Need to update my boat stereo.

[man7sell]

Although the boat has OK sound, the stereo head is an old car cassette, yes cassette. I have one....


I do have a lot of CDs so that's one way to go


As for digital music, all my downloaded tunes were wipes clean by apple as I did not buy them for Apple but left then on my out of date iPods and iPhones. Updates cleared them out


OK rant over, I could download all my CDs onto some mp3 player I guess.


What should I upgrade to I wonder?

 

[CharlieO.]

Although the boat has OK sound, the stereo head is an old car cassette, yes cassette. I have one....


I do have a lot of CDs so that's one way to go


As for digital music, all my downloaded tunes were wipes clean by apple as I did not buy them for Apple but left then on my out of date iPods and iPhones. Updates cleared them out


OK rant over, I could download all my CDs onto some mp3 player I guess.


What should I upgrade to I wonder?

I play everything through bluetooth nowadays. I generally listen through Spotify or Iheart radio.

 

[Mainship Pilot]

Sirius Radio Ap via phone/bluetooth on both the boat and RV.

 

[kthoennes]

Our AM/FM radios -- two separate, one at the helm, one in the salon were both ancient and crusty and one was dead, so we did a total upgrade last summer. At first I bought a Boss car radio simply because it was cheaper. I want decent sound but I'm not a high-end audio nut like some guys, and I don't need to blast everybody else in the marina like some of those tricked out Moombah waterskiing boats. I thought the "marine" version was just upselling nonsense and the auto version would be good enough. Mistake -- first heavy rainstorm in bad weather and spray, the radio shorted out and then lost its mind after it dried out. So then I bought a Boss marine version for both locations and they've been great. Old rectangular style for me because that's what the cabinet access allowed, not the newer round versions. Boss is definitely not high-end, some will scoff, but they've been very good so far. Two of the salon speakers were also fried so I replaced them with Rockville 8 ohm round speakers. The speakers originally installed by Mainship were 8-ohm so I concluded I needed to keep them all the same or some speakers would be louder or sound significantly different than others. I could not for the life of me find white grilles for those speakers (all the other speakers in the salon had white grilles) so I ordered black and sprayed them white to match.

The Boss radios do have USB inputs and Bluetooth -- have to have Bluetooth, we probably use that a lot more than broadcast AM/FM. I can bring up my YouTube or custom music libraries and play whatever I want.

 

[Benthic2]

I recently threw out the few hundred CD's I had aquired over the last 30 years. It was painful but I hadn't used one in 5 years!! There are free and low cost streaming options that are so convenient. The 2 I am familiar with are Pandora and Spotify. Devote an old phone or iPod to be your "head unit" and get a set of bluetooth speakers. You can get single ones that sound really good, or pairs so you still have stereo separation. You could move them around the boat or get a set for each area you congregate in. Install an unobtrusive charging cable here or there so you can keep them charged. If you spend much time on the boat alone, bluetooth headphones will be worth their weight in gold.

 

[Delta Riverat]

I like the gauge style heads as much easier to install, round hole with hole saw as compared to rectangle with saber saw. I went with one that would accept a lossless compression and not just MP3 via USB. Bluetooth of course.

I went with Kicker 46KMC4 top and bottom as I found the first one easy and intuitive to operate and good sound.

Consider adding a subwoofer and its own amplifier (really just a low frequency fill) not to rattle the windows but just to fill in the low end. Makes any system sound better.

 

[Iggy]

I really feel that Fusion is the way to go. One big point, is the zones. So You can control the volume in different places. From three zones and expandable to more.

In other words the solon, wheel house, flybridge and swim flatform can have very different volumes levels. Which KEEPS the peace with my wife and I. Plus, the remotes are NEMA2k for easy wiring and my Simrad MFD can act as a remote too.

 

[man7sell]

Consider adding a subwoofer and its own amplifier (really just a low frequency fill) not to rattle the windows but just to fill in the low end. Makes any system sound better.

Yes that would really help, I did that on my liveaboard sailboat 25 years ago, attached the speaker to the hull as a 43' sounding board. Test CD was Candle In The Wind live at the Sydney opera house. Second verse they tuned the Moog synthesizer to the opera house and shook it. You could feel it on the boat


Also did it on my 1965 Airstream.


So yes do it on my little tug too.

 

[kthoennes]

I'd second an amp, even though I'm not an audio geek. Especially the unit at the helm with all the wind and noise, it really helped. I initially bought what a small one in physical size because I don't have tons of room in the helm pod -- but it was 400 watts, sucked way too much power. Somewhere in my head I always thought that wattage in speaker specs was not actual power consumption, it was some mystical audiophile measurement. Duh. Nope, it's real watts, which is why they get so warm, so I had to sell that one and go down to a 100. That's tiny in power as amps go, but even that little squirt made a difference in how much punch and clarity the sound has around the upper deck seating areas.

