connecting to the receiver are messy, cumbersome, and tend to tangle. And I didn't like the mounting options either. You can clip the receiver to the car's air vents, but it totally blocks the flow of air. The alternative is mounting with double-sided tape. The performance more than makes up for these minor irritants; I love my Roady and am sure you will too!