I’ve been an XM Radio fan for a couple of years. I got my first XM receiver, a Sony, back in December of 2003, with a $100 rebate deal. It’s now two years later. Am I still happy with XM? If my recent purchase of a Delphi Roady2 is any indication, I’d say “yes”.

The Roady2 I picked up for about $23, shipped. As I write this, Amazon is selling is for $19.99; if you spend over $25 on Amazon, you get free shipping. The Roady2 is probably near the end of its product cycle, and with the holiday season so close at hand, it’s a great way for XM to boost its number of subscribers.

So how does the Roady2 compare to the Sony? For one…it’s quiet! The Sony had an annoying fan whine that you could hear across a room. The Roady2 has no fan. The Roady2 also has a built-in FM modulator, so you can stick it in your car, tune your car radio to an unused FM station, and get XM over your car system. In the house, the FM modulator proves to be quite strong: I have the Roady2 in the kitchen, and not only can I pick it up on my kitchen system across the room, I can also get it on the receiver in the den, as well as the receiver upstairs in the bedroom…and yes, even out on the old boom box in the garage!

The Roady2 has ten presets, so I’m able to store all of my favorite stations on the first 10 presets. The display is large and easy to read, and it is simple to operate. The only thing I might do is get the Home Kit for this little wonder. The Home Kit includes a stand, a home antenna, AC adaptor, and a remote control. This kit sells for around $36, actually quite a deal since Sony wanted around $100 for either a car or home kit. So far I’m really liking this Roady2!