 

[Delta Riverat]

On the fly bridge I have the Kicker, a Kenwood 4 channel amp driving a pair of 6.5 inch Fusion co-axials and a pair of 5.25 inch co-axials and another Kenwood single channel amp driving a 10 inch Fusion sub. All the amps are class D so very efficient and also very small which is good on a boat -

 

[BruceK]

Although the boat has OK sound, the stereo head is an old car cassette, yes cassette. I have one....


I do have a lot of CDs so that's one way to go


As for digital music, all my downloaded tunes were wipes clean by apple as I did not buy them for Apple but left then on my out of date iPods and iPhones. Updates cleared them out


OK rant over, I could download all my CDs onto some mp3 player I guess.


What should I upgrade to I wonder?

The audio cassette is (allegedly) making a comeback, I saw a recent report people are searching for used ones, like for vinyl. You could load your CDs onto cassettes,(a time consuming process). Or you could just buy a good CD player.

 

[Delta Riverat]

Lot's easier and faster to burn the CD's to a thumb drive.

 

[Caballero II]

Lot's easier and faster to burn the CD's to a thumb drive.

So glib. Yes, but then what do you do? How do you navigate for a particular song or album on a "thumb drive"? And what do you attach the thumb drive to? A lap top or the like? Then what manages to get the songs/albums to the Fusion (?) or into the player. So many layers, beyond my pay grade. It would be wonderful for somebody to explain it all from soup to nuts. Should be a treatise.

 

[Snapdragon III]

My opinion is don't put an installed stereo in your boat. Get a nice Bluetooth speaker, or if you want something fancier get a Sonos system. Simplify the wiring mess in the boat.

 

[Delta Riverat]

It's not as hard as you make it sound. All the new heads have a usb port that you just plug the thumb drive into.

As to the wiring mess, I just cut, cleaned and crimped new terminals on all the existing speaker wires that were already run through the boat.

I will agree that the new wireless speakers sound amazing and the lithium batteries last for hours. Yup another solution.

 

[Caballero II]

It's not as hard as you make it sound. All the new heads have a usb port that you just plug the thumb drive into.

As to the wiring mess, I just cut, cleaned and crimped new terminals on all the existing speaker wires that were already run through the boat.

I will agree that the new wireless speakers sound amazing and the lithium batteries last for hours. Yup another solution.

?????

 

[BDofMSP]

I'll just post my Amazon review of my Fusion RA670. I like the integration with Raymarine but that's literally it.

"Like many people, one of the first things I did was load up my USB stick with my boat music collection, hit "random" and waited for the stream of tunes to drive my day on the water. Disappointment #1. I quickly learned that the unit only randomizes WITHIN a folder, not across folders! So this is great if I only want to hear random Jimmy Buffett all day, but occasionally I'd like to throw something else into the mix, right?

So I take the time to copy all the songs out of each folder and put them into a single folder. Disappointment #2. When I do this, each song starts playing for 2 seconds then stops. You have to pause the song, then push play again. Every. Single. Song. I had a pretty good USB stick but it was a few years old, so I thought "hey maybe this is so modern that I need a more current version of USB?" So I get a new 256 GB Samsung USB 3.1 device. Copy it all over. Same thing.

I reach out to Fusion support, which to their credit got back quickly and in person by phone. Turns out
a) your USB stick can't be more than 16GB (hard to even find 'em that small any more)
b) you're limited to 250 songs in any folder
So basically "Random" doesn't work the way that 99% of people want it to. I can randomize within an artist or album (folder) but not across my collection, and only 250 songs. How difficult would it be to have it randomize across folders vs within? I think the answer lies not within the software but the hardware.

Ironically, I have an old cell phone from 2012 that I can load all the music I want on, and it will shuffle it just fine and stream it via Bluetooth. So this stereo is clearly built to maximize profits, not to provide a decent user experience. It doesn't have the memory and processing power to perform the simplest tasks that users expect. Unfortunately I've already cut the hole in my dash, so this is now my expensive annoying experience to live with. I wish I'd have known."

 

[Iggy]

I'll just post my Amazon review of my Fusion RA670. I like the integration with Raymarine but that's literally it.

"Like many people, one of the first things I did was load up my USB stick with my boat music collection, hit "random" and waited for the stream of tunes to drive my day on the water. Disappointment #1. I quickly learned that the unit only randomizes WITHIN a folder, not across folders! So this is great if I only want to hear random Jimmy Buffett all day, but occasionally I'd like to throw something else into the mix, right?

