Thats the same one I've got as well for my sailboat.. I got mine from best buy... It works ok, but like I said its slow. what is nice is its an RF remote so line of sight doesn't matter.

That looks pretty cool, i can live with the slow response, I would only use it while floating in the water.

Funny, when we are running I don't care about the music, but then again we are on a small lake. When we run the river that may change, a wired remote would be nice at those times.

Thought I would chime in. I just installed the Alpine 9886M in my boat along with two MC-10 remotes, JL MHD 900/5 amp, 4 JL 6.5's, two JL 7.7's and two JL IB 10's. All I can say is "wow"! I did the install myself and it really was a straight forward hook up. I did try and install the Alpine RUE-M1RF waterproof keychain remote also. However, there are compatibility issues between the MC-10 and the RUE remote. They will not work as Alpine says they will. If you hook them together as the manual states, the RUE will override the MC-10 (Crutchfield stated there is a software issue that needs to be addressed between the two remote transceivers).

With that being said, I have never owned JL equipment prior to this install and I must say they have it together in their marine line. The MHD amp is the perfect amp for the job I want it to do and I only had to install ONE amp. Total additional weight to the boat was 57 lbs. JL is a little more expensive than other brands, but I bought my equipment at a local retailer and they were far cheaper than ANYONE online, Crutchfield included! (beat them by 400 bucks on the total order for the JL equipment alone).

All in all, I have been very satisfied with the ALPINE Marine equipment and the JL Marine equipment. They function well and sound awesome!!!!

Now that I have been looking at this stuff, does anyone publish real test data?

This is like buying a motor from a builder and not getting dyno runs.

BTW

Thanks for letting us know about the remote issue.

Sometimes CNET will have a review of some equipment. Car Audio Magazine used to publish real world data, but only for the popular equipment out at the time and most of that was competition grade stuff. They best way is to put it in and try it out. When I did installs for a local shop 20 years ago, we would just put it in and give it a shot. Sometimes it was good, sometimes it was bad. Back then, Orion Amps and subs with Alpine head unit gear and speakers worked really well. Still have my affinity for Alpine Head units, but the marine grade amps have improved dramatically in the last few years. I really like the voltage regulator system the JL MHD amps have. You don't loose sound quality over a wide range of voltage and you don't have to install capacitors because of their technology. They are stable to 1.5 ohms too so that gives you some flexibility. To each their own, but you will get what you pay for when it comes to audio equipment. The cleaner more stable systems will bring a premium over the average equipment, but with the advance in technology over the years, they all have good equipment compared to years past.

Oh, and by the way, the MC-10 remotes work great in my application. Full display minus album art and they are pretty quick. There is a very small delay in the volume response, but its nothing I can't get used to. Just turn is up slowly and gradually and it works great. I installed one next to the passenger seat and one on the swim platform. The radio frequency is 2.4 ghz for the MC-10s and 333 mghz for the RUE-M1RF. I really wanted a fob for my area since i could not install a MC-10 remote in the helm due to the size and limited space. But until they get the issues resolved at Alpine, I guess I will have to have a DJ to it for me!!

For me, I am coming from the OEM market where you always start with the anechoic chamber data. The amount of information is huge. That way you know what the max spl output and distortion is, what VOLTAGE it takes to get there, you now what the frequency response is, you know if the thing is a piece of junk or not.

I find it a bit Sh%^& to have to “put it in and see what it sounds like”, particularly when you have to purchase the stuff. Just frustrating for me.

We would of course do listening tests, they where quite extensive and time consuming but the only way to get the final say. They would be performed in a very controlled way.

When it comes to amplifiers, except for Mark Levison OEM, the aftermarket had much better power sections then what we did but our DSP power would blow you away. All of the OEM stuff is stable to 2 ohm, that has it’s good and bad points. It allows you to get more power without step up supplies but the size of the speaker wire has a much bigger effect then 4 ohm or higher drivers.

Crown has been doing some work with the JBL aftermarket amplifiers, if you know anything about pro gear I think you can understand they are pretty nice amps.

Thanks for the info, maybe I should start up a independent test company, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I think that would be the setup I would go with.

Sounds like you have the knowledge to get you where you need to be. I will say this, my amp came with a set-up chart for the slope and crossover points and the information to pull each speaker after installing and test with a multi-meter to get you where you need to be input and output wise. Each channel has those individual adjustments and they are continuous adjustments, not fixed.

You will like the MC-10s. You will have to install a 12v switch and ground to each unit, but other than that, its plug and play. The transceiver hooks up directly to the steering wheel out on the back of the head unit and all you need is a switch and ground to power it up. Just an fyi, if you get the MC-10 remote/transceiver unit, get the MC-1 add on remote for the additional location. If you get two MC-10's, they each come with their own transceiver when you will only need one. I think the MC-1 add on is 50 bucks cheaper too.