Feature Comparison of XM & Sirius Plug & Play Units! (1 Viewer)

[Joshua Clinard]

For those looking to get into Satellite Radio this holiday season, take a look at this excellent comparison of Satellite Radio Plug & Play units. The units covered are the Sirius JVC SR1000, AudioVox SRS1, AudioVox SRS2, Brix Streamer, Kenwood Here2Anywhere, XM SKYFi, and XM Roady.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Joshua,

Very cool.

This should help people make a good choice
on their first satellite purchase.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

Thanks Ron. Keep in mind that the XM Roady is now considered a Plug & Play. They are offering a free home kit for the Roady, which includes a base, antenna, A/C adapter and cables. You have to mail off for the kit though, you cannot get it at stores yet, so that may put some people off. Estimated time of delivery is 8-10 weeks. Only customers who have ordered their kits since last week are able to get the free kit.

[Edit]

The stand is not like a docking station. It is just something for the Rooady to stand on. The wires must still be plugged into the back of the Roady, so you would have to disconnect them each time, unlike you would have to with a dock.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Joshua,

What do you mean by plug and play?

My brother has to get rid of his XM radio because
his company gave him a new car that does not have
a tape deck.

My brother tells me that Sirius offers a unit that
sits on your dash and acts as an all-in-one receiver
and transmitter, obliterating the need for any sort
of wiring to the deck.

Is that what you mean by plu-and-play? Does XM
have this option? My bro' would really like to
stay with XM.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

Yes, Ron, that is exactly what I mean. For the benefit of others, let me explain further. The AudioVox SRS is a Plug and Play because you can snap it in and out of a home or car docking station, like the SKYFi. The car kit has a built-in FM Transmitter. No wiring is required. Just tune the radio on your car stereo to one of 5 frequencies, whichever one has no local programming. Then set the switch on the SRS to the correct one, and your good to go. The quality is not quite as good as a tape adapter would be, but it's still very enjoyable. The FM Transmitter is built-in to the car kit, so make sure he get's the correct one. Also, the Kenwood H2A has a second car kit that includes that option, but it may not be available in stores yet. I have actually ordered one for my H2A because our cassette player is broken. :frowning: I would definitely go with the AudioVox SRS 2 if I were buying one now.

As far as I know, XM does not have an Plug & Play with that option. Finally, with all this new hardware, it seems that Sirius has a slight competitive edge, at least when it comes to hardware. Programming is better in my opinion, but YMMV, so they are not neccesarily a winner in that respect.

Let me know what he decides to do.