3. Delphi Premium Sound System

Delphi created a Delphi Premium Sound Dock for use with the Delphi SkyFi3, as well as the MyFi, Roady XT, and the Audiovox Xpress, which works like many of the portable media player sound systems on the market today. However, the Premium Sound Dock also has an XM antenna built into the back for XM reception in your home or office. I really loved the idea of the sound system, because it allowed me to snap the SkyFi3 out of my car and bring it into my house for listening in my living room.

On the front of the unit are three buttons: Vol-, Bass, and Vol+. The bass button controlled the "MaxxBass" on three preset bass levels, although I've always preferred to rock bass out on the highest level. Delphi describes "MaxxBass" as "a patented psychoacoustic bass extension technology that delivers deeper, richer, and more natural bass sound." For a $179 system, the bass certainly had a rich and deep thump to it, and as a non-audiophile, I was pleased with what the Premium Sound System had to offer in terms of bass quality and loudness.

On the back-top of the unit is a hatch where the twenty foot antenna is held, and can be stored away while being ported around, or while the SkyFi3 plays microSD music or music stored on its 256 MB of internal memory. If you'd like to move the player outside with you on your back patio without power, you can do so thanks to the dock's ability to run off of 8 "C" size batteries (which were not included). There's also an auxiliary input for other personal media players, although this obviously will not keep those other players charged.

The Premium Sound System was an awesome addition to my desk, and although I wasn't a huge fan of the SkyFi3 due to some of the lockups, I did enjoy using the Premium Sound System while lounging around in bed, or on a couch with my remote listening to XM 80s or catching a baseball game.

Overall Conclusion

Overall, I'd hold off on the SkyFi3 until some of the glitches are fixed and the car-dock buttons are replaced, hopefully in a later model. If you do have one of the other units supported by the Premium Sound System, I recommend looking into it, as it was a welcome addition to my desk.

Editor's Note: As of May 17th 2007, I have been informed that there is a software fix for the Delphi SkyFi3 unit, preventing many of the lockup problems I experienced. As I no longer have the unit, I am unable to test the software fixes, although I am pleased to see that the company informed me of the issue, even before this review was published.

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