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GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4311 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/27/2011 : 08:52:15

Anyone have a recommendation for a remote controlled stereo? Is it best to stick with "marine" stereos or can a person get by with a car stereo? What about speakers?

Don't know if this makes a difference but the bay is salt water and gets rough from time to time.

Thanks in advance for your help and support!

Edited by - on

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 09:00:04

Just got a flyer a few days ago for a outfit from WM for $69 including speakers. Certainly not concert quality and probably no remote but, I think it would work.

Yeah, I think "marine" would make a difference here just because of the salt in the air.

Edited by - on

Sloop Smitten
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1181 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 09:06:08

Gary,
FWIW, I put a $100 Blaupunkt 200W (4x50) car stereo with remote control in Utopia almost 7 years ago and it still works fine. Utopia is in the ocean 7x24x365. If the installation will be inside the cabin it is not really going to be in a marine environment. I would describe a marine environment as one where the unit might get splashed or subjected to moisture from fog or rain.

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 09:50:04

I just installed this...

Edited by - on

redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 10:11:17

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by John Russell
 Just got a flyer a few days ago for a outfit from WM for $69 including speakers. Certainly not concert quality and probably no remote but, I think it would work.

Yeah, I think "marine" would make a difference here just because of the salt in the air.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I bought that unit and think it is perfect. No remote, but I'll wire a cockpit kill switch just in case I hear a MayDay or something. No CD, but that makes the unit shallow which improves installation possibilities. Didn't want to cut another hole, so I bought this. Doesn't really work on my boat, so will return unless someone here thinks it will.

http://www.amazon.com/PLMRCW3-Resistant-Stereo-Housing-Chassis/dp/B000N5T0UI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303924234&sr=8-2

sten

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
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Djibouti
9082 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 10:19:43

For considerably le$$, with no holes in the boat (and I mean big holes), and expecting that whatever I buy now will be obsolete three (or fewer) years from now, I'm getting a CD/IPOD/AM/FM boom-box that I can put anywhere in the boat at any time. It will replace my current $35 AM/FM/cassette boom-box which is of course obsolete (as I expected it would be), and will probably cost at least twice that. No doubt I'll be doing it again... (HD radio... Apple's own Ipod-killer...)

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 04/27/2011 10:26:12

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 10:29:15

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by GaryB
 Anyone have a recommendation for a remote controlled stereo?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I use a relatively inexpensive Sony boombox, with remote. Installation took all of a minute, located where my stove used to be, and has zero drain on my battery.

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 11:14:34

The PO put a car stereo in. It's a nice Kenwood (KDC-MP345U) with a remote, has a USB and audio input, will control an iPod and all the other bells and whistles. He installed it under the companionway stairs, and unfortunately, cut oval holes in the bulkheads and put in Pioneer 6x9's. All in all the system sounds pretty good with the bass boosts and EQ set, and the remote works from the cockpit. I hate the fact the speakers are mounted in the bulkheads, and the thing can draw up to 10aH, but more likely around 4 or 5 since I don't turn it up even halfway. (Plenty loud)

If I were to do it, I would have gone the boom box route.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 11:36:42

We have a Sony boombox, but I'm going to supplement/replace it with our iPhones and a bluetooth enabled speaker made by Altec Lansing ([url="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=sound+blade&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=1304116794144327780&sa=X&ei=zGC4TfL_LIfZiAK-tf06&ved=0CD4Q8gIwAw#"]Sound Blade[/url]). (not sure this is the right one, we paid about half of what they're asking for it) We haven't used it on the boat yet, but the plan is a water proof pouch for the phones (we already have these), and a mount under the hatch for the Sound Blade. It lasts quite a while on 6 rechargeable AA's, and I've got a 12 VDC charger for all standard batteries (AAA through D & 9 volt) that'll plug into a cigarette lighter outlet. Which can also be used to charge the phones.

We currently use it around the house to listen to music from our iPhones, or Pandora Radio. About the only thing it won't do is live radio and I'm sure there's an app for that. Rita needs her sports feeds.

Edited by - on

redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 11:58:06

We went the boom box route and regret it. The PO had an old school cassette boom box, 12 V that pumped via an A/B/All switch down below and topsides or both. It worked, just no with the Ipod. went to boom box and new one would not pump enough to speakers. Other than that it worked fine and wasn't a pain to move about. BUT, we like toys and challenges...

sten

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 12:39:06

I like permanently installed things, I use a mounted battery charger too. No chance it gets lost, left behind or knocked around.

