Updated below for the Sanyo R227.
Well, almost.
I’ve been a great fan of XM satellite radio for years. In fact, I was an early adopter of the technology with the original Sony 5-channel receiver. It was a great unit for its time, but I eventually replaced it with an XM Roady some years ago. I think it’s time for another change.
Today I added a Myine Ira wi-fi internet radio to my electronics. 11,000 stations, and no annual fee. Just about all of the stations I listen to on XM are available. Just about? Hell, all of them are! And yes, most of those 11,000 stations are available from a computer also, but what the hell. It’s the end of the ’00s, and I need updating too.
- It comes without speakers, but I don’t have a problem with that. It’s plugged into my stereo, just as the Roady is.
- There are no controls on the unit itself, but I figure the limited remote is good enough for me, just as it is with the much better Roady remote.
- I already have the 40-channel presets on the Ira loaded and ready to go.
- Setup was a bit of a bear with the entry of my wi-fi settings and passphrases, but now that I’ve got it set for both of my wireless modems, I’m good to go.
- I checked some reviews, and noticed that some people have had problems getting it to locate their wi-fi networks. I upped the power setting on one modem, and for me, the problem went away.
My XM subscription is probably going to go the way of the dodo at some point in time, but that’s all right. I don’t do a lot of roaming any more. When I do, I can take this thing with me and keep current in style.
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I’ve also added a Sanyo R227. It’s wifi or wired, has eight presets for wifi and eight for fm reception. You can add unlimited stations to a my favorites category when you go online and register the radio. They’ll all show up alphabetically. It also has an alarm if you want to use it to wake up.