Do I want a Fusion?

I have a '98 370DA so the Clarion I had is probably pretty similar to yours if it is original equipment. I bought a first generation Fusion some 8+ years ago and added the Bluetooth module to the unit just last year. It is awesome. Now I can control the Fusion from my iPad. What's better is that tether my WiFi iPad to my iPhone from the Internet and stream my entire iTunes collection to the Fusion no matter where I am without an iPod. It's clearly a complicated daisy chain, but it works for me. I am all Apple all the time so in conjunction with my iTunes Match account, I don't even need my iPod anymore.

Not a single problem in 8 years and the wired remote on the dash is almost unnecessary now. I have three zones in the boat and every zone is clear as a bell.

Go for it, you won't regret it.

Gene
 
Well this is classic. Maybe the THT forum should be renamed to TH Rumor.

Minutes after I posted the June release date rumor, I got an email that my 750 shipped yesterday!!!
 
RollerCoastr said:
Well this is classic. Maybe the THT forum should be renamed to TH Rumor.

Minutes after I posted the June release date rumor, I got an email that my 750 shipped yesterday!!!
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Wow that is great news! Though not a member of that forum, I was following that thread. From whom did you get the shipping notification? The guy who's going to redo our audio has one or order and wanted to circle up with him on timing.
 
I couldn't stop myself from loading the app onto my iPad, even knowing I couldn't do anything with it. The error is interesting. It says "Check that the head unit is connected to the WiFi router via an ethernet cable"

I had assumed that WiFi was built into the head unit. At least I have a heads-up about relocating the router or running some cable.
 
RollerCoastr said:
I couldn't stop myself from loading the app onto my iPad, even knowing I couldn't do anything with it. The error is interesting. It says "Check that the head unit is connected to the WiFi router via an ethernet cable"

I had assumed that WiFi was built into the head unit. At least I have a heads-up about relocating the router or running some cable.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that you need an external wifi router or a bluetooth enabled device. The two way bluetooth should mean that the router is unnecessary, which is certainly my hope because I don't want to run a generator just to connect to the stereo.
 
You need a router to run the app and the bluetooth dongle is only to stream music (only) from your devices.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Havana Shamrock said:
You need a router to run the app and the bluetooth dongle is only to stream music (only) from your devices.
Click to expand...

The new 750 (and maybe other new models) has bluetooth built in, so there is no more dongle. The new built in BT is supposed to have a new two way communication that enables you to control fusionlink through BT rather than over wifi. From Fusion's website:

"FUSION-Link Control (Wireless) – Download the FREE Apple or Android FUSION-Link remote control app from iTunes™ or Google Play™ to control the on-board entertainment experience. Available over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi® (Note: Wi-Fi control requires a wireless Ethernet router)."
 
i was referring to the 700 series. It's about time they built the BT in actually. And if you can control the app with it that's another benefit. The reason I purchased another 700 instead of 750 the features to me aren't worth the added expense. I still cannot dock my iPhone 6 in the 750 so all my music, video has to be BT /Usb anyway and I believe the video out is now HDMI nice upgrades but I have no use for them at this time.

ps, this is what Fusion says: I took it to mean you need both BT/ router to use the app like the 700 series.
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It arrived yesterday, so now all I have to do is get it installed without too much snowball effect...

The 5212 doesn't support Fusionlink, so maybe it's time to get an 8212. If I do that, I'll probably want to re-work the dash, get some new panels, which means replacing all the panels, add the GMI's I've wanted, fit the new remote, and maybe consider upgrading to a modern auto-pilot. Run NMEA2k and ethernet into the salon, so maybe the weatherproof 750 should go into the dash instead of the salon, so extend the amp and speaker wires instead of the network cabling...

here we go! I blame you all.
 
RollerCoastr said:
It arrived yesterday, so now all I have to do is get it installed without too much snowball effect...

