stereo advice
 

I am thinking of upgrading my stereo and would welcome any advice or input. I recently bought my father in laws 88 baja force 265 and really want to change and upgrade the stereo. Ive been having battery problems so ive not even played it any but as of now it has an alpine radio/tape player and alpine 6 disc changer in the cabin along with 2 6 1/2 alpines in there and also 2 6 1/2 alpines mounted under the rear bench. I would like a good sounding stereo that you can hear and control while in the water and is iphone compatible. Im trying to get my best bang for my buck, looking at alpine 9886 head unit but not sure if it works with iphones and maybe changing all the speakers to polk or kicker. Hopefully I can add a couple subs and amps later but dont think its in my budget right now. What do you guys think should I even bother changing speakers will it make a difference? I could maybe spend like $1000 so what would be the best way to spend the money or what would you guys do? I could do some now and some next year. Any suggestions or input appreciated thanks

I went with the kenwood KMR-440U ipod compatable and the wired remote KCA-Rc107MR with lcd display. and I would go with the KICKER speakers the 6in components will sound 10 times better than their 2 way speakers and you can get the 340 watt kicker marine amp that would make everything sound nice and clean. I believe on ebay you can get the amp and speaker combo for under 500 all in all you should be able to replace what you have for 700-800 range

Thanks for the info. Still lookin for more advice, anyone else?

I would recommend the Alpine CDA-9886M like you said or even better the CDA-118M and get the Bluetooth remote. The head unit is ipod compatible and the remote will display all ipod info (I believe it is the only marine remote that does so). I have a buddy of mine that is an Alpine dealer and has it in his personal boat as well as several of his buddies. You can add several of the remotes in different locations all around the boat and because it is Bluetooth you only need to run power to it.

As far as speaker I would go with JBL separates with at least 1 good 10 or 12 inch sub.

Hope this helps.

Mine has a sony explode, i pod compatible, blue tooth also. all 3 factory remotes on boat ctrl all settings & ipod too (good to fwd past the wifes beyonce crap). uses 3 amps to drive 18 speakers & 4 subs. Is louder than I need, but sounds great

Do you have to buy marine head units in order to buy and use a waterproof rf remote? My head unit would be in the cabin and wont get wet so I could get by without a marine unit if there were any benefit. Also would replacing the current four 6 1/2s get me a decent enough sound especially if not running off an amp? I would like to have a sub or subs and amp as well but dont know if its in the budget.

Fusion. The front flips down and your iPod or iPhone slides in. The head unit fully controls the ipod or iPhone, and you can have many inline wired remotes. My head unit is in the cabin, and I have a wired remote at the dash and transom. The head unit also has 4 independently controlled zones so you can get real creative with volume control in different parts of the boat. It is also Sirius compatable and has an additional aux port.

I have a regular JVC head unit and also the RF remote. Seems like when I was researching,many brands only required the head unit to be steering wheel remote capable to be RF capable

So I can just use a regular head unit? Should I replace it and current speakers the wait till next year for amps and a couple subs? What would be the best sounding stereo for the money while we are in the water? Even thought about speakers I could lay on sun deck while swimming and store when not? Thanks

Yes, any head unit will work. Standard auto units will give you way more choices. Just get one that has the features you want such as the 3.5mm jack and the ability to use whatever remote you want. Not all head units will work with the RF remote. Gotta do some research there. Also one that has the RCA outputs for your amps. When to buy is whenever works best for you. You'll get several brand preferences, I'm an all out JL person myself. A budget will come into play too.

ebay ebay ebay..... best prices!!! If the boats not left out in the weather all the time you dont need marine grade speakers or subs.

