This is a review of the Garmin / FUSION Marine Stereos. The 3 radios MS-RA210, MS-RA670, MS-RA770 are compared side by side. For anyone wanting a marine grade radio to talk on NMEA 2000, FUSION (Garmin) makes some great radios. They are not waterproof but they are splash resistant (front face).
For Northern Comfort, I really only have a need for 2 zones, the cockpit and the cabin; but for larger boats with swim platforms, raised bridge helms, Fusion has some additional radio capabilities worth reviewing in the larger radios.
The three radios being compared here are:
Garmin / FUSION MS-RA210 https://www.garmin.com/en-CA/p/667552
Garmin / FUSION MS-RA670 https://www.garmin.com/en-CA/p/635318
Garmin / FUSION MS-RA770 https://www.garmin.com/en-CA/p/595303
To summarize these in the comparison, the RA770 is touch screen, the others are not. The RA210 has less power than the other 2. The 210 is 4 ohm and the other 2 radios can handle 2 ohm speaker systems – 2 ohm is inherently more efficient and louder. If you need PartyBus, then your boat must be large enough to warrant more than one radio, as PartyBus allows any radio to control the music; they run in sync. You can start the music in the cabin, and then change the tunes from the bridge deck. The RA770 has Wi-Fi streaming for those high fidelity music lovers. Wi-Fi has more bandwidth over Bluetooth, but all three radios can do Bluetooth music streaming.
All three radios can be software upgradeable and all three radios can be controlled by the Fusion-Link app.
All three are NMEA 2000 compatible and as such can be controlled and display album art etc. on the chart plotter. With Wi-Fi streaming your get album art etc, whereas with Bluetooth you don’t. All radios using USB directly connected iPods for example do display the album art and can navigate music folders on the NMEA 2000 bus.
Fusion MS-RA210 Unboxing Video on YouTube
Radio Comparison
 |  |  | |
| FUSION RADIO | MS-RA210 | MS-RA670 | MS-RA770 |
| Physical dimensions | 2.68″ x 6.18″ x 4.99″ (68 x 157 x 126.6 mm) | Stereo dimensions (H x W x D): 2.68″ x 6.18″ x 4.83″ (68 x 157 x 123 mm) | Stereo dimensions (H x W x D): 3.23″ x 7.56″ x 4.7″ (82 x 192 x 119.4 mm) |
| Water Rating | IPX6 and IPX7 (Front panel only, when properly installed) | IPX6 and IPX7 (Front panel only, when properly installed) | IPX6 and IPX7 (Front panel only, when properly installed) |
| Power input | 10.8-16 VDC | 10.8-16 VDC | 10.8-16 VDC |
| NMEA 2000 LEN | 1 (50 mA) | 1 (50 mA) | 1 (50 mA) |
| Bluetooth wireless range | Up to 30 ft (10 m) | Up to 30 ft (10 meters) | Up to 30 ft (10 meters) |
| Wireless frequencies/protocols | BLUETOOTH 2.4 GHz @ +12 dBm nominal ANT 2.4 GHz @ +7 dBm nominal | Bluetooth 2.4 GHz @ +13.29 dBm nominal ANT 2.4 GHz @ +6.92 dBm nominal | Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz @ +15 dBm nominal Bluetooth 2.4 GHz @ +10 dBm nominal ANT 2.4 GHz @ +4 dBm nominal |
| Compass-safe distance | 5.9″ (150 mm) | 7.87″ (200 mm) | 5.9″ (150 mm) |
| Stereo Feature | |||
| Display | 2.7″ optically bonded color LCD | 2.7″ optically bonded color LCD | 4.3″ capacitive touch glass color LCD |
| Built-in amplifier | Class-D (minimum 4 Ohm impedance) | Class-D (2 Ohm stereo-stable) | Class-D (2 Ohm stereo-stable) |
| Peak power | 200 W | 280 W | 280 W |
| PrRated power output (4 Ohm) | 26 W rms x 4 @ 14.4 V input < 10% THD | 26 W rms x 4 @ 14.4 V input < 10% THD | 26 W rms x 4 @ 14.4 V input < 10% THD |
