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2017 Wakesetter stereo noise issues


hzemall

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We did a large system in a VLX22 and we removed all the WS amps and made a custom plug for the black box for the JL Amps.

Got use noise issues on Bluetooth and USB

Got the same issues on another 2017 that we haven't done anything to.

Any inside as to the source of the noise?

Re grounded everything, new powers to the second battery, re routed RCA cables, even just on the floor testing and nothing gets rid of it.

Issues with the Medallion box or something?

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I will start by saying that we love  our 2017 22VLX and are incredibly blown away by its performance and quality but it does have noise through the interior speakers.

It is a 2017 22VLX with factory system: (12" sub, 8 in speakers and 1-set tower speakers.  Our static/hiss is primarily through the in-boat speakers. It generally comes on after about a half hour of use. Engine on or off, doesn't matter. Turning the system off and on again will stop the noise temporarily but it comes back in 2-5 minutes. Disconnecting and reconnecting the BT or USB connection temporarily stops it but it comes back again in a couple of minutes.

I don't have a solution. Dealer didn't have a solution at the 20 hour service either.

I hope you are able to find a solution to your noise issue.  

Update: @teamerickson pointed us to a service advisory, SA # MY17.Adv12.Jun20. Our dealer got it and sent it over to me. It is a flow chart of diagnosing this problem that it says some of the 2017's have.  If you have a noise issue I would recommend getting the service advisory. If you message me I will send it to you. Our issue appears to be with the interior amp. 

Edited by BLSousa
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18 minutes ago, BLSousa said:

I will start by saying that we love  our 2017 22VLX and are so incredibly blown away by its performance and quality that the $5k+ stereo being unusable is almost a non issue to us.

That said, I have the same issue. 2017 22VLX with factory system: (12" sub, 8 in speakers and 1-set tower speakers.  Our static/hiss is primarily through the in-boat speakers. It generally comes on after about a half hour of use. Engine on or off, doesn't matter. Turning the system off and on again will stop the noise temporarily but it comes back in a 2-5 minutes. Disconnecting and reconnecting the BT or USB connection temporarily stops it but it comes back again in a couple of minutes. The hiss/static gets pretty loud and can overtake the sound of the music.

I don't have a solution. Dealer didn't have a solution at the 20 hour service either. I would love it if you could share your solution if/when you figure it out. Our plan right now is to bypass the medallion viper and install a new control unit (ws 420 or exile ZLD) this winter. 

I hope you are able to find a solution to your noise issue.  

 

 They have a service advisory you should mention to your dealer. SA # MY17.Adv12.Jun20

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  • 9 months later...

I'm getting the same buzz/noise in my 2017. It's going in for the 20 HR Service tomorrow. I will mention this service advisory. Can anyone confirm whether or not Malibu was able to fix the problem? The Exile team trouble shot the noise back to the Medallion. Does it need to be replaced?

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/7/2017 at 8:51 PM, BLSousa said:

I will start by saying that we love  our 2017 22VLX and are incredibly blown away by its performance and quality but it does have noise through the interior speakers.

It is a 2017 22VLX with factory system: (12" sub, 8 in speakers and 1-set tower speakers.  Our static/hiss is primarily through the in-boat speakers. It generally comes on after about a half hour of use. Engine on or off, doesn't matter. Turning the system off and on again will stop the noise temporarily but it comes back in 2-5 minutes. Disconnecting and reconnecting the BT or USB connection temporarily stops it but it comes back again in a couple of minutes.

I don't have a solution. Dealer didn't have a solution at the 20 hour service either.

I hope you are able to find a solution to your noise issue.  

Update: @teamerickson pointed us to a service advisory, SA # MY17.Adv12.Jun20. Our dealer got it and sent it over to me. It is a flow chart of diagnosing this problem that it says some of the 2017's have.  If you have a noise issue I would recommend getting the service advisory. If you message me I will send it to you. Our issue appears to be with the interior amp. 

7

Here is an update on this.

Short version: Wetsounds provided a replacement amp and we have put 20 hours on the boat since I installed the new amp last winter.  I am happy to report that the hiss/static issue from our interior speakers has not returned.

Longer version: Following the service advisory flowchart, it pointed to an issue with the amp for the interior speakers but the date of manufacture for my amp was one month from the published months of suspect amplifiers.  I called Wetsounds and described the symptoms.  They asked that we return the amp for repair/replacement.  They sent us a new amp within a week or two.   We have put 20 hours on the boat since I installed the new amp last winter.  I am happy to report that the hiss/static issue from our interior speakers has not returned.  I am very happy with the system's performance over the last few months and was very impressed with Wetsounds customer service throughout.  

