Planning Stereo Upgrade

argus1

Member
Apr 12, 2015
196
Apollo Beach, FL
Boat Info
2011 350 Sundancer
Engines
MerCruiser 377 MAG ECT w/Bravo III Drives, Axius
I have a 2011 350 Sundancer with the premium stereo system. Anyone have suggestions on what bluetooth head units will just be a plug and play allowing me to keep the factory installed remotes on the dash and the transom? Or if I go to another brand of stereo what would that entail?
 
head units will just be a plug and play allowing me to keep the factory installed remotes on the dash and the transom?

Likely going to have to be of the same manufacturer. Even then, no guarantee that the new head unit will support the existing remotes.

Another option is to look into a universal bluetooth if your head unit has rear AUX in. Simple passive universal BT https://wetsounds.com/pages/products/WW-BT-UR

Switching brands would certainly require new remotes and extension cables. May require fabricating custom trim/filler plates to encompass the footprints of the old gear.
 
Sony on its website has a very limited number of marine stereos (a total of 4) and none work with the Sony wired remote which is now obsolete. May look at moving toward Fusion, getting new panels, etc - sounds expensive. For now, I will try figure out get a bluetooth adapter to work on the current Sony setup.
 
I have a 2011 350 Sundancer with the premium stereo system. Anyone have suggestions on what bluetooth head units will just be a plug and play allowing me to keep the factory installed remotes on the dash and the transom? Or if I go to another brand of stereo what would that entail?

I've got a 2007 Sundancer with upgraded sound system. JL amp with JL speakers. I was going to replace head unit with Bluetooth head unit, but then my helm and transom remote wouldn't work because they are pre-2009 clarion. Therefore if you have clarion you shouldn't have an issue.

However, some people on this forum made suggestions for Bluetooth adapters and I put one in my boat and it is AWESOME. crystal clear. It can hook to your head unit you have now or even to your amp.

It's the Roswell Cybox and it rocks. Now my boat has complete Bluetooth. You should check it out. They are awesome.
 
Take a look a Fusion products. A bit more expensive but I am very pleased with its performance and the remote. Plus an app on your phone can drive all functions so you don't need a remote. Run the head unit from the dock or bow or bridge. Total freedom. Step it up a bit more and get the DVD version or a bit more and get Wi-Fi control. 650 and 750 versions.
 
Lots of companies out there sell BT modules you can plug into either RCA inputs or even an AUX input. Amazon is your friend....
 
Take a look a Fusion products. A bit more expensive but I am very pleased with its performance and the remote. Plus an app on your phone can drive all functions so you don't need a remote. Run the head unit from the dock or bow or bridge. Total freedom. Step it up a bit more and get the DVD version or a bit more and get Wi-Fi control. 650 and 750 versions.

I have reviewed the Fusion equipment online and that is the plan. Need to talk to an installer to get an idea of what the installation will entail; meaning $$$$.:grin:
 
That is definitely the $$$$ route. I too just added the adapter and spent the money on speakers and amps. I can justify the head unit to myself, but the thought of spending that much on remotes gives me gas. Especially when I then have to run wires. If my stinkin smoke detector can talk to my cell phone through space, why can't these companies with way deeper pockets (Sony) make their remotes for their own products do the same?
 
make their remotes for their own products do the same?

Before exiting the marine head unit arena, Alpine had a wireless mounted marine remote. It worked ok. It periodically needed to be re-paired. When working, it had some lag time to it. If you where not careful and patient, you would end up with the volume at min or max, due to the lag. In the case of Sony, they have steadily slimmed down their marine offerings and no longer offer or support an LCD remote. I think we will see them out of the marine head unit biz, if not all of marine, in a couple seasons.

Clarion and Fusion are the clear leaders. Kenwood had been up and down in their offerings. Rockford has come on strong. Im not a fan of much from Polk, but I do like their head unit. One of the better integrated blue tooths.

We've see the likes of Kicker and JL get into the head unit/media center game as well as Wet Sounds, which is due to drop real soon.
 
Alpines waterproof, floating remote works great to me, I have had them on past 2 boats and installing a Alipine Head unit with bluetooth this weekend. it will get the same remote as well.
 
Regarding the comment earlier re: Sony & remotes, I just installed a Sony wired remote (RM-X11M) as a companion to my new Sony Receiver (MEX-M71BT). I needed a wired remote for my bridge.
 
