electronics
Testers turned a den into a sound lab to
eliminate the atmospheric noise pollution on-board testing would present.
Top Tune Players
PS tests mid-priced stereos and speakers.
A
s a follow-up to our August 2012
evaluation of budget-friendly marine audio systems, we recently tested
five mid-priced marine stereos, three
of which came kitted with speakers.
The products in this round of testing
retail for $180 to $350 and are a step up
in quality, water-resistance, and features from the stereo-speaker packages
($200 or less) we reviewed last year.
What We tested
A quality stereo designed for the marine
environment should be corrosion resistant, with coated circuit boards and no
ferrous parts. While few sailboat owners
mount their stereos in the cockpit—or
need a fully waterproof unit—it’s still
good practice to find one that is marinized and at least splashproof.
With that in mind, we limited this
test field to stereos rated IPX5 or higher,
meaning they should at least be able to
tolerate being sprayed with water from a
nozzle. This ruled out most stereos and
speakers designed for car installations.
The test field, which represented a
cross-section of widely available, midpriced marine stereos, featured products
from Dual Electronics Corp., Milennia,
Poly-Planar, Sony, and Fusion Electronics Inc. Dual is a major supplier of low- to
mid-priced auto and marine stereos and
speakers. Milennia products are offered
18
april 2013
by South Carolina-based Prospec Electronics, a 20-year-old company with a
large line of high-quality, all-weather
audio electronics. Poly-Planar, a Maryland company, specializes in marine audio systems and has a complete line of
high-end waterproof stereos, speakers,
and accessories. Electronics-giant Sony
is a global company that manufactures
a number of marine-specific products.
The New Zealand-based Fusion offers a
line of high-quality marine entertainment systems, and the company has
links with other electronics companies
such as Garmin and Raymarine.
All the test stereos are standard
flush-mount, in-dash type units with
AM/FM receivers. The Poly-Planar
and Sony stereos have flip-down front
plates that protect the inputs for CDs,
SD cards, and iPods, while the Dual
has a detachable front plate that seems
more for security than protection from
the elements. We recommend storing
the faceplate ashore when it’s not in
use. This will add to its longevity, as
will coating exposed connections with
corrosion-inhibiting sprays that are
safe on plastics, like TC-11 or CRC
Heavy Duty (PS, September 2007).
Of the five mid-priced marine stereos
we tested, three came bundled with 6.5inch speakers: Dual, Fusion, and Milennia. A speaker’s sound quality and range
are, in part, determined by what type
of speaker it is. Both the Fusion and
Milennia speakers are coaxial, and the
Dual features polypropylene dual cones.
Dual-cone speakers deliver sound using
a small cone for high frequencies and a
large cone for mid-range and low frequencies. A coaxial speaker is essentially
a woofer (for mid and low frequencies)
wrapped around a tweeter (for high frequencies). Typically, coaxial speakers offer better sound than dual cone. All the
test speakers have water-resistant plastic
faceplates and housings, stainless-steel
hardware, and injection-molded polypropylene or poly-carbon cones; none
had polarity switches. They all included
about 12 feet of speaker cable.
The test stereos all can produce 15
to 20 RMS watts of audio power, per
channel, which should be plenty for any
small or mid-size sailboat, anchored or
underway.
Because each test unit has a long
laundry list of features and functions,
we did not attempt to describe them all
in detail. The accompanying Features
table highlights each unit’s basic features and functions.
The Dual and Sony units include CD
players, while the Poly-Planar has an internal iPod/iPhone dock, and the Fusion
has an external dock. As we’ve noted in
the past, unless you have an irreplaceable library of CDs or lots of money to
spend replacing stereos, a unit without
a CD player is a more practical choice
for on-board audio. CD players draw
more power, eventually wear out, and
are very susceptible to failure in a humid
or salty environment. Similarly, if you
don’t have or plan to use an iPhone/iPod,
you may not want the dock or slot for it
as it would be an unnecessary potential
failure point.
