Delphi's SkyFi3 gets official-er

We've been tossed around a bit with this new SkyFi3 player from Delphi, but they've finally gotten one of those fancy press releases out for the thing, so hopefully this will stick. At least all the specs are the same: 2.8-inch monochrome display, microSD slot, external card-dock or Live Wearable Kit for live XM radio, 30 minutes of pause-replay, 10 hours of XM recording, etc. What's new is that the player's price has been jacked up to $230, and the release date has been pushed back to December 1st. Luckily, the Live Wearable Kit ($50) should come free with most retail purchases, but we're not exactly stoked about the price hike and new launch date all the same.

Update: Delphi pinged to let us know the $230 package includes a running / wearable kit, whereas the base $199 package is for the regular car kit.

[decypher @ Oct 17th 2006 6:27PM]

Glad to see that XM has another option for a receiver. The devices continue to improve. I have to admit that XM is one of my favorite things on earth. If I could get Cingular to cary the XM feed on one of their phones I would have to buy it.

[SolarDonky @ Oct 17th 2006 7:11PM]

Is it just me or does satellite radio sound like really crappy internet radio - horrible lows and tinny highs - it just sounds crappy.

Has anyone experienced HD Radio? Is it better than satellite?

Will satellite radio ever sound good?

[Kevin @ Oct 17th 2006 7:50PM]

Sat radio sound quality is interesting.

Generally, Sirius is regaurded as the poorer-sounding service, using the now abandoned PAC codec. (Formerly used by HD radio.) XM uses AAC Plus, as does HD radio. Neither Sirius nor XM MUSIC channels sound like internet radio. Music channels on XM run anywhere from 32-48 kbps, depending on popularity (with the exception of Classical, which is given 54 kbps). XM also has "HD Surround" channels, which run at 64k. I do not know Sirius figures. What I DO know is that AAC Plus in this range is about 3 times as effective as MP3. Audiophiles will not like the sound, but there are few artifacts.

The talk channels are a different story. Again by popularity, they can vary from 16k-24k. These DO sound like internet radio. Traffic and Canadian talk channels run at a whopping FOUR kbps, using the AMBE voice codec. These are very poor sounding, but audible.

[iband @ Oct 17th 2006 9:33PM]

Sat radio sound depends on how your receiver is hooked up. Many buy receivers for their cars and use wireless FM mod, cassette adapters or wired FM mod. If you can install with RCA or Aux In, the XM sound is great. Different channels offer different sound. For example, the jazz stations, Fine Tuning and the classical stations sound amazing. The rock stations (especially Deep Tracks) sound very good. The hits channels come in next on the scale. The news stations sound fine on XM.

I have many XM radios, including the portable Helix. With my B&O earphones, the sound quality is VERY good. As for HD Radio, remember, the "HD" does NOT stand for High Def -- and the content still blows.

[Kevin @ Oct 17th 2006 9:49PM]

^Going on what he said, the quality is decent (Just fine to my ears), just not audiophile-level or even "CD Quality". HD radio often sucks, exspecially if broadcasting an HD2. HD2 = half the bandwidth.

[Norellicus @ Oct 20th 2006 1:33PM]

$100 says they'll have a firmware update in less than 6 months that disables the recording capability dirext from sat radio.

[Norellicus @ Oct 20th 2006 1:34PM]

Direct, not dirext...