I replaced my Sony head unit with the Fusion 750. I absolutely love the upgrade due to the 4 zones and multiple inputs. It is a true audio/video management system. Say I want to keep music sound to one area so as not to annoy neighbors, easily done. Say I want to play the sound from the TV of a sporting event throughout the vessel, so I do not miss a play getting a drink or going to the restroom, easily done. It allows for a custom experience depending on what you are doing. As a result, I am upgrading the speakers out back this season.
 
Having just gone through an upgrade on my Fusion system, I will share a couple thoughts: First, Fusion does not manufacture either a dual voice coil sub or 2 ohm sub, so if you want to really get some punch out of the subs consider wiring 2 Fusion signature subs in series and drop the ohms to 2. You will be shocked at how much better it sounds. If your boat is NMEA200 compliant then you can control many features inc zone volume from not only your MFDs but also an iPhone/iPad, probably works with Android too.
 
really get some punch out of the subs consider wiring 2 Fusion signature subs in series and drop the ohms to 2.

Since the sig subs are 4 ohm SVC, series would actually net 8 ohm, thus reducing the amps output on most any typical non-regulated amp. If the amp is regulated, meaning its output is the same across all safe operating impedance, then tow subs would now divide the wattage that a single woofer would get all by itself.

In the above scenario, the benefit in output is from the doubled surface area, not a drop or rise in impedance. A 2 ohm woofer will perform exactly the same as the exact same woofer in 4 ohm, when all things are equal. The trick is to match the right woofer with the right amp. The woofers coil configuration and impedance is a tool to use in making the best pairing.
 
Wylie, I too had little in the way of bass response in my Fusion system, so just last week we added a second sub and wired it in series. That dropped the ohm load to 2 ohms and the result was dramatic.
 
Carbo,

Series v's parallel are not my rules, they are ohm's law. If you series 2 speaker drivers, impedance goes. If you wire them in parallel, impedance goes down. Cant cheat it. its very important that others dont get incorrect. You either miss out on some potential amp wattage or you load the amp with a too low o fan impedance, sending it into protect mode. If you are actually measuring 2 ohm as the amp, your two woofers are wired in parallel. If they are wired in series, then they would have to be 1 ohm woofers. Again, this is ohm's law and the two terms are not interchangeable.

As i stated, the dramatic results are form the 2nd woofer, not the 2 ohm load. Increasing the surface area is the most efficient way to increase output.
 
Wylie I just cannot agree with you. Perhaps I am incorrect and the subs are now wired in parallel not series but the resulting increase in bass is much more then just the added cone surface the second sub contributes.
 
Wylie I just cannot agree with you.

Google ohm's law. Its not me you are disagreeing with. I dont know how your woofers are wired and its not what im after. The point that needs to be made, for others following along, is that two 4 ohm woofer wired in series, will never be 2 ohm, but rather 8 ohm. To get to two ohm, they would have to be parallel.

Not understanding the difference between parallel and series and making that wiring mistake, will have a huge impact. Could result in someone buying two incorrect woofers and not finding it out until they are installed, as in used.
 
Ok, not to go all EE but Wylie is pretty much right. Its just how series and parallel resistances are calculated. Where Ohms law rolls in is calculating the current that you are pulling out of the amplifiers. If you half the resistance, you double the current flow and the power in the circuit. Conversely if you double resistance, you will half the current and power. Now that all being said, Ohms law deals with DC - direct current. Impedance is resistance to the flow of AC current which audio is. A few more variables and more complex calcs come in to play (reactance and frequency) but as a rule of thumb - ohms law still can be applied.

Carbo, your guess that the amps might be paralleled sounds a lot more plausible. That being said, possibly if todays amps have gotten 'smarter', they know what 'load' they really like to be wired in to and easily figure out if they are hooked in right. If not they could reduce the max power out. Some one who is more up to date on this stuff will hopefully chime in.

I'd really be interested to hear what you find.....

-Mike
 
I already said that perhaps I confused whether the subs are wired in series or parallel but what I take issue with is the assertion that any increase in volume is due solely to adding a second cone. Pasted below are the stats from the Fusion manual:
130W RMS x 4 +
330W RMS x 1 @ 2Ω 1% THD+N

250W RMS x 2 @ 4Ω Bridged 1%
250W RMS x 1 @ 4Ω 1% THD+N

By wiring my subs together, the power increased from 250 to 330 watts. The result is dramatic and in no way due to having a second sub cone projecting sound. The subs are being driven much harder due to the increase in wattage.
 

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