Skip to main content

Fusion PartyBus Networking

The Fusion PartyBus™ networking feature allows you to connect multiple compatible stereos together on a network, using a combination of wired or wireless connections.

NOTE: When you connect a Fusion® stereo to Garmin BlueNet™ network or a Garmin® Marine Network, you are limited to using only Garmin and Fusion devices. You may not be able to use third-party routers, storage devices, or other network products with this stereo directly.
TIP: When the stereo is connected to a Garmin BlueNet network or a Garmin Marine Network, you can connect a mobile device to a wireless access point on a connected Garmin chartplotter and use the Fusion Audio app to control the stereo.

You cannot use Wi‑Fi® networking when a stereo is connected to a Garmin network.

You can group a compatible stereo, such as the Fusion Apollo™ RA800 stereo, with other compatible stereos connected to the Fusion PartyBus network. Grouped stereos can share available sources and control media playback on all of the stereos in the group, which allows for a synchronized audio experience across the vessel. You can quickly create, edit, and break up groups as needed from any compatible stereo or remote control on the network.

You can use compatible stereos and remote controls, whether they are grouped or not, to adjust the volume of the available speaker zones for any stereo on the network.

You should refer to the installation instructions provided with your stereo when constructing the Fusion PartyBus network.

You can connect up to eight Fusion PartyBus stereos on a network wirelessly.

Creating a Group

Before you can create a group, you must connect multiple compatible stereos to the Fusion PartyBus network. See the installation instructions provided with your stereo for information about installing and configuring the network.

NOTE: There are some limitations and other considerations when using stereos in groups. See Grouped Stereo Source Considerationsfor more information.
  1. Select Menu symbol > GROUPS.
    TIP: You can hold Source button from any screen to open the GROUPS menu.
  2. Select the name of the stereo you want to be the primary stereo in the group.
  3. Select the stereos you want to add to the group.
  4. Select DONE.

From the source screen, you can select a source from any stereo in the group except a zone stereo, such as the Fusion Apollo SRX400 stereo or any sources that are disabled for use on the Fusion PartyBus network (General Settings).

Editing a Group

  1. Select Menu symbol > GROUPS.
  2. Select the group.
  3. Select the stereos you want to add to or remove from the group.
  4. Select DONE.

Leaving a Group

You can leave the Fusion PartyBus group to play local sources on the stereo.

  1. Select Menu symbol > GROUPS.
  2. Select the group you want to leave.
  3. Select the stereos you want to remove from the group.
  4. Select DONE.

Grouped Stereo Functions

After you create a group of stereos, additional functions and options are available to all stereos in the group.

  • After you create a group, all of the stereos in the group share the same synchronized display.

  • You can select a source from any stereo in the group, with a few limitations (Grouped Stereo Source Considerations), and the source will play simultaneously on all stereos in the group (Selecting a Source).

  • You can control playback (such as pausing and skipping tracks) on any stereo in the group, and it will affect all stereos in the group.

  • You can adjust the volume for any zone on any stereo in the group.

    TIP: When adjusting the volume, you can select ALL to adjust the volume of all the stereos in the group at the same time.

Grouped Stereo Source Considerations

When selecting sources to play over the network, you should observe these considerations.

  • A zone stereo, such as the Fusion Apollo SRX400, can create or join a group to control and play sources from other stereos, but it cannot share its sources with the group.

  • You cannot share an AirPlay® source with grouped stereos. Using AirPlay 2 software, you can play content on multiple stereos on the network, but the stereos must not be grouped (Apple AirPlay).

  • You can disable sharing on most sources by changing the GROUP ENABLED setting for the source. When disabled, the source cannot be selected from a grouped stereo (General Settings).

  • When audio sources are streamed over a data network, there is a slight delay in the synchronized audio that may be noticeable if you are also using an external audio source.

    • If you have a television with an HDMI® Audio Return Channel (ARC) connection to a stereo and you continue to use the television speakers, there will be a delay between the audio from the television speakers and the optical audio streamed on the grouped stereos.

    • If you synchronize a radio station and tune that same radio station on a non-networked stereo, there will be a delay between the audio from the non-networked stereo and the audio from the radio station streamed on the grouped stereos.

    • You can remove this delay by changing the GROUP ENABLED setting for the source, but the source cannot be shared with grouped stereos (General Settings).

NOTE: You cannot change the settings when a stereo is part of a group. You must remove the stereo from the group before you can change any settings.

Group Synchronization

By default, groups you create are not maintained when you turn off stereos in the group. If you turn off a single stereo added to the group, it leaves the group. If you turn off the primary stereo in the group, the group is dissolved. You can enable group synchronization to preserve group membership for a stereo after turning it off. Group synchronization behaves differently based on how you turn the stereos off and on.

  • If you turn a synchronized stereo off and on by using either the power button on the stereo or a physical switch on the ignition wire (the red wire), all of the synchronized stereos in the group turn off and on together. This applies to all of the synchronized stereos in the group, whether or not a stereo is the primary stereo in the group.

    NOTE: Selecting ALL OFF from the power menu on a stereo turns off all stereos on the network, even if they are not in a group or have group synchronization enabled.

  • If you turn a synchronized stereo off and on using a physical switch on the power wire (the yellow wire), the other synchronized stereos in the group behave differently:

    • If the synchronized stereo is the primary stereo in the group and you turn it off using a physical switch on the power wire, the other synchronized stereos in the group remain on, but leave the group. When you turn the primary stereo back on again, the other synchronized stereos rejoin the group.

    • If the synchronized stereo is not the primary stereo in the group and you turn it off and on using a physical switch on the power wire, all of the other synchronized stereos in the group remain on and grouped, and the stereo rejoins the group when you turn it on again.

Enabling Group Synchronization

You must remove the stereo from an existing group before you can enable the GROUP SYNC setting. You cannot update settings when a stereo is part of a group.

You must enable this setting on each stereo that you want to retain group settings after a power cycle.

  1. Select Menu symbol > SETTINGS.
  2. Select POWER OPTIONS > GROUP SYNC.

    The stereo retains group settings after a power cycle.

  3. Repeat for additional stereos as needed.
NOTE: You must enable GROUP SYNC on all networked stereos for synchronization to work properly.
GUID-2BF6BEB7-4CE7-4804-9935-F0D912E72FA7 v5
August 2026
© 2025 Garmin Ltd.