Hurricane
Well-Known Member
Alternative Low Cost Audio Addition
On another thread, I was asked to explain an audio system that I've just installed on our boat. This might turn out to be quite a complicated technical thread but - here we go.
I have always wanted to upgrade our analogue audio systems on the boat. I often feel a bit "ripped off" with some of the bespoke kit that is supplied so at the end of November last year, I started to do a bit of research with my best friend "Google".
First some background.
Apart from our cabin entertainment units, we had two main audio systems - one in the Saloon and one on the Flybridge. The Saloon system is quite a reasonable Bose system incorporating a sub woofer but only serves the saloon. I feed PC and Satellite audio signals into it and occasionally we watch DVDs through it onto the saloon TV.
The Flybridge system is a low cost marinised car type 4 channel DVD/FM/AM Radio. I've never used it as a radio or DVD. It has an Aux Input in which I feed several analogue audio signals - again PC and Satellite audio. It all works but, like all analogue systems, it is subject to interference and noise pickup etc.
We had no audio in the cockpit. Any audio sound from the saloon or the flybridge couldn't really be heard in the cockpit.
My objective.
These days music is mostly carried around on an iPod or MP3 player. I appreciate that MP3 quality isn't as good as lossless formats especially if they have been ripped using lower bit rates. However, this is a real life and MP3 concepts are widely used. My own taste of music is, to say the least, very limited and it is always nice when friends are around to hear their music. Nearly always, they will appear with an iPhone and it would be nice to let them connect and play their music through my boats systems.
I also want to tidy up the sound quality of my system and properly incorporate sound into the cockpit. An ideal system would consist of three zones - Saloon, Flybridge and Cockpit. Remember that the current saloon system is very different to the one on the flybridge.
The various technologies.
The following is the result of my own research so it may be incorrect in places but if you are interested, please bear with me. I'm no expert in this field but I can use a pair of wire cutters and have often burned my fingers on a soldering iron!!!
Lets start with Bluetooth - remember this is the info that I've found - I may not be correct.
Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances. Devices fall into one of three classes. Class 3 being the lowest power whereas Class 1 is capable of ranges in excess of 100m. As far as audio over Bluetooth is concerned, there are two main profiles used - Bluetooth for Telephony and Bluetooth for Audio. In this discussion, we are only interested in Bluetooth for Audio which is a fairly low quality digital system. Considering that most iPod/MP3 recorded tracks are not particularly high quality, Bluetooth Audio, to all intense and purposes will be perfectly adequate. However, for me, Bluetooth is a "one to one" streaming service. This means that one device (iPod/MP3 etc player) can only send music to only one "listening" device at a time. The main reason is that Bluetooth Audio is a two way system - a transmitting device (iPod/MP3 etc player) can also be controlled from the receiving device. In a lot of cases this is a real advantage but I wanted a multi zoned system - all controlled from an iPhone (well, actually, I hate iPhones - for me, I want to control the whole thing from my Android Phone or Tablet)
Having just said that I hate iPhones, I stumbled on a really neat system that Apple have developed called Airplay. Airplay is an Audio over IP based concept. This means that it uses a Local Area Network (inc/or Local WiFi network) to transmit its data. Generally speaking, WiFi or LAN networks can transfer data faster than that of Bluetooth so more features and higher quality audio can be achieved. As I say, I'm not an "Apple Man" so some of my comments here might not be completely correct but this is how I see it.
Other solutions
DLNA is fast becoming "built into" modern devices. For example most TVs now have DLNA software that can access video and audio across LANs. I did spend some time investigating and experimenting with DLNA but I believe that Apple's Airplay provides a better solution. I believe that Apple have developed a form of compression which limits the amount of transmitted data without compromising the audio quality.
In the domestic environment, Sonos provide an excellent integrated system. For me, though, I couldn't see how a Sonos system would fit in with my requirements and I thought it was quite an expensive option anyway.
Finally, it is worth mentioning Fusion's "Fusion-Link" kit. This is a system that provides up to three audio zones. Reading the manual, it seems to me that all the zones need to be "wired together". I think it can use existing NMEA2000 wiring but, I don't think it would run over the top of my existing Raymarine networks and I don't want to try. Remember, Airplay runs over WiFi. Apart from that, the Apple Airplay allows control from the mobile device that is actually playing the music. I believe that a Fusion-Link system controls its audio from its own hardware. However, saying all that, the Fusion-Link system gets very close to my requirement and would be suitable in most other cases.
