Ipod head units, and general stereo information

[shawndoggy]

so jealous of you guys who can stream pandora. Every body of water we take our boat to has extra terrible or no cell reception. Streaming pandora would not be a viable solution at all.

[Nitrousbird]

so jealous of you guys who can stream pandora. Every body of water we take our boat to has extra terrible or no cell reception. Streaming pandora would not be a viable solution at all.

Gee, I get 4G LTE coverage on the water we normally boat (about 3 minute drive from the house to the ramp). 50 Mbps down / 11 Mbps up.

If it makes you feel any better, the water is a muddy as chocolate milk and pretty small. No tubes or lake lice, which is a huge plus.

[jetskipro550]

People still use Pandora? Spotify is where it's at

[shawndoggy]

People still use Pandora? Spotify is where it's at

I pay for the upgraded quality 192k pandora one subscription because I use pandorajam.

[Cueball]

Falko,

I'm no stereo professional and I know my system ain't gonna win any contests, but I installed a bazooka amplified sub a few years back. It was pretty easy and it's hidden (near the battery in my Response) and I felt it was a good bang for the buck. The system sounds pretty good while floating around the boat or having refreshments @ the swim up bar (swim platform). I remember considering that Infinity basslink at that time. I don't know if there are any pros or cons to either unit.........I'm sure someone will have opinions on that......................

[Nitrousbird]

Falko,

I'm no stereo professional and I know my system ain't gonna win any contests, but I installed a bazooka amplified sub a few years back. It was pretty easy and it's hidden (near the battery in my Response) and I felt it was a good bang for the buck. The system sounds pretty good while floating around the boat or having refreshments @ the swim up bar (swim platform). I remember considering that Infinity basslink at that time. I don't know if there are any pros or cons to either unit.........I'm sure someone will have opinions on that......................

If you have the sub enclosed somewhere, it won't have nearly the output. My Basslink was originally installed in the observer compartment; relocating it under the driver side dash increase the output by 4x at least. Extreme sound difference doing nothing more than moving the sub.

For the money the Basslink is good for what it is, but it has its limitations for sure.

[Cueball]

If you have the sub enclosed somewhere, it won't have nearly the output. My Basslink was originally installed in the observer compartment; relocating it under the driver side dash increase the output by 4x at least. Extreme sound difference doing nothing more than moving the sub.

For the money the Basslink is good for what it is, but it has its limitations for sure.

This is true. I should have mentioned that we keep that hatch open while loafing / drifting about. The bass IS dampened immensely while we are underway with the hatch closed.

[Cueball]

So Falko, my point was to give you another option on a subwoofer. YOU will likely mount it where it works for YOU.

I figure that you might like to hear opinions on the sound quality "Bazooka" vs. "Infinity Basslink".

Maybe that's another thread?. Just remember to find out where each unit has been mounted so you can compare apples to apples, I guess! The location that works for me or any other Jack-O may not work for YOU.

[Falko]

So, first of all, thanks for the replies thus far.

My thoughts on this were to re-use the existing head unit for a bit and build up a system. I've been prepping the boat for this season and got the boat running this past weekend, finally. It seems the existing head unit is shot. Power button doesn't work, volume doesn't work, nothing works except changing the channel. It is the original Exile head unit, so it is past its prime. Another thing I noticed which was odd to me is the ignition switch has an accessory position like a car, I've never had that in a boat. That is how the radio is powered. Is there anything wrong with connecting the radio to an unused Acc rocker? I assume not, and it would be a lot nicer to be able to shut the radio down without reaching through my armpit. Is there something else I should look at for doing this?

I have two guys coming to look at the I/O this week, as soon as it sells, stereo purchase is job one.

Again, thanks all.

[Falko]

Been watching the other threads on the stereo information and trying to pull as much knowledge as possible. The I/O went to the new owners last night, so my stereo project is now under way.

Head unit, I am going to go with the Clarion, I've had success in the past. I like the M502, but it seems for about the same cost, I can get the M309 which offers more. I don't care too much about the CD player, but 6CH RCA output, and front connection for external might come in handy. And I believe the M309 will do MP3 format from digital storage, not sure if the 502 will. Since I am going with a light duty sub (probably Basslink) is the 6 channel a better option? And general thoughts on the 309 vs 502?

[shawndoggy]

I can't speak to 502 but have 309 currently.

If you want to fade between towers and cabins, you'll want an external EQ because you have to navigate into the menus to accomplish fade which is frustrating. I'd guess the 502 is the same, but like I said, haven't played with one. If you are adding an eq, having two or four full range outputs from the deck doesn't matter.

Otherwise the 309 gives you usb (thumb drive or iphone), rear aux and front aux, in addition to radio and cd. I just leave a 16gb thumby in the boat and have the other aux set up to bluetooth. Never use the front aux. If you use the usb for direct connect to an ipod or iphone, you can set it up to leave control at the i-device which is nice.

[MLA]

Been watching the other threads on the stereo information and trying to pull as much knowledge as possible. The I/O went to the new owners last night, so my stereo project is now under way.

Head unit, I am going to go with the Clarion, I've had success in the past. I like the M502, but it seems for about the same cost, I can get the M309 which offers more. I don't care too much about the CD player, but 6CH RCA output, and front connection for external might come in handy. And I believe the M309 will do MP3 format from digital storage, not sure if the 502 will. Since I am going with a light duty sub (probably Basslink) is the 6 channel a better option? And general thoughts on the 309 vs 502?

If your head-unit is located under the arm rest, you will not want to have front USB or AUX. the door closing on them will either damage your cable or damage the socket in the head-unit. Go with a head-unit with rear USB or AUX and install a remote socket somewhere.

[Falko]

I went with the Clarion 502 and PPI 900.4.

Plan is to install under the armrest, I don't seem to have decent clearance for under the dash, maybe add a remote in the corner eventually. I plan to wire the head unit to be able to on/off from the control switch on the panel.

I have 6 cabin speakers, the rear four I will parallel off the amp on the rear channel, the front two will get the front channel off the amp.

Does anyone see any issues with this?

Next phase is a basslink and speaker replacement.

[Nitrousbird]

I went with the Clarion 502 and PPI 900.4.

Plan is to install under the armrest, I don't seem to have decent clearance for under the dash,

There is plenty of clearance unless your dash sits a lot lower than mine:

[Falko]

I have fairly long legs and would be scared to whack my knees on it all the time. I'll check it again, maybe tape a chunk of wood right there for a day and see how often I hit it.

[Nitrousbird]

I have fairly long legs and would be scared to whack my knees on it all the time. I'll check it again, maybe tape a chunk of wood right there for a day and see how often I hit it.

I'm 6'3" and have no issues with it being there - I have never hit my knee on it. My heater vent I relocated is actually lower and there is plenty of clearance between the head unit and the sub enclosure.

[Falko]

We're the same height, so that is promising. I'll check it out. Do you know which mount you used for yours?

[Falko]

I installed the Clarion M502 this weekend with the PPI amp. Sounds pretty good, but those original Exile speakers need to go.

One thing that really bothered me though is the reception the M502 gets. I like the radio, whether it be just back ground music, the ball game, or whatever. This radio doesn't pick up much, at all. The radio I removed had good reception so I tend to think the antenna is working, and I have everything hooked up on the new head unit correctly.

The other thing I am not overly impressed with is the one button control on the Clarion. I am sure it is just getting used to, but it's easy to push that button in the wrong direction.