Our problem was more prevalent on hot days than cool ones and we haven't had any 100°+ days yet so I can't say that the repair has been fully tested but so far, so good :)

I really like the sound of the factory optioned Wetsounds system now and am willing to recommend it to someone that would like to avoid going the custom install route.  To qualify that statement, I am not an audiophile and I have been satisfied with the stock stereo in all of my cars for the last 20 years.

 

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  • 9 months later...

Can you send me the flowchart please if you still have it?  I have a 2018 21 MLX and just noticed the hissing today. It is only on Bluetooth, only when running, and only audible when the volume is at 90% or more. I really notice it between songs or when I pause the audio. It also happens when I disconnect my phone from Bluetooth. I cannot hear it on FM or Sirius. 

I did recently have two more Icon 8’s installed by Scream Marine in Lewisville, TX and I asked them about the issue as soon as I heard it. They took my boat back and did some testing and said it’s “normal”. They also said that mine is better than most (i.e. most boats have an audible hiss below 90% volume) but it is a problem with most Malibu’s. According to him it is a “disconnect” between the Medallion and the radio (Exile I think 🤔). Of course a new radio and remote at the small price of $2200 installed would fix the proble. SMH. 

Any help would be appreciated. 

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41 minutes ago, TexasTurner said:

Can you send me the flowchart please if you still have it?  I have a 2018 21 MLX and just noticed the hissing today. It is only on Bluetooth, only when running, and only audible when the volume is at 90% or more. I really notice it between songs or when I pause the audio. It also happens when I disconnect my phone from Bluetooth. I cannot hear it on FM or Sirius. 

I did recently have two more Icon 8’s installed by Scream Marine in Lewisville, TX and I asked them about the issue as soon as I heard it. They took my boat back and did some testing and said it’s “normal”. They also said that mine is better than most (i.e. most boats have an audible hiss below 90% volume) but it is a problem with most Malibu’s. According to him it is a “disconnect” between the Medallion and the radio (Exile I think 🤔). Of course a new radio and remote at the small price of $2200 installed would fix the proble. SMH. 

Any help would be appreciated. 

I would first check with your Malibu dealer to make sure your system has the latest and greatest amp tune. An amp driving 2 pair of speakers would have a different DSP tune, then an amp driving the original pair. 

2nd, a hiss when streaming BT and the music is paused or transitioning between songs, is not a Malibu, Wet Sounds, Medalliuon or Exile ( Exile is not even on your boat BTW) issue, but rather a side effect of blue tooth in nature. Its white noise. The BT receiver I.E the boat, has nothing to send to the head unit, the Medallion black box unit, when the BT transmitter is sending nothing, like when paused or between songs. 

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My Malibu dealer is actually the one who sent me to Scream Marine. They do all of their installs on new boats. According to the installer he did update the tuning on both amps by USB. (Hence maybe where the problem was created....gain setting etc.?) The only reason I am aggravated is because I didn’t notice this all last summer but now that the new tower speakers are installed it’s very noticeable. Idk, maybe it’s just dumb luck that I didn’t notice it last year. 

I trust you, but if that is the case than why would this new Rockford Fosgate radio not have the problem?  Any ideas how to get rid of the noise other that troubleshoot through the flowchart as stated above?

On a side note, the installer also said that it was because my treble was up too high. I think it was at 5. He recommended leaving treble and bass at 0 because “all the tuning is in the amp”. If that is the case, why have the eq option in the menu? Everything in this boat is stock minus the two new Malibu/WetSounds Icon 8’s...

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45 minutes ago, MLA said:

What new Rockford?

Idk. He just showed me a Rockford Fosgate radio and remote on another boat he was doing. He said it would eliminate the problem. 🤷🏼‍♂️

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Did the ‘17s have a RF system?  I don’t recall when it went WS. Get Scream Marine to loan you a Bluetooth receiver and plug it into one of your aux ports either way.  That will take a lot of the helm electronics out of the equation and limit things to the Rockford Fosgate box and the amps.

Btw, The RF boxes have a port for their own optional Bluetooth receiver that has better audio quality. And the radio’s link back to the helm I think still gives you the integration of song information and the like. If you can do this, then go that route. It fixed this problem in my ‘16 and gave better signal to work with at the EQ I was using at the time.

Bluetooth receivers vary widely in how they squelch their outputs during no signal events. They also have there own audio quality or lack there of. The best audiophile system in the world driven by a bad Bluetooth design is going to sound bad or have weird anomalies. Bluetooth chipsets have the radio, codec, DAC, class-D amp all integrated. Several of those pieces are mutually exclusive in terms of silicon design goals. So it’s a big compromise. They are aimed at the consumer headphone market and portable speakers.  Check reddit and you’ll see numerous product threads complaining of the same thing you are. Depending on the silicon vendor for that Bluetooth chipset the quality control could also vary widely introducing an annoying sound in the noise floor that’ll vary in intensity and come and go.  That’s progress for you.

A short and long term measure is start to use a USB connection and it should be a lot better. It also won’t suffer from wireless compression as well. 

