www.iFourWinns.com

I was at a local stereo shop today at lunch trying to come up with a plan to upgrade our boat's stereo. I want to upgrade the head unit and helm remote and add an amplifier. I would be happy with just having the amp power the 4 cockpit speakers as these 4 cockpit speakers were just upgraded last season and I don't need extra volume for the 4 galley speakers.

Anyways, during my discussion with the stereo shop they wondered if my 2001 328 had a factory amp since 8 speakers are being used and I am not sure. The factory head unit is the Sony CDX C5005.

For you guys that have done stereo upgrades on your Vista's that have 4 galley and 4 cockpit speakers did you find a factory amp or are all speakers simply powered from the head unit? My boat is still under shrink wrap for a while yet and the stereo shop was thinking about using the existing amp for the galley speakers (if there is one) and add a new amp for the 4 helm speakers.

Mike.

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Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

I have a 2004 268 Vista. I believe I only have two galley speakers and I have two in the cockpit. No amp came with my set-up. I added 4 6x9 speakers in the cockpit, powered by a 1000 watt amp, mounted behind the refridgerator and two 12" sub-woofers in the cockpit powered by a seperate 600 watt amp, also mounted behind my fridge. I kept the original head unit and there are two switches to turn off the amps, thereby allowing me to use strictly the original system when just sitting around. It is insanely loud, crystal clear and easy to hear while under way. I had to add a second house battery, however, for those long days in the cove pumping out the tunes.
When I originally dropped the boat off, I think the plan was to put in one 10" woofer, but I also gave the guy the go-ahead to play around, as long as it looked good. If the full wrap-around seating is installed in the cockpit, the only thing you can see is one 6x9 and one round original 5 1/4. He did a great job. To be honest, I don't know much about this stuff, but I am very happy with the work and the results......and so are my friends!!

If the cockpit speakers get pretty loud it's possible there's already an amp. Our 348 has one that drives the 4 speakers and subwoofer up in the cockpit. The four down in the cabin are driven straight from the head unit itself. Cockpit is driven via the 'rear' line output (to the amp) on the head unit, cabin via the 'front' speaker outs. The amp is located inside the same cabinet as the air conditioning gear. I believe some models would also hide is under/behind the couch in the cabin.

Bear in mind whatever system you go with the remotes are never interchangeable between brands. Some compatibility exists within a brand, but not all features get supported. For example, some older Clarion remotes can still control newer head units, but only the features the older radio supported. I've never dealt with Sony gear so I have no idea if they have similar support. Also consider remotes often use different sizes/shape of holes.

Where ever you put the amp just make sure it has good fresh air ventilation. Heat will cause an amp to cut off and eventually die.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I'm about positive that mine did not come with an amp. When I did my upgrade a couple of years ago I put one in.

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2001 328 Vista

Previous Boats:
2004 Sea Ray 220 Select

I'm 94.78% certain that there is no factory amp in a 2001 328 Vista. Unless the previous owner had one installed aftermarket. All the 1999 thru 2002 328's I have looked at over the last 6 years, none had a factory amp.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

I have a 2006 288 and everything from the factory is Clarion. There is a huge amp under the captains helm seat that powers the 4 speakers in the cabin and the 4 speakers with tweeters and a 6 or 8 inch subwoofer. So far, I have had to replace the remote control on the swim platform. I believe that Clarion makes a good system for the marine environment. The sound is great.

Hope this helps.

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R Yot 2
Fairhope, AL
2006 Vista 288

I spent some time last night sorting though all the documentation that came with our boat. The previous owner did a real good job keeping everything from when he purchased the boat new.

I was looking to see if there was further information on the factory stereo wiring. I found the owners operation manual for the Sony CDX C5005 Head unit and also a operation manual for a Sony Stereo Power Amplifier model XM-754HX. The date on the printed operation manual for this amp was before our 328 was built so it would be possible this could be a factory installed amp, or the original owner had in installed?

Options for the stereo in the 328 Vista for model year 2001 was the swim platform wired remote and 10 disc CD player and we have both. No mention of the option for an amp though.

I want the factory head unit changed regardless, but guess I need to do a search when we get our shrink off to determine for sure the status of amp or no amp.

I will update this thread when I find out.

Mike.

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Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

Decision,
Looking at my original packing list, I had the same Sony head unit and CD changer. I didn't see mention of an amp anywhere. When I did my install a couple of years ago I used:

Head Unit: Kenwood kdcx493
Amplifier: JL G4500
Subwoofer: Kenwood KFC-W254MR 10 Inch marine subwoofer
Cockpit Speakers: 2 pair of MB Quart Nautic NKA116

I removed the 10 disc cd changer and mounted an ipod holder in it's place. I had the option of mounting the ipod at the helm, but decided to keep in the cabin. I can control it with the remote at the helm. I think I'm leaving something out, but will take a look this weekend. Let me know if I can help out in any way.

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2001 328 Vista

Previous Boats:
2004 Sea Ray 220 Select

Did you do your own stereo work or did you have yours done?

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Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

I had someone do it, since I wanted it done right and fast. I had it done the day after delivery. Since it was my first cruiser, I was not familiar how everything was setup.

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2001 328 Vista

Previous Boats:
2004 Sea Ray 220 Select

Thanks guys for the replies. I think I first need to get back on the boat and pull the existing head unit out to see how things are actually wired for the 8 speakes and determine if I have an existing amp or not.

We will start heading down to the boat to prepare for spring launch in mid April, so that will be my first opportunity to investigate.

Looking forward to getting back on the water, as we have pretty much had snow covering our grounds here this year since mid December.

Mike.

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Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

I don't have an answer to the amp question, but I just replaced the original Sony head unit (same as yours) with a Sony DSX-S100 unit that I purchased at Best Buy for about $140. This is the model that has an internal tray for an iPod or other USB device (though it won't read Rhapsody subscription music via the USB). It was nearly a straight swap from the original unit to the new one. The only thing is you have to make sure the two blue wires on the existing harness are spliced together....otherwise it's a simple matter of unhooking the old stereo and hooking up the new one. And as an added bonus the original helm remote works perfectly with the new unit.

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'01 Vista 298

Winedown,

That Sony unit looks good. I called Sony and their tech guy advised the newer Sony units should have the same wiring harness as my old factory Sony Head unit.

I like the looks of the Sony's and since the wiring harness should be the same I plan on purchasing a Sony unit. Apparently the new model year Sony head units are coming out within the next month so I'm going to look at the new units and then see which Sony unit I prefer.

We plan to have our 328 lifted back in the water for the second week of May so I have some time.

I'll be watching your thread on removing the factory 10 disc CD player.......

Thanks for the follow up.........

Mike.

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Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

Just a follow up on this thread.........

I did locate the stereo amp in our 328 Four Winns. As suggested above, it was located under our centre seat of our galley dinette table directly behind the intake grill of our air conditioner. It was a Sony XM-754HX.

Actually that location gives good air flow around the amp and there is nothing else in that whole cavity under that seat except the air conditioning duct tubing.

Now to decide if it would make sense to replace this amp (and what to replace it with) since this amp is around a 2001 model year? I imagine there is quite an improvement in the newer amps in terms of effeciency as compared to a 2001 model year.

Mike.

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Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

Hey Mike,

I just swapped out my sub woofer today for a heavier duty one we got as a freebie from a friend of Joyce's lol. Yes our amp is in that same spot I blew it up the weekend at Metro a few years ago and have since replaced it. I think you guys were walking by our boat when I was acting the fool with the music the weekend I killed it, lol.

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-JD, 2003 328 Vista