Fusion Stereo

[ctjstr]

This is more or less just me whining, but I've had what I consider to be less than a great conversation with the Fusion folks.

I've been a fan for years. Had Fusion stereo on my old boat, and the new one as well. This unit is about four years old.

The display has failed...just black. All of the features work, but as you can imagine, its a guessing game figuring out how to get things moving the way you want.

I called Fusion and here's their story. When I told them the problem, their answer was essentially "sucks to be you". They do not fix their stereos. Nor do they carry replacement parts. If it goes bad after the warranty, which is 3 years, their only solution is to replace with new.

We chatted for a bit, mostly me complaining about what I thought was crappy customer service, but in the end, it is what it is.

three or four years occasional use in a boat is certainly not hard service. I suggested they might offer customers at least some discount on a replacement. Their answer was, we don't sell to the public, so we can't offer a discount.

So, Fusion has every right to do business the way they want. Just like I have every right to make sure I never buy their products again nor recommend them again, as I have done for years.

 

[porman]

Isn't Fusion owned by Garmin?

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I too have a Fusion AV70. I spent way to much money for it and it will not play music on a thumb drive.......It will also shutdown and reboot its self for no apparent reason. Customer service was no help.

I believe they are made in New Zealand.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Deleted.

 

[KevinCT]

We just bought one of the new Fusion Stereo's. Now I wish I hadn't. I really don't like giving business to companies with bad customer service.

 

[FF]

Most of todays after market car stereo sets will do most everything, at a modest couple of hundred bucks .


I love the remote control, as I'm lazy.

 

[firstbase]

Was looking at the new Fusion Apollo unit but can't decide. Has a lot of good features but...$$$. If not Fusion for BT stereo, XM, bills and whistles, etc. what brands/models are you guys looking at?

 

[Airstream345]

I’ve seen these in Fisheries and West Marine. What do you get exactly that you can’t get from a car unit or Sonos or waterproof Bluetooth speakers paying off Spotify from your phone? I don’t get it.

 

[firstbase]

I’ve seen these in Fisheries and West Marine. What do you get exactly that you can’t get from a car unit or Sonos or waterproof Bluetooth speakers paying off Spotify from your phone? I don’t get it.

4 zones, integration with other units throughout the boat, more water/moisture resistant than the average car stereo, Wifi built in, NMEA2000, control through app on phone/ipad, excellent sound. All of that worth the $$$? Apparent issues with customer support? I like them but haven't bought one.

 

[Airstream345]

But compared to Echo or Sonos?

 

[firstbase]

Never investigated either of them much as I want an installed/integrated system and those are wireless speakers that sit on top of a counter, helm, whatever as far as I know.

 

[kchace]

I bought a black box model of Fusion exactly because it integrates with my NMEA2000 equipment and has multiple zones. SXM, AM/FM, USB, Bluetooth, etc. plus I can interface with it from my chartplotters, phone iPad etc.

I'm sad about the poor customer service but the unit works well.

Ken

 

[firstbase]

I would imagine the lifespan of an Echo or Sonas placed in a marine environment would be substantially shorter than in a living room.

 

[AKDoug]

I love mine, it's my second and houses my iPod Classic 30 gig unit inside it's waterproof faceplate. I had an issue with it restarting on it's own after shut down, but found a fix (settings) and it's never happened again.

Currently I wouldn't consider any other brand, it has the Bluetooth dongle attached (aftermarket option) and streams flawlessly from iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro when watching movies and streaming audio.

It is cabin ceiling mounted so sunlight doesn't hit it, ever. I thought that screen went bad, but when I took off my polarized sunglasses I found the real problem

Nothing bad to say about mine!

 

[rochepoint]

I am fortunately in the other camp, Had a problem with my second Fusion radio for the upper helm that I had purchase second hand with what the original owner that had done something weird to the wiring harness. Sent an email to Fusion, told them the whole story and they sent me a whole new wiring harness at no charge. Purchase my first Fusion 10+ years ago and it is still going strong........I love their products!

 

[ssobol]

Only reason I got one was for the display. My radio is mounting on the overhead shelf above the helm. Almost every other radio has the LCD set up to be viewed from level or from above. They do not do well when viewed from a lower position.

I had another marine AM/FM radio installed, but got tired of having to stand on tip toes to read the radio display. The Fusion radio has a display with a very wide vertical viewing angle.

IMO, other than the display, Fusion stuff is quite a bit overpriced for what you get.

 

[Bigsfish]

Currently on my second boat with Fusion 7000. Had a slight problem with the first unit and they send a new upgraded unit. Mine work Fine however I admit I really don’t know how to use all the features it has.

Sorry you had a problem, perhaps if you call again you may get a different response.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Most of todays after market car stereo sets will do most everything, at a modest couple of hundred bucks .


I love the remote control, as I'm lazy.

I’ve seen these in Fisheries and West Marine. What do you get exactly that you can’t get from a car unit or Sonos or waterproof Bluetooth speakers paying off Spotify from your phone? I don’t get it.

4 zones, integration with other units throughout the boat, more water/moisture resistant than the average car stereo, Wifi built in, NMEA2000, control through app on phone/ipad, excellent sound. All of that worth the $$$? Apparent issues with customer support? I like them but haven't bought one.

