Roady XT Review

TitanWannaBe · 12-01-2005, 07:56 PM

I know many of you are XM subscribers so I thought I would pass on my experience with the XT. I recently purchased the XT after the power and aux output jack both failed on my Roady II(I take full resposibilty for the failure of the RoadyII...I move the reciever in and out of my truck each day and I know the jacks were not meant to withstand this type of use). I love the compact design of the XT...it fits very well mounted on the A/C vent to left of the HU. After almost a week with my first XT I was disgusted with the audio quality...it was then that I relized it had no right channel...I know I couldnt beleive it took me a week to relize it also. The second will go back to Circuit City tomorrow. It has terrible backround hiss, poor frequency response and very low volume output. The unit actually sound better throught the FM modulator than it does connected to the Titans AUX jack. I can crank the volume all the way to 31 and the output is barley what could be considered loud. So tonight I bought a SkyFi2...just connected it tonight, it has excellent sound quality and is sufficiently loud for me. The downside is the unit is HUGE, I really dont like the way it looks mounted in the Titan but I just couldnt sacrifice the sound quality for looks. Has anyone had better luck with the XT, mmaybe they just had a bad batch at my Circuit City??? Has anyone tried the Audiovox unit?? Its not as small as the XT but not quit the mammoth that the SkyFi2 is. One other note on the XT it has the multipul color display options as the RoadyII did...but orange is not one of them, so it doesnt match the Titan dash.

**HudsonValleyTitan** · 12-01-2005, 08:52 PM

I have the SF2 unit at home and the Roady2 in the truck. The Roady2 goes from my Titan (Somethings not set right if yours sounds better on FM mode...use the internal volume control on the Roady) to my work truck every day with no problems. I love the sound and channel choices. I use it on FM in my work truck....no AUX input.

Wings · 12-01-2005, 10:00 PM

I just replaced my Roady II with a new one...it's been having issues all day. Don't know if it's the service or the unit, but the sounds keeps cutting out although the display is still running fine. I guess that's what I get for spending 20 bucks on a radio.
I used to have a Roady II on my motorcycle, and loved it. If the problems with the unit persist tomorrow, I'll be calling the distributor.

Elbo · 12-02-2005, 08:11 AM

The Roady's I & II all suffer from TERRIBLE connectors. You can find a LOT of complaints over on xmfan.com I have soldered mine twice, and I take real gentle care of it. It is just very poor design.

I am in same predicament, I want to upgrade my Roady, but the SkyFi2 is HUGE. I hate to waste more money on another Roady, as I know it won't be any better in the long run. Sirus suddenly has quite a few decent looking recievers.

I've keep toying with the idea of the XM2Go, but it's still sorta pricey, I have mixed feelings about it. I think I will hold out for the next generation.

TitanWannaBe · 12-02-2005, 08:56 AM

My RoadyII sounded great and had plenty of volume...I was very happy with it except for the the failed plug sockets. It is the RoadyXT that has the bad sound quality. The docking is very nice with the XT also, it is very nice not to have to plug/unplug three cables each time I want to move it. Another thing I miss the the RoadyII had was that when I scrolled the channels with the remote it would scroll only my presets(not every channel), the other receivers dont seem to be programmed this way. When you scroll the Roadyy's(XT or II) they will show you what is playing on each channel without actually leaving the channel you are tuned to...the SF2 does not show you whats playing on the others unless you tune-in to the channel. I do alot of channel surfing so this is annoying. I agree Sirus has some new receivers worth looking at and have considered a switch.

stratplaya · 08-07-2006, 09:21 AM

I just installed my Roady XT and agree with the original author regarding sound quality.

In the install manual XM gives you three options for getting the signal to your amplifier. The first and poorest is wireless through the FM radio, the second and "better" is a direct connection to the FM radio, the "best" is a cassette adapter that is useless for us Titan owners. A forth option not mentioned by the manual would be plugging a 1/8 inch cable from the audio out jack of the XM receiver to the aux in. I was surprised that this solution sounded worse than the wireless FM solution.

I went with the first option since I don't believe the OEM indash has any other input jacks besides the aux. Sound quality is somewhere between AM and FM which is not good.

I'm not sure if I'll stick with sat radio. I like the programming but the audio quality is pretty poor unless you have a built in receiver.

SP

phlydude · 08-08-2006, 01:14 PM

I have a MyFi mounted on a goosneck on the passenger side that bolts to the floor on the seat bolt. No drilling nice and easy to move around.
I get great sound quality using the AUX port vs. FM modualtion. The unit is small enough to be unobtrusive and it is nice to have the built in battery to take it with me like a walkman when I leave the truck.

ttugrad95 · 08-08-2006, 01:55 PM

I had a Roady II in my Grand Cherokee and it worked ok. I used the cassette adapter to get sound in. We had an ice storm and the antenna wire snapped so I called to cancel service since I really didn't use it that much. They offered me up to $200 off on any new receiver if I would stay so I chose the MyFi. I tried using it through FM modulation and the sound was HORRIBLE, like AM radio quality so I never used it. When I got the Titan it sounded pretty good through the aux jack but I never found an install location that I liked since the MyFi is kind of awkward, and I hated having wires all over the place so I gave it to my parents to use in their RV. I'm holding out till I can afford the receiver that works through the Titan's radio, or maybe an aftermarker HU with satellite capability. I don't know, its not a high priority. After spending years on XM I wasn't really thrilled with their programming either. If I were to do it again I would go with Sirius.

Chris93Si · 08-08-2006, 02:11 PM

We have the Roady XT setup in my wife's CRV and no problems here, except that XM kinda sucks :P

FlimFlamMan · 12-05-2006, 09:02 AM

The wife and I both have the Roady II's and no problems after having them a good year at least so far (knock on wood). We leave them in the vehicles so they are plugged/unplugged all the time.

I've come real close to buying the XT but after your review I think I'll wait till my II fries.

Plus... XM kinda pisses me off cause all the damn commercials now! Grrrr!