Clarion CMS2

Great Unit

I installed this unit on my 4 seat sandrail and LOVE IT I use the usb port most of the time and it is great. I have 4 6.5" kicker speakers with no amp it is llud and clear

So far extremely pleased

I was looking to replace the Audio system in my 2013 Honda Gold Wing F6B. I had already replaced the front speakers with Polk Audio MM6501s, installed a NVX MPVA4 amplifier and added a JL Audio Subwoofer. I decided to go ahead and replace the rest.

I researched the available "Hide Away" marine units. Why can't any of them have steering wheel inputs? Rockford has a unit it says will be available in Sept that supposedly has steering wheel inputs. It is projected to cost quite a bit more and again, it isn't available now.

The unit seems reasonably built and quality is good. It comes with quite a few connection options. I am not using any of the speaker level outputs so I can not evaluate those. Set up of audio settings is fairly straight forward. Not an abundance of settings, but enough with subwoofer level, loudness, Low Pass Filter setting for sub. It would have been nice to include a high pass filter for the other outputs, but that can be accomplished on most amps if using one.

Bluetooth pairing to my Droid RazrM was simple and works well. I haven't used it much yet, but did play around enough to appreciate that it worked well and sound quality was decent. I was able skip tracks pause and play etc...

One of my concerns before purchasing, was how well the display would work in direct sunlight. Well, it does pretty decent. I do think it would be better if the background lighting of the screen was not blue but gray or an amber. But overall, I was able to quickly glance at the display and read what was displayed.

The result is I am thoroughly pleased. The OEM electronics had USB input but it was picky on the format of the content. I can say so far everything on the flash drive I have loaded plays. I also took advantage of the SiriusXM radio ability . Set up was easy, which is more a function of SiriusXM. The only gripe I might have with the Sirius is that the volume is much lower requiring me to raise the volume substantially to match volumes I get with the flash drive etc...

Over all, I am very pleased. The sound quality is a big jump. It performs with much cleaner stereo separation than the OEM electronics and the available sources like USB, SiriusXM etc... are really nice for the price.

I can't speak to the durability as I've only took it on a 350 mile ride just yesterday.

Clarion CMS2 Marine Receiver

I chose the CMS2 when it came time to replace the radio in my boat primarily because it receives NOAA weather channels. Since the boat has no other warning receivers I want to know something about severity when I see skies darkening. Waiting for an alert to be issued often is too late to make appropriate navigational decisions but tuning in the weather channel provides some advance knowledge of storm direction and wind-speeds.
Concerning speaker output, I use only two channels; I am not using the rear channel or the sub woofer outputs and no audio amps. There’s plenty of power to hear the radio when the boat is under moderate power at ¾ volume using only two speakers.
Concerning reception, the CMS2 will tune in local stations only or distant stations. I find the reception to be excellent on all bands using a 24” whip antenna and the 1½” square SiriusXM square magnetic antenna. All bands lock-on without signal loss.
Additional inputs include USB, AUX (RCA) input and Bluetooth. Bluetooth however does not include hands-free calling, there is no remote mic. Bluetooth is limited to streaming audio only.

So far extremely pleased

I was looking to replace the Audio system in my 2013 Honda Gold Wing F6B. I had already replaced the front speakers with Polk Audio MM6501s, installed a NVX MPVA4 amplifier and added a JL Audio Subwoofer. I decided to go ahead and replace the rest.

I researched the available "Hide Away" marine units. Why can't any of them have steering wheel inputs? Rockford has a unit it says will be available in Sept that supposedly has steering wheel inputs. It is projected to cost quite a bit more and again, it isn't available now.

The unit seems reasonably built and quality is good. It comes with quite a few connection options. I am not using any of the speaker level outputs so I can not evaluate those. Set up of audio settings is fairly straight forward. Not an abundance of settings, but enough with subwoofer level, loudness, Low Pass Filter setting for sub. It would have been nice to include a high pass filter for the other outputs, but that can be accomplished on most amps if using one.

Bluetooth pairing to my Droid RazrM was simple and works well. I haven't used it much yet, but did play around enough to appreciate that it worked well and sound quality was decent. I was able skip tracks pause and play etc...

One of my concerns before purchasing, was how well the display would work in direct sunlight. Well, it does pretty decent. I do think it would be better if the background lighting of the screen was not blue but gray or an amber. But overall, I was able to quickly glance at the display and read what was displayed.

The result is I am thoroughly pleased. The OEM electronics had USB input but it was picky on the format of the content. I can say so far everything on the flash drive I have loaded plays. I also took advantage of the SiriusXM radio ability . Set up was easy, which is more a function of SiriusXM. The only gripe I might have with the Sirius is that the volume is much lower requiring me to raise the volume substantially to match volumes I get with the flash drive etc...

Over all, I am very pleased. The sound quality is a big jump. It performs with much cleaner stereo separation than the OEM electronics and the available sources like USB, SiriusXM etc... are really nice for the price.

I can't speak to the durability as I've only took it on a 350 mile ride just yesterday.

This stereo is awesome!

I installed the black box down below, which hides it nicely, and put the control unit in the cockpit of my sailboat for easy access. I also added the MF1 wireless remote so I can change the music and volume while swimming. This unit with a pair of Polk Audio speakers rocks!

By Chris on August 12, 2016 Verified purchase

Perfect boat radio

Love this radio. Came stock on my boat . Bought this unit to upgrade to Bluetooth. Old radio is 6 years old and still works great. To stand up to 6 years of being out in the weather is why I stuck with clarion . Simple and withstands summer and winter uncovered

Good sound

Bought the unit so I could hide most of the unit in a secure place in the dash. Having separate control unit made this easy. Have it on a Slingshot which is always open to outside. Does every thing I wanted good sound and music up to 70 mpg with no other amp.

I replaced a Jensen

I replaced a Jensen satellite radio that had died with the Clarion CMS2.
The Clarion is a nice unit, the Sirius setup was a breeze. The radio works well. The controls are not very intuitive so leave the manual on board. The Jensen had a protective cover that fit over the remote head and I wish this unit had one as well. All-in-all it is a good unit for the money.