HiFi on a boat

[Neil Watson]

Hi - I used to write occasionally on this forum about my renovated Norfolk Broads cruiser (it was then featured in Motor Boat Monthly magazine about 6 years ago). Since then, I sold the boat but later bought it back again (a long story). Since getting the boat back, I have been re-doing the solar electrics so that I can have a stereo system, complete with vinyl record player. Just recently I have also added a TV and DVD that plays through the hifi amp and speakers, and gives pretty good sound. Ever since first having the boat, I've written a blog about it (A Boat For My Potplants), and I've recently touched on the latest HiFi / AV system on the most recent post. I was wondering whether anyone else has set up a system on their boat, and if so, what equipment did they use?

 

[oldgit]

A plea from the heart to those who cannot put up with the sound of nature and wish to drown it out with "music".
A least when the young man drops off his girlfriend, who lives next door to you ,at 01.00 in the morning, most of the hideous cacophony stays inside the car and he will be gone in minute or two.
A boat is different.
Especially applies to owners of boats with flybridge speakers and Tentboats and those likely to be boating in confined waters.
Sound travels well over water, sometimes embarrassingly so.
There is nothing worse than the sound of somebodies "music" pounding out all over the surrounding area, be it " Grind" or even worse Ritt der Walküren , heard one peaceful summer evening ALL over a couple of meadows on the Thames.
Keep it to yourself

Newbies seem especially prone especially on the trip back to home marina .
Having collected the boat, got under way ,checking nothing is overheating/falling off and hopefully going in the right direction, the first impulse seems to be to find the radio or CD and turn up the volume.
Next time gonna to find the fuse and quietly throw it over the side before departure.
Grumpy Moi ?

 

[colhel]

It's something ive been thinking about recently. We've got a fixed car radio with speakers in the cabin and cockpit/saloon but I do find, most of the time, I stream from Spotify either via the aux socket or too a wireless speaker so would be more inclined to go for a decent 12v wireless set up. We haven't got the space for a turntable unfortunately, but having one in my early teens strapped to my push bike, I'm now well aware of the frailties of such a system ?

 

[BruceK]

A plea from the heart to those who cannot put up with the sound of nature and wish to drown it out with "music".
A least when the young man drops off his girlfriend, who lives next door to you ,at 01.00 in the morning, most of the hideous cacophony stays inside the car and he will be gone in minute or two.
A boat is different.
Especially applies to owners of boats with flybridge speakers and Tentboats and those likely to be boating in confined waters.
Sound travels well over water, sometimes embarrassingly so.
There is nothing worse than the sound of somebodies "music" pounding out all over the surrounding area, be it " Grind" or even worse Ritt der Walküren , heard one peaceful summer evening ALL over a couple of meadows on the Thames.
Keep it to yourself

Newbies seem especially prone especially on the trip back to home marina .
Having collected the boat, got under way ,checking nothing is overheating/falling off and hopefully going in the right direction, the first impulse seems to be to find the radio or CD and turn up the volume.
Next time gonna to find the fuse and quietly throw it over the side before departure.
Grumpy Moi ?

Morning Grumps! And how is our beleaguered old Begga today? Still grinding them gums in outrage that the yoofs seem to have taken over and they all have outdrives?

 

[oldgit]

Morning Grumps! And how is our beleaguered old Begga today? Still grinding them gums in outrage that the yoofs seem to have taken over and they all have outdrives?

Am not suggesting for one second that owners of outdrive boats are probably resposible for most of the offences against peace and quiet..........but
The fact they have outdrives offers hope to us all, at least they will be confined to the hard standing dripping oil and hydraulic fluid for most of the season allowing us shaft drive boats the pleasure of enjoying our quiet little anchoring spot in solitude and silence

 

[BruceK]

Kids of today eh?