So I take the time to copy all the songs out of each folder and put them into a single folder. Disappointment #2. When I do this, each song starts playing for 2 seconds then stops. You have to pause the song, then push play again. Every. Single. Song. I had a pretty good USB stick but it was a few years old, so I thought "hey maybe this is so modern that I need a more current version of USB?" So I get a new 256 GB Samsung USB 3.1 device. Copy it all over. Same thing.

I reach out to Fusion support, which to their credit got back quickly and in person by phone. Turns out
a) your USB stick can't be more than 16GB (hard to even find 'em that small any more)
b) you're limited to 250 songs in any folder
So basically "Random" doesn't work the way that 99% of people want it to. I can randomize within an artist or album (folder) but not across my collection, and only 250 songs. How difficult would it be to have it randomize across folders vs within? I think the answer lies not within the software but the hardware.

Ironically, I have an old cell phone from 2012 that I can load all the music I want on, and it will shuffle it just fine and stream it via Bluetooth. So this stereo is clearly built to maximize profits, not to provide a decent user experience. It doesn't have the memory and processing power to perform the simplest tasks that users expect. Unfortunately I've already cut the hole in my dash, so this is now my expensive annoying experience to live with. I wish I'd have known."

Yes, the Fusion will only shuffle within a folder. I called them on that asking for a fix. They did not have one. Also, it can only handle 512 songs within that folder. Or at least on the older units that I used years ago.

But here is a very good work around. Years ago I took my wife's IPod and though the USB port connected to the Fusion head unit. It worked out great!
Today I use an older Apple phone with no service.

With over 2500 song it plays flawlessly. Plus using the USB port charges the phone at the same time . The phone also picks up were it left off in the song titles.

In other words, I get on the boat. Hit the power button on a remote or head unit and in a few seconds, music is playing. The next day it picks up where it left off.

Oh, since its a phone it has Wi-Fi built in. I have phone logon to my Pepwave or the dock's Wi-Fi. Now I can stream music with the same benefits and not have a calls or text coming over my own phone interrupting the music.

I think Fusion is one of the best all around units you can buy. Keep in mind, no unit is perfect and other than Fusion. AS too processing power, the phone takes some of that off the head unit. It seams to be the only one with Zones. Which can be a wife saver.

I will say this too. I went from the from my unit from 2012 to the new Apollo unit. It was plug and play.

 

[boomerang]

I would recommend going with whichever unit has the latest version (5.0) of bluetooth. 5.0 has a much faster data xfer and much better range. I will say that while the range is better, the bluetooth signal doesn't seem to travel through walls as readily as the earlier version but that's not a big deal to me.
I put 2 identical Infinity marine units on our boat, one on the bridge and one in the salon, with the idea that both units would play simultaneously from the same source since 5.0 allows 2 sources to control 1 unit. So far I can't make that happen and am hoping that a future software upgrade or next bluetooth version will allow it.

 

[boomerang]

Yes, the Fusion will only shuffle within a folder. I called them on that asking for a fix. They did not have one. Also, it can only handle 512 songs within that folder.

But here is a very good work around. Years ago I took my wife's IPod and though the USB port connected to the Fusion head unit. It worked out great!
Today I use an older Apple phone as an Ipod.

With over 2500 song it plays flawlessly. Plus using the USB port charges the phone at the same time . The phone also picks up were it left off in the song titles.

In other words, I get on the boat. Hit the power button on a remote or head unit and in a few seconds, music is playing. The next day it picks up where it left off.

Oh, since its a phone it has Wi-Fi built in. I have phone logon to my Pepwave or the dock's Wi-Fi. Now I can stream music with the same benefits and not have a calls or text coming over my own phone interrupting the music.

I think Fusion is one of the best all around units you can buy. Keep in mind, no unit is perfect and other than Fusion. It seams to be the only one with Zones. Which can be a wife saver.

I used to be a Fusion fan until, on our last boat, I "upgraded" the salon RA60 stereo to a RA-670. That's where I found out from Garmin support that I could only control the volume and other functions of the new unit through a Fusion app. I don't want to have to open an app to simply and quickly control the volume on a stereo. It's much better for me to use the buttons on the side of my phone, without evening opening it.

 

[Iggy]

Can you tell I like Fusion, but not happy that Garmin owns it now. Which could stagnate future features. Their not in the music business.

But its all in how you setup your system to get the most out of it.

I have the RA-670 too. I can control it with the NEMA2k remotes, the app and my Simrad MFD.