All of the test units have an auxiliary
port (either 3.5 millimeter and/or RCA
jacks) for analog input, and all can receive digital audio from a computer or
MP3 device via a USB port. The Dual
and Poly-Planar units have SD card
readers, and they accept input from
www.practical-sailor.com
how we tested
Five Stereos Get Hosed
T
esters decided to bench test the stereos rather than test
them aboard a boat so that we could eliminate variations
in atmospheric noise pollution (wind, powerboats zooming
by, etc.) We set up our “sound lab” in a high ceiling, carpeted
den with wallpaper. The stereos were hooked up to a 12-volt
battery through 10-amp fuses and control switches. A proper
five-foot FM dipole antenna was inserted in the back of each
unit. We used music inputs from a CD, an iPod Nano, an SD
card, a Bluetoothed Android phone, and an iPhone, all with
identical recordings of the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” which
has excellent recording quality and a wide frequency range.
Testers mounted the three pairs of test speakers on 2-by-2foot plywood baffles, being careful to maintain speaker-wire
polarity to keep them in phase. The two test stereos that came
without speakers (Poly-Planar and Sony) were tested using the
Fusion MS-FR6520 coaxial speakers.
The bench tests included looks at ease of installation, user
friendliness, construction quality, audio quality, and power
draw. Judging audio quality is quite subjective, so we sought
a consensus from five sets of ears, representing a range of ages
and both genders.
We recorded the power used at off (no display), standby
(display on but no sound), and at various volumes. In general,
all the stereos drew less than a half-amp in standby, but three
drew some current even when off. Power draw goes up as volume increases, especially with low bass—one test stereo drew
3 amps at 100 decibels during the drum beats.
Testers moved the test lab outdoors for a water-resistance
test. We sprayed the mounted stereos and speakers with a hose
for three minutes to see whether any water breached their seals,
and then we ran through a series of functions. Testers also rated
how easy their displays could be read in full sun. Final ratings
a Sirius radio, as do the Sony and Fusion. The Dual and Milennia also have
Bluetooth audio streaming capability.
The Dual and Sony stereos come with
wireless, infrared remotes, which offer
line-of-sight control of the stereo.
The Dual and Fusion units can monitor the NOAA weather broadcasts and
some VHF channels. While this is a nice
bonus feature, most boat owners have, or
should have, an onboard VHF radio for
monitoring these channels.
Dual AMCP600W
The AMCP600W came as a package
with DMP67 speakers, but many retailers sell just the receiver for about $180;
the speaker set costs about $50 and is the
same as the one we tested with the Dual
practical sailor
The test stereos and speakers, all rated IPX5 or better, were
sprayed with a 40-psi garden hose from 6 feet for 3 minutes.
also considered price, features, and warranty.
For the more audio-tech-inclined readers, we’ve included a
few specifications in the Value Guide that we did not test for:
tuner sensitivity and tuner frequency response. “Tuner sensitivity” is the ability of a tuner to lock onto a radio signal, keep the
channels clean and separated, and reproduce sound without
distortion or hissing; the lower the rating number, the better.
“Tuner frequency response” is the ability to reproduce the highs
and lows equally, without distortion. The best spec range would
be a low first number and a high second number, ie. 20 Hz-20
kHz. In these stereos, tone and equalizer control are handled
in steps; more steps equal more control.
We did not test for RF interference, but it goes without saying
that a stereo should not be mounted near a magnetic compass.
Most stereo makers offer minimum-distances for mounting
them near compasses.
Check out our marine-stereo buyers guide with the online
version of this article.
AMCP400W in the 2012 review.
Installing the Dual AMCP600W in
a fiberglass bulkhead requires bending the thin metal tabs of a mounting sleeve, with no means of bolting
the unit snug against the panel. Testers added some angle brackets, but it
was still loose. While troubleshooting
the problem, we read in the 38-page
owner’s manual that a separately sold
installation kit may be required.
The AMCP600W is considered
Dual’s top-of-the line stereo. It’s Sirius
ready, has a CD player, is MP3/WMA
compatible, and has built-in Bluetooth
and direct USB control of iPod/iPhones.
It comes with a microphone and circuitry for hands-free telephone operation. Testers rated its audio quality and
operation as Good.