 

[Hurricane]

This probably doesn't answer your question but:-

About 3 or 4 years ago, I fitted 3 audio zones on our boat.
Each one consists of an amplifier, speakers and a WiFi interface box.
The internal (saloon) zone uses a Bose unit that was factory fitted to internal speakers.
But the external zones (cockpit and flybridge) use Fusion (car style) speakers and Fusion amplifiers.
The kit wasn't expensive and works really well.
The heart of the systems are the WiFi boxes.
These are the ones I bough but they aren't available anymore
DigiFunk® - WiFi Wireless Audio Music Receiver: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics
But there are lots of these types of device out there - with more features now.
The ones that I fitted have been very reliable.
We play music from mobile devices.
Androids use a special app (which is a bit complicated to install) but iPhones just work using Apple's Airplay.

If you want a simpler installation, Fusion supply a complete system called their MS-BB100
Marine Black Box with Bluetooth Wired Remote & NMEA 2000
I helped a friend fit one on his sailboat last summer.
A really great bit of kit.

 

[ryanroberts]

Ritt der Walküren , heard one peaceful summer evening ALL over a couple of meadows on the Thames.

That will be from my last boat or her sister ship, guaranteed

 

[Dino]

I’m not sure if you can get a 12v turntable so you would probably need an inverter. The voltage is probably fairly important to keep the speed right on the turntable so you might need to fit a decent inverter.
You could just get a Spotify subscription and a Bluetooth speaker or have a look at the Fusion marine stereo systems. I have one and it’s great. I have an iPod full of music that lives in the docking station inside the stereo unit. I also download lots of albums and playlists to my phone through Spotify in case there is poor phone coverage.

 

[Portland Billy]

There is very little gets up my nose more than other people's music blaring out over a hitherto peaceful mooring.
I frequently play music aboard but always softly and check outboard to ensure the sound doesn't 'escape'.
I certainly don't need a hifi system, just a pair of good Bluetooth speakers and Spotify.

 

[BruceK]

There is very little gets up my nose more than other people's music blaring out over a hitherto peaceful mooring.
I frequently play music aboard but always softly and check outboard to ensure the sound doesn't 'escape'.
I certainly don't need a hifi system, just a pair of good Bluetooth speakers and Spotify.

I'd agree on a mooring or in an anchorage of unknown boats. But accompanying groups at anchor having a party when you have the anchorage to yourselves? Too many virtuous buffoons trying to impose their standards across the board. Plenty of anchorages, if you rock up at ours and the party is in full swing and you dont like, kindly move on, the feeling is mutual.

 

[ryanroberts]

Musically assured destruction. The only real defence against offensive use of HiFi is a bigger bass response.

 

[BruceK]

On another note, plenty times we have acquisced to shut down any music on seeing a group of yotties approach the anchorage only to have them start up in the middle of the night with some home grown shanties played blimmin awfully with raucous singing that would put the cringe worthy on Britains got talent to shame. Yet somehow this is deemed as quaint and acceptable

 

[Neil Watson]

Thank you to all who have responded, especially Grumps! In fact I agree with the sentiment that loud music shouldn't be blasted out to the detriment of others - we should all be respectful of each other.
That said, why has it been assumed that I play my music loud? I don't. Also, I only play my music / TV from within the cabin - and I have checked from the outside to hear if it can be heard, even if the volume were to be turned up loudly - and it can't.
Regarding playing a record player - my system is all mains-based, using solar panel / regulator / inverter. Using a record deck, old Grundig amp, speakers etc.
I was interested in knowing if anyone else has hooked up a hifi to play on their boat?

 

[Richard10002]

On the two boats I've owned in the past 15 years, I've installed car stereo systems with Kef Egg speakers. The earlier one was a JVC which actually had a DVD player on board - quite impressive through 4 speakers in the confines of a yacht lounge.

It does everything it needs to - AM FM DAB Bluetooth Aux Input. Streaming can be done via phone, or other bluetooth player, including Amazon Echo.

 

[Elessar]

Grumpy Moi ?

yes!

 

[Elessar]

Hi - I used to write occasionally on this forum about my renovated Norfolk Broads cruiser (it was then featured in Motor Boat Monthly magazine about 6 years ago). Since then, I sold the boat but later bought it back again (a long story). Since getting the boat back, I have been re-doing the solar electrics so that I can have a stereo system, complete with vinyl record player. Just recently I have also added a TV and DVD that plays through the hifi amp and speakers, and gives pretty good sound. Ever since first having the boat, I've written a blog about it (A Boat For My Potplants), and I've recently touched on the latest HiFi / AV system on the most recent post. I was wondering whether anyone else has set up a system on their boat, and if so, what equipment did they use?

