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2018 Axis MC-1 Install


Texan32

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I wanted to share my experience with replacing the factory (MB400/MC-30) sound system that came in my T23.  I bought the boat used but it came with SP2.  While installing the new system, i uncovered some things that i really wasn't thrilled about.

Factory SP2 seems to have the following setup.

HX-6:

- channel 1/2 - center and stern speakers connected in parallel (right left split) at 2 ohms.

- channel 3/4 - bow speakers at 4 ohms

- channel 5/6 - bridged to the sub at 4 ohms

HX-2:

- channel 1/2 - 4 tower speakers connected in parallel (right/left split) at 2 ohms  2 Amps. 

While the amps are rated to run 2 ohms per channel, I'm not a big fan of parallelling speakers or mismatched channels on the same amp. 

For the control head, I was able to carefully slowly cut the silver dash trim ring enough to maintain integrity in the plastic AND allow the controller to be mounted in it.  I also had to use a scrap piece of aluminum to make the mounting bracket work.

I ran new speaker wires form the stern speaker pair to the amplifiers.  i also ran two additional wires in the tower speakers.  I added a Kenwood XR900.5 that was laying around unused.  I'm using 4 channels to run the tower speakers.  The HX-6 is running the 6 cabin speakers, the HX-2 is bridged and running the sub.  Basically, i added a spare amp so that every speaker is on its own amp channel.  Yes, i know the Kenwood isn't "waterproof"  But, FREE (and a damn good amp) trumps the cost of replacing the HX-2 for another HX-6.  Also, i decided to keep the HX-2 to run the sub because it has more RMS power than the 5th (sub) channel on the XR900.5.  If the Kenwood had the same power rating on the sub channel, i could have just ditched the HX-2 and ran all 5 channels of the XR900.5.

I ended up using all 4 zones of the MC-1.  I do like that the HX-6 allows you to link 2 4 or all 6 channels to a single input.  So, Zone 1 is running the 6 cabin speakers.  Zone 2 is running the Sub.  And, zone 3 and 4 were used on the Kenwood amp (since you can't link the outputs to one input...and i didnt want to use an RCA splitter) to run the 4 channels for the towers.

I kept the timer circuit in play (nice option since the MC-1 takes a few seconds to boot up).  The timer is located on the back side of the panel that the amps are bolted to. Since the MC-1 maintains all of its settings when all power is lost, i chose to tie the constant hot and ignition wire on the MC-1 to the timed 12 volts line.  This way, when i kill the main power switch, the radio cant continue to pull power.  The black box remote lines were used for the amps. 

I made a schematic of what the factory stereo wiring looks like.

 

 

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Schematic.jpg

Edited by Texan32
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  • 1 month later...

Small update.  With both the ignition and battery wire tied to the timer circuit, when the timer timed out, the entire stereo would do a "hard" shutdown.  This resulted in a loud, high pitched squeal and pop form all speakers.  Thinking that the radio needs to do a "softer" shutdown i decided to run the battery wire to a main (switchable) battery connection.  Radio works perfect now!  Now, when you turn the ignition off and the timer runs its course, the MC-1 actually runs its normal shutdown sequence.  No pops, no squeals.

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On 3/3/2020 at 10:50 PM, Texan32 said:

i chose to tie the constant hot and ignition wire on the MC-1 to the timed 12 volts line

This is why you got that nasty turn off noise. The timer is switching what should be a constant. Your timer, or rocker switch, only needs to interrupt the switched IGN to turn the unit off. 

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44 minutes ago, MLA said:

This is why you got that nasty turn off noise. The timer is switching what should be a constant. Your timer, or rocker switch, only needs to interrupt the switched IGN to turn the unit off. 

My initial test was tying both together and testing the "memory" function of the settings.  Since all the settings were being saved when both powers were dumped,as a matter of convenience,  i just used the one power source for the timer.  Well, the MC-1 has a power down sequence it runs thru when the ignition is cut.  It didnt like both powers being killed a the same time.  It wants to "power down" on its terms. 

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1 hour ago, Texan32 said:

Well, the MC-1 has a power down sequence it runs thru when the ignition is cut. 

This is common with most source units. With the IGN hot and you kill the constant B+ at the same time, you may likely experience what you did. 

Personally, I prefer to skip the timer relay and just relocate the IGN circuit off the key switch and to a rocker. key no longer has ANY influence on the source unit, so no need to go from RUN to ACC in any amount of time, just turn the key to OFF.   

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I have sp3 on my 18. I’m considering this upgrade. Did u notice a significant improvement in performance after all of this? I do not feel my stereo is performing as it should. I know it’s a lot more expensive boat but my buddies Supra factory stereo blows mine away. 

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17 hours ago, Cboom12 said:

I have sp3 on my 18. I’m considering this upgrade. Did u notice a significant improvement in performance after all of this? I do not feel my stereo is performing as it should. I know it’s a lot more expensive boat but my buddies Supra factory stereo blows mine away. 

short answer...it absolutely made a night and day difference!

Long answer....you have to remember, i added a 3rd amp (a spare from my old jeep) allowing every speaker to be on its own dedicated channel.   With every speaker being on its own channel, each pair can be gain adjusted/balanced to your liking.    I also replaced the WS sub (which has a buzzing problem that WS was not willing to help fix :mad:) with a JL 10 i had laying around (again, from the Jeep).  I completely re-made the mount panel as well as integrating a slot ported box.  The sub has never sounded so good!

So, several changes were made.

-MC-1, adding 4ch amp, putting EVERY speaker on its own 4ohm amp channel, replaced sub and added ported box.

