LD50
Active Member
Thought I would pass this along for general knowledge and to see if anyone else has additional information or experience. I started out today with the install of my PMX1-R remote, which went well and I'm pleased with the results (pics attached).
Unfortunately, while I was doing this, I discovered a couple of things that I hadn't expected and will cause me to re-evaluate how I want to proceed with the rest of my upgrade plans. For reference, I have the Vivid UX display to control boat functions and stereo. Prior to this, I had done my research to find that the Vivid screen is tied into the Rockford PMX-8BB head unit which is mounted under the helm. Today, I discovered it is not the PMX-8BB. It looks almost identical except for a couple of details that turn out to be significant for my intended purposes. Rockford has no information on the head unit that is mounted under the helm and I'm assuming it is a one off, made specifically for Bennington. The big differences are that this unit only has 2 zones for output compared to the 4 for the 8BB. Instead of having the CAN BUS interface of the 8BB, it has and NMEA output. The weird thing about the NMEA output is that it does not tie in to the NMEA switch manifold that is under the helm. The best I could determine is that it connects directly to the Vivid screens and the manual stereo control on the dash.
My original plans were to add a 5 channel amp to run the 4 interior speakers and an additional sub. I already have the factory Rockford sub. Had the head unit actually been the 8BB, I was planning to use all 4 zones. 2 zones would have been used for the interior speakers and factory sub. The third zone would have been to a 4 channel amp that was bridged to run the 2 rear facing speakers. The fourth zone would have been dedicated to the sub channel on the 5 channel amp. This setup would have given a ton of flexibility to tune the interior zones as well as correctly level the outputs of 2 disparate subwoofers.
My first option, and least likely at this point, would be to replace the head unit with an actual 8BB. This would also need Rockfords CANBUS interface and would cost a little over $1K. I'd also need to speak to someone at Rockford and/or Bennington to see if the interface will function in the same manner as the current unit and send the appropriate information to the screens while also allowing the physical stereo control to function. I don't suspect I'll find anyone willing knowledgeable enough or willing to get into the details of this.
Second option would be to completely separate the stereo from the Vivid system. This would still involve buying an 8BB. I would also involve replacing the factory manual control with an additional Rockford remote. Cost would be similar. Another negative would be the lack of having the stereo info on the Vivid displays. Not huge, but I'd rather not spend that kind of money and lose features.
Looks like I'll be going the route of running the 5 channel amp as a 2 channel on zone 1 and the bridged 4 channel on zone 2. I'll need to split the RCA's for the sub outs to run the factory sub amp and the one I'm going to add. Lastly, I'll need to add a 2 channel line level controller to the RCA lines that go to the subs to ensure I don't overdrive the factory unit and burn it up.
I mainly wanted to throw this out there for anyone who is going down the same path that I am.
Pics of the remote install:
Unfortunately, while I was doing this, I discovered a couple of things that I hadn't expected and will cause me to re-evaluate how I want to proceed with the rest of my upgrade plans. For reference, I have the Vivid UX display to control boat functions and stereo. Prior to this, I had done my research to find that the Vivid screen is tied into the Rockford PMX-8BB head unit which is mounted under the helm. Today, I discovered it is not the PMX-8BB. It looks almost identical except for a couple of details that turn out to be significant for my intended purposes. Rockford has no information on the head unit that is mounted under the helm and I'm assuming it is a one off, made specifically for Bennington. The big differences are that this unit only has 2 zones for output compared to the 4 for the 8BB. Instead of having the CAN BUS interface of the 8BB, it has and NMEA output. The weird thing about the NMEA output is that it does not tie in to the NMEA switch manifold that is under the helm. The best I could determine is that it connects directly to the Vivid screens and the manual stereo control on the dash.
My original plans were to add a 5 channel amp to run the 4 interior speakers and an additional sub. I already have the factory Rockford sub. Had the head unit actually been the 8BB, I was planning to use all 4 zones. 2 zones would have been used for the interior speakers and factory sub. The third zone would have been to a 4 channel amp that was bridged to run the 2 rear facing speakers. The fourth zone would have been dedicated to the sub channel on the 5 channel amp. This setup would have given a ton of flexibility to tune the interior zones as well as correctly level the outputs of 2 disparate subwoofers.
My first option, and least likely at this point, would be to replace the head unit with an actual 8BB. This would also need Rockfords CANBUS interface and would cost a little over $1K. I'd also need to speak to someone at Rockford and/or Bennington to see if the interface will function in the same manner as the current unit and send the appropriate information to the screens while also allowing the physical stereo control to function. I don't suspect I'll find anyone willing knowledgeable enough or willing to get into the details of this.
Second option would be to completely separate the stereo from the Vivid system. This would still involve buying an 8BB. I would also involve replacing the factory manual control with an additional Rockford remote. Cost would be similar. Another negative would be the lack of having the stereo info on the Vivid displays. Not huge, but I'd rather not spend that kind of money and lose features.
Looks like I'll be going the route of running the 5 channel amp as a 2 channel on zone 1 and the bridged 4 channel on zone 2. I'll need to split the RCA's for the sub outs to run the factory sub amp and the one I'm going to add. Lastly, I'll need to add a 2 channel line level controller to the RCA lines that go to the subs to ensure I don't overdrive the factory unit and burn it up.
I mainly wanted to throw this out there for anyone who is going down the same path that I am.
Pics of the remote install:
