Cockpit speakers

[KevO]

Don't mess around. Put some serious waterproof cockpit speakers in the cockpit sides and Springsteen and the Who will sound great. For VHF, my lazy solution was not a remote wired handset, which I gave away, but an even cheaper vhf with a remote wireless handset.

If all of this sounds antisocial it is as nothing compared with those who use generators to keep their lousy TV sets playing at anchor on the East Coast

PS surfing 500 mies offshore blasting hard rock to the heavens en route to the Azores is not easily forgotten, even if it was a long time ago

Now I know I'm liable to get a reputation for bringing more things back from the dead than the developer of viagra....

But... what is a serious waterproof cockpit speaker?

I'm in a quandary. I LOVE my music and I want to have it available in the saloon when we are all safely tucked up below on the mooring and also have the ability to mosh me pants off in the cockpit when I feel like it. The NTM has a standard old style car stereo cassette player (gives out horrible scratchy sounds when adjusting the volume knob... prob some internal corrosion going on there somewhere) and a pair of speakers mounted on the forward saloon bulkhead that seem fine and sound ok (ish).

If Santa (yeah I know it's really SWMBO holding off on shaving for a day or so and donning a red suit) was to feel like bringing a good boy like me a new sound system for the NTM what should it be?

A dedicated marine Fusion 200 system with seperate ipod dock thing and a pair of 6" waterproof speakers (for about £250 all in from JG Tech) and use the existing speakers in the saloon for the below decks set-up or go with a new halfords type car stereo that can take a USB / ipod connection?

I want to be able to connect and charge my ipod (or the other ipods owned by the sprogs) and have zonal volume control over the saloon and/or the cockpit and remote control over track selection and volume as required

Thoughts? Are the fusion speakers any good? Am I better off just going with a bog-standard ipod compatible (by connecting lead) car stereo and a set of waterproof speakers in the cockpit or sell my soul to the devil and push for the whole Fusion rig?

 

[Ric]

Yes there is exactly what you are looking for:

http://www.nauticom.fr/store/product_info-n-Commutateur_HiFi_VHF-pId-1541.html

I have one - works well.

Having said that, I only use it in switching mode with my main VHF if I am well offshore. In coastal waters I prefer to play music through the cockpit speakers and just keep a handheld in the cockpit with the volume turned down so that I just hear important messages within a few miles of me.