Home theater onboard

[MapisM]

Ok folks, don't laugh. First world problem, I know.
But those of you who have a decent audio system at home can appreciate the difference that surround speakers can make when watching a movie.
So, hopefully you will understand why when you live onboard for months, you might miss that a bit.
Bottom line, I was looking at what the market has to offer, but I thought that someone here might have already some knowledge to share, hence this thread.

What I'm looking for is something small(ish) and that doesn't require cable connections for the speakers.
So, I thought that a single soundbar could be good enough for the 3 front channels, with a couple of small wireless speakers as L+R surround.
A subwoofer would be nice but not essential, because aside from taking space (though I could have some inside the sofa), I'm not interested in something capable to make the whole boat fall to pieces!
Oh, and since it wouldn't be as critical as a liferaft, I'd rather have something reasonably priced than reassuringly expensive...

All suggestions are welcome, TIA!

 

[markc]

I think a soundbar with a wireless sub would be the easiest set up on the boat. I think a sub offers the best audio upgrade over the tv's speakers, and that would be augmented with the sound bar. I wouldn't bother with rear speakers unless they were wired. If you went down this route Bose do some good compact stuff - I have a Bose Lifestyle system in my study at home and it's great - it would be perfect on the boat (but the wires!)

A 3rd route could be Sonos, as they can be configured to provide 5.1 and they would be wireless, although getting power to them all could be a pain.

4th option, some really good quality Bluetooth over the ear headphones.

 

[MapisM]

A 3rd route could be Sonos, as they can be configured to provide 5.1 and they would be wireless, although getting power to them all could be a pain.

Yup, that's an option I like, also because in my boat AC sockets are close to the ideal position of the surround speakers, so zero pain in this respect.
An option I like, if it weren't that it rather falls into the "reassuringly expensive" than in the "reasonably priced" category, that is!

 

[Siochair]

The Sonos beam gets a good review. You never know you might not need rear speakers with it but if you do they should be easy enough to add.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

We have a Sonos system for TV and music at home with soundbar, subwoofer and 2 speakers and its excellent although having to power each component separately is a PITA in terms of positioning. The subwoofer is adjustable so you could find a level that doesnt shake your boat to pieces

 

[rafiki_]

We have a “spare” Bose 321 system at home. These work really well, however the cabling to the speakers is really chunky, hence we have not installed on Rafiki. In reality, we don’t watch much TV on board, but listen to music on a Bose.

 

[MapisM]

The Sonos beam gets a good review. You never know you might not need rear speakers with it but if you do they should be easy enough to add.

Yup, that's probably the best way to tackle our needs.
I'm just not sure it's worth the cost, because "needs" is actually a way too strong description of our expectations!
Oh, well. Xmas is approaching, we'll see...

 

[Dino]

I just bought a boat that has a TV/DVD Combo on a nice swivel bracket in the main saloon. The sound quality is very poor but the previous owner had run an auxiliary cable to the Fusion Stereo system. I tried it recently and it was excellent. Not exactly surround sound but perfectly good for watching a movie and I was able to control the volume through the Fusion App on my phone. I had movies downloaded on Netflix on my iPad so I was able to connect it to the TV using a Lightning to HDMI adaptor. It all worked a treat.

 

[BartW]

as you know P, we have a multiple (5) zone sonos system onboard.
we have 2 x play1 speakers in the saloon, for background music,
but they can be reprogrammed to be the surround speakers in combination with the soundbar and sub, in cinema mode.


just a warning about Sonos onboard,
switching the system "on" after a long break, it will automatically asc for sofware updates for all components,
that happens also after changing your setup,
in some cases, it doesn't work properly without, if you have intermittend internet, typical on boats, this might be annoying sometimes ... !
conclusion;
for flawless operation, a sonos system needs to be connected permanently with internet.

 

[MapisM]

Thanks B, I didn't think of the extensive Sonos installation which you/ve got on BA.
Maybe the next time we'll catch up in CA (apropos, any plans for your next trip to the boat?) I'll ask you to hear it.

The availability of a decent internet connection doesn't worry me, anyway.
Nowadays, while onboard, we always have a 4G router active 24/7, with an excellent bandwidth.
In fact, we don't have landlines anymore, also in our homes - we just bring the same router+SIM wherever we are.

 

[QBhoy]

A nice problem to have mapism.
And here’s me stressing about how far oversize pistons for an old Yamaha V4, haha.

 

[MapisM]

Well, you should also consider that my boat is the single place where I spend most of my time - also compared to my main home.
I don't think to be wrong in guessing that you don't live on your boat, instead.
So, prioritizing the performance rather than the onboard audio is perfectly normal! :encouragement:

 

[matthewriches]

I have a bose system onboard with 4 speakers and 1 sub in the saloon, then a couple of "cheap" speakers in the galley and up at the helm. Adding some more outside but these will come from a separate amplifier that can be turned on when necessary.