Practical Boat Owner — November 2017

THE VERDICT

The question for these

stereos is: why buy a

marine stereo when you

can pick up a simple car

radio for half the price?

One answer is that most

marine stereos have

coated circuit boards,

protecting them from the

ravages of salt air. The

other is that if you have

networked instruments,

the ability to control the

stereo from your plotter in

the cockpit is useful,

especially if you suffer

from seasickness. A

waterproofed control head

can make a difference on

a small boat.

We also found that

marine products offered

improved sound in noisy

conditions compared to

car stereos, which tend to

be tailored for the quieter

environments found

in vehicles.

Most of these units are

designed for powerboats,

and to use blasting

around and at full volume.

However, there were

defi nite differences to be

heard in them while both

sitting down below and

when under sail.

Force 4’s compact

Bluetooth stereo was

surprisingly good given

the small size, and would

make an excellent mini

solution on a small boat –

the sound wasn’t as loud

as others, but it was

perfectly acceptable.

JL Audio’s was by far

the most expensive of all

the stereos, but the sound

was excellent – crisp and

clear and audible

underway – and with a

higher-end set of speakers

would keep even the most

ardent audiophiles happy.

Fusion’s were perhaps

the most fully-featured

units, with a good

interface, decent sound

and nicely designed

equipment – and the

ability to replace a car

stereo with the same

footprint makes the RA70

a good buy. The prices

are also reasonable.

Aquatic AV’s systems

sounded somewhat

brash, but have plenty of

power and are well priced.

The cheaper unit works

well over Bluetooth.

JL Audio Mediamaster

£499.99

MX Amplifi er - £219.99

■ http://www.jlaudio.co.uk

JL Audio produce a range of top-end

stereos, speakers and accoutrements –

and we chose the Mediamaster control

head and a basic MX series, 4-channel

280W Amplifi er.

Connection was via USB and

Bluetooth, and you can also connect a

Sirius satellite radio (US only) and an

AUX input for devices that can’t be

connected by USB.

You can set up four separate

zones and adjust the levels in each

one individually.

You can control the Mediamaster by

NMEA2000, and you can wire in a

permanent remote control if required.

This was one of the best to use, on a

par with the top Fusion, but with a

bigger screen and intuitive functions,

and a clear, quality screen that can

display your album art – a nice touch.

There were on-screen prompts and

instructions that really simplifi ed

connecting, using and customising the

menus and functions.

The sound was the nicest by far: it

was punchy, crisp and clear no matter

the genre of music, with just the right

emphasis, and it sounded great both

down below and when underway on

deck, where the mix was well

engineered to be heard over the noise

of wind and water. This was with our

entry level speakers, and performance

is likely to be even better with a

higher-end pair. This model has since

been superseded by a newer version,

which offers more zone and volume

controls, a tidier installation and a

wireless remote control option.

Fusion’s zone control was particularly

effective and intuitive: you can rename

them to suit – here, Cockpit and Cabin

You can also control some stereos

from a compatible chartplotter: this

is the interface on a B&G Vulcan 5,

controlling the Fusion RA70N

The Mediamaster controller was

paired with an MX-200 amplifi er (an

extra £219.99) to deliver the sound to

up to four channels. Higher-end

amplifi ers are also available

MARINE STEREOS