I wouldn’t call mine hi fi but it isn’t bad.
i have an alpine head unit feeding 3 X 1kW amplifiers.
One does the fly speakers, one the saloon and one bridged to do the subwoofer.
Like Richards Kef’s but cheaper, thesaloon speakers are wharfdale diamonds, a domestic speaker. Combined with the subwoofer they sound fine and I actually get a stereo image when sat in the saloon.
The head unit and the 3 amplifiers, plus some speakers I didn’t use, came from eBay for about £200. The speakers were new from richer sounds.
Sadly the head unit is designed for the old style iConnector so it doesn’t work with up to date phones any more. . I keep an old iPod permanently plugged into it. Bluetooth is an optional module so unless I can find one of those I’ll retire it soon.
But vinyl? Not for me. My phone is all I need then I have the same collection house car or boat.

edit. Prompted me to look on eBay. 8 quid for an adapter. Let’s see if it arrives from China before I’m allowed to go to the boat.

 

[LittleSister]

I have a small boat and modest budget, but love carefully listening to music at times, and especially nicely recorded and reproduced music. I've ended up with a Bowers and Wilkins T7 portable Bluetooth speaker which I run from an extensive collection of music stored on an I-phone.

I know that serious hi-fi buffs would sneer at Bluetooth etc., but to my ears (and I'm a music fusspot) the quality is way above the average. The sound from this tiny speaker (stereo but in one little box) is truly remarkable (and I have big B&W floor-standers at home to compare it to). It's not going to shake the crockery in the other boats in the anchorage, but is more the loud enough inside my boat, and can be easily picked up moved from the saloon to the wheelhouse or cockpit. I cannot understand how the bass, especially, can be so good out of such a tiny speaker (and I'm a bass player, so that is what I'm often focusing on when listening). It has a nice solid carrying case (at extra cost, IIRC) and gets taken home between trips.

 

[Star-Lord]

Thank you to all who have responded, especially Grumps! In fact I agree with the sentiment that loud music shouldn't be blasted out to the detriment of others - we should all be respectful of each other.
That said, why has it been assumed that I play my music loud? I don't. Also, I only play my music / TV from within the cabin - and I have checked from the outside to hear if it can be heard, even if the volume were to be turned up loudly - and it can't.
Regarding playing a record player - my system is all mains-based, using solar panel / regulator / inverter. Using a record deck, old Grundig amp, speakers etc.
I was interested in knowing if anyone else has hooked up a hifi to play on their boat?

If anyone else on YBW has hooked has record player on board I will eat my hat! Well played ?

 

[Neil Watson]

I wouldn’t call mine hi fi but it isn’t bad.
i have an alpine head unit feeding 3 X 1kW amplifiers.
One does the fly speakers, one the saloon and one bridged to do the subwoofer.
Like Richards Kef’s but cheaper, thesaloon speakers are wharfdale diamonds, a domestic speaker. Combined with the subwoofer they sound fine and I actually get a stereo image when sat in the saloon.
The head unit and the 3 amplifiers, plus some speakers I didn’t use, came from eBay for about £200. The speakers were new from richer sounds.
Sadly the head unit is designed for the old style iConnector so it doesn’t work with up to date phones any more. . I keep an old iPod permanently plugged into it. Bluetooth is an optional module so unless I can find one of those I’ll retire it soon.
But vinyl? Not for me. My phone is all I need then I have the same collection house car or boat.

edit. Prompted me to look on eBay. 8 quid for an adapter. Let’s see if it arrives from China before I’m allowed to go to the boat.

Interesting set-up. Good luck with the Bluetooth module. I got one, a bit sceptical, but it turned out to work great. Cost about £12 I think. I have it permanently into the amp, and was easy to set up, so always ready to be hooked up with iPhone when I don't fancy records.