The main reason was the 4 zones and NEMA 2000 so I can control it from my MFD. I wished it would play the music on my thumb drive. I am a little disappointed in my Fusion.

 

[ctjstr]

4 zones, integration with other units throughout the boat, more water/moisture resistant than the average car stereo, Wifi built in, NMEA2000, control through app on phone/ipad, excellent sound. All of that worth the $$$? Apparent issues with customer support? I like them but haven't bought one.

those were the reasons I originally purchased one. I was really quite surprised at the latest response.

And yes, i do think they were bought by Garmin. When you call customer service, you get Garmin folks on the line.

 

[diver dave]

I bought a black box model of Fusion exactly because it integrates with my NMEA2000 equipment and has multiple zones. SXM, AM/FM, USB, Bluetooth, etc. plus I can interface with it from my chartplotters, phone iPad etc.

I'm sad about the poor customer service but the unit works well.

Ken

I think this approach has merit. As an unfortunate consequence of manufacturing efficiency concentration, repairability takes it in the shorts. To counter this, make the low reliability items USER replaceable. Dont combine complex electronics with displays, mechanical controls, and weather exposure. Instead, spread the complexity out to a few MFD’s and remote the functional electronics.

 

[dhays]

I had a Fusion that I installed on my sailboat. I really like it. It wan't as fancy as many of the models that I see described here, but I got it because it had a built in ipod dock. It worked great.


I don't have a 12v sound system on my current boat. Instead, I have a very large AC home stereo/video system that the PO had custom installed. It has great sound, has separate speakers in the PH and the FB that have individual volume controls and then a surround sound system in the saloon. It has an enormous subwoofer buried in a saloon cabinet that will cause shake the boat and cause ripples in the water that might violate a no-wake zone. The PO was very proud of it.


The downside is that it is very power hungry. The inverter has to be running to power it and even when it is "turned-off" it has a certain amount phantom load. I've considered pulling it out and replacing with a 12v system. It would free up a lot of space and take less power.


Anyway, I liked the Fusion I had on the sailboat but I can certainly understand how electronics are now replaceable rather than repairable. A three year warrantee isn't bad. However, given the replaceable nature of electronics, do I want to spend the money on something that will integrate with everything? For me, no. I don't need to control my stereo from my MFD. I don't spend a lot of time driving from the FB and I already have a volume control up there for the FB speakers. I certainly don't need wifi connectivity. Sure, bluetooth might be nice if I wanted to stream Pandora or Spotify from my phone through the stereo, but many/most inexpensive auto systems will do that for a lot less money than a Fusion system.

 

[markajh]

This is more or less just me whining, but I've had what I consider to be less than a great conversation with the Fusion folks.

I've been a fan for years. Had Fusion stereo on my old boat, and the new one as well. This unit is about four years old.

The display has failed...just black. All of the features work, but as you can imagine, its a guessing game figuring out how to get things moving the way you want.

I called Fusion and here's their story. When I told them the problem, their answer was essentially "sucks to be you". They do not fix their stereos. Nor do they carry replacement parts. If it goes bad after the warranty, which is 3 years, their only solution is to replace with new.

We chatted for a bit, mostly me complaining about what I thought was crappy customer service, but in the end, it is what it is.

three or four years occasional use in a boat is certainly not hard service. I suggested they might offer customers at least some discount on a replacement. Their answer was, we don't sell to the public, so we can't offer a discount.

So, Fusion has every right to do business the way they want. Just like I have every right to make sure I never buy their products again nor recommend them again, as I have done for years.

Having worked in the electronics industry your story sounds normal. Electronics, including $1000 cell phones, are disposable - easier to trash than fix. They are usually replaced under warranty instead of fixed as it's cheaper.

Bottom line is that the marine environment is really harsh. A car stereo can last 10 or more years. I wouldn't fault Fusion - they are actually one of the best for marine and RV. That said, your personal experience sucks and that's awful. I have had 2 Samsung appliances go bad and due to their customer service I won't buy their products again.

Really, the key here is to let it go. You're not going to change them. Go get something you like and get back to the more important things - family, friends, beer, chicken wings and sunsets with the sound of water lapping at your hull.

 

[Sea Q]

i have had 2 units so far; for our tender that doesn't get much use
The first somehow got water in it and it self destructed.
Ether someone washed it down
Or on one of our outing in soggy BC someone forgot to close the faceplate. So i really couldn't blame the product
The units are so well built and designed I bought a 700 to replace it
As a manufacture i received a few complaints,that just could not have happened .With stupid requests for compensation
Like free plane tickets to Hawaii.It a funny world

 

[ctjstr]

I get it. I just thought that they could at least stock common parts, or offer some sort of discount on a replacement unit. They choose not to do that, which is fine, but I choose not to pay a premium for a run of the mill product.

 

[markajh]

Having owned both boats and RVs, I can say that a lot of production processes are a joke. Flimsy plastic doors covering AC plugs etc that will crack with UV over time. And that's on million plus boats. That said, here's a link that sheds some light. https://themarinelab.com/best-marine-stereo/