Delphi XM Roady2

CNET editors' review

Delphi's Roady2 XM radio receiver comes with everything you need for car use, so--unlike most competing models--you won't need to shell out for a separate car adapter. More notable, however, is the Roady2's positively elfin size: weighing just 3.4 ounces with dimensions of 2.4 by 3.9 by 0.7 inches (HWD), the Roady2 is the smallest satellite receiver around. The included car accessories are a cigarette lighter adapter, an extrasmall antenna, a cassette adapter, and a built-in FM transmitter. If you want to bring it in the house, buy the optional home adapter kit or something like the Cambridge SoundWorks PlayDock XM, which we used to test the Roady2.

Like any XM receiver, the Roady2 requires a subscription to XM's service, which runs $12.95 per month. You can't share XM subscriptions between components, which is why Delphi designed the Roady2 to be transportable between the car and home. For more information on XM service, check out our quick guide to satellite radio.

The receiver's compactness forced the designers to get creative with the controls, skipping the usual tuning dial and instead adding a tuning wheel on the top-right side of the player, not on the front. We spun it to scroll through lists and pressed it to make selections. We like the idea but found it awkward to use; something on the front of the receiver would have been easier. The rest of the controls are more typical, with a power button on the top left; display, memory, menu, preset, and category buttons along the top; and numbered channel-input buttons along the bottom. Unlike many satellite radio receivers that come with a remote, the Roady2's costs extra: $19.99.

The Roady2 has an interesting mix of features. It comes with three colored faceplates and seven backlit display colors, for your artistic side, and the ability to track 20 stocks, for your business side. (Entering stocks is easy, but you'll need to know their NYSE, Nasdaq, or AMEX symbols.) When a song is playing, you can either save its information in the 20-song memory or put it on your 20-song TuneSelect list so that you're notified when it plays on any XM channel. That's handy, but combining the two memory systems, as the Clarion Sirius SIRPNP does, would make it easier to use.

Although the Roady2 lets you save 30 favorite channels--10 each in three preset directories--you can't scroll through the songs they're playing, as you can with other players, such as the Delphi SkyFi. You can scroll through only the standard XM channel categories.

A built-in FM transmitter lets you send music to any of 12 different frequencies, which worked perfectly in our testing. The Roady2 transmits not only from the receiver itself but also from the micro antenna for a strong signal. The FM transmitter option shows up in the menu if you don't have an external audio player, such as the included cassette adapter, already connected. In our tests, the cassette adapter provided better audio quality than the FM transmitter.

If you're fed up with the radio stations where you live and are looking for a compact satellite radio receiver that you can shuttle between car and home, the Roady2 is a worthy choice. There are less expensive options available for XM reception, however, including the bulkier Delphi SkyFi receiver.

Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more.