Customer Reviews

Audiovox XM XMFM1 FM Direct Adapter (Black)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you are installing an XM radio in your car and thinking about utilizing the XM radio's ability to broadcast music to a specific channel on your car stereo - FORGET ABOUT IT!!! Just assume you will NOT be doing it that way, and buy one of these instead. This unit doesn't require any external power hookup, won't require you to string thin fragile wires from the front of your car to the back, is fairly small and easy to install, and sends wonderful, static-free sound to your car stereo. On your XM radio, you will still have to select a specific FM channel for reception of XM music, but you won't get any static even if you select a strong local FM channel. And, if you turn your XM radio off, you will be able listen to the FM channel normally. The FM channel is only blocked out when the XM radio is turned on. Check to see if your car stereo has a non-standard antenna input that will require inexpensive adapters. My car, which has a Blaupunkt radio, required "Volkswagen style" adapters. All these do is change the shape of the plugs that connect to the car radio and antenna. Note that I say "adapters" (plural) because, if you DO have a non-standard antenna input, you will need 2 adapters: 1 to mate the Audivox plug to your non-standard car stereo antenna input, and another to mate the antenna wire that used to plug into your car stereo but now needs to plug into the Audiovox adapter. The Audiovox unit goes between your car stereo and the end of your existing antenna wire. So, you will need a standard-to-nonstandard adapter + a nonstandard-to-standard adapter.

This is a simple install. I bought two, one for my company vehicle and one for my personal car. With all of the travelling I do, I have not had any interference or loss of reception since installing this. It's hardwired directly to your existing radio antenna, so there's no more static either. I definitely recommend this item if you are currently using an FM transmitter for your XM receiver.

I purchased the fm direct adapter after hearing/reading about the low signal from the xm fm modulators and this product did exactly what it is advertised to do. Installation was simple (my radio has the din pins to remove it) and it only took about 15 minutes start to finish. I have not wired in the included cigarette lighter plug yet, but that will make the installation all under the dash for the xm radio. The sound quality is good with no interference.

The XMFM1 adapter works as advertised.

Unless you are adept at removing your radio and possibly some of the associated instrument panels and some of the center console (if applicable), it IS a "professional" installation job. For example, in my car I had to remove my console mounted cup holder, gear shift trim panel, console trim, and finally the radio.

Although the package is quick to point out "professional installation recommended" It is really an easy install as compared to the typical antenna for XM. The "need to knows" include how to remove your radio(you have to get behind it), the wiring diagram for your car's radio so you can tap into power and ground and the type of antenna connection your vehicle has. My GM product had a motorola connection for the antenna which is smaller than the standard "OEM" type; the size on this unit. This required the purchase of some adapters which can be found rather inexpensively on eBay but unless you don't mine putting things back while you wait get all of your parts together before you begin. The sound quality with this unit is excellent. It works by transmitting a signal on the FM frequency at an unused location. I haven't travelled far enough out of my area to determine if it will be necessary to change the channel much but in my 50 mile area I haven't had to touch it and am quite pleased with it. If you want to listen to something other than XM turning off or unplugging the XM receiver restores your radio to preinstalled functionality. So unless you have an auxillary connection to your radio, this is the best way to get XM into your audio system.

This is a great addition to the system. I hard-wired it in, and concealed the wiring in the center console. I also sealed the antenna to the hood with clear silicone (edges only, not the bottom) to keep it from moving and to avoid trapping water under it. The included wiring is long enough for any installation.

Because of the direct-connection to the stereo system, signal quality and sound are definitely CD-quality - and gone are the fades and radio interference that prompted the purchase. Installed for nearly a year - no complaints, no regrets.

Increased quality of my XM Radio a lot, but still not the same as a CD.

If you live in an area where there are a lot of radio stations then this product is a must. When you turn on your XM receiver it will automatically turn off your outside antenna. Your FM modulator will not have to fight with the other radio stations in your area and it will give you good clean sound though your FM radio.

This device worked great to integrate the portable XM unit (XMp3i) into my 2002 Chevy Tahoe which like many older vehicles has no auxillary jack or USB and Best Buy did not carry the necessary equipment to finish the install. Fortunately, Amazon did and I'm really enjoying XM.

Let me preface this review by stating that I currently have the exact system I was attempting to set up in two other vehicles already and everything works perfectly.

Before installation the XM player would loose signal strength when the main radio channel was strong and then you had to spend time finding another station that was currently not used by an actual radio station, hence the purchase of this, which let me state again works perfectly in two other vehicles, however both were installed well over 3 years ago.

After hard wiring the entire system, the installation was completed by a very trusted mechanic, we discovered that the device didn't work AT ALL, and wouldn't by-pass the radio channel as it was supposed to. After testing and trying the second direct adapter, we have 2 other cars we were hoping to install this system in, we found that neither product worked and rather acted as if it wasn't there AND cut out the xm signal that was there initially.

Needless to say we packaged them both back up and returned them. Mind you, for other reasons unrelated to the XM we had one of the original cars apart and were able to positively identify that they should have been the EXACT same, but clearly wasn't.

My advice would be to purchase the item from somewhere else, we are ordering it from radioshack and hoping to have better luck, as the ones from Amazon are pure crap.