Sirius has a new model of their satellite radio hardware, the Stream Jockey [pictured right, because I keep going right to left for some reason]. Also known as the XACT XTR Plug & Play Satellite Receiver, the $100 device can be outfitted with a universal docking station for another $60, or desperate seperate docking stations for the car and home can be thrown in for $50 apiece. It’s clear that the Stream Jockey is Sirius’s answer to the Delphi XM Roady 2, which I just so happen to have been testing for the last month or so.
So let that be my heavy-handed segue into my experiences with the Roady 2, after the jump.
Okay, so this isn’t going to be a comparison review, but one thing I noticed right off the bat is that for $130 purchase price of the Roady 2 you get more mounting kit options than you could ever use, including clips and adhesives and velcro and all sorts of other things – enough that I’m using the extras to mount other things around the house (cats, babies, etc.) But it’s clear that the Roady 2 is designed solely for a car – there is a home stereo “Play Dock” in the works, but it’s not out yet. There isn’t even a battery, which would have been absolutely trick, but for various reasons – the need for an external antenna, among other things – there isn’t one.
I used the built-in FM transmitter, because I have one of the stupid Hondas that don’t include a miniJack in (unlike my sister’s Element, which has one right in the dash with a little tray for storing your whatever). It worked well, but there was a limited number of stations, all at the top and bottom of the bands. If Griffin can make the iTrip broadcast on every available US FM frequency, why doesn’t anybody else? There were generally enough stations open to find something, and the transmitter is strong enough to walk over most weaker broadcasts, but still. In a city like New York with almost every band full, sometimes I had to just turn it off for lack of a clear channel. That’s not the Roady 2’s fault, though. If I had a tape player, I would have used the bundled tape adapter, or if I were actually keeping it instead of returning it, I would either get a different head unit with an auxiliary input, or have a car audio monkey wire one into my existing stereo.
Most of the controls are done with a sort-of cheap feeling corner control wheel, which doesn’t rotate all the way around but instead just moves in a small arc in either direction to do things like scan stations, choose options, and the like. A light push of the wheel serves as a ‘select’ button, and on the whole it works well, although searching for stations when driving got a little hairy sometimes.
If you haven’t used satellite radio, well, it’s really great. I haven’t used Sirius before, so I can’t comment on content vs. XM, but the commercial-free radio with a variety of formats, including tons of news and talk radio is a god-send for long trips. If I drove a lot, the $10 a month subscription would definitely be worth it. Sadly, though, my car serves mostly as a test bed for gadgets, which doesn’t break my heart, but I don’t need to pay any more money per month than I already do.
My favorite satellite radio feature? Artist and song title information. It makes discovering new music so much easier.
So it’s a little on the low-end – there are definitely better looking options out there – but for a sat-radio newbie, I would have no problem recommending it. It’s well-built, and with all the including peripherals you really feel like you’re being taken care of instead of getting their lowest-quality product. If I had the monthly 2000+ mile commute I used to when I lived in the Midwest, I’d more than likely be a subscriber already.
Read – Sirius launches new satellite radio device [NWFusion]
Read – Roady 2 Product Page [Gizmodo]