I have a polyplanar md80, i know the 80 part is right, with JL 7.7 components in the front and rear and a JL 10" under the deck in a box and a JL 600x6 amp it is about as much sound as you would ever want in a smaller cockpit area

Just installed Alpine CDA 9886M with MC-20 and MC-2 remotes, Fosgate Amps and sub, Kenwood Excellon speakers and the system is very loud without breaking the bank. Have the same Fosgate amps in all three of my boats and you can get great deals on them online. I have a Sony head unit in my Tritoon and it works and sounds great but there is no way to use wired remotes with the unit and the sony marine units are very limited as to what they can display. Good luck and remember that a boat is not a listening room so perfect clarity won't be as noticeable to your ear. just my 2cents

What about polk mm651um 6 1/2s? Anyone have them or have opinions of them?

With Alpine, you have to use their marine head unit for their MC20 wireless marine remote.
Most other brand's automotive head units will work with their respective brand marine remotes. (Sony, Kenwood, Clarion, etc.) Its still a good idea to use marine equipment in boats though.

I have 6 polk 6.5"s, they sound great and can be powered off the deck. The Momos would even be better but would take an amp to power them. Bang for buck the polks are up there.

If you want the best, JL is where it is at.

BTW...im not promoting the polks because I have them. I actually listened to them in other boats before making my decision.

i have 8 of them in my cockpit. sound good, look good & priced well.

Right now my speaker location is two 6 1/2s under rear bench and two 6 1/2s in the cabin. I want a good sounding system that I can hear while im in the water as well because we spend alot of time anchored and in the water. I probably wont be able to add subs this year but can replace the head unit and speakers and maybe add speakers. Should I add a couple more 6 1/2s under rear bench and maybe add a sub there later or should I save that space for sub or subs? I also thought if maybe I could put some 6x9s in boxes or something on the dash under the windshield? Even thought about trying to mount some on transome but really dont wanna cut into the hull. Any advice appreciated

Get 2 sets of these. Place them as high as you can in the gunwalls. $100

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POWERBASS-S-...item1c2a4be0c3

Get one of these and build a 1.25 cu.ft. box in the bench. $65.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROCKFORD-FOS...item51a055c456

Get one of these to power them. $265

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alpine-MRX-V...item20c9e34c6d

THe Alpine Head unit. $269.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALPINE-CDA-9...item43b270fc36

Thats about $700. That leaves you $300 for things like cables, wire, box materials and a remote if you want.

It will make a great little system. If people say the speakers are junk, ask anyone that has been in my boat, they will tell you how it sounds.

Here is my system. http://s1087.photobucket.com/albums/...Boat%20Stereo/

I have a Pioneer head unit with a wireless remote and iPod/iPhone input cable with JL Audio 350 watt amp to drive 2 JL Audio 6.5" and 2 JL Audio 6x9" and a JL Audio 500 watt to drive 2 12" JL Audio boxed subs in the engine compartment. I can rattle dishes a block away, I once had someone tell me they thought it was an earthquake. I was playing a piece from Time Warp it has a 33Hz section in it. Other than a $250,000 home system this is the only system that can really play it well. The only thing loader than my engine is my stereo. JL Audio is the way to go, it may be a little more but definitely worth it.

nightlife what do you think about your transom speakers? hard? worth it?

They make a big difference when you are in the water. Kind of a pain to get them in there, but worth it.

I have used the MM6501's and there 10" MM Marine subs, I was really happy with them, and they are priced pretty reasonable, the 6501's aren't "cheap", but, they work well.

Michael

I have also had really good luck with the "new" Alpine PDX series digital amps, they work well, they are quite compact, and they are all the same size, so, installation looks really clean.

I'll chime in with xlt86 on the JL speakers but they are a little pricer if you're on a budget. Get what you pay for though. We've had two Kicker boats convert to JL this year in our area.
I'm running two of the Alpine 9886. One inside. One outside. There are a lot of good head units though. Pick the one you like the features and looks of.
Definately go with Class D amps such as the JL Audio MHDs, new M series Nex D amps, or the Alpine PDX amps. They are a lot easier on your batteries. Any sub is better than no sub but make sure it says free air or infinate baffle if your just mounting it in a bulk head with no enclosure. Common mistake.