Furrion Stereo Upgrade: A Sound Choice

[Snackchaser]

I’ve never liked Furrion entertainment center, it’s not user friendly and the front panel is difficult to read in low light. The tiny remote is absolutely terrible, and the larger upgrade remote isn't much better.  I usually control it with the phone app when I remember where to find it, for some reason they called it "ES Control,” and it constantly drops out.  The tech is outdated.

Iv’e wanted to upgrade it for years, but never found a unit that met my requirements and justified the expense:

• Has to fit into the existing cutout
• Controls that are intuitive and easy-to-read
• Decent remote control
• HDMI ARC ports on front and back (not the cheap HDMI pass-through ports)
• Current Bluetooth technology
• Two speaker zones
• Cost under $200

I found IRV Technology’s model IRV62 for a $180, and it had everything I wanted.   https://a.co/d/0dODdwBi  The controls couldn’t be simpler or easier to read.  It does have a few less features than the Furrion, but nothing that will be missed.  Like only 2 speaker zones compared to Furrion’s 3 and the Optical audio port that caused horrible sounding audio phasing issues between TV and stereo speakers.

The IVR62 was a close fit on paper.  But unfortunately Oliver had cut an oversized opening for the Furrion and miss-drilled extra mounting holes.  Consequently, the new faceplate didn’t quite cover the extra holes, and the new mounting holes were on the very edge of the cutout.  This was resolved with white JB weld on the edge of the oversized cutout to strengthen the screw holes, and I made a thin 3-D printed bezel that covers the extra holes.  It’s not even noticeable.  The print file is available if anyone has the same problem, or I made extra bezels if anyone needs one.

The rest of the installation was easy, although it took a minute to figure out how the Furrion was mounted.  There are 4 screws behind top and bottom trim pieces.  These trims have small notches on the ends where they can be popped off with a screwdriver.

It’s highly recommended to identify and mark each of the 4 speaker cables before cutting the connections.  Use the wire color code legend on the back of the Furrion case to identify the right rear, left rear, right front, and left front.   Also the IRV’s yellow “Bat” wire and the fused red “+12” wire are both connected to the Olivers hot wire, which was purple in my case.  Other than that, the wiring is straight forward.

The new stereo is so much easier to use, it works seamlessly with Bluetooth and the TV, and it sounds better too.  I’ll be using it more often now that I don’t need a flashlight and reading glasses to operate it.

Cheers!  Geoff

Edited 16 hours ago by Snackchaser

[routlaw]

I totally agree though our Furrion unit is probably older than yours but regardless these things could have only been made by a very troubled mind. Effectively we never use ours, never watch TV while out in the Oliver and radio reception is near non existent in places where we usually are at. If it weren't for creating an ugly gapping hole I would have taken the thing out years ago. Looks like you found an excellent alternative. Looks nicer too.

Edited 5 hours ago by routlaw

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, routlaw said:

Effectively we never use ours, never watch TV while out in the Oliver and radio reception is near non existent in places where we usually are at.

Same for us re the radio, though we stream TV, news and pickleball matches, movies shows often and have added Samsung TV and soundbar which has far superior sound.

I would not replace the radio merely for slightly improved functionality but it would have to look much better. Exchanging one ugly black box for another is not for me. Took a quick look online and they all seem to be BLACK. I'd buy a white or light gray model. Also, I've been meaning to change out those black speaker grills with something lighter in color too. Please let me know is anybody finds a better looking product!

Rob, with all the adventurous mods you've made 😎, you could remove your radio and create a small cabinet. Remove the speakers and cover with trim plates flush to the ceiling, being much less noticeable.

[routlaw]

I have thought about doing just that, remove radio and create small cabinet or something else more useful. Just now turned off the AC breaker bar for the old WH and unscrewed the black wire and capped it off per your suggestion. Feels much better knowing there isn't a live circuit laying dormant at the back of the basement. While I'm still recuperating from knee surgery 10 weeks ago considering changing out the old kitchen faucet and maybe even sink too. 

I would love to change the old Suburban furnace as well, just haven't found anything that would fit. The Fogatti is much nicer, more efficient but from what I can tell would never fit into the Oliver and if it did man what a major project that would be. Enough of that taking this thread off topic from the OP hifi change out. 

Rustoleum does make a very nice white paint that one could paint those speaker grills with. I've used it and it's very durable paint and the spray cap puts out a very nice even spray unlike so many of those other spray cans. You can find it Lowes. Might be a lot cheaper and easier in the long run rather than replacing the grills.