Stereo Head

John41

I currently have a Sony stereo head in my 342 which doesn’t have Bluetooth. My question is should I replace the unit or just attach the piece in the back to get Bluetooth? My concern is making sure I find one that will work with my remotes. 

LaRea

Aside from wanting BT, are you happy with the other functions of your head unit?

In terms of bang-for-the-buck, it's hard to beat the add-on BT receiver for, what $35?  Installation is pretty easy if you're handy with basic wiring, and they work well.  Replacing the head is a hole as deep as you want to dig.  

LaRea

Oh -- welcome to the forum.  Best boating resource on the planet.

PickleRick

A new pioneer blue tooth head unit without cd player can be had 85 to 95 shipped.  I like them better than external blue tooth, i also consider them among the best sounding head units.  

aero3113

But will the Pioneer work with his remotes that are installed?

aero3113

I want to replace my head unit also, it’s a Clarion with Clarion remotes. Do I have to stick with clarion or can I change brands and use the original remotes?

PickleRick

Crutchfield is the place to call and ask.

My 05 passat has a built in monsoon system as well as sophisticated can bus wiring and for an extra 10 bucks they got me adapters.  

For another 15 i could have added steering wheel controls(if i had them as it was an option)

Great customer service and tech help.

Aqua_Aura

I replaced the Clarion in our 2007 280EC with a new Clarion and it won't work with the older Clarion remotes however my phone is now basically the remote. Obviously Sony is different and maybe it will work but the point is even if my remotes work I probably wouldn't use them since I can adjust volume, play, pause, and skip. 

LaRea

@aero3113 you can't just drop in a new Clarion head.  Your 2008 Clarion remotes are not compatible.  You'd have to replace the remotes AND pull new cables.  That's why it's hard to "sorta" upgrade the stereo.  

Concur with @PickleRick, you can get good counsel from Crutchfield.  

Liberty44140

My older clarion from 06 had the best sound on the dock and I liked having the remotes. I was able to plug an aux rca cord in to the back of the head unit and have a 3.5mm jack come out of the cabinet. Then I bought a Bluetooth receiver on amazon for $30 and had Bluetooth from the cockpit. No need to replace, it worked and sounded awesome!

Ian

Our 2003 310 if i recall is Kenwood (or Pioneer maybe) with remotes. No aux input so BT add onneeds to be FM.

aero3113

Liberty44140 said:

My older clarion from 06 had the best sound on the dock and I liked having the remotes. I was able to plug an aux rca cord in to the back of the head unit and have a 3.5mm jack come out of the cabinet. Then I bought a Bluetooth receiver on amazon for $30 and had Bluetooth from the cockpit. No need to replace, it worked and sounded awesome!

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this! The reason I want to replace is for Bluetooth. My cabinet already has a 3.5 mm jack installed, I also had a 3.5mm jack up at the dash but didn’t reinstall it when I replaced all of the dash panels. I left the RCA jacks that the 3.5mm was plugged into behind the panel. I can use a Bluetooth adapter and plug it into the RCA jacks and have it hidden behind the dash or I can just use the 3.5mm in the cabinet!

Liberty44140

Perfect! Amazon now has 12v Bluetooth adapters for behind the stereo that always have 12v power from the stereo hot and are always ready to go, much easier than what I had. I used an adaptor that was battery, lasted 8 hours but still needed recharging. 

aero3113

@Liberty44140 , do you have to turn on the Bluetooth receiver each time you turn on the head unit? Or does it power up through the 3.5mm plug?

aero3113

They make Bluetooth receivers that you can hard wire, this would be perfect to hide behind my dash. Here’s a link to one I found.

JL Audio MBT-RX Bluetooth Audio Receiver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MH5CFEU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_CQ-fEb6PYCNSW

Liberty44140

The one I used that was battery had to be turned on each time I wanted to use it. The one in your link is better since it’s hardwired for power and always ready to sync to your phone. You probably could wire that to the amp power so it only gets power when the receiver is on.