So - what is my solution
I added a new audio zone to my cockpit using a Fusion amplifier and a couple of 6" Fusion speakers. During my research. I discovered an AirPlay Compatible WiFi Audio Music Receiver Adapter. So, I added one of these £30 boxes to each of my audio zones.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IHGMGNI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
So, now I have one of these AirPlay Compatible WiFi Audio Music Receiver Adapters feeding into my saloon Boas system, one feeding into the Aux input on my flybridge audio and one feeding into my new Fusion amp/cockpit speakers.
The boat is already fitted with an internal WiFi router and LAN so each of the above devices connects to the ship's WiFi. This is a diagram of the system:-
Yellow devices in the diagram are the AirPlay Compatible WiFi Audio Music Receiver Adapter - see above link.
Orange devices in the diagram connect to the ships LAN (via WiFi). If these devices are Airplay enabled (I believe most iPhones/iPads etc are) they will be able to output audio directly and individually control the volumes of any or all of the audio zones.
So using this concept, anyone visiting the boat with an Apple IoS Airplay enabled device can play high definition audio to any or all zones on the boat.
OK - so what about us Android lovers.
Yes - there's an app (in fact several apps) that redirect output from the Android device to an Airplay system. You can then run your favourite media (music/MP3) player on any of the boat's zones.
In my case, I have a PC is also connected to the LAN so using the correct software, it can also play and control audio on any or all of the zones. Like all other Apple devices, I hate iTunes but I believe that iTunes on a PC can also output to Airplay devices. If not, there is a simple application that I use called AirFoil. It can be installed onto a Windows PC and can trap output from any application on the PC (including the System Audio) and send (and control) that to the Airplay system.
This design isn't just an idea.
I took the kit down to the boat last week and installed it successfully. Once set up, it works really well. During this whole project, the only problem that I encountered was in synchronisation. Remember, we are dealing here with streaming audio. This means that the playing device has to have a small buffer. Unfortunately all manufacturers buffer at different rates so if a different manufacturer's receiver were used on one zone than another zone, audio can get out of sync. The solution was simple - use the same Airplay receiving device (AirPlay Compatible WiFi Audio Music Receiver Adapter - Yellow boxes in the diagram) on all zones.
I'm sure many of you will think this all a complete waste of time but remember this can be a very cheap solution and have advantages over other systems.
On another thread, I was asked to explain an audio system that I've just installed on our boat. This might turn out to be quite a complicated technical thread but - here we go.
I have always wanted to upgrade our analogue audio systems on the boat. I often feel a bit "ripped off" with some of the bespoke kit that is supplied so at the end of November last year, I started to do a bit of research with my best friend "Google".
First some background.
Apart from our cabin entertainment units, we had two main audio systems - one in the Saloon and one on the Flybridge. The Saloon system is quite a reasonable Bose system incorporating a sub woofer but only serves the saloon. I feed PC and Satellite audio signals into it and occasionally we watch DVDs through it onto the saloon TV.
The Flybridge system is a low cost marinised car type 4 channel DVD/FM/AM Radio. I've never used it as a radio or DVD. It has an Aux Input in which I feed several analogue audio signals - again PC and Satellite audio. It all works but, like all analogue systems, it is subject to interference and noise pickup etc.
We had no audio in the cockpit. Any audio sound from the saloon or the flybridge couldn't really be heard in the cockpit.
My objective.
These days music is mostly carried around on an iPod or MP3 player. I appreciate that MP3 quality isn't as good as lossless formats especially if they have been ripped using lower bit rates. However, this is a real life and MP3 concepts are widely used. My own taste of music is, to say the least, very limited and it is always nice when friends are around to hear their music. Nearly always, they will appear with an iPhone and it would be nice to let them connect and play their music through my boats systems.
I also want to tidy up the sound quality of my system and properly incorporate sound into the cockpit. An ideal system would consist of three zones - Saloon, Flybridge and Cockpit. Remember that the current saloon system is very different to the one on the flybridge.
The various technologies.
The following is the result of my own research so it may be incorrect in places but if you are interested, please bear with me. I'm no expert in this field but I can use a pair of wire cutters and have often burned my fingers on a soldering iron!!!
Lets start with Bluetooth - remember this is the info that I've found - I may not be correct.
Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances. Devices fall into one of three classes. Class 3 being the lowest power whereas Class 1 is capable of ranges in excess of 100m. As far as audio over Bluetooth is concerned, there are two main profiles used - Bluetooth for Telephony and Bluetooth for Audio. In this discussion, we are only interested in Bluetooth for Audio which is a fairly low quality digital system. Considering that most iPod/MP3 recorded tracks are not particularly high quality, Bluetooth Audio, to all intense and purposes will be perfectly adequate. However, for me, Bluetooth is a "one to one" streaming service. This means that one device (iPod/MP3 etc player) can only send music to only one "listening" device at a time. The main reason is that Bluetooth Audio is a two way system - a transmitting device (iPod/MP3 etc player) can also be controlled from the receiving device. In a lot of cases this is a real advantage but I wanted a multi zoned system - all controlled from an iPhone (well, actually, I hate iPhones - for me, I want to control the whole thing from my Android Phone or Tablet)
Having just said that I hate iPhones, I stumbled on a really neat system that Apple have developed called Airplay. Airplay is an Audio over IP based concept. This means that it uses a Local Area Network (inc/or Local WiFi network) to transmit its data. Generally speaking, WiFi or LAN networks can transfer data faster than that of Bluetooth so more features and higher quality audio can be achieved. As I say, I'm not an "Apple Man" so some of my comments here might not be completely correct but this is how I see it.
Other solutions
DLNA is fast becoming "built into" modern devices. For example most TVs now have DLNA software that can access video and audio across LANs. I did spend some time investigating and experimenting with DLNA but I believe that Apple's Airplay provides a better solution. I believe that Apple have developed a form of compression which limits the amount of transmitted data without compromising the audio quality.
In the domestic environment, Sonos provide an excellent integrated system. For me, though, I couldn't see how a Sonos system would fit in with my requirements and I thought it was quite an expensive option anyway.
Finally, it is worth mentioning Fusion's "Fusion-Link" kit. This is a system that provides up to three audio zones. Reading the manual, it seems to me that all the zones need to be "wired together". I think it can use existing NMEA2000 wiring but, I don't think it would run over the top of my existing Raymarine networks and I don't want to try. Remember, Airplay runs over WiFi. Apart from that, the Apple Airplay allows control from the mobile device that is actually playing the music. I believe that a Fusion-Link system controls its audio from its own hardware. However, saying all that, the Fusion-Link system gets very close to my requirement and would be suitable in most other cases.
So - what is my solution
I added a new audio zone to my cockpit using a Fusion amplifier and a couple of 6" Fusion speakers. During my research. I discovered an AirPlay Compatible WiFi Audio Music Receiver Adapter. So, I added one of these £30 boxes to each of my audio zones.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IHGMGNI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
So, now I have one of these AirPlay Compatible WiFi Audio Music Receiver Adapters feeding into my saloon Boas system, one feeding into the Aux input on my flybridge audio and one feeding into my new Fusion amp/cockpit speakers.
The boat is already fitted with an internal WiFi router and LAN so each of the above devices connects to the ship's WiFi. This is a diagram of the system:-
Yellow devices in the diagram are the AirPlay Compatible WiFi Audio Music Receiver Adapter - see above link.
Orange devices in the diagram connect to the ships LAN (via WiFi). If these devices are Airplay enabled (I believe most iPhones/iPads etc are) they will be able to output audio directly and individually control the volumes of any or all of the audio zones.
So using this concept, anyone visiting the boat with an Apple IoS Airplay enabled device can play high definition audio to any or all zones on the boat.
OK - so what about us Android lovers.
Yes - there's an app (in fact several apps) that redirect output from the Android device to an Airplay system. You can then run your favourite media (music/MP3) player on any of the boat's zones.
In my case, I have a PC is also connected to the LAN so using the correct software, it can also play and control audio on any or all of the zones. Like all other Apple devices, I hate iTunes but I believe that iTunes on a PC can also output to Airplay devices. If not, there is a simple application that I use called AirFoil. It can be installed onto a Windows PC and can trap output from any application on the PC (including the System Audio) and send (and control) that to the Airplay system.
This design isn't just an idea.
I took the kit down to the boat last week and installed it successfully. Once set up, it works really well. During this whole project, the only problem that I encountered was in synchronisation. Remember, we are dealing here with streaming audio. This means that the playing device has to have a small buffer. Unfortunately all manufacturers buffer at different rates so if a different manufacturer's receiver were used on one zone than another zone, audio can get out of sync. The solution was simple - use the same Airplay receiving device (AirPlay Compatible WiFi Audio Music Receiver Adapter - Yellow boxes in the diagram) on all zones.
I'm sure many of you will think this all a complete waste of time but remember this can be a very cheap solution and have advantages over other systems.
