Marine Grade Stereo or Car Stereo in Cabin

Mike B · Feb 28, 2009

Had a JVC in the last boat and Sony in this one. If it's in the cabin there's no need to go with a marine grade radio.

Rich Stidger · Feb 28, 2009

I have a Sony automotive unit in my main cabin.

Rob19574 · Feb 28, 2009

I have an automotive unit in my cabin. Previously in my Power-boating years, I had a used car stereo in the open cockpit of a runabout...the front face plate loosened and the cassette heads rusted but the radio played and worked fine for over 10 yrs. I cant think of a more abusive environment for the latter here and still got over 10 yrs out of the unit.

Go with an automotive unit with a wireless remote and you will be glad.

- Rob

windward54 · Feb 28, 2009

I used a good grade automotive CD player mounted in the cabin. Don't know what I was doing wrong, but the CD player part seems to not last. I finally dumped the CD player and went with a Fusion Marine Ipod docking station/radio. The face opens, and instead of a CD slot, there is a place for your Ipod to go in. Close the face, and the Ipod is safe in a waterproof slot. Even keeps the Ipod charged while in use. And all the Ipod controls are on the face of the Fusion. Sounds great and no more CD's around the boat. I use an Ipod Classic 80 gigabyte Ipod and I finally filled the first 1000 songs, about 8 gigabytes of space.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...rue&storeNum=5003&subdeptNum=3&classNum=10877

Tim R. · Feb 28, 2009

Automotive. Unfortunately, the marine grade stereos are a few steps behind when it comes to features. They have just recently started supporting mp3s. You should do fine with an automotive unit in the cabin.

sailingdog · Feb 28, 2009

If the stereo is going to be mounted near the companionway, I'd go with marine, especially if you want features like waterproof wired remotes... If it is going to be mounted in a more sheltered location, you can go with either.

Stu Jackson · Feb 28, 2009

Automotive

We have a Sony Xplod with a cassette (!), AM/FM, wireless remote, iPod cassette connector and 10 disc CD changer. Just bought a powered subwoofer. Have many cassettes, still.

All automotive. Our earlier automotive lasted 8 to 9 years, and the cassette broke, all on its own, having nothing to do with wet/damp. We keep our boat dry down below, and that's where it is. By the time you need to replace a stereo, the features will have improved so much you'll WANT to.

We learned about Crutchfield on this site and got great deals on both the system and the subwoofer.

higgs · Feb 28, 2009

I use a car model Alpine. It has worked well for quite a few years, now.

BobM · Feb 28, 2009

As others have said, down in the cabin it likely doesn't matter, except if you want remote controls. Many car stereos come with remotes, but be careful as they may require line of sight to the head unit (woudn't work for me). For that reason I asked for a Kenwood marine unit for xmas a year ago. It has an optional and fairly inexpensive wired remote (note that some wired remotes can be expensive) that is waterproof, backlit and will run all the functions. I plan to mount it in my navpod. A plus is that you can have multiple sets of remotes so you could mount a set in the vee berth, for example.

Another thing to think about is that CD's are indeed nearly a thing of the past. You can hook an ipod or MP3 player to almost anything (I use a cassette adapter in my truck), but if you want to be able to run the ipod from the remote you may need to shop around. My friend said he found a Pioneer for his boat that would run his ipod.

Another way would be to extend an auxilary input all the way to the cockpit and then to put the mp3 player in a waterproof bag. Just checked and there is a marine jack ready made for this for $12.95 from Jensen. Free shipping. Just ordered one myself. It will be a nice addition to my Navpod.

http://www.jensenmarinedirect.com/i...48&PHPSESSID=d99bf65efda3bf335a3135f21e4a6396

