Hi Fi on board

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dave_gibsea

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What's the best option for some descent music on board? Ideally I am keen to buy something I can take home but it seems all the portable CD/Radio "boom box" type options as cheap and poor quality. I'm thinking the best option would be a half descent car stereo system but I'm not on all the fitting and wiring-in... maybe that the only real option? I'm not looking to reproduce my home Hi Fi quality just a solution on a par with a car system.

I have a very big collection of CD's and would like to take half a dozen down the boat at week-end. I don't have the time or the inclination to download several hundred CDs to am MP3 player! What do others do I wonder?
 
All my music is on my phone, my reasoning is they don't want to hear my music and I really don't want to hear theirs! Nor does the boat three miles away.
 
If you want to avoid any installation take a look at some of the bluetooth speakers which are available. There's plenty to choose from, some from hi-fi brands, and the sound is frankly remarkable for their very portable size. I have an ultimate ears boom 2 (just under £100 from amazon) which is helpfully waterproof. A lot of these speakers are actually mono but in the context of the average boat cabin I question just how purist it's worth getting with sound and frankly high quality mp3s on the phone (/spotify) and the bluetooth speaker are perfectly OK for me. If I really want to listen to the opening of spirit of radio I can buy a second boom 2 as two can be configured for stereo.
 
We have a Radio/CD, which is good in the middle of the river, but use a BOSE Colour sound-dock linked wirelessly to a phone or iPad. Streaming music is great when you can get it, or even youtube video music all evening....much more insular sound-wise, and doesn't upset Marina dwellers...
 
Amazon Echo review: You're fast running out of reasons not to own one of these speakers

5 / 5 stars
Amazon Echo (2017)
AMAZON has updated its Echo smart speaker with a stylish new design – and cheaper price tag. But does that make for a worthwhile upgrade? Here is Express.co.uk’s in-depth verdict.

By AARON BROWN
PUBLISHED: 09:19, Mon, Nov 20, 2017 | UPDATED: 12:28, Mon, Nov 20, 2017





2

6
The all-new Echo has a stylish new design and slew of new coloursEXPRESS NEWSPAPERS
The all-new Echo has a stylish new design and slew of new colours
Pros – New Design Looks Great, Amazon Has Dropped The Price By £60, Alexa Is As Joyful To Use As Ever, Huge Number Of Third-Party Skills
Cons – Sound Quality Is Still A Little Lacking At High Volume
Amazon unveiled its second-generation Echo a little over a year after it first brought the smart speaker to the UK.

Express.co.uk was really impressed with the original Echo, branding it “the first device to successfully make the case that voice-activated appliances are the future”.

One year later, Amazon has unveiled an updated Echo alongside a swathe of other Alexa-powered gadgets, including the Fire HD 10, Echo Plus, and more.

The new Echo boasts a sleek new industrial design, improved speakers, and an attractive new £89.99 price tag – currently £69.99 due to the Black Friday sales.

Express.co.uk has been busy testing the new Echo, here is our definitive verdict.
 
Nah, we tested several (As all the tech sites do) and the BOSE is king.

Strangely, the cheaper Colourlink works better on the boat than the more expensive Soundlink II. They work best placed a foot or so from a hard background!? Place on a table with no background to reflect the sound off and it's not as good!
 
I have a Samsung soundbar. This comes with a mains power "brick" but actually runs at 14v. I suspect it would be OK on the boats 12v system, but i run mine through a DC-DC converter. The "Radio Player" app on my phone will play every radio station in the country and connects to the soundbar via Bluetooth. CD's can be played by connecting a laptop to the soundbar.

I also have a Samsung 24" LED TV. This also runs from a DC-DC converter. With a laptop connected to the TV and the TV connected to the soundbar via an optical audio cable i can watch HD movie downloads on the TV with quality sound through the soundbar.
 
Lodesman77 said:
Rip them - not the whole collection; a handful doesn't take long...

If it really has to be CDs - it can plug in via the aux port.

Who would persist with CDs? I have a large collection but nearly all are ripped onto hard drive now.
Click to expand...

:encouragement:

Little and often.

One thing itunes actually does OK, it goes online and gets the track names for you.
 
If you're going to the trouble of ripping CDs i like to use Exact Audio Copy to rip them to .flac (lossless) files. It also gets track lists and artwork for you.

After that you can convert to mp3 if you need to using Flacsquisher, which will get on and do a whole folder full without intervention, but you still have the flac files, so have full quality backup of your CDs.
 
We've been using a car stereo system on the boat for years. It has a CD player but we don't use it: all the music is on the iPod or the phone, delivered via the aux socket on the radio. When we need to replace the system, we won't bother, we'll just get a decent Bluetooth speaker or (bliss) headsets so that we can listen to our own music choices without descending into argument over what to listen to next....
 
Personally I like to have an FM radio, AM has its uses too.
A 'mechless' car audio head unit with an aux input and a USB socket to play MP3s from a usb stick works well for us.
A unit with easy controls for indoor and deck speakers is nice to have. A reasonable wattage helps if you want to listen to the news and weather on deck when it's breezy.
 
aslabend said:
So far, the best bluetooth speaker I've heard is - http://www.techradar.com/reviews/bose-soundlink-mini-ii
If you're really a bit of a hi-fi nerd, pep up your phones output with one of these - https://www.whathifi.com/audioquest/dragonfly-black-v15/review - a DAC really does make a difference and use a quality 3.5mm - 3.5mm audio cable between the two rather than bluetooth.
Click to expand...

I use a Bose Soundlink Mini II, a car radio with Keff Egg speakers, and some expensive earphones.

I’ve got a Dragonfly Red through an iPhone 6s. Can’t hear a difference with or without it.
 
dave_gibsea said:
I'm thinking the best option would be a half descent car stereo system but I'm not on all the fitting and wiring-in... maybe that the only real option? I'm not looking to reproduce my home Hi Fi quality just a solution on a par with a car system.

I have a very big collection of CD's and would like to take half a dozen down the boat at week-end. I don't have the time or the inclination to download several hundred CDs to am MP3 player! What do others do I wonder?
Click to expand...
Several years ago I fitted a Fusion marine CD radio and the sound quality is excellent. Fusion still produce a CD model, https://www.fusionentertainment.com/marine/products/stereo-units/ms-av755. Not cheap but is hi-fi quality that can play your CD's and is built for a marine environment.
 
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