Boat Audio

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bedouin

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I am looking to install a basic Audio system in the boat, and I am looking through the options - which are very wide.

I think a radio is useful - probably prefer DAB. These days MP3/iPod connectivity is essential, but CD playing not necessarily important.

Space is a bit of issue, so mounting / positioning options are much more flexible if it doesn't stick out 10" behind the fascia.

Options seem to be
(a) Conventional Car/Marine head unit (maybe mechless) - but most seem much deeper than they need to be
(b) Some form of iPod dock - but hard to find a good one with 12V input
(c) Maybe even a TV/DVD player - to keep the kids happy

Superficially we are spoilt for choice but when you look into the details finding a good solution is remarkably difficult. Has anyone else been through a similar process recently?
 
There's another option.

A car audio amplifier. I have one on Kudu. I can plug anything in to it via an 3.5mm jack to RCA (phono) cable, and you get much more punch out of it than you would from a head unit.
 
nathanlee said:
There's another option.

A car audio amplifier. I have one on Kudu. I can plug anything in to it via an 3.5mm jack to RCA (phono) cable, and you get much more punch out of it than you would from a head unit.
Click to expand...
That's a point - so just use the headphones out of the MP3/iPod or any portable device.

I had wondered about a separate car amp (mainly because it is easy to mount) but had thought that I would need a "pre amp" as well for source selection and volume control

Certainly worth giving it serious consideration
 
bedouin said:
I am looking to install a basic Audio system in the boat, and I am looking through the options - which are very wide.

I think a radio is useful - probably prefer DAB. These days MP3/iPod connectivity is essential, but CD playing not necessarily important.

Space is a bit of issue, so mounting / positioning options are much more flexible if it doesn't stick out 10" behind the fascia.

Options seem to be
(a) Conventional Car/Marine head unit (maybe mechless) - but most seem much deeper than they need to be
(b) Some form of iPod dock - but hard to find a good one with 12V input
(c) Maybe even a TV/DVD player - to keep the kids happy

Superficially we are spoilt for choice but when you look into the details finding a good solution is remarkably difficult. Has anyone else been through a similar process recently?
Click to expand...

The car systems are so cheap and so good that i would not hesitate to use one. We have on of these on our boat and i love it. Less than £100 and does everything.

Anyone that comes on board can just plug in their ipod via a cable so no dock needed.

TV is a very different thing. I think the best solution is one of these. Stunning picture quality. TV, DVD and can also be used as a remote screen for a plotter. Avtex is also one of the few TV's with an FM transmitter, so the sound can be played back through your stereo. Great for movies.
 
bedouin said:
These days MP3/iPod connectivity is essential, but CD playing not necessarily important.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't rule out CD player provided it can play mp3/wma files burned onto the disk by a PC. We have a CD for each member of the family with our 20 or 30 favourite CDs on the one burned CD.

However, my new car has an DAB/FM/CD radio which, although it can play our boat mp3 CDs perfectly also has a USB socket. I bought a tiny 16GB USB stick for about £15 loaded onto it every single CD that we have ever ripped to MP3/WMA and still have 4 or 5 GB left. I leave that plugged in the car and we can instantly select any music we like. There must be almost 300 CDs on there altogether! That is definitely the way to go! :)

Richard
 
bedouin said:
I had wondered about a separate car amp (mainly because it is easy to mount) but had thought that I would need a "pre amp" as well for source selection and volume control

Certainly worth giving it serious consideration
Click to expand...

A car amplifier, will need a pre-amp yes. Even budget car head units these days have pre-outs on the back that you connect to the amp with RCA cables.

The only problem I can see with car amps is they can draw an awful lot of power, I've got a 1KW one and wouldn't like to set that loose on my domestic bank!

Personally I think that the internal Mosfet amplifier in a decent head unit will perform well enough when matched up to decent spec speakers, especially if you can build them into a proper speaker box.
 
I agree with other posters about the head gear etc. The final product however is the speakers. From the local op shop I bought a quality pair of 3 way reflex book shelf speakers, $5 the pair! The sound is simply stunning, equal to my studio monitors I have at home. Modern technology is wonderful. They are very heavy and more bulky than car stuff but the end product depends on converting electrical signals to mechanical movement. Go crazy with the speakers.
 
What do you do for speakers though? The ones on my boat are knackered but they are pod type ones that sit on a shelf held there with Velcro since there is no where suitable for cutting holes and insetting
 
If the speaker comes in an enclosure then simply mount it somewhere... Securely!

If not and they come with the back exposed then you can either build a box for them, or mount them onto the face of an existing locker etc. The back needs to be isolated from the front in terms of air movement.
 
Have a look on eBay for a Triparh TA2020. Lovely little cool-running digital amplifier. 12v in upto 40W out. Run some twin core to a pair of Elrax mini's and you have a really nice sounding, sub-£60 system.

Accepts line level on phono or 3.5mm.
 
I have a Clarion marine set-up; radio, CD with 6-changer, 4 waterproof speakers, remote control of the radio / CD by a small hardwired unit in the cockpit; 2 speakers in forecabin, 2 in cockpit.

The speakers are magnetically dampened, don't quite know how but I tested it and they work well, had to hold right by the compass to get a slight deflection.

I have to say overall I'm very disappointed;

radio / CD has packed up after 3 seasons and is much too big & chunky.

speakers too heavy.

power consumption too high.

