Audiovox XpressR XM Radio review

While it's recommended that you get your XM receiver professionally installed in your car, the XpressR does come with a handful of accessories and adapters that will allow you to use the system right out of the box. If you can't get the XpressR up and running using the included cigarette lighter power adapter, cassette audio adapter, adhesive mount, or fan grill mount, Audiovox offers additional adapters for a price. If you're looking to use the XpressR at home, you'll need to purchase a separate Audiovox Universal Home kit in order to power and dock the receiver. We were disappointed that despite its high-end price, the XpressR does not include a functional FM transmitter for wirelessly transmitting audio to an existing in-car radio. For an extra $20, Audiovox does sell an FM transmitter attachment.

The result of DIY car installation is less than elegant. Cables for the antenna, power adapter, and audio adapter must be connected to the receiver.

Performance
While XM radio certainly offers a step up in audio quality from standard FM radio, it still presents some audible digital fluttering common to all streaming digital audio. If you're listening to the XpressR in a compromised listening environment (such as a car) the audio quality should be more than adequate.

We tested the reception around San Francisco and Oakland and never found ourselves without a signal. An antenna-aiming utility is built into the XpressR's menu, giving visual feedback of satellite and terrestrial signal strength.

We ran into some trouble using the included cassette audio adapter in our car. Out of the two possible ways to orient the adapter into our cassette deck, one method seemed to immediately eject the adapter, and the other had our cassette deck continually switching playback directions back and forth. A third-party cassette adapter we had lying around worked just fine. Because cassette deck sensitivity can vary wildly from car to car, your results may vary.

Final thoughts
The Audiovox XpressR is a classy-looking XM radio receiver with an outstanding user interface and a 30-minute recording buffer. Compared to entry-level systems such as the Xpress and Xpress EZ, the XpressR is a delight for the type of user who loves customizing and tweaking their gadgets. We recommend paying the extra money to get the system professionally installed; otherwise you'll be burdened with unattractive cables running all around your dashboard.