Its detachable faceplate, which is
made of UV-resistant ABS plastic,
plugs into the main housing with a 12pin connector and comes with a plastic
storage case for safekeeping and transport. The front auxiliary and USB ports
have silicone splash plugs tethered with
thin threads, but when the faceplate is
removed—as would likely be the case
when you’re off the boat—the CD and
SD-card slots are left exposed.
Dual AMCP600W
april 2013 19
VA L U E g u i d e
mid-priced marine stereos and stereo-speaker kits
Maker
dual
Fusion
poly-planar
sony
stereo model /
speaker model
AMCP 600W
/ PMP 67
MS-RA200SD /
MS-FR6520 $
MRD 80i /
NA
CDX-H910UI /
NA
Price
$180 stereo +
$50 speakers
$200
$200
$370
$300
1 year
1 year
1 year
2 years
1 year
IPX5
IPX5
Waterproof
IP66
IPX5
dimensions of
stereo (LxWxH)
7.37 x 2.25 x
7 inches
6.19 x 2.69 inches
6 x 3.5 x
2.25 inches
7.56 x 3.12 x
8.87 inches
7.87 x 3.62 x
7.37 inches
speaker
diameter
7.13 inches
7.5 inches
6.75 inches
NA
NA
Audio output
power RMS per
channel / peak
18 /
216 watts
16 /
200 watts
15 /
180 watts
15 /
180 watts
17 /
208 watts
Tone control
+/- 4 steps
Yes (Variable)
+/- 7 steps
Yes (Variable)
+/- 3 steps
Yes (5 curves)
No
Yes (4 curves)
Yes (6 curves)
Yes (3 curves)
Speaker type
Dual cone
Coaxial
Coaxial
NA
NA
Speaker cone
material
Polypropylene
Polycarbon
Polypropylene
NA
NA
100 watts
200 watts
150 watts
NA
NA
warranty
waterproof
rating
Equalizer
control
Speaker power
peak
Milennia
MIL-MPK 21 /
MIL-SPK 652BB
Test Results
power draw
standby / off
.46/ .46 amps
.44 / 0 amps
.28 / .03 amps
.53 / .09 amps
.31 / 0 amps
Ease of
installation
Fair
Good
Excellent
Fair
Fair
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Good
Good-
Construction
quality
Fair
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Good
Audio Quality
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Moisture
protection
Poor
Excellent
Excellent
Good
Fair
Instruction
manual
Good
Good
Fair
Good
Fair
iPhone mic / not
waterproof
iPhone dock /
No Bluetooth
Bluetooth / No
rotary knob
iPhone dock /
expensive
Lots of features /
not as intuitive
Ease of
operation
Pro / con
Best Choice $ Budget Buy
Recommended
The faceplate design seemed to be
the Dual’s Achilles heel in our spray
test. Even though it’s rated IPX5, a fair
bit of water leaked behind the faceplate
during the test, and the stereo failed
to work properly after that. We could
not turn it off, and it jumped from input source to input source. Even after
drying out for an hour, it would not
stay on an FM station for more than
one minute. It was the only test stereo
whose performance was affected by the
spray test.
20
april 2013
The stereo back has a 16-pin plug and
multiple wire harnesses, plus two sets
of RCA jacks for preamp output. When
wiring the Dual, pay attention to the
color-coding; it can get confusing as
the three power wires are mixed in with
the eight speaker wires.
Bottom line: The least expensive in
the test group, the Dual is a decentsounding combo package with a great
price, but it was held back by installation challenges and its vulnerability to
water damage.
* Tested through the amp's input.
Fusion MS-RA200SD
Fusion is known for its innovative products specifically designed for the marine
environment. The MS-RA200SD is a
compact, weatherproof stereo-speaker
package with a long list of features, highlighted by an external iPod dock and
VHF monitoring capability. Its multizone volume control allows users to have
one volume setting on deck and another
in the cabin.
The large, backlit, dot-matrix LCD
display handles up to 72 characters and
www.practical-sailor.com
electronics
feat u r e s
Maker
will replicate all MP3-player menu items. The waterproof, aluminum-coated
housing features rubberized buttons and is designed to resist UV, moisture, salt, and vibration.
The two MS-FR6520
coaxial, waterproof speakers have heavy magnets
and can handle 200 watts
at a clear 80 Hz-20 KHz.