Larry Neese · Feb 28, 2009

West Marine has a new line "Dual" I bought one with speakers for $100 it has the Mp3 and looks great, everything down here corrodes quickly so we see how long this lasts, I think the marine sets look better IMHO

shemandr · Mar 1, 2009

I have Marine.
I looked at automotive and didn't find the features I wanted. There aren't remotes for automotive radios. I finally settled on the Jenson DVD 2007 and paid about $180. I like the DVD with video outputs. We can watch DVD's on a home flatscreen or have guests bring a DVD with their favorite music. Of course, we use the i pod cable for our i pod. It isn't readily satellite ready - but I think there is an aux input that could be used but its on the back of the unit and not readily accessible for a unit we transport to home and back.
Contact me offlist and I'll email an excel spreadsheet I used to sort it out about a year ago. Excel isn't legal to post.
Some of the online sellers are little more than PO Boxes and I would try to deal with someone with a real location. I used Hodges Marine Electronics and can report all was as claimed.

Bad Obsession · Mar 1, 2009

A simple car stereo will work fine in the cabin. I have been doing this for years and never had a problem. They stay in the cabin, they are sheltered, and there is no reason to have a water proof stereo in a place that doesn't get wet or damp.

Another cool idea is to set up a plug in the cockpit that you can hook a set of box speakers up to. They can come out in nice weather and be kept out there if you want them. Then when you are done simply detach the speaker wire and take the speakers back inside.

Mike B · Mar 1, 2009

I've used the cheap wire type antennas that come with the radios and both have been fine. For the most part we use the MP3 or satellite radio feature almost exclusively. I spent the extra money for the modules for both and feel it was well worth the money. BTW I mount the satellite radio antenna in behind the cabinet where the radio is housed. It takes a couple of trys to find the best location but once you do so it's fine. Any dead spots are few and it beats drilling holes in the hull to mount it outside.

Rich (P303) · Mar 1, 2009

None... I have an I-POD with Bose speakers and internal battery pack. I carry it back and forth to the house.

larryw · Mar 3, 2009

Bought a new automotive unit when the last one died and became too expensive to replace. Got one with remote control so I could control it from the cockpit, but it didn't work. The little fob needs to be about twenty inches from the face of the unit.

philwsailz · Mar 3, 2009

Sony Marine and automotive radios can all be controlled by their marine remotes. The marine remotes are IP rated for short submersion periods and are commmonly found on powerboat transoms.

On the radio side of the Sony equation, most are iPod controllers these days, and a few allow use of a USB thumb or flash drive for music storage. Load up your thumb drive, pop it into the radio and listen away.

On the remote control side of the equation, there are two water-proof submersible remotes. The smaller RMX-11M fits a standard 2" gauge hole, is backlit and provides basic function including track and source selection, and volume control.. The RMX-55M is a round remote that fits a 3" gauge hole. It has all the control function of the RMX-11M plus has a backlit digital readout so you can see track selection, radio station, etc... Both remotes are hard wired, so line of sight is not necessary. They operate on a resistor ladder protocol, so multiple remotes can be installed to control a single radio.

Regardless of brand, my recommendation is a cabin-mounted head unit, with a wired remote in a conveninent place in the cockpit.

EDIT: A quick note. I do not work for Sony, just in case that sounded like an infomercial...

I do work in the marine industry supplying speakers and amplifiers to boat manufacturers though; that is what I do for a living. I just have personally found that the Sony products I own have worked well and reliably in my boats over the years.

sailingdog · Mar 3, 2009

Phil—

Good to know about the marine remotes and the Sony automotive units being compatible. Most store salespeople wouldn't know or tell you that.

philwsailz · Mar 3, 2009

sailingdog said:
Phil—

Good to know about the marine remotes and the Sony automotive units being compatible. Most store salespeople wouldn't know or tell you that.

My pleasure!

Another point. For any installation, using a marine radio or a car radio, moisture is still a problem. The three most common entry points are the face, the top of the case, and the wiring.

Mounting the radio in an out-of-the way location is an easy way to address the face and the radio top, to prevent water from getting in. Many marine radios have significant protection from water ingress in these areas as well. Water has an uncanny ability to travel along wires though. If you will bend your wiring going into the radio so that it forms a drip loop as shown, you will help prevent water from getting into the radio from the rear.

Marine Grade Stereo or Car Stereo in Cabin

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