Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsNot bad. Not great.
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2017
First off, I purchased this to replace a VicTsing Bluetooth FM unit (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DDPUQTS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) for my 2006 Miata. The VicTsing worked very well, but it got in the way of my gearshift. The SoundBot looked like it would be perfect. Here's my review, the good and the bad:
1. It's nicely designed, fairly small (~1-5/8" diameter) and simple to pair and use.
2. The Siri interface is quite nice; just tap the upper right (phone) button and tell her what you want (e.g., "Resume music." )
3. The cigarette plug is short so it doesn't stick out very far, AND the 3 USB ports are very nice, enabling you to charge your phone or other device on long trips.
3. The ten preset stations are okay, and several of them worked satisfactorily in my area (Palm Springs, CA) but as many reviewers have noted, the unit returns to the lowest preset (88.8) each time you turn it on, which means if preset #9 works the best for your area, you have to manually click the preset station button 9 times. ((There IS a way to change the default preset to whatever frequency you wish, described on Page 6 of the little black manual, and for those who don't save such things, here you go: Find a clear (static only) station on your car radio, then hold down the preset radio station button (the one in the upper left corner) until it begins blinking; release it, and then use the Previous or Next Track button to raise or lower the frequency showing on the SoundBot; hit the Preset Radio Station button again to set it, and now, each time you turn on the unit (start the car), it will stay on that preset.)) Unfortunately, if you change the SoundBot's frequency to any other frequency (for example, you're traveling out of the area), your default preset is lost, so if you find a good station, make note of it. Now, on with the review: 2. The volume is just not loud enough, even with the car radio and the iPhone both turned to Max. (In comparison, the VicTsing gets substantially louder; it has its own volume control so it may have some kind of pre-amp, I'm not sure.) And the iPhone's GPS volume was even lower than the music volume; plus, with the VicTsing I had before, when a directional order came in, the music faded down, the direction order was given, and the music would fade back in. With the SoundBot, once the GPS gave its first order, there was just silence between driving commands. I'm not a techy...this might be something to do with the phone, but it wasn't an issue with the VicTsing, or even the two old Belkin units I have used in two other cars.
That's about it...I may do some more research now that I know some of the issues of both the VicTsing and the SoundBot, to see if there are other comparable units out there that have features more in keeping with my needs.
Meanwhile, here's a quick description of how these units work, because there seems to be some confusion in some of the questions asked These units are for vehicles that do not have built-in bluetooth (most newer vehicles do) and also do not have an Auxiliary Input (where you can plug a cable with a male plug into a female plug, usually somewhere in the dashboard or console). An FM unit is actually just a miniature FM radio station that plugs into your dashboard. It receives music and other stuff from your bluetooth-enabled phone, and transmits that information through the air on the specific frequency that you've set. When you tune your car radio to that same FM frequency, your radio receives that little 'FM station'. And voila!