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10 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

2017 was the first year for the integrated Wetsounds stereos. No Rockford Fosgate after 2016. 

I thought so. Is the Bluetooth receiver in the Medallion Instruments box then or the Wetsounds box? I’d expect the Medallion box has it. 

Still, give the auxiliary Bluetooth puck a go though. It’ll eliminate the existing Bluetooth connection from the equation. The one from JL or Exile (same unit) is a good quality one.  If it does, then you’ll need to pray to RNGesus for a new helm computer (or Wetsounds radio... whichever has the Bluetooth receiver in it) that has a quieter Bluetooth connection. 

Both make great stuff. Bluetooth is just tricky. So many contradictory design goals. 

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Sorry for the confusion. He showed me an aftermarket radio. Not a stock radio. I was not implying anything about a stock RF radio. 

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Let’s clear this up / WetSounds has nothing to do with the headunit on any Malibu boat.

Pretty sure they are built by Prospec Electronics and integrated with Medallion.

carry on!!

 

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1 hour ago, Murphy8166 said:

Let’s clear this up / WetSounds has nothing to do with the headunit on any Malibu boat.

Pretty sure they are built by Prospec Electronics and integrated with Medallion.

carry on!!

 

Never even crossed my mind that it was the speakers. WetSounds are great. My best guess is an installation problem or a tuning problem. Either way, @BLSousa sent me the flow chart. I’ll work through it tomorrow and report my findings. Thank you for all the inputs thus far!! More to come I’m sure. 

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13 hours ago, TexasTurner said:

Idk. He just showed me a Rockford Fosgate radio and remote on another boat he was doing. He said it would eliminate the problem. 🤷🏼‍♂️

If a new component, as in head unit (black box style or more tradition just the same) will solve the issue, then first thing I would do, is have your dealer supply you with a new OEM black box or BT unit, if its an external device. 

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11 hours ago, Murphy8166 said:

Let’s clear this up / WetSounds has nothing to do with the headunit on any Malibu boat.

Pretty sure they are built by Prospec Electronics and integrated with Medallion.

carry on!!

 

Awesome.  Thanks.  I've wondered about that.  So formal amendment on my part here.  Substitute my text 'wetsounds radio' with 'infinity radio' and move on.

14 minutes ago, MLA said:

If a new component, as in head unit (black box style or more tradition just the same) will solve the issue, then first thing I would do, is have your dealer supply you with a new OEM black box or BT unit, if its an external device. 

^^this^^

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9 hours ago, Clearprop said:

Where can the flow chart be found? My 2018 23LSV has a hissing/whining sound coming from the speakers at low volume. 

Since I finally took a moment to learn how to post images :)  Please find the Malibu WetSounds Stereo service advisory, SA # MY17.Adv12.Jun20

IMG_3319.JPG

IMG_3320.JPG

IMG_3321.JPG

 

 

Edited by BLSousa
re-order images
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16 hours ago, Murphy8166 said:

Let’s clear this up / WetSounds has nothing to do with the headunit on any Malibu boat.

Pretty sure they are built by Prospec Electronics and integrated with Medallion.

carry on!!

 

Worth quoting again. 

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6 hours ago, MLA said:

If a new component, as in head unit (black box style or more tradition just the same) will solve the issue, then first thing I would do, is have your dealer supply you with a new OEM black box or BT unit, if its an external device. 

If the troubleshooting points me in the direction of a faulty black box I will definitely be going to the dealer for a replacement. 

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I’m pretty sure I fixed the issue. I was running through the attached flow chart. I only heard the noise on BT and only when it was running as far as I could tell (Didn’t really want to rev the boat up on a water hose). While I was at it, I cleaned up all the cables behind the amp wall. Wouldn’t you believe that the new tower speakers that were installed by Scream Marine (I really hope they are on this forum) had the speaker wire wrapped around the amp power cable a few times. Once I cleaned up the wiring and got the speaker wire away from the power cable, the noise went away. 

Its pretty frustrating to pay thousands of dollars at an audio shop only to have them do a crappy job. It’s even more frustrating when they don’t take the time to fix the issue when you bring the problem to their attention. 

Lesson learned. At least it’s fixed. 

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2018 A24 here with the medallion black box.

I am about to tear my entire system down... 

i have checked grounds a double check them. Checked power and double check it. 

The noise I am getting is sometimes a slight “hiss” and other times more like a high pitch ringing in your ear. It comes from all sources.

I am pretty sure I have traced the issue back to the black box itself. My next step is to take a jumper wire and ground the black box straight to the battery. Right now, The ground for the black box goes back to the ground bar under the steering column. 

If that doesn’t work, all of the zip ties are getting cut and I am going to start separating wires until the noise goes away to try and isolate the issue. 

As has been mentioned, it is beyond annoying!

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