 

[rslifkin]

We've got a single din Kenwood "marine" car stereo on the boat. Basically just a car stereo with coated circuit boards for durability. And then a Fusion amp installed (that pre-dated the current stereo). It's got speakers in the salon and at the helm. Plenty of punch when desired, but at reasonable listening volume power draw is typically about 1.5 amps.

And even the fairly cheap head unit we have does AM/FM radio, SiriusXM satellite radio with an add-on tuner (which we have), will accept audio via bluetooth, and also has a USB port so you can plug in a thumb drive full of music and play whatever is on there.

There are much fancier setups out there, but it doesn't take anything crazy to get a decent setup for just having some music on during the day. And as long as you start with decent quality gear, then a good speaker setup will get you good sound quality.

 

[man7sell]

Thanks for all the great inputs. I will be going with a 1 DIN head unit as I already have the car cassette cutout, and all the wiring and antenna.


I'm thinking a mp3 player and ripping all my CDs onto it. Then bluetooth or USB to the head unit

 

[Iggy]

Thanks for all the great inputs. I will be going with a 1 DIN head unit as I already have the car cassette cutout, and all the wiring and antenna.


I'm thinking a mp3 player and ripping all my CDs onto it. Then bluetooth or USB to the head unit

Look at the music service called Tidal. You can have a play list of over 4000 songs. Cost is $10 per month. Depending on what you listen to. Every day they give you suggestions. Some bad and some good.

 

[mvweebles]

My opinion is don't put an installed stereo in your boat. Get a nice Bluetooth speaker, or if you want something fancier get a Sonos system. Simplify the wiring mess in the boat.

Agree, especially on a small boat such as the Sundowner 30 the OP has. During the Weebles' refit, we had all holes patched and surfaces renewed. The car stereo is gone and we now use a Bluetooth speaker. Most recent is this EarFun (AMAZON - HERE). $80 and has a 20% discount right now.

We do not watch much TV but do watch an occassional movie on a large PC using the Bluetooth speakers for sound. We are not sports' fans so works fine for us.

For content, we use Pandora a lot. We have a VPN for access in Mexico (NordVPN has worked well for us) across Starlink, though have used our T-Mobile mobile access often such as when we're driving cross country.

Overall, so happy we plugged all the old holes in Weebles. Gone are the enormous depth sounder gauges and of course the car stereo and speaker holes. And frankly, the sound from the bluetooth speaker is better. Of course, if you want the party vibe, nothing substitutes for a robust sub-woofer. But those days are behind us

Peter

 

[ksanders]

The day and age of the "stereo" are over.

Today you can get fantastic sound out of a pair of apple music speakers, or other brands like Bose.

Then just tell siri to play your favorite playlist.

 

[Iggy]

Now some of you know this! Speakers are the heart of any system.

In buying marine or outdoor speakers. You may want to look at the specs on frequency response. The pair with the lowest lows and the highest highs will most likely give you the best sound. Deeper bass and with clearer highs.

If you want to hear music. Buy the Bluetooth speakers. For what they are, they do sound pretty good as long as you keep them charged up.

If you want to listen to music. And yes I am am NUT on this topic. Spend the extra few bucks and buy good speakers. I don't know about other boaters, but my boat is were I go to relax, have fun and enjoy good friends. I go on my boat, hit one button and relax and the music is playing.

 

[Iggy]

The day and age of the "stereo" are over.

Today you can get fantastic sound out of a pair of apple music speakers, or other brands like Bose.

Then just tell siri to play your favorite playlist.

Yes, the days of a stereo system are over. Now we have home theater with 5.1, 7.1 and even 9.1 surround systems. In others words stereo systems is 2 speakers and today its 6 (5.1 system) to 10 speakers. But you can still hit a button and just have one left and one right speaker.

If you listen to the music of the 60s, 70s and 80s. The groups played with the sounds going back and forth between the 2 channels. Which made the the song more interesting if not better.

 

[luna]

Iggy.

As a product of the 60's, I agree, there is a big difference between hearing 2 channel music from a set of 3" bluetooth speakers sourced from your iphone, compared to listening to a quality CD (or even vinyl) through a good equipment and high quality speakers.

As a bit of an audiophile, my "stereo" onboard (which was really driven by the HT qualities) pails in comparison to the system at home, but it will still blow the doors off (quality of sound wise) of any bluetooth sourced system that I have ever heard.

Although I often listen to R & R, seldom do I play it loud.

 

[Delta Riverat]

I agree. Bluetooth is MP3 and doesn't sound as good as FM Broadcast even. Which CD or FLAC can easily best.

I also like an installed system on a boat and not some portable box on a table or shelf.