The package had excellent
sound with crisp, clear
highs and lows. Testers
found these speakers to
have the best sound in the
field, so we also used them
to test the Poly-Planar and
Sony stereos, which came
without speakers.
Bottom line: Compact and easy to install,
the bullet-proof Fusion
comes with excellent coaxial speakers. The featureloaded stereo gets PS’s Best
Choice and Budget Buy.
Milennia MIL-MPK 21
dual
fusion
milennia
poly-planar
sony
AMCP 600W
/ PMP 67
$ MSRA200SD /
MS-FR6520
MIL-MPK 21 /
652BB
MRD 80i /
NA
CDX-H910UI /
NA
CD Player
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
AM/FM receiver
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Weather Band
(NOAA) / stations
Yes / 6
Yes / 6
No / 0
No / 0
No / 0
SD slot
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
RCA AUX port
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
3.5 mm AUX port
Yes (2)
No
Yes (2)
Yes
Yes
Audio out
(dual RCA jacks)
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
USB / MP3 port
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
iPod Compatible
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
BlueTooth
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
Sirius ready
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
30 / Yes
30 / Yes
30 / No
30 / No
30 / No
8 characters
/ Yes
32 characters
/ No
12 characters
/ Yes
Yes
(option)
Yes
(option)
Yes
(included)
stereo model /
speaker model
Pre-set AM/FM
stations / vhf
front panel
display / clock
Wireless
remote
practical sailor
32 characters 72 characters
/ Yes
/ No
Yes
(included)
Best Choice $ Budget Buy
The Milennia MIL-MPK 21 package
comprises the PRV21 stereo receiver and
the SPK652BB speakers. This compact,
rugged unit has no CD player or NOAA
weather-band stations, but it proved to
be very watertight, with rubberized buttons and no slots or receptacles on its
front. The Milennia was the only test
product with no mechanical music device—iPod dock or CD player, etc.—and
it drew the least power.
Audio was crisp and clear, and the FM
sensitivity was excellent
The wires for the speakers and power
connect to a square 12-pin male plug.
Although it comes standard with the
package, the female plug was missing
from our test unit, so we had to cut and
splice the wiring. Other inputs and outFusion MS-RA200SD
mid-priced marine stereo-speaker kits
No
Recommended
puts, such as auxiliary,
Poly-Planar MRD 80i
USB, and a 3.5-millimeThe Poly-Planar MRD
ter jack are weatherproof
80i proved to be very
with appropriate caps.
weather resistant thanks
The display has big, black
to rubberized buttons,
characters on a light blue
substantial gaskets on the
background.
flip-down faceplate, and
Milennia MIL PRV 21
The Milennia was the
a protective plastic front
only test stereo that offers
cover. Its SD-card reader
an optional radio-frequency remote that and iPod dock are behind the flip-down
can control the stereo from about 30 feet faceplate, and the other inputs are on the
away, and not line-of-sight. This means back. It offered an Excellent, rich sound.
users can easily control a cabin-mounted
While some water got behind the
stereo from the helm.
faceplate in the spray test, there was no
The owner’s manual is skimpy in de- noticeable effect on the stereo’s perfortail, but operation is intuitive. Installa- mance.
tion was fast and easy, with a well-deThe unit comes with a well-written
signed mounting bracket and the easiest and organized 24-page manual with
to use cut-out template of the test field. clear drawings and wiring diagrams.
Bottom line: The Milennia was one However, testers rated ease of installaof the top overall performers, but it tion as Fair because the cut-out template
lacks some of the features of the Fu- was too small to fit the radio.
sion. It earned PS’s Recommendation
The most expensive stereo in the test,
for those looking for a smaller unit and the MRD 80i was the only stereo with a
those who can live without a CD player two-year warranty; all others carry only
or iPod dock.
one-year warranties.
april 2013 21
electronics
second favorite pick.
How you store your music
and want to access it—on
CDs, an MP3 player, a Bluetooth smartphone, a USB
drive, etc.—will ultimately
determine which of these
stereos best matches your
Dual DMP67
Milennia SPK652BB
Fusion MS-FR6520
needs.