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 13:17:11

Our PO used a boombox, which he included with the boat when we bought it. Kindof funny to me.

I am now in-process with installing a stereo. As posted in another thread, we are mounting it in front of the sink on a 1" thick mounting plate. I have the plate mostly built, and now need to make speaker boxes.

The stereo I got was a whopping $25 at "Princess Auto" and sounds every bit like a $25 stereo. If it craps out I'll replace it with something better. If not, I can live with crappy sound. I find music a nice accompanyment for sailing, but not the reason to go. The speakers I have are of similar quality. I may salvage the 6X9's out of the minivan that is rusting in the driveway and see if they sound much better.

I plan to put a smaller 4" round speakers at teh aft end of each settee and see if I can get true 4 channel stereo sound out of the radio, but I dunno about mounting the extra speakers and how they will affect the compass.

I may go whole hog in the future and install a doubledin unit (Like this) http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130AVHP23/Pioneer-AVH-P2300DVD.html ) with a DVD player, but that is tough road to go down with flatscreen TV's getting cheaper all the time.

Edited by - Prospector on 04/27/2011 13:35:54

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 13:30:20

I bought on sale at Bass Pro and installed myself a Dual marine radio/cd player. I installed the radio in the bulkhead behind the galley but did not use the flush mounting speakers. Instead, I found on Ebay a pair of surface mounted Dual 4" speakers that sound great. It does work off the house battery.

Edited by - on

Tradewind
Admiral

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USA
531 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 16:03:06

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by pastmember
 I just installed this...

[url="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U9NX2C/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000H0TSYW&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0GF9B079KNXAW4ZM8QXQ"]amazon link[/url]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I have a Sony like this, has a remote, plug for ipod/mp3, I use the 1/8 plug for a Sony cassette walkman, don't know how how to work an ipod/mp3 but I have a lot of cassettes, just an analog man in a digital world.

I'm very happy with this Sony.

Edited by - Tradewind on 04/27/2011 16:09:49

Stu Jackson C34
Admiral

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844 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 16:08:47

Why people keep putting holes in the bulkhead on any size boat is beyond me. Most times we're sitting on one side or the other of the boat. This means that one speaker is always closer, thus losing the stereo effect.

We put our speakers on one side of the saloon, fore and aft. Regardless of which side we're sitting on, we get "The Full Monty" out of our receiver/CD changer, iPod, or cassette (yup, still have a lot of them with great old mixes from vinyl on them). If you're up top, you wouldn't notice the difference anyway; you need to have it loud enough to hear anyway unless you have cockpit speakers, too.

I was out last weekend and for dinner had the stereo cranked right up and it was like wearing headphones. Doubt I could have gotten that effect if the speakers were in the bulkheads.

We have a car stereo (Sony) that has been working great for many, many years. No reason to waste $$ on "marinized" stuff unless you're leaving it up on deck! :)

Edited by - Stu Jackson C34 on 04/27/2011 16:10:32

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4311 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2011 : 17:53:38

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by pastmember
 I just installed this...

[url="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U9NX2C/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000H0TSYW&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0GF9B079KNXAW4ZM8QXQ"]amazon link[/url]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Just placed my order for one of these a minute ago. This is exactly what I was looking for. I'll order the hard wired remote later.

Thanks for everyone's recommendations.

Edited by - on

pastmember
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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2011 : 05:33:41

Edited by - on

NautiC25
Admiral

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USA
957 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2011 : 07:43:25

I went cheap! I bought:

Specman SDVH-8060SD AM/FM/CD/DVD/MP3/DIVX with SD and USB Slots 56W x 4 Channels

It's an odd brand, and not a "marine" stereo, but has all kinds of features including a remote control. I wanted it to play DVD's and send the signal to my 22" Vizio. I didn't need a screen on the head unit, so without that feature, the price is much cheaper. For $100 shipped, it didn't matter if it lasted 5yrs.

So far it's working, but I've only had it for a few weeks.

Edited by - NautiC25 on 04/28/2011 07:44:41

PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1225 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2011 : 08:48:00

I bought this one when it was on sale at WM, I got it for $99, it retails for $149. It has a remote which my wife promptly misplaced.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_11151_10001_441031_-1____ProductDisplayErrorView

The stereo is nice because it has a USB and an AUX port. What I do is I run Pandora or MP3's on my android phone through the AUX jack and I keep my phone charged at the same time using the USB jack. Perfect. The speakers are lame, I have some nice Yamaha's I need to install. The PO put some horrible cuts in the bulkhead which I wish had never happened. If I had a new install to do you can mount speakers like this without tearing up the boat AND get much better sound.

