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So I bought the EQ and was planning to do a system install direct from the EQ but after being in the boat a few times and with a very limited schedule for stereo installation due to moving into a new house I just bit the bullet and pulled the cassette unit and replaced it with the Clarion M303. Key driving issues were time to install, flexibility, and simplicity. I wanted the ability to listen to tunes from my phone/ipod now, not next spring. My buddy still has my big 4 channel amp that I need. I won't have time for a while to built the sub box so this was the quickest solution. Much to my surprise the system actually sounds much better after a simple head unit swap. Good think I did this now as I found some very very hokey wiring done by the previous owner. I also modified a few things like power source. I powered it so it come on with the breaker for the key so you don't need the key to listen to music. The perfect pass on this boat has also been seeing pretty low voltage which I figured out to be a very poorly chosen negative power source likely done by the original boat dealer?
My off the water review of the M303:
+ nice looking radio, looks much better than the old unit
+ nice big convenient volume knob, one of my pet peeves it up/down volume buttons on marine stereo's (no bueno)
- interface is more complicated than it needs to be like most Clarion units but I somewhat expected that
- Bluetooth interface was only accomplished after reading through the manual a couple times
+ Now that the bluetooth is connected, it sounds as good to me as the direct input or USB cable interface. Bluetooth interface was the main reason I selected this unit. These days I am streaming music to most of my vehicles and home over bluetooth and I really enjoy the flexibility it offers.
- track forward/back buttons are tough to reach behind the steering wheel and close to the volume knob
+ display is nice and big, I expect it will be easy to read even in direct sunlight
+ sounds better than the previous unit, likely has more power and makes more bass through the in-boat speakers
+ lots of output RCAs in case I decide not to use the EQ, the unit can probably do all the crossover and tuning without having to use the amp crossover once I get the amp and sub installed
+ radio seems to work pretty well even though I almost never use it when I am boating
At $170 through internet vendors this was a good upgrade for my old boat.
My off the water review of the M303:
+ nice looking radio, looks much better than the old unit
+ nice big convenient volume knob, one of my pet peeves it up/down volume buttons on marine stereo's (no bueno)
- interface is more complicated than it needs to be like most Clarion units but I somewhat expected that
- Bluetooth interface was only accomplished after reading through the manual a couple times
+ Now that the bluetooth is connected, it sounds as good to me as the direct input or USB cable interface. Bluetooth interface was the main reason I selected this unit. These days I am streaming music to most of my vehicles and home over bluetooth and I really enjoy the flexibility it offers.
- track forward/back buttons are tough to reach behind the steering wheel and close to the volume knob
+ display is nice and big, I expect it will be easy to read even in direct sunlight
+ sounds better than the previous unit, likely has more power and makes more bass through the in-boat speakers
+ lots of output RCAs in case I decide not to use the EQ, the unit can probably do all the crossover and tuning without having to use the amp crossover once I get the amp and sub installed
+ radio seems to work pretty well even though I almost never use it when I am boating
At $170 through internet vendors this was a good upgrade for my old boat.
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