Big happy buttons for me:

-volume knob (instead of the PITA push buttons)

-MUCH cleaner sound (no more low volume hiss)

-sub actually punches while not being overpowering at low volume level

-MC-1 remembers last input (and automatically connects to my phone as soon as it powers on)

-Zone (cabin/tower/sub) are gain/attenuation controls instead of a "volume".  once set, they dont reset back to 0 when the main volume is turned all the way down....this was a HUGE plus to me!!!

Edited by Texan32
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  • 5 months later...

Can someone explain the function of the timer? Is it to keep the radio playing between key turns from acc-thru-off and to on?

@MLA I did what you did. Relocated my stereo remote on direct to the the ign hot wire. This way my stereo is powered on with the big red switch (don't have a stereo rocker switch in my 2017 A22)

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7 hours ago, lukehartwig said:

Can someone explain the function of the timer? Is it to keep the radio playing between key turns from acc-thru-off and to on?

@MLA I did what you did. Relocated my stereo remote on direct to the the ign hot wire. This way my stereo is powered on with the big red switch (don't have a stereo rocker switch in my 2017 A22)

From what i can tell, yes.  I thought about hard wiring it that way, but decided to maintain a factory function so I left it as is.  Nothing wrong with doing it ya'lls way that i know of.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/13/2020 at 4:51 PM, MLA said:

This is common with most source units. With the IGN hot and you kill the constant B+ at the same time, you may likely experience what you did. 

Personally, I prefer to skip the timer relay and just relocate the IGN circuit off the key switch and to a rocker. key no longer has ANY influence on the source unit, so no need to go from RUN to ACC in any amount of time, just turn the key to OFF.   

I test drove a 2021 Axis this week.  One annoying as &^%$# feature is the key only has 2 positions.  When you turn the motor off, the stereo shuts off in about 5 seconds.  In order to stop and listen to music, you have to turn the motor off, then turn the key back to the on position.  Whatever happened to an ACC position on the key?  

I suppose that I would get used to it, but I assume that the fuel pump and everything else powers up in the engine on position, not just the accessories.  

Edited by TallRedRider
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21 minutes ago, TallRedRider said:

I test drove a 2021 Axis this week.  One annoying as &^%$# feature is the key only has 2 positions.  When you turn the motor off, the stereo shuts off in about 5 seconds.  In order to stop and listen to music, you have to turn the motor off, then turn the key back to the on position.  Whatever happened to an ACC position on the key?  

I suppose that I would get used to it, but I assume that the fuel pump and everything else powers up in the engine on position, not just the accessories.  

Easy enough for a smart guy (like you!) to wire it correctly.

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  • 5 months later...

Finally got the remote installed on the transom.  Used a the Dremel with a cutting bit to enlarge the opening.  The new remote is just shy of covering up the old remote mounting screws.  I filled them in with 5200.  Ran the wire and called it a day.  Be sure you get it as centered as possible!  It JUST barely fits in this area without sticking up over the body contour line.  

Remote 2.JPG

Remote 1.JPG

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  • 2 years later...

Thanks to @Texan32 I was able to do the same MC-1 upgrade on my 2017 Axis T22 with the SP2 package.   I hated the OEM head unit.   The upgrade is amazing!  That sounds is so much better and no more alarms going off every time I use the surf system or when the bilge pump turns on.   I control the 4 zones (Tower, Front, Cabin, Sub) independently AND there is 3 presets for the zones I that use for Surf, Cruise, and Swim.   I added an extra remote on the passenger side.   Super excited!!!

This was surprisingly easy upgrade that I did while my boat was on a its lift.   I did some of my work in my shop and some on the boat.  Here is how mine has turned out so far (still need to clean up the back remote):
 

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I used the TR-Mini for the back remote
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And used the MC-TR for passenger controls

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Edited by Eggman5
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Here is how my install went.  I bought the MC-1 off of ebay brand new for $365.  I was able to buy MC-TR off ebay for $30.   I bought the TR-mini from Crutchfield and the y-adapter to add a second remote and TR-mini cable.  My total cost for the hardware was ~$600. 

I first pulled the old head unit and the gray seating.  The old head unit has a harness that is easy to disconnect.   @Texan32 does a great job of explaining how to modify the gray seating to fit the MC-1.  It was surprisingly easy modification using the Dermel cutting wheel (see in pic).  My only advice is to take your time!  Once I installed the MC-1 head unit on my boat, I ran the 8 foot extension cable right behind the walkthrough (instead of going all the way around the front).

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I then pulled the Madellion/Prospec black box.   Because my amps are not DSP, they have RCA cables making the upgrade super simple.  Here is the diagram I used to connect the MC-1 black box.  Again, super simple.

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The only wires I used from the MC-1 harness was Black (GRD), Red (ACC) and Yellow (BATT).  Because the boat was on a lift 10 mins away, I prewired the MC-1 harness to the Prospec circled in red above with marine grade butt connectors.  I then added more yellow wire from the MC-1 harness to run to the amps-12volt line (pictured above).  That way when I got to the boat I just connected the MC-1 harness to the MC-1 black black box and the to old Prospec harness (white one pictured below).  I then just connected the yellow (BATT) from the MC-1 harness to the amp's RED 12-v power.   All other wires stayed and just needed to connect the amps RCA channels to the MC-1 Black box,  MC-1 black box to the head unit remote.  Boom turned it on and it sounded amazing!!!

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The remotes were very straight forward.  Used the Dremel's router tool to cut a bigger hole in the fiberglass for the MC-TR-MINI and used the same tool to cut a hole in the plastic for the MC-TR. 

Let me know if you have any question.  Highly recommend the upgrade if you are in a similar situation. 

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