New stereo system ideas

jmoen438

Thinking about replacing the sound system in the 270. Anybody used the new Sony Bluetooth system? Thought being that it could go down below where the original head is and being able to control it from your phone would eliminate the need to replace the remotes. Thoughts? Any thoughts on speakers as well. The Admiral is a Bose snob but I'm not sure the box behind their marine speaker would fit in the speaker locations.

JoeStang

My boat came with a standard Sony CD player with aux-in on the front. I have 2 remotes with display (one at the helm and another by the swim platform), and they work great. The issue is that the aux-in doesnt control the Ipod, so if I want to change a song on the Ipod I have to go down below.

I'm going to buy the Sony S310BTX, which has bluetooth, USB, and Ipod connection (with tune tray for easy storage of the Ipod).

Sorry if this sounds like a commercial, but I've done a ton of research and this seems like the best unit for the money. Its also compatible with the remote displays I have installed from the factory, and if you dont have them I'd really look into them. Makes playing music so much easier.



If I ever replace the OEM speakers I think I'd go with JL Audio ($$$) or more likely the Infinity 612M for less than half the price.

JoeStang

This is the remote

summerx

I put the infiniti 612s in my 310 this weekend. I didn't do a thing different and the sound was amazingly better.  much louder, crisper and with more bass.  I still need to change the head unit out, but this was a quick, cheap swap.  I only spent $150 on 2 sets of 6.5s on amazon.

JoeStang

Glad to hear they sound great!

midweste

I went with the Alpine UTE-52 BT deck, Alpine RUE-M1 RF waterproof Marine remote, Alpine MRX amps, four sets of Infinity 612's, and a 12" JL sub. All running off of a separate Blue Sea ACR isolated battery. My boat ROCKS!!!

I used to install car audio for years, know the gear very well, and have to say I'm quite impressed with the Infinity 612's. I purchased four sets from Amazon when they were $59.00 a pair!
I would have paid $100+ no problem for the build and sound quality.

The reason I choose the Alpine head unit is that Alpine is the only one who has an RF remote. Meaning you don't have to hard wire anything besides the RF remote receiver to the back of the deck, and I can control my radio floating beside the boat if I wish. The remotes are also inexpensive and you can add up to six of them for one RF receiver. The Bluetooth on the deck works great and the final pre amp outputs use Burr-Brown 24bit D/A converters for the three sets of RCA outputs. Front, Rear, and Sub. I am very happy with my stereo and it is one of the cleanest and loudest systems I've ever put in a vehicle.

midweste

The $139.99 Alpine UTE-52BT also has a front AUX input and USB to interface directly with mobile devices that don't have Bluetooth. Keep in mind that Bluetooth has slightly less of a warm sound than CD's but most people will never notice.

Robs_232

Ditto on Inifinity 612's. Put 3 pair in my 10 year old 232 BR a month ago to replace the sony's. Sounds awesome. Want to replace head unit now so I can hook up sat. radio and/or I-phone as my factory sony doesn't have aux. input or USB. I like to read others input what they have replaced their head units with. My boat also came with an amp so it can really crank on the 612's.

denniscarguy

I just had a new system professionally installed in my 08 246. LOVE it!!! Blowing up the waterway. The Mastercraft boats are wondering what I have in that boat. I had a Fusion stereo head, btw the same as used in new Mastercrafts, and the speakers sub and amp were all JL marine. The amp is a 700w. I also have USB and Bluetooth. The installed Fusion helm unit and a rear unit as well. It lights up real well in daylight.

jmoen438

Thanks for the input guys, going with the Sony DSX-M50BT, JL 10" sub and the Infiniti 612's. I know what I'm doing next weekend!

dropout

If you have the Sony Commander wired remote, the Sony DSX-M50BT is not compatable.

gslpro

I put in the Sony S310BTX system last year.  Works with the commander remotes and love the sound quality from it.  thumbs up!!  5 minute install switch as well.

dropout

gslpro said:

I put in the Sony S310BTX system last year.  Works with the commander remotes and love the sound quality from it.  thumbs up!!  5 minute install switch as well.

I looked at the back of the unit and did not see a plug for the unilink cable. How did you wire your remotes?

Im in the process of trying to by a receiver that will work with my Sony wired remotes.

thanks

gslpro

My remote plugs into the small blue plug on the right (in the picture) if I remember right.

jmoen438

Completed installation this weekend. Scariest part was the big hole cut in below the sink. The sound is simply amazing! We cruised all neat Saturday with the tunes cranked and big grins on our faces. \m/

raybo3

Looks great......

JoeStang

gslpro said:

My remote plugs into the small blue plug on the right (in the picture) if I remember right.

The unilink has 2 connections, one for the control (which is the s-video looking connection on the bottom right of the back of the unit), and a standard headphone plug that I believe goes into the "blue" input on the headunit.

summerx

looks great!  the 612s are hard to beat for the money, right?

jmoen438

The 612's are amazing, such a good speaker for the money!! Thinking an evening dinner cruise may be in order tonight!! It's nice living 10 minutes from the marina.

Cableguy Greg

I just put in a set of Alpine SPS-M600's and they sound much better than the Clarion's. I am sure that the dry rotted cones didn't help any, but I am happy with the Alpines. They also come with silver grills rather than the white ones, so it dresses things up a bit.

MXZ0588

Anyone have a wiring diagram or the color codes to tie the aftermarket alpine deck into the factory harness? specifically what to connect the red (ignition), yellow (battery), orange (illumination), blue/white (remote turn on) from the Alpine harness to the Rinker harness. The wires I have to work with on the boats end are black (I am going to assume this is ground), Purple with a stripe, and a pink wire. Anyone know what should go to what?

William51

@midweste do you have xp with alpine stereos? Would you recommend them?
Sorry for being off topic.

I'm looking for a good stereo and my vote will be on the Alpine.

Now I was trying to gather as much info as possible but most review blogs are junk.
I mean they are hyping and when I've checked out some actual customer reviews the
difference is huge.

Along with my journey in review land I came across a different site. It seems to be the real deal. I mean it harshly criticizes the flaws that each brand has. This has put me on the fence.For example there's a review about Alpine w650 head unit. I was eyeing this headunit.

How bad is that slow startup? Does it take 20s to boot up? What about the value for the money?

Any insights are highly appreciated