Axxess Integrate

Axxess Integrate is a subsidiary of mobile electronics mothership Metra, whose scions also include Connects2, Raptor, Shuriken batteries, Install Bay installation hardware and the Metra Home Theater group, etc. They also operate the Installer Institute for car audio technicians. With this big a footprint in the car audio industry, it's no small wonder they know what's required to manufacture a superior-performing line of audio installation accessories.

Modern cars have heavily integrated stereos. In fact, they're far more than stereos, because what is now referred to as infotainment includes the nav system, OnStar, cell phones and their Bluetooth connectivity, iPod integration and often the driver information system that's got many hooks into the actual operation of the car. Which is cool, but jailbreaking that system to add custom functions, like an extra input or an eardrum-popping sound system is far more complex than it used to be.

Keeping up isn't easy: that's why many of Axxess Integrate's solutions are equipped with USB ports to allow them to be updated by a laptop computer. That way, a module can serve many model years' worth of vehicles. And older modules are never obsolete when a new vehicle is introduced. Axxess' website will have downloads available promptly to update Axxess steering wheel control interfaces and other products, so they'll never be out of date.

Axxess is dedicated to demystifying the entire paradigm, and provides plug-and-play solutions, from a simple line-level input cable for an iPod to a set of networked steering-wheel controls for vehicles that were never offered with control buttons in the wheel, like Axxess ASWC-1. And if your vehicle did have buttons on the wheel to control the stereo, odds are Axxess' integration module will actually program itself for the proper button functions, making installation a snap.