Head units
 

Ok audio pros. Lets talk head units. I've always been partial to the Sony. Want a good one that has a wired remote. Maybe even Bluetooth. Is there one better than the Sony? Fusion? Who else. Don't just claim a brand or model please tell me why. It will drive 2 amps and 4 speakers and 2 subs.

alpine . they carry all the best features . and i cant get over there rf remote controlle . can operate all fuctions minus sub output . from easily 25 feet from boat . awsomhead unit .. i had sony top of the line for a week got rid of it . controlls were junk . whole thing was sub standard as far as i feel . im into audio and need the best i can afford though .. alpine is right at the top

I thought ALpine cancelled their marine line?

Fusion - look no further. The sound quality is FAR better than 99.9% of the rest. Features - look em up it does basically anything you could ask for.

Something to consider from my perspective.

I enjoy bluetooth, sometimes. It's nice in the car for quick / short bursts of music or listening to youtube, etc. But it wouldn't last for an all day raft up. and unfortunately, it seems to drain my iphone battery much faster than using a cord - and the cord (usb) generally keeps the iphone charged. What I hate is the cord dangling from the cabin mounted headunit through the door out in to the cockpit - it's always in the way. I should probably run a remote usb connector to the glove box. (another project)

We used to use an ipod, but it seems ridiculous to bring 2 audio devices.

+1
Alpine D class amps are awesome with JL separates, and their Head Units have Ipod/Aux control that is very easy to use, display for your library, and oh yeah....
The remotes are awesome.

Yup. I had a Fusion in my Velocity and am going to install one on the new boat. The really cool feature (600 model) is the ipod dock. You open the face of the radio, slide your ipod in and shut the front (face). Your ipod is now protected from the elements, is staying charged, and you have full control from the head unit and the wired remotes. The wired remotes are a bit pricy, but are completely water proof and offer pretty much full control of the head unit.

kenwood makes one that you can open the face up and plug in either a usb stick or an iphone and then shut the face to protect from elements and all the controls to control either one.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...furbished.html

Ordered on of those and got it today...i was impressed with the quality stainless steel sleve was a nice touch. It was nice to see a qualtiy finished product for once.. I know its old tech but its very high quality i played some old school cd's into the system i had forgotten just how hard full range music can hit...it was fun,

The new Fusion ms-ip700i looks really cool. This is the unit I will be installing in our Concept in the Spring. It has a color display, which really doesn't do much for me. However, it is NEMA 2000 link compatible. Which means it will integrate with some of the newer electronics (primarily some of the new full screen gps from Raymarine and others).. It is reasonably priced. You can get one starting at about $425 online. Also a big reason for the Fusion ip600 and ip700 models is the multi zone controls. Each zone also has a subwoofer output. You can control zones separately or together. This allows you to leave a zone at a fixed volume while having control over another. Here is a good example. On our previous boat (I will be setting the new one up the same way) we had Zone 1 wired to an amp that powered the cockpit speakers. Zone 2 controlled just the transom mounted speakers. So when we were at a beach, we would turn zone 2 (transom speakers) up and leave zone 1 turned down (no sense powering speakers in the cockpit you cant hear). When we rafted up to other boats, we would hook an RCA cable up to zone 3 and run that to a buddies boat. He would plug it into his AUX input. Then once I set the volume on zone 3, he could turn his radio up and down regardless of what I did with my volume. So it gave him complete control over the volume on his boat. Since my buddies boat also had a fusion radio, he was able to use his zone 3 output to connect to the next boat. The Fusion radio is a very flexible unit.