| Built-in Digital Signal Processing | yes (with preconfigured DSP profiles) | yes (with preconfigured DSP profiles) | yes (with preconfigured DSP profiles) |
| PartyBus™-Network capabilities | yes (wired) | yes (wired or wireless) | |
| Fusion-Link™ control | yes (with MFD, smartphone and Garmin watch) | yes (with MFD, smartphone and Garmin watch) | yes(with MFD, smartphone and Garmin watch) |
| Multi-Zone™ technology | 2 zones | 3 zones | 4 zones |
| Built-in Wi-Fi | yes | ||
| Bluetooth wireless technology | yes | yes | yes |
| ANT wireless technology | yes | yes | yes |
| SiriusXM-ready | yes (requires SiriusXM Connect vehicle tuner) | yes (requires SiriusXM Connect vehicle tuner) | yes (requires SiriusXM Connect vehicle tuner) |
| DAB+ ready | yes (requires DAB100A antenna module) | yes (requires DAB100A antenna module) | yes (requires DAB100A antenna module) |
| Optical audio input | No | yes | yes |
| Software updates | USB | Over-the-air software updates via the Fusion-Link app*, USB | Over-the-air software updates via the Fusion-Link app, USB |
| Sources | AM / FM / Bluetooth / USB audio / iPhone / iPod / AUX x1 / MTP / SiriusXM-Ready (USA only, requires optional SiriusXM Connect vehicle tuner) / DAB+ ready (available in Europe and Australia only) | AM / FM / Bluetooth / Apple AirPlay 2* / digital optical input / USB audio / iPhone / iPod / AUX x1 / UPnP* / MTP / SiriusXM-Ready (USA only, requires optional SiriusXM Connect vehicle tuner) / DAB+ ready (available in Europe and Australia only) | AM / FM / Bluetooth / Apple AirPlay 2 / digital optical input / USB audio / iPhone / iPod / AUX x2 / UPnP / MTP / SiriusXM-Ready (USA only, requires optional SiriusXM Connect vehicle tuner) / DAB+ ready (available in Europe and Australia only) |
| Auxiliary input | One RCA input (AUX) | One RCA input (AUX) | Two RCA inputs (AUX1, AUX2) |
| Optical audio input | One digital optical input (SPDIF) port | One digital optical input (SPDIF) port | |
| Ethernet | One Ethernet port | One Ethernet port | |
| NMEA 2000 | One RCA input (AUX) | One NMEA 2000 port | One NMEA 2000 port |
| USB 2.0 | One USB 2.0 port | One USB 2.0 port | One USB 2.0 port |
| SiriusXM satellite radio | One SiriusXM port (requires SiriusXM Connect vehicle tuner, does not support traffic and weather) | One SiriusXM port (requires SiriusXM Connect vehicle tuner, does not support traffic and weather) | One SiriusXM port (requires SiriusXM Connect vehicle tuner, does not support traffic and weather) |
| AM/FM radio | One Motorola antenna connector port | One Motorola antenna connector port | One Motorola antenna connector port |
| Speaker | 4 speaker connections (2 zone amplified) | 4 x speaker connections (2 zone amplified) | 4 x speaker connections (2 zone amplified) |
| RCA Pre-out (left, right and subwoofer) | 2 zones (requires external amplification) | 3 zones (requires external amplification) | 4 zones (requires external amplification) |
| Line out | Zone 1, Zone 2 (L + R, requires external amplification) | 3 (1 x L + R per zone, requires external amplification) | 4 (1 x L + R per zone, requires external amplification) |
| Subwoofer out | Zone 1, Zone 2 (requires external amplification) | 1 x mono output (requires external amplification) | 1 x mono output (requires external amplification) |
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