The Dual package is certainly feaAfter testing was complete, Poly-Pla- Sony comes with a large wiring/instalnar released an improved version of this lation sheet and a cut-out template that ture rich and the most economical. It
was high on the favorites list, despite
unit. The new MR085i lists for $400 and testers found less than user friendly.
The unit came with a large yellow cau- problems installing it, until it stopped
offers Bluetooth streaming, among other features not included with the MR80i. tion sticker (an obvious afterthought) working after our spray test. The Sony
Bottom line: A bit pricey—even saying: “Attach the supplied cushion in model is also feature loaded and prothough it doesn’t come with speak- the position of figure,” with no explana- duced great sound, but other stereos out
ers—the MRD80i’s excellent audio and tion for its purpose. Our guess is that the performed it in tests.
The most expensive of the test stequality construction earn it PS’s Recom- cushion, which is about an inch long and
has a sticky back, pushes up the cover to reos, the Poly-Planar also had the most
mendation.
allow better ventilation from the metal heavy-duty construction and was rated
well in tests. We Recommend it for those
case in the back.
Sony CDX-H910U1
who want a hidden iPhone/iPod device
The
front
panel
is
a
T he s oph i s t ic ate d
Poly-Planar MRD 801
nice, shiny black plas- and can invest a little a more for ExcelSony CDX-H910UI
tic, but judging by the lent audio quality and durability.
is capable of 52 peak
Deciding on a Best Choice was tough.
warnings included
watts per channel. Its
with it—do not clean Both the Milennia and Fusion are comCD player opening is
with anything over pact, easy to install, very waterproof,
behind the flip-down
86 degrees, avoid in- and are built to quality standards—plus
faceplate and has a
stalling in sunlight or both are packaged with coaxial speakers
rubber splash-proof
gasket, a more marine-friendly design areas subject to water splashes—it may that sound great.
The Milennia is unique to allow RF
than the Dual’s, which has an exposed be somewhat delicate.
Bottom line: A quality stereo with remote control and will accept BlueCD slot in the stereo front.
The 3.5-millimeter auxiliary input lots of features, the Sony was out-per- tooth wireless streaming. On the other
has a tetherless silicone plug. Input cir- formed by the easy-to-install and very hand, the Fusion allows features NOAA
weather and VHF monitoring, is Sirius
cuits can accommodate MP3, WMA, water-resistant Milennia and Fusion.
ready, and has a separate dock for any
and Sirius XM radio. The Sony comes
iPhone/iPod device, a larger display
with a jack for the Sirius input and an- Conclusion
other for an optional external wired All of the stereo units are worth con- with more information, and multi-zone
remote control. The housing is rated as sidering for on-board use, although we volume control.
In the end, the top pick—and the
UV, salt, and IPX5 water resistant, but caution against mounting the Dual in a
in the spray test, a few water droplets potentially damp location. They all pro- Budget Buy—went to the Fusion, with
found their way behind the faceplate; duced good-to-excellent audio quality, the Milennia close behind, earning a PS
none reached the electrical connections. performed as marketers claim, and were Recommendation.
The 2-inch round display has a con- fairly easy to install. The most robust
tinuously moving sound-level bar. Like and moisture-resistant stereos were the
Contacts
the Poly-Planar, the Sony’s powering Milennia and the Fusion.
Dual, 866/382-5476,
on or off wasn’t immediate when a user
The marine speakers we tested also
www.dualav.com
pushed the button.
were all very good. The Fusion coaxial
Fusion, 623/580-9000,
The Sony’s tuner sensitivity and speakers appeared to be the most duwww.fusionelectronics.com
sound quality were
rable, had the heaviest
Sony CDX-H910UI
Milennia, 843/849-9037,
Excellent. Functional
magnets, and handled
www.prospecelectronics.com
programming is exhigh volume the best.
Poly-Planar, 410/761-4000,
tensive—sometimes
The Milennia speakwww.polyplanar.com
inhibiting intuitiveers produced excelSony, 800/222-7669,
ness. Along with a
lent sound as well,
www.sony.com
125-page manual, the
earning a very-close
22
april 2013
www.practical-sailor.com