Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hello all am looking for opinions on a decent stereo system, price range to about 250. Not wanting to rock the world just want a nice sound and dependability. thank you in advance Duane

First thing you'll need to figure out is what you want to listen to; AM/FM, blue tooth phone, USB memory stick, aux port with an mp3 player, etc. Once you have that down, then you can decide what you need for the head unit to make sure it does what you want/expect.

Then look at speakers after that. Decent three way 6 1/2" round speakers mounted in the seat bases are usually the easiest. You can find good speakers for around $50-$75 per pair if you're not looking at high-end stuff. Typical set-up would have four speakers total, two front and two rear.

Don't forget an antenna and speaker wire that can handle the weather and moisture.

Price was a controlling factor in my selection as was quality. Here's what I installed. I bought the 4 Speakers and Bluetooth receiver for under $250 as I recall. The sub-woofer and amp can be found for under $150 (installing sub this weekend). It sounds great even without a sub, has plenty of clean, clear volume, removable face plate, Bluetooth for music and phone and a real sensitive microphone for hands free communication. You can download the user manual and read about all the features. There may be newer models available.

Stereo: KMR-D558BT - Receiver
Kenwood KFC-1652MRW - 6.5" speakers
Kenwood P-WD250MRW - 10" Sub-woofer & amp

My only complaint: hard to read the dial in bright sunlight. This model does not accept a wireless remote but will accept a wired remote. Newer models may have a wireless remote.

thank you all for the input. gonna delve into it a bit now .

Try Crutchfield for stereo components. I just purchased a Kenwood HD receiver with bluetooth, CD player, remote and USB for $89.00. There is very little difference between a car stereo and a marine stereo. As long as you install it where it won't get wet.

HarryO wrote:Try Crutchfield for stereo components. I just purchased a Kenwood HD receiver with bluetooth, CD player, remote and USB for $89.00. There is very little difference between a car stereo and a marine stereo. As long as you install it where it won't get wet.

I used to share that sentiment and had good luck for years with normal car stereos. Then I had two car stereos get wet and get ruined in consecutive seasons. Don't even know when they got wet. There were no spilling or rainstorm incidents. Maybe it was a humidity thing. So I went with a Kenwood marine stereo last year.

I replaced a marine Clarion receiver and 4 speakers with the Kenwood marine. I believe that humidity was a problem with the Clarion as it worked intermittently, plus one speaker had gone out. My son has it in his bowfishing boat and has occasional problems when it's really humid. Marine radios reportedly have internal coatings and typically tinned wiring to protect the components from moisture. Car radios lack that treatment.

By the way, if you don't already have a marine FM antenna on your boat, you will want to pick one up for your new radio. They're inexpensive.

Thank you gentlemen