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Kicker KMC 1 versus KMC 10 stereo

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JPL

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About ready to pulll the trigger on my new Bennington.  Those of you with the KMC standard radio, do you wish you had the upgraded KMC10?  Any advantages to the 10?  Not sure it is worth the upgrade cost.
 
You should PM Goldnrod24 as I know he has had both. I have KMC20. I had the stalled so I could have SiriusXM. I love the system so much better than my previous Benny.
 
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If you do some searches in here, there are a few threads talking about upgrades that hit on stereo's, and going from the KMC 1 to the KMC 10.  We are new, and have a boat on order, so no expert.  However, the just of what I got from all of them was to upgrade to the KMC 10, that it is a big upgrade.  Unfortunately, I do not recall all the details everyone spoke about.   :wacko:
 
My preference is no stereo, no speakers. Why? Can't hear it when your moving, not on when your parked because you have to talk over the noise. Seals around helm opening leaks water into the helm storage. Just more trouble than it worth. The radios are easily disabled by corrosion. Took it out of my older boat and pop riveted and aluminum plate over the hole in the helm.
 
guardrail22 said:
My preference is no stereo, no speakers. Why? Can't hear it when your moving, not on when your parked because you have to talk over the noise. Seals around helm opening leaks water into the helm storage. Just more trouble than it worth. The radios are easily disabled by corrosion. Took it out of my older boat and pop riveted and aluminum plate over the hole in the helm.
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I have to say. We can hear ours fine.. My 2006 Bennington you could not hear, but KMC we can hear it easily while cruising without maxing the volume.
 
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Alicedream said:
You should PM Goldnrod24 as I know he has had both. I have KMC20. I hD installed so I could have SiriusXM. I love the system so much better than my previous Benny.
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Indeed.
 
JPL said:
About ready to pulll the trigger on my new Bennington.  Those of you with the KMC standard radio, do you wish you had the upgraded KMC10?  Any advantages to the 10?  Not sure it is worth the upgrade cost.
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Worth it.
 
Yes, the interface is more user-friendly. But the sound is stronger, too.
 
Having had both, Randy's probably an authority on the issue and if I were ordering a boat, I'd probably go with the upgrade just because I love my music and in the back of my mind, I'd likely always regret not doing it.


That said, I was pleasantly surprised with the basic radio (KMC1 w/six speakers). It is loud enough to hear clearly while under way and can really kick it out while beached. It doesn't have the bass response that you'd get with a separate sub-woofer, but all in all it sounds good enough that I am not compelled to tear it out and start over. 
 
I'm on my 3rd Bennington in 7 years. We went basic radio on the first and regretted it. Went all out on the 2nd and glad we did. Sounded great but the sub was placed under the helm. Not a good idea as it rattled the hell out of the helm. They had to put sound insulation inside the helm to stop most of the rattling. Radio head died late last season but it was covered under warranty. On the boat we just ordered I went with the upgraded radio, wet sounds and rear speaker upgrade on the swing back. I'm sure it will sound even better as the sub is no longer located under the helm so I should be able to turn the base up more than a quarter. More importantly if anything goes wrong with it in the next 10 years it's covered under warranty. If you do the upgrade yourself it may sound a little better but as others have said marine electronics don't last all that long and you won't have a 10 year warranty on aftermarket equipment. 
 
I thought  the new boats have the KMC2? Looks the same. Output wattage is same as KMC10 but the 10 has some extra bells and whistles plus the cool screen !! I upgraded as I liked the screen design and battery warning. Not sure if the KMC2 has that feature. They both still install into a 3" diameter hole, but it looks like the Bennington helm trim is molded for one or the other. 
 
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I really like the Kicker KMC10.  I pretty much use it with my IPOD (older IPhone actually) and it integrates perfectly.  I routed the cable from the dash area to under the helm so it's nice and stealth.  The Kicker deck also charges the IPOD while it plays.  I've added two remotes to mine as well.  KRC-15 (like the dash remote) to the front area and the PXIRCX on the rear near the fuel fill.  Both were a snap to install.  My stereo came with the Kicker 10" sub under the front starboard seat.  Sounds fine up front but it was lacking any bass in the rear so I added second sub (Pioneer 10" shallow mount) under the club seating.  This 2nd sub ties into the amp with the original sub.  Since the Kicker and Pioneer subs are 4 ohm, the two together make a 2 ohm load which the amp can handle with no problem.  The stereo actually sounds quite good with these additions and some tweaking of the Kicker amp.


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Very nice, Havasu Randy! Nothing like kicking it out... :)
 
Thanks.  I'm not a huge Kicker fan or anything but their stuff seems to work fine for my uses.  I've had pretty big stereos in my previous boats and I wanted to keep it clean and simple on the Benny.
 
I picked up the KMC 15 remote to add to mine when it comes in. Wondered if the PXIRCX worked with the KMC 10. I want to grab one of those also. Thanks for the pics and confirmation Randy. 
 
No problem.  Both just plug in under the helm to the stereo deck harness.  Very simple.
 
Havasu said:
No problem.  Both just plug in under the helm to the stereo deck harness.  Very simple.
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Yeah, still gotta grab a remote cable (or 2) and a Y cable if I add the PXIRCX. Panthergirl asked why I need two remotes ........ I asked "why not?" .....  :lol:
 
I'll double check but I don't recall buying any additional cables.  Each remote came with an adequate cable (length) and it just plugs in.  If I remember right, the KRC-15 has a Y on the cable already so you can just keep adding the same type of remote as many times as you want.  The other remote plugs into a different harness plug.  I can check the boat tomorrow to confirm but that's what I remember when doing the install.  Plug and play for both remotes.  And yes, you can never have too many stereo remotes.
 
Just checked the box and just a pigtail off remote. Maybe you bought a kit? I got the remote for $60 or so from Amazon Warehouse Deals. I know everywhere I looked it was just remote for $99 and noted requires extension cable. 
 
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