Anyone have any recommendations on decent marine stereos for boat? I’ve got a 2009 Lund Pro Guide and the marine stereo stopped working. Not really a ‘crucial’ component for the boat, but figured if I could find a decent replacement for $100 or less I’d put a new one in. Just curious if any of you had any recent experience with good ones (or ones to avoid).
Any Clarion would be my pic. Add a Amp if you have the room!
-J.
Don’t buy one unless you know the amp draw. Radios can be a battery killer, but they do not have to be.
I run a marine gauge mount.
Mine is discontinued, but it is Dual MGH30BT
FishBlood,
Would it list the amp draw on the box etc.? What’s a good amp draw to shoot for?
Would love the information also! Mine did not make the monsoon rain we had Friday night in the McGregor Area.
I would suggest a Clarion as well.
I put a Boss MCK1309SGB64 kit in my SXS and it’s worked well. Been sprayed with a hose multiple times with zero failures. Price is tough to beat if you also need speakers…If I can hear the music clearly over a loud 1,000cc V-twin, a boat should be just fine!
Kenwood marine or Clarion. I replaced my brother’s radio for him with a Boss he picked up and rereplaced it 1 year later for him.
My motor has a 55 amp alternator. I don’t care about the amp draw.
If sound is at all important, without using an external amp, look for one with the most stereo wattage rated at RMS at similar distortion levels. If they don’t list the wattage at RMS I won’t consider them.
[Edit]
Compare the RMS values at the same driver impedance, usually 8ohms. A halving of the impedance should in theory double the deck’s wattage output. It rarely does. Marketing departments might futz with wattage numbers by stating, at 4 or 6 ohms instead of 8 ohms.
If an amp puts out 50 watts into 8 ohms it should, in theory double down to 100 watts at 4 ohms. At our price points, they won’t though.
The marketing page may say, 75 watts at 4 ohms. Most likely that could be weaker than another deck that does 50 watts at 8 ohms. Or they could be the same.
Another marketing ploy is to rate the deck at one channel driven, versus two or four channels driven. One deck may be able to do 55 watts at one channel driven but fall to 45 watts in stereo.
[Edit]
Also look at distortion levels for rated output. For marketing purposes they may push the distortion level higher to make it look like the deck has more power.
All things equal, distortion level and measured at RMS and driving the same load, the more powerful amp will have a better ability of not running out of gas when a note is played at the driver’s (speaker) low impedance point. The driver’s low impedance level will also be in the bass.
Therefore, generally speaking, more power will mean better sounding bass. With the caveat that, from a 4-6″ driver, the bass we are talking about here is really the low end of midrange, aka lower male vocals. Speakers are rarely ever blown from receiving too much power. They blow from receiving too much distortion at power.
Keep in mind that many motorcycle owners use marine radios. Check reviews. I make it a point to read the worst user reviews to see if it was user expectation bias or a faulty product. Keep an eye on reviews with repeated outcomes, example, “the deck stopped working after a year. Opened it up to find it all corroded inside…” over and over.
I put a Sony Marine in my MIL’s pontoon about 5 years ago. That thing got soaked more times than it should have, and it still worked great when she traded it in this spring.
picked one up cheap on EBay years ago and its still working great. Make sure any radio you buy is marine rated.
My motor has a 55 amp alternator. I don’t care about the amp draw.
If sound is at all important, without using an external amp, look for one with the most stereo wattage rated at RMS at similar distortion levels. If they don’t list the wattage at RMS I won’t consider them.
[Edit]
Compare the RMS values at the same driver impedance, usually 8ohms. A halving of the impedance should in theory double the deck’s wattage output. It rarely does. Marketing departments might futz with wattage numbers by stating, at 4 or 6 ohms instead of 8 ohms.If an amp puts out 50 watts into 8 ohms it should, in theory double down to 100 watts at 4 ohms. At our price points, they won’t though.
The marketing page may say, 75 watts at 4 ohms. Most likely that could be weaker than another deck that does 50 watts at 8 ohms. Or they could be the same.
Another marketing ploy is to rate the deck at one channel driven, versus two or four channels driven. One deck may be able to do 55 watts at one channel driven but fall to 45 watts in stereo.
[Edit]Also look at distortion levels for rated output. For marketing purposes they may push the distortion level higher to make it look like the deck has more power.
All things equal, distortion level and measured at RMS and driving the same load, the more powerful amp will have a better ability of not running out of gas when a note is played at the driver’s (speaker) low impedance point. The driver’s low impedance level will also be in the bass.
Therefore, generally speaking, more power will mean better sounding bass. With the caveat that, from a 4-6″ driver, the bass we are talking about here is really the low end of midrange, aka lower male vocals. Speakers are rarely ever blown from receiving too much power. They blow from receiving too much distortion at power.
Keep in mind that many motorcycle owners use marine radios. Check reviews. I make it a point to read the worst user reviews to see if it was user expectation bias or a faulty product. Keep an eye on reviews with repeated outcomes, example, “the deck stopped working after a year. Opened it up to find it all corroded inside…” over and over.
Well put Kyhl. You could go into it more but I believe that was nearly enough said!!
shockers hello to you! you could just sing, no cost no battery! I hear you have a great voice
bluetooth speaker. no need to use your boat battery. everyone has a smart phone these days and if you have unlimited data or music on your phone, its the way to go.
My stereo broke, do you have a smart phone with a music app? I bought a weatherproof Bluetooth unit and went that way. As i see the post above me..haha
shockers hello to you! you could just sing, no cost no battery! I hear you have a great voice
That often happens. When it does, I know it is time to turn on the tunes to save others from having to hear me. 
It takes at least a few cans of Hamms before my singing voice kicks in.
This has all been great advice. Appreciate the tips, fellas.
Iheart radio is free if you have service. Otherwise I use an APK of Pandora that lets me download music to my phone and I don’t need data. Wireless technology has really come a long way.
In my boat I actually use the sonic hub with my HDS8 and I can stream from my phone that way too. There are a bunch of options depending on your needs.
Don’t know how it works but my kids have Bose Bluetooth speakers with velcro straps that are about 4x4x2. Let the tunes fly off their smart phones. Can run the volume from their phone or the speaker. I think the speakers are waterproof.
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