The cockpit remote is / was the best bit - this was not cheap kit !

I must say in fairness that I found their staff top notch when I bought the kit, happily allowing me to dither over speakers.

I see they now have an MP3 capable version, so it would be a case of bearing my above points in mind; it would of course have been a lot better on a gin-palace.

I'm now looking for a radio /MP3, ideally CD as well, and I'd use either 2 or 4 Plastimo waterproof speakers.
 
After fitting cockpit speakers a couple of years ago to a (replacement) £25 car radio in the saloon, I considered iPod connectivity, now that I had a 3.5mm in-jack.

Sure, fancy remotes controls are available, but it was winter, and I was bored, so I made up a little horizontal iPod holder out of scrap[0]- like the teak hand-bearing compass holders you can buy.
I mounted it at the top of the companionway (next to home-made hand-bearing compass holder and PLB mount[1]) with a 2m signal cable - at some point, I might add a 12V supply to recharge it, but it WorksForMe as is for now. In port, we just move it down to the chart table and plug it in for recharge.

Oh, the cockpit speakers have a waterproof DPDT switch mounted next to them for instant silencing.

[0] In 30 years time, if someone talks about a Hunter with internal wooden fittings (starter battery box, fridge compressor mount, boxing of stern greaser, etc) made out of the ends of wine cases (but sanded, sealed, and enamel painted/varnished), then it might be mine ;->
[1]A bit of yellow sail-tie webbing, and some screws and washers.
 
I took a look at the Fusion (www.fusionelectronics.com) £199 offer at LIBS - seemed like a good deal to me. Waterproof FM radio with zone control, built-in ipod dock behind removable fascia, remote, USB port and two large waterproof speakers. I believe it might have been on part of the SMG Europe stand.
 
Thanks for the suggestions

I did see the Fusion kit at LIBS, I think it was on the Jimmy Green stand, and that was partly what started me thinking.

The little Fusion unit does look nice, but even it requires about 5" mounting space behind the fascia which very much limits my options for mounting it.
 
Given your requirements, it would probably be worth using something like a Pure (make) Highway (model), surface mounting DAB receiver. (About GBP30). Although I would prefer to find one with FM as well. Remember, DAB UK standard might not be available in other countries.

You could then use the smallest in car amp you can find. Again about GBP30. Don't believe the fantastic power outputs claimed in the specs but it'll be enough.

A pair of half decent panel mounting speakers from CPC will give you reasonable audio quality for the environment.

The Pure will run on 12V as it's intended for cars. It'll also accept a signal from a media player such as MP3.

Rob
 
How about a cheap portable radio?

I have a cheap portable plastic Bush AM/FM radio. It takes three D batteries. Great for breakfast-listening on the mooring or at anchor, and in the cockpit during winter winch-servicing and the suchlike.

When the music changes or the news gets repetitive, I switch it off.

I find booming out music while underway as 'distracting' as listening to a Walkman/iPod while hill-walking.

I'm thinking of adding a gramaphone to my setup!
 
I set up a system which may be of interest to you, particularly regarding the mounting depth, the one I've used doesn't have a cd player but has a radio, sd card reader, usb stick reader and an input for ipod etc. It is about 5 inches deep, and standard car radio size.

I've pasted my original post here:

I think I have come up with quite an effective solution, I bought a new car stereo (direct from Hong Kong on Ebay, came within 3 days by fed ex for less than £50!) that has a radio and sd/usb readers.

It is a 4x45w unit, I was wondering what to do about speakers, as my boat doesn't have anywhere suitable to cut holes for car type speakers. I had a set of spare surround speakers with a sub bass unit that came with a dvd player, so tried these out. The sound was pretty amazing, and the size of the surround speaker enclosures are only 5" x 3", perfect for my boat. Plastic too, so they shouldn't degrade too badly in a marine environment.

I have rigged them up in my boat as follows:

Surround speakers in the cabin from front outputs, the sub bass speaker was taken from its enclosure and mounted in an area of an underseat locker (which is rarely used due to access problems) and a small box made to surround the speaker. A hole has been cut to allow for a port (I know the acoustics may be crude, but I'm not after anything too fancy). The bass speaker feeds off any output, but preferably a combined front and rear channel (isolated with a few diodes).

I now have the rear outputs available for cockpit speakers which I'm going to install later on, I have bought some marine speakers (again from ebay for around £30), this means I can use the fader control to balance volume inside and outside.

Another handy feature with the car stereo is it has a remote control, although I would have to wire in another IR sensor if I want to use it in the cockpit.

So far the system sounds very impressive, I'm not an expert, but I am very pleased with my set up which has cost less than £100. A cheap set of surround speakers with sub bass unit can be had for about £30, although Richer sounds has a nice yamaha set (speakers only) for about £70.
 
Just a mention for those like myself who have limited space to mount things -

My speakers are car rear shelf types, but mounted on the headlining in the corners of the saloon. Very cheap speakers but give very acceptable sound mounted like this.

My head unit is a standard Sony car unit, with CD/USB/3.5mm jack input, mounted in a car under-dash type enclosure, which allows a greater choice of places to mount it - I eventually put mine at the chart table but could just have easily mounted it in several places in the saloon. It has a remote control unit so also possible to control it from the cockpit...
 
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