Bypass The Connext Screen For Audio?

[DJMattyT]

So I bought a 2016 242X, I am upgrading all of the speakers and I really wanted to upgrade the stereo as well, the Polk stereo is going to be the weakest part of the setup. My controller on the swimplatform is destroyed from salt water. Even though its covered under warranty this is going to continue to happen. I was thinking of just bypassing all of it and putting in a Fusion unit. Now I know that means I wont be able to control music through the connext screen but the fusion systems are pretty incredible. I could do everything from my cell phone at the helm (zone control, sources and everything) So I was throwing the idea around in my head and wanted to see what others thought.

This is one of the systems I was considering, and just adding 1 remote higher up on the swimplatform
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_917RA770/Fusion-MS-RA770.html?awkw=476962101324&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=269481732644&awdv=c&awug=9004526&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImtfIvLuO3gIVUlcMCh2mVAQyEAYYAiABEgJEivD_BwE

Let me know what you guys think?

 

[DJMattyT]

@Jaylex @jcyamaharider @Julian what do you guys think?

 

[Mainah]

If you don’t care about fm radio just get a ws 420 BT. You can also get their rocker switch or dial to control play pause skip or just use your phone/watch.

 

[DJMattyT]

That’s what I was just thinking. Because I really only use Spotify and SiriusXM app. But those fusion systems are soooo sweet hahah

 

[Mainah]

I am in a similar spot in that I despise the pa4a and am doing another upgrade early next year. Strongly considering the ws420 bt and just using an apple watch as the remote for playback controls.

 

[Drift Away]

The polk is junk. Nothing but junk. I had mine replaced about a year ago and now the knob is rusted again and will not turn. I have a full JL set up as most of you know. JL has the marine master as well as a wired remote. Thinking thats the path i am gonna take. Might pull the PA4 out amd order a new table leg mount just to over the hole. But i agree the fusion is prett damn cool.

 

[DJMattyT]

The polk is junk. Nothing but junk. I had mine replaced about a year ago and now the knob is rusted again and will not turn. I have a full JL set up as most of you know. JL has the marine master as well as a wired remote. Thinking thats the path i am gonna take. Might pull the PA4 out amd order a new table leg mount just to over the hole. But i agree the fusion is prett damn cool.

I was thinking the same thing. So you will just disregard the Connext screen for audio?

 

[Drift Away]

I was thinking the same thing. So you will just disregard the Connext screen for audio?

I have not dug into the wiring but i think its just a new power, ground and remote. Plug your amos into it and jam out. Everything audio would be thru the marine master head unit mounted some place up by the connext

 

[Jaylex]

I havent had any of those issues with my setup, granted i boat on only 2 diff lakes, NEVER the ocean so no salt or corrosion with the rear controls, which work fine for me.

But I do like the idea of bypassing the polk unit, although I thought I saw where it tested out pretty clean as a source up to 95%.

My other concern would be mounting and install of a new setup, although thats prob not as difficult as it seems.

Sounds like the WS420 BT might be another solid route...cheaper by far...and you get the talkback mic.

 

[jcyamaharider]

The polk head unit from the factory actually had a very clean signal. As @Jaylex said to 95 % on my boat ( tested with my SMD DD3 ). That is where my volume is parked and I control everything else thru my wetsounds 420 for master volume. I run my music thru my phone and I can use my samsung watch to turn up and down if need be. If I ever have issues it would be an easy swap for me to go with a stand alone but I have that capability now with the aux cord and the 420.

 

[Jaylex]

@jcyamaharider is there something that can be interfaced to the 420 that allows it to change the track or volume from the transom. Sounds like using a watch or phone with the volume set on the HU/420 is another option.

I think its ridiculous the transom remotes rust out, thats a key feature of any real audio system to keep the party going without getting back on to the boat.

Assume there isnt a way to better waterproof the transom remote to avoid the rusting, like a spray to cover some of the internals keeping them from getting so much salt exposure.

 

[DJMattyT]

Assume there isnt a way to better waterproof the transom remote to avoid the rusting, like a spray to cover some of the internals keeping them from getting so much salt exposure.

My dealer has something to help with the rusting but it’s not going to fully protect it. I’ll find out and share the name of it

 

[Mainah]

I was the one that did in depth calibrated testing on the pa4a on all three input sources. https://jetboaters.net/threads/polk-pa4a-oscilloscope-testing.16908/

The clipping rates quoted above are correct but that alone does not mean “clean”. The older blutooth chipset in the pa4a is the major limiting factor in how clean it is not when using Bluetooth as a source. At the max no clip volatge a calibrated 1k test tone became 999.6. This may seem like a rounding error but it is not. It is the reflection of the compression of the signal over an older bluetooth protocol at a single frequency with the end result being distortion. A sweep pattern shows just how much distortion on actual music. Then of course there is the noise introduced which static photos do not show well but real time observation certainly did show. Verdict is bluetooth on the pa4a is awful compared to todays headunits that use bt 4.1 or better.

Usb was the best signal but there is some distortion as a result of the dac chip. Not bad but not great for a usb signal either when also considering the low line level voltage output at max level.

Aux in was about the same performance as usb with the noteable excpetion of pre clipping voltage.

A headunit or preamp that can output a clean and distortion free 4-6v pre clip with Bluetooth 4.1 or better is what I want in my setup. I know that all bluetooth has compression but 4.1 and later is much better amd the convience of bluetooth outweighs the purity of wired connections in some situations.