I did the boom box thing too but I hate replacing all those batteries or having it take up space, fall when heeling etc.

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5408 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2011 : 20:05:07

I have the same one as Peter bought at WM. $99 last winter. I did not cut any holes in anything. I had some teak boards which I turned into a mount that sits under my starboard portlight just behind the bulkhead. I also got a pair of 6" speakers for which I built wooden speaker enclosures. One sits fore and the other aft on the starboard shelf providing good stereo imaging when in the cabin. They nestle right into the shelf and don't move around as the boat heaves.

I also added a pair of plastic extension speakers connected by a 4-conductor plug that I can connect any time I wish, and place the speakers in the cockpit. I backed the extension speakers with foam rug backing so they don't slide while underway. They provide excellent stereo imaging in the cockpit, with the cabin speakers providing good bass response. The remote works directly from the cockpit into the cabin.

I use my iPod's 1/8" stereo phone plug to input my itunes into the radio.

I ran a short cable from the antenna input to the aft starboard lower shroud anchor bolt to serve as an antenna.

My favorite use case is I loaded all my Win Media "My Music" content from my laptop onto an 8GB memory stick and plugged it into the radio USB port. I was able to navigate the folders and find my Alison Krauss and Union Station, Bela Fleck, Yoyo Ma and Steely Dan albums, to name a few.

The FM radio has excellent selectivity and sensitivity (pulls in faraway stations) and has good adjacent channel interference rejection.

And if anybody shows up with a CD, I can play that too. Just no 8-track or cassette.

It runs at 1 Amp, so I can run it for 10 hours without much worry, especially if I'm motoring, and it will more or less run right off my solar panel.

Here's a picture of my mount.....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruce2sail/4627716715/in/photostream/

(I've since hidden the wires but you can see the antenna wire and the speaker cables)

Edited by - Voyager on 04/28/2011 20:11:01

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4311 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2011 : 22:12:01

I should be receiving my new toy tomorrow. Now I have to come up with some speakers.

Peter, what brand on those speakers. They look nice. Anyone else have suggestions for some "decent" speakers. I'm not looking for concert hall quality.

Bruce - Great mounting idea! I may copy yours.

Anyone else have mounting location/speaker placement ideas?

My PO mounted the current Dual radio in the starboard bulkhead about 8" above the settee so every time I open the settee I have to remove the face of the radio and squeeze the settee flip top (can't remember the name at this late hour) past the radio.

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 04/29/2011 : 04:57:40

My speakers, surface mounting Dual 4" units with a smaller tweeter, are mounted in the upper corners of the bulkheads in the main cabin. Got the pair for about $40 on Ebay to go with my Dual radio.
Thinking out loud: Has anyone tried bow and stern mounting? That could give true stereo sound anywhere in the main cabin.
If I ever use the round speakers that came with the radio, I'll put them in free standing enclosures with long wire leads that I can move around, but for now 2 speakers are plenty for me.

Edited by - on

NautiC25
Admiral

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USA
957 Posts

Response Posted - 04/29/2011 : 06:13:02

I plan to mount my speakers in the settee walls behind your calves.

Right now they're in boxes in the corners of the bulkhead, but I don't believe you should see speakers.

The rear speakers however, will be mounted where the original gauges are. Speakers are the only thing I can think of to cover those large round holes.

Edited by - NautiC25 on 04/29/2011 06:14:37

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/29/2011 : 09:03:53

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3229237

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3896567

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 04/29/2011 : 10:39:18

Frank - Its Pyle speakers I am using - car audio 6X9's. The sound in them is really tinny. Maybe its the cheap head unit, but so far I am non-plussed. Just having sound is an improvement over what I have now though.

Edited by - on

PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1225 Posts

Response Posted - 04/29/2011 : 13:37:53

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by GaryB
 I should be receiving my new toy tomorrow. Now I have to come up with some speakers.

Peter, what brand on those speakers. They look nice. Anyone else have suggestions for some "decent" speakers. I'm not looking for concert hall quality.

Bruce - Great mounting idea! I may copy yours.

Anyone else have mounting location/speaker placement ideas?

My PO mounted the current Dual radio in the starboard bulkhead about 8" above the settee so every time I open the settee I have to remove the face of the radio and squeeze the settee flip top (can't remember the name at this late hour) past the radio.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

They are Yamahas, and I understand they have great bass response, I got them from an audiophile friend. I will get the specific brand.

Edited by - on

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