Customer Reviews

Audiovox FM100A FM Modulator with IST2 Isolation Transformer (Grey)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you have any other option besides an FM modulator to do what you need to do, do it. An FM modulator should be a last resort. That being said, I don't think I could be happier with this product, given the fact that I had no other options.

First, note that this is a WIRED modulator. Wireless modulators are worthless in the US because of the FCC mandated limitations of their broadcast range. Wired modulators like this one tap directly into the antenna in your car and send FM signals directly to your head unit. As such, you don't have interference from other FM transmissions--like radio stations.

As far as wired modulators go, in the same system I tried a Kenwood FM modulator and one from Metra. Both sounded horrible for anything but audio books. I added a ground loop isolator to the Kenwood setup, and it sounded better, but it was still too painful to listen to music through the modulator.

This Audiovox system comes with its own ground loop isolator, and together they sound far better than any other combination I had tried. Everything about this setup is a little smaller than other options I've used, so they fit behind the dash better.

All in all, if you're looking for the best FM modulator on the market, I believe you've found it. AudioVox makes a bad situation tolerable, and in fact, quite enjoyable.

Best FM adapter I've ever had experience with. Totally shuts off the outside antennae, making for absolutely no interference, and plays whatever you plug into it. I plugged in a headphone jack adapter and now can plug anything I want into my what used to be non-AUX head unit.

Seller was 100% dead on with the description and received the modulator before Amazon's expected receiving date. Definitely recommended.

First i want to thank BeachAudio for thier fast and A+ shipping...Second the modulator was the modulator i ever use....no noise at all!!!!! and also has a switch so u dont have worry about the radio channel...use 89.10 Freq and you are ready to go...Trust me i am a happy customer you buy this product 100% worth the price...

Unfortunately, my 2006 Malibu Maxx has no MP3 connection. I tried the wireless approach with a Griffin iTrip and ended up returning it -- there was no way to eliminate the noise and distortion.
When I read the great reviews for the Audiovox unit, I was excited, but still a little leary on how it would actually perform in my car. Happy to say the unit exceeded my expectations.
If you're a novice at installation (like I am) I would recommend seeking out someone who has experience. The installation instructions are very limited. I'm sure it all depends on the vehicle you have, but my next door neighbor and I had to take apart most of my dash to get to the back of my radio. He used a lot of tools to do it.
Also, IF YOU OWN A GM, you will have to get one or two antenna adapters. I had to make a run to Best Buy to solve the short antenna prong issue on my radio.
Bottom line, the sound is super clear when I flick the switch (which I mounted near the emergency flasher button) to the modulator. I do have to pump up the volume a bit on both my player and radio, but it's more than loud enough, and this varies with the download I'm playing.
I'm very satisfied with the internal set-up since the plug in can be placed where you need it (in my case right under the radio) and I have a car charger hooked up so my MP3 never runs out of power. Great sound for the money.

This is a classic and simple way to hard-wire in your portable music player to your existing care stereo, especially on an older car without an "aux in" feature. Everything is included, and the price is reasonable. Installation is easy - if you can install a basic car stereo, you can handle this. I own two of them in different vehicles, and they both work great. Sure, you have to remember to turn it on when you want to use it with the included switch, but that easy to mount somewhere easy to reach but unobtrusive such as on the bottom lip of the dashboard. The unit itself plus the wiring is easy to tie-wrap up and out of the way.

The sound quality is pretty good, though it will be limited by what you can get through anm nomral FM receiver. Some vehicles may have a lot of electrical "noise" in the wiring (such as my F250 diesel pickup), so make sure thigns are properly grounded, and make sure you use the RCA cables with the black boxes on them to hook things up. These are noise reducers/isolators, and I can say from experience that not using them will leave you with a persistent high pitched whine that will drive you nuts. Live and learn, right?

The input to this is simple - anything that you can get an RCA hookup out of either directly or via a readily available headphone style jack to RCA adaptor/cord. I'd recommend a true line-out-level output if your media player has it. The headphone jack will work, but you have to remember to set the volume properly, and if you over-drive the internal amplifier in the media player, the sound will be distorted. Most internal media player amps don't sound too good at full or near full volume, and you have to drive them that hard to get a decent line-level signal. A true line level output is designed to work at that output level all the time without distortion.

In my case, one vehicle has a true line level output connection for my Zune and the other has a mount that ends up putting out the headphone outputs. The difference in sound quality is minor, but noticable once you use it for a while, but this is the fault of the Zune adaptor, not this unit.