Lastly there is the rusting and finicky connext implementation using the proprietary Jensen canbus protocol (JDAB). Both Polk and Jensen are owned by ASA electronics. Given what I have seen in the headunit, remote, and speakers I will not be buying anything from an ASA electronics brand anytime soon. JL and Fusion have better build quality, support both the newer Bluetooth protocols, and support n2k canbus. WS has a lot of more direct options and their own headunits now too.

 

[jcyamaharider]

@jcyamaharider is there something that can be interfaced to the 420 that allows it to change the track or volume from the transom. Sounds like using a watch or phone with the volume set on the HU/420 is another option.

I think its ridiculous the transom remotes rust out, thats a key feature of any real audio system to keep the party going without getting back on to the boat.

Assume there isnt a way to better waterproof the transom remote to avoid the rusting, like a spray to cover some of the internals keeping them from getting so much salt exposure.

Not that I am aware of. My stereo is rarely at 100% so I just set the volume to just a little above where it would be acceptable ( on sand bar or around other boats ) and then i control volume from in the water.

 

[swatski]

Verdict is bluetooth on the pa4a is awful compared to todays headunits that use bt 4.1 or better.

That's why the WS420 SQ(?) - w/o BT - may be a better option? Connected to an free standing quality BT.
I really like the WS420 for what it does. But it is cheaply made and does not exude great quality at all! It's just that it is the only thing on the market that does ALL the things the WS420 does... for some reason!

--

 

[Mainah]

That's why the WS420 SQ(?) - w/o BT - may be a better option? Connected to an free standing quality BT.
I really like the WS420 for what it does. But it is cheaply made and does not exude great quality at all! It's just that it is the only thing on the market that does ALL the things the WS420 does... for some reason!

--

You make a good point. I don't know what the chipset is in the 420bt and WS does not list a2dp, aptx etc. so safe to say probably not 4.1 or better. Wireless tech is going to continue to change. BT 5.0 devices are are hitting the market now but hold off on those as many are not BT 5.0 certified but rather just "compliant". The Fusion and JL units do have a lot to offer from multiple zones to 4.0v plus pre-outs and N2k connectivity. I will give a slight edge to JL only because you can trust all of their ratings and testing. As an example the reasons a JL amp costs more than WS for Fusion amp for the same true rms output is because the JL marine amps are fully sealed. The Fusion and WS amps only seal the switches and pots and just make sure the rest of the chassis is water resistant (no open holes) and that the board is conformal coated. JL is of course the extreme and the the other two perfectly fine for most marine applications. Car amps on the other hand have open holes in the chassis, exposed pots, and frequently are not conformal coated boards.

Putting aside the environmental robustness of JL the newest Fusion ra770 is quite a tech beast. AirPlay will deliver better sound quality then BT because the signal is sent over wifi which is much higher bandwidth and does not need to be compressed as much as BT. Of course is has nearly the latest BT tech too. If I was in salt air/water full-time I would certainly go JL if not then Fusion (may be just as good as JL at this point) would probably be my choice.

I am a bit skeptical of the universal bluetooth receivers. Most likely have headphone level output which is far less than line level output. This means that the compressed signal it is receiving gets plugged into something like a ws420 and then that compressed and a bit noisy signal gets processed and amplified before going out to the amps where the signal including the distortion and noise gets amplified again. Basically an extra hop vs. direct to headunit/preamp bluetooth.

Not sure what I am going to do when I upgrade. I really want to bypass the pa4a as well but not sure what I am going to do from a headunit/preamp perspective. For anyone who does please post what you did and how it worked out.

 

[Jaylex]

Does something like this help any...I cant tell if the specs are that much better than the Polk.

http://www.jlaudio.com/mbt-rx-marine-audio-bluetooth-receiver-91126

 

[DJMattyT]

That device will plug into the auxiliary input. I had that in my old boat. I was thinking of adding this to the Polk system but still thinking a seperate radio would be better
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_13698103/JL-Audio-FiX-86.html?awkw=41355968089&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=102806273185&awdv=m&awug=9004541&gclid=CjwKCAjwgabeBRBuEiwACD4R5qSKelNqR6wSXrpNhvAD_fsJiEmTylU-FPv8HdhqkZ5jUyHHeaqe8RoCu2AQAvD_BwE

 

[Mainah]

Does something like this help any...I cant tell if the specs are that much better than the Polk.

http://www.jlaudio.com/mbt-rx-marine-audio-bluetooth-receiver-91126

It does have a qualcom BT chip with aptX but only 2v rms output. Not really an upgrade.

That device will plug into the auxiliary input. I had that in my old boat. I was thinking of adding this to the Polk system but still thinking a seperate radio would be better
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_13698103/JL-Audio-FiX-86.html?awkw=41355968089&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=102806273185&awdv=m&awug=9004541&gclid=CjwKCAjwgabeBRBuEiwACD4R5qSKelNqR6wSXrpNhvAD_fsJiEmTylU-FPv8HdhqkZ5jUyHHeaqe8RoCu2AQAvD_BwE

That won’t help as the Polk will still be the control unit. That Fusion ra770 from your first post accomplishes everything you want in a single unit. I know I put the other options out there but after much back and forth this is likley the best for you.

 

[DJMattyT]

That won’t help as the Polk will still be the control unit. That Fusion ra770 from your first post accomplishes everything you want in a single unit. I know I put the other options out there but after much back and forth this is likley the best for you.

That’s the exact unit I’m looking at, that and one controller on the swimplatform. The phone app can adjust the different zones and etc. so I don’t need anything at the helm but my phone