Im thinking of getting one of these Sony MEX-XB100BT the description is a little confusing to me, I get the internal amp to be able to connect four combo speakers but it states direct sub connection also ?

+1 on the Fusion 700 series. Installed mine two seasons ago with a remote controller as well. Paired it with JL-Audio amps and speakers and it sounds incredible. The unit I purchased did not support Bluetooth at the time, but I recently added the fusion Bluetooth adaptor that plugs into the satellite connection and it works great. Very happy with the Fusion system.

I am going with the Rockford PMX-2. uses a 3" hole

Does sony or kenwood make/support wired remotes anymore? I was looking at the sony mex-xb100bt because I already have a rm-60m remote up front for when running (don't want to fumble my phone around while driving the boat just to switch volume/song) but I can't find if it is compatible with mex-xb100bt? It looks like sony isn't even making any anymore. Then I looked at kenwood and from what I can tell, they are not making wired remotes anymore either. Looks clarion still is, I was just hoping to use the sony I already had and upgrade my receiver. Fusion is out of the budget right now.

What would be recommended to be able to still have a wired remote but also the Bluetooth and possible phone connectivity.

I'm in the middle of installing a fusion bb100, with a wired remote on the transom. It ties into my simrad nss and can be controlled by the fusion link app on my phone or tablet.