The 5212 doesn't support Fusionlink, so maybe it's time to get an 8212. If I do that, I'll probably want to re-work the dash, get some new panels, which means replacing all the panels, add the GMI's I've wanted, fit the new remote, and maybe consider upgrading to a modern auto-pilot. Run NMEA2k and ethernet into the salon, so maybe the weatherproof 750 should go into the dash instead of the salon, so extend the amp and speaker wires instead of the network cabling...

here we go! I blame you all.
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Nice! :thumbsup: Good news for the rest of us patiently waiting :smt021 We have a dash panel upgrade coming up too but I wanted to have the wired remote installed first so we can confirm we like its placement before I start cutting the new panels.
 
It's in! There were hints that the app would soon be supported over bluetooth, but I hooked it up to the router. The info I got from here was dead-on about the app: It makes all the difference. So far, I think everyone who has boarded the boat since it was installed has installed the app so they could play with it. I predict some drunken Volume & Tune Wars in the near future.

My stereo upgrade 6 years ago included a big honkin' amp that ran the cockpit speakers. The OEM amp remained for the inside speakers. I didn't even think that those two amps wouldn't have enough outputs for the zones. So another big honkin' amp was installed to replace the OEM. Having the zone control is amazing. The unit allows each zone to be named, so no-one has to guess what "Zone 2" is etc. The cockpit speakers at the base of the arch have always been an issue. The people on the aft-facing bench had speakers blaring in their ears while the volume seemed low to everyone else. Now those have their own zone, and the volume can be adjusted perfectly in every section of the boat, and of course, it can be done on a phone. I also hadn't realized what a hindrance the OEM amp had been. The sound quality in the cabin is night & day, even at low volume.

We didn't replace the Sirius receiver. We haven't missed it yet. With so many options for content now, I don't think we will.

The NMEA2000 remote is cool. I think. As predicted, I haven't used it much. It's currently not on the backbone. It won't take much to put it on the backbone, but I'm not sure I'll bother.

Bluetooth is a problem. The range doesn't really extend into the cockpit at all, and pairing isn't as reliable as it should be. I'm mitigating this by keeping a device in the dock and controlling it via WiFi instead of BT. I wonder if stuffing the head unit into a cabinet in the fwd part of the salon and then pushing a low-power signal through the dash is just too much, or if the 750 has an issue with BT...

I'm hoping that a software update will help with pairing. The 750 has to be rebooted about once per wkd because of a pairing issue. When new software is released, I'll probably delete all the paired devices and start over.
 
I found the same thing with respect to the bluetooth range issue. Haven't connected it to wifi - if there is a firmware update then hopefully it's something I'll be able to connect to my laptop offline.

Installed it about a month or two ago and it's been great. Only had one issue where we couldn't get passed the load screen, even when cutting power to the circuit from the panel, but a hard reset of the unit's power button fixed that.
 
Bluetooth is a problem on my 750 as well. Audio streaming from an iPod skips which drives me nuts considering the cost of the full system. Yet my buddy down tue dock with an older fusion can stream audio over Bluetooth from just about anywhere on the dock flawlessly. His head unit is in his flybridge while mine is in the cabin but with the door open and the head unit in sight, I still see no improvement. I'm hoping for an update as well to address this issue.
 
I just got the AV 750 , will post feedback as soon as whole system is finished, and I hope that for the price tag on this one I don't have any dissapointments... (Almost $800 with the rush delivery !!)
 
Sdancer9040 said:
I just got the AV 750 , will post feedback as soon as whole system is finished, and I hope that for the price tag on this one I don't have any dissapointments... (Almost $800 with the rush delivery !!)
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Eagerly awaiting the review. I am ready to pull the trigger, but can't decide between the AV and the model with the dock. I had already planned to add a separate blu-ray/dvd, so I don't suppose I need the AV and with the reported bluetooth issues I am wondering if the dock isn't a better option.
 
On Saturday, the bluetooth option disappeared from the menus on the head unit and the apps. I went online and discovered that an update was released on Friday. The directions for the update suggest that Fusion assumes that their customers use Windows XP: "use WinZip...", but it worked perfectly from my Mac. WinZip? Really?

Anyway, the whole update process took a matter of minutes. Bluetooth pairing and selecting was noticeably improved. I didn't expect the update to help the range, and it didn't. The update process resets the unit to defaults. It's not a big deal - I had to rename zones etc, but I wish I could do that from that app instead of spinning the wheel on the unit.
 
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