David wrote:
The XM capability only adds a few dollars (less than 5) to the cost of
the radio. The XM smart antenna option for $50 has the actual
satellite receiver on it. The E1 itself is just the human interface.

What I meant was that the XM-ready nature of the E1, actual XM hardware
costs aside, is what makes this radio so significantly more expensive
than some of the other high-end portables. My research seemed to
indicate that the E1 wouldn't offer significantly better reception on
the SW bands than the YB 400PE, so for a difference of $350+ it's not a
worthwhile investment.

Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what I came to undertand.

-P