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M Series with Vessel Control

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Doc2485

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Hi to all! Just purchased a 2026 Bennington M Series Sport Fastback and it has the Vessel command center but I did not include a PMX-1 head unit on the order because I thought why do I need that or spend an additional $1k when Vessel supposed to do it all for me? Well I went wrong so far I think.... the boat has the Rockford Fosgate system (which is very very good!) and the amp and all the speakers installed in it. So I wanted a remote control on the back of the boat when we are all in water to control the radio so I purchased the Rockford Fosgate PMX-BTUR to do that and it will NOT pair with the Vessel at all? It will ONLY pair to a phone? We do not use a phone all the time for music... we use usb flash drive and FM radio some too and this is where I think I went wrong on the order? Can a PMX-1 be purchased and just plug it in under the helm to the Vessel control and make it all work? Or does someone else have a better solution to make it all work like I want it too?

Note: I am getting NO help at all from Bennington on this matter and no solutions to resolve this.

Thx!
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Yes I did that too and they know nothing at all about a Vessel center in a boat and keep saying contact Bennington.... useless circles as usual with any support anymore.
 
Who makes the vessel command center? If that is your current audio source there is absolutely no chance a head unit will just "plug in" . You will have to do some digging under the helm
 
By vessel command, are you referring to the Vivid Ux touch screen that controls all of the boat functions? If so, that's made by Medallion. Medallion makes displays and gauges for a lot of marine applications. I'm guessing it's one of their smart displays, because those accept a CAN which is needed for the head unit interface. The problem is that they may not be able to help you much either. I had looked it up before and no longer remember the name of the company, but Bennington contracted with another party to create the GUI and programming for the unit specifically for Bennington.

If you have the Vivid display, your head unit is actually a Rockford PMX-8bb. It's attached to the inside front of the helm and the Vivid display is just a wired remote. The PMX can accept up to 3 remotes. I haven't looked closely enough to figure out if the small Medallion volume knob and stereo control next to the Vivid is a second remote for the head unit or if it wires into the Vivid display and is a secondary control for that. It is Medallion control so I'm guessing it connects to the display, but I could easily be wrong.

Your remote option is the PMX-1r, which is compatible with the 8bb. To run the remote to the rear of the boat, you'd need one of Rockford's 13 pin extension cables. If the Medallion volume control is run directly to the 8bb as remote, you'd also need the 13 pin "y" adaptor to add the additional remote.

I started looking at this stuff before we bought ours because I knew the factory stereo was not going to satisfy me. I've also owned other boats that use proprietary display systems and try to make it a closed system so it's very difficult to modify afterwards. Caveat - I have not done this myself, yet. This is the conclusion I've come to from looking at the wiring and components and doing some research. I've got the PMX-1r and parts, just waiting for the off season to start upgrading.

I think the Vivid display leaves out a lot of adjustability the head unit is capable of. There is the possibility that the added adjustability is there but not visible unless you have the additional upgraded amplifier and M2 speakers though. Once I bypass the amplifier in the 8bb, add amps and a sub, I guess I'll find out. If I don't get the results I'm looking for and can't get support to assist with changes, I'll probably just remove the Vivid display from the loop and run one PMX-1r on the dash and another in the rear.
 
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Yes it is called Vivid display too. Yes I agree... certain devices will not pair with the Vivid but will pair fine with PMX-1 head unit. I REALLY wish I would have had them add it in to the boat and I would not be having all these issues with it? I am not for sure if I can get Bennington at plant to add it in or try and see if dealership could do it???

If the PMX-1r would work for the remote.... would just have to figure out how to get it back there with wire and where to mount it to access and look good? Uhmmmm

And thank you very much for all this valuable info!!!!!!
 
I also purchased a L series swing back and realized I wanted a rear remote shortly after owning. The girls love to sit on the back lounger with guys in the water and it’s nice to not need to have your phone or get up to change song or volume. My boat came with a PMX-2 which has the 13pin out for a future remote.

I bought the PMX-1R and a PMX25C cable to have a little extra to get from under the helm to the swing back arm. Worst part was waiting 4months the for Bennington to send me the molded arm panel that fits my boat. I prefer wired connections over Bluetooth all day but to each their own.
 

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Yes mine does not have a PMX-1 or 2 on it.... that I highly regret not ordering correctly....it only has the Vivid Vessel that does the radio.
 
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