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I'm pretty happy with the unit, although I wish it had a little more power; I've got to turn the volume on the receiver up high to hear it. I even bought an extra one that I found for a cheap price, because my first car kit went bad. I've considered mounting it on my motorcycle, but I don't know if I'll be able to hear it. I have a car kit and 2 home kits so I can use it both at home and at work, as it's easy to carry. I didn't want to permanently mount the car kit, so I bought a holder from Arkon that goes into the cigarette lighter and holds up the Audiovox. The buttons do feel a little loose, but it hasn't broken, and I prefer to use the remote control anyway.
There is no home docking station for it. This is not what I expected. Accessoried couldnt be purchased for it like I thought. But it worked in my friends car. I gave it away.
We went out to the car and looked for a place to install the receiver with the parts included, but found that the rigid form of the mounting plate would not work anywhere on my dash. as well as this receiver.My antenna is mounted to the dash where it meets the windshield and only rarely do I go without a signal. Before I did, I went online and had the radio initialized in just a matter of minutes. I had put off satellite radio listening pleasure long enough.I took the unit to my brother's house and we decided to install it. I awoke early on Black Friday to join the hundreds of others in front of Circuit City to go in a look over the deals of the day. It doesn't take much pressure, but it's much easier that way. I also recommend a lighter socket adapter if you need to plug in a cell phone, power inverter, etc. We were able to tuck the wires in between the windshield and trim and get it all down and under the dash without drilling any holes and only having minimal amounts of exposed wire.
There are quite a few FM choices in low and high bands, so I searched around until I found one that worked for me and it does just fine.To utilize the remote in the car and be able to keep up with it at the same time, I have a small piece of sticky back velcro attached to the dash and to the remote. The only place we were able to mount it was to the windshield which really wasn't what I wanted, but it works. I did not go for this unit, but after looking at it in the store, and seeing that I could get the car kit and receiver for free AR and home kit for only $29.99, I decided to give it a try. I do recommend mounting it outside, if you can. Every hard surface in my car is curved. I would recommend getting one of the optional mounting brackets that has an adjustable neck.After getting the unit mounted, we looked for a way to run the wires without having to remove any trim (Side rails are air bags). When I go into my office, I can easily remove the remote and put it in my pocket.Removing the receiver from the cradle can be accomplished with one hand, but it isn't the easiest thing to do, especially if you don't have a thumbnail to help pry it up out of the cradle. The cradle has a lock on it, so be sure to unlock the unit first or your thumb will hurt.Total install time in an 02 VW Jetta Wagon was about 30 minutes.
5 minutes with the manual will save you hours of frustration.- I installed my antenna on the driver's side corner of the dashboard and get a 100% signal. It's a little big for storing in the car but you appreciate it when you're using it (the SkyFi remote, by comparison, is so small as to be uncomfortable).- The screen is very easy to read, has a pleasing blue color and displays much more info that the Roady or SkyFi units from Delphi. The menus are confusing if you don't know where to go, but once you do it's all very straight-forward. This is an excellent, easy to use and simple to install option for anyone who wants XM in their car or home. Highly recommended. The remote is a plus and not found on some other models.
The layout of the controls is nice, especially the channel and group up/down buttons.
No need to run the wire outside the car and pull a bunch of trim off in order to hide it.- I don't have a tape deck and didn't want to hard-wire the unit, so I was excited about the built-in FM transmitter.
At the current price, it's hard to find a better radio.
Some points to consider:- Read the directions.
One downside, you don't have the option of other colors.I have installed and used a SkyFi and a new SkyFi 2 in my fiancee's car and prefer this radio quite a bit compared to hers.
I live in Denver proper and get very good sound quality using the transmitter.
This may not be the case for everyone (even I get some interference in some places), but it beats the extra wires of a tape adapter or extra cost of a full-blown installation.- The buttons are a little small, but easy enough for me to use, and I have some big fingers.
Audiovox has a full range of accessories to go with the receiver as well.
Within 2 hours of purchase, I had stock quotes and sports scores streaming across my favorite stations saved in my preset channels.This has got to be one of the most user friendly units out there. I've seen (and like) the SkyFi2, but this unit is much more intuitive for the user. I like the one button FM tuner in case you need to switch frequencies near a large city. I use the built in FM modulator and drive the panhandle of Florida on I-10 from Marianna to Jacksonville regularly with excellent reception the entire way.I placed the antenna on my dashboard and get very good results.I'd recommend the Audiovox to anyone.
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