Also, some newer GM vehicles have a odd sized antenna cable - if you have one of these, be sure to pick up a pair of adaptors - one to be able to plug the antenna cable into this unit, and one to to be able to plug this unit into the stereo. Easy to do, but an annoyance. Thanks, GM! :-/

Bought this to hook my non-iPod MP3 player into the car's ('04 Mustang with Mach 460)audio system. Received the package with everything to hook up to my car's antenna line. Instructions were clearly written and the modulator was easy to install. The hardest part was finding a switched power line to tap into to provide power. The lighter line was there, but I wanted it switched with the key. I found that in the convertable top power (unused in my coupe). It took about an hour to fully install, including removing & reinstalling the center console and trim pieces around the radio and shifter.
After hooking it up and putting in my MP3 player, the sound was better than I expected, though the volume was quite a bit lower than I had expected. The instructions talk about installing attenuators to bring the headphone levels down to a "Line Out" value, but I had to turn the volume on both the MP3 player and the radio up quite a bit to bring it to normal listening levels. I will have to remember to turn the volume down before switching back to the radio or cd player.
I've also found that stronger FM stations can make it through the modulator, even if it is turned on.
There are a couple of things that Audiovox should have considered. 1) This is for installation in a car - it isn't going to be very often that someone is installing something with RCA outputs. They should have included a 1 meter mini jack (3.5mm) to RCA cable instead of the 12 foot RCA to RCA cable. 2) The modulator should have been designed to match impedance & levels of portable electronic devices (laptops, MP3 players, etc.) rather than the "Line Level".

I should also point out that some cars may require additional adapters for the antenna line input & output. My car did not require them, but some Honda, GM, & Volvo products will.

After reading many Amazon reviews on this, I was confident it would work well. Boy, was I right. I am thrilled. The installation was very simple (you'll need a few sockets and a multi-meter helps if you're not sure which wires are 12v). It sounds great, with no interference from power lines (or any other source I've driven past yet).

A few tips:
1) If your car doesn't use standard antenna plugs, you'll need both male and female antenna adapters, so just order them at the same time.
2) Plug the 12v wire into the radio if you can; that way it will power off when you remove the key and you won't risk draining the battery. The cigarette lighter plug might work, depending on your car (mine is always-on, but my wife's turns off after 10 minutes, so it depends).
3) Take the 12v wire tip (flat metal tip, rolled into a cylinder) and open it slightly. I used my small screw drivers to open it up a bit to make it fit around the 12v wire already going into my radio within the wire block. It was simple and seems study, with no need to strip wires or solder.
4) The on-off switch must be installed; however, if left on it will block only the frequency you set (88.7 or 89.1 MHz), not all freqs as another reviewer wrote, so you can hide the switch if you want. One less hole to drill in your dash.
5) The volume will be slightly lower than the radio volume. I use a first-generation Zune, and with the volume at 90-95% it is only slightly lower than regular stations, with no obvious distortion.

Installed this in my sister's car(99 Galant, Stock radio) because she didn't want a "flashy" aftermarket unit. If you do anything with car electronics, you won't even need the instructions it's so easy to install. Sound quality blew my mind. It actually sounds better than my stock aux input in my brand new car. And from what I could tell, the radio still caught radio stations very well. Only grief I have with it would be that it comes with a less than attractive switch, which I replaced. Also there's no mounting plate or anything for the rca inputs. Overall though, this is an outstanding product and I would recommend this to anyone.

I just had this installed. The reviews here are true. The unit plays as well as your FM radio can play FM signals, so if you have no way to get a direct aux connection into your car radio, this is the way to go. As other FM modulators are renowned for hissing, alternator buzzing noises etc, this unit produces no hissing noises. There is no buzzing caused by your car's alternator. There is no interference from other FM stations. When you flip the switch on the Audiovox, the unit essentially shuts off all the signals from the air for the frequency you configured it for. When you plug in your iPOD, iPhone, or Android device, you get a clean FM signal going to your radio. The stereo shop tried to sell me an ISimple Tranzit FM Modulator. It was over $100 more expensive than this Audiovox unit, and I could not tell how the ISimple Tranzit FM Modulator could be any better than the Audiovox unit, except that it charges your Iphone. IMHO that's not worth $100 more to me. Both units filter out alternator noise. Both units block all over-air transmission when they are turned on. Both go through the antenna-in on your head unit. The Audiovox seems to be the best FM Modulator for the money, hands down.

I had installed a Scosche FM Modulator a couple years ago and was never truly happy with the sound. I finally decided to replace it with this Audiovox and am kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Audio quality is great and static free!!! Only complaint is that the volume is really low so I have to crank up the stereo volume to hear the music and when I turn the modulator off I almost go deaf. :) Still though, I'm very happy with this purchase.