Okay, I am lazy, I am not a stereo expert but I know a little. I figure alot of you guys out there have done hours upon hours of research in what is good, etc. I searched a bit but didnt really find much, if I missed a thread, please let me know. <BR> <BR>I have an 01 X-Star, stock stereo (I believe). The stereo is starting to malfunction and piss me off. <BR> <BR>Here are my requirements: <BR>Ability to connect MP3 player to the front of the deck <BR> <BR>Connect to two amps - I have two amps (sorry as of this post, I dont know how big they are, I believe they are stock) <BR> <BR>Connect to the remote I have at the steering wheel (Clarion stock) <BR> <BR>CD Player that plays MP3s <BR> <BR>Optional features <BR>Transom remote <BR>XM compatibility <BR>(Not sure what other features exist) <BR> <BR>Any help would be incredible. Thanks in advance. <BR> <BR> <BR>

What exactly is your question? Are you going to buy a new receiver?

yes

I think you're going to have to go clarion because the remote you have on your steering wheel is proprietary to clarion head units. <BR> <BR>If you were not tied to the clarion remote, then I would recommend a Sony HU. It doesn't have a front aux in for the MP3 player, but for 20 bucks you can get a Y cable to connect your MP3 player to the Auxilary (aux) input on the rear of the unit, and just run the cable to a convienient location in the boat.

someone told me that you can get stereos with detachable face you can load up with MP3s too. Anyone had any experience with those?

Okay, I guess I will do the research and post my results here. So far I know the following: <BR> <BR>Possible options <BR>All the head units I looked at provided 50wx4 power. <BR>Most (if not all) manufacturers have proprietary wired remotes <BR>Ive read that the power output is really negligible since I will be using 2 amps to power all my speakers. <BR>Reads CDR disks (make sure they are the disks you use, ie +R or -R) <BR>30-second CD buffer (prevents skipping) - I have no experience with this feature to say whether or not it works but it sounds good <BR>Play MP3 files on a CD <BR>Low battery indicator - Audible sound when battery approaches 10V, under 10, it shuts off (this feature is huge in my opinion, Ive killed batteries several times running the stereo) <BR>AUX port for external MP3 player (front preferred) <BR> <BR>I have a Clarion stereo in my X-Star so I looked at Clarion first so i wouldnt have to replace my wired remote. Bottom line, I cant find squat on Clarions website, Ill have to call them. <BR> <BR>Another wakeworld member suggested MB Quart. They have a head unit (NRA-450) that has all the avaiilable options above. <BR>Price 399.99 + 140 for the remote and wire (from Overtons) <BR> <BR>Some others recommended Sony. I looked at the CDX-F50M. <BR>I didnt read anywhere in the details that it buffered the CDs for anti-skip but it had some other skip prevention methods that dont sound as good to me. <BR>Also couldnt find any info on the low battery indicator which I think is a really nice feature of the MB Quart. <BR>Other than that it looks like it has everything else. <BR>Price 199.99 + 149.00 for the remote (didnt specify if it came with long enough cable, that was extra with the MB Quart). <BR> <BR>Any opinions or comments?