MP3 ?

[OldBawley]

As a music lover I have a real good JVC midi sound installation on board. It runs on 12 V, has a CD player, cassette deck and tuner. Still works fine but is antique now.
Most of the tapes ( dozens and dozens ) I had recorded are dead now, to old, developing stretch. Fortunately I was able to digitize most of the recordings ( Theatre rehearsals ) with Audacity so now I have lots of Mp3 music and sound recordings. The theatre sound recordings ware made with professional equipment, are a nice reminder of my old life.
All those Mp3 are in the laptop. I can transfer them to my handy or to a small mp3 player and then play over the Aux entrance on the JVC set.
Problem is, the output of those MP3 players is very low, so I have to run the JVC at full power to hear a bit and the players run out of batt life in no time.
What would be a good system to use on board ( 12 V ) and be able to random play all of my Mp3 recordings. I hate earphones, want medium to small sized speakers and all running on 12 V.
If possible using less power than a laptop.
No need to say that I am long overdue now, have no idea of modern techniques. Bit deaf as well.
Maybe car sound system with usb for stick ?
The laptop itself uses about 2,5 _ 3 Amps but gets to hot in summer and a more moderate consumption would be nice in winter.

 

[charles_reed]

I just use my computer and a pair of good quality USB speakers.
I've converted most of my 800 odd CDs to MP3 (using a Linux alternative to Audacity which gives more control over bit-rate) and store these on an external HDD drive.
Using a voltage convertor, uses about 35% of the power of the CD player.
Download VideoLan as the player - a light-year better than any Windows player, free and usable in Linux.
If you install Linux as a dual boot in the computer you can play MP3 in Linux and show a further 30% power save over Win7 and if you want the ultimate in reproduction use professional quality headphones plugged into the computer jack.
I now carry all my library as MP3s on a separate external HDD - about 13500 hrs of listening to about 450 books - an impossible-to-store library on a 31' boat.
IMHO not necessarily superior to Kindle or e-books but far less expensive in cash and power terms.

 

[Carmel2]

We have a iPod and a Sony car stereo, simple and works a treat.

 

[truscott]

Alternatively you can remaster the MP3's to change the Sample/Audio Bit Rate that you ripped them at initially. Looking at the manual for Audacity, it has the ability to batch edit MP3's, so you could simply set it up to go through your MP3 library and kick off the batch task to run through the night while you're not using the PC. Audacity looks like quite a nice tool!

Cheers, PT.

 

[WindyOut]

@OP "transfer them to your handy"? Luckily I live in Germany, so I know what you mean!

In Sweden this year I bought a rather rinky-dinky device that plugs into my iPod/iPhone/iPad and transmits FM radio waves on any frequency you want. This has the added advantage of being able to keep the iPod in the cockpit, effectively working as a remote control. (If volume needs boosting, you can set the volume higher for certain songs within iTunes).

Fair winds and happy listening,

StürmischDraußen

 

[duncan99210]

We have a iPod and a Sony car stereo, simple and works a treat.

+1`

 

[Chris_Robb]

We have a iPod and a Sony car stereo, simple and works a treat.

We do the same, but use a VHF connection from the Ipod to the car radio with Mission speakers.

However, I am not really happy with MP3 quality for classical music as the compression means complete instruments go missing - If you like the Ring Cycle come and more along side!!!!!!

 

[Carmel2]

One thing to keep in mind is that you don't live in a recording studio, so some of the top end gear is really not worth it.

 

[DaveRo]

...I am not really happy with MP3 quality for classical music as the compression means complete instruments go missing ...

If you're ripping your own CDs then use a higher quality setting - a higher bitrate for example.

Here is a summary of settings for the 'lame' mp3 encoder. I don't suppose you're using lame but any ripper should be able to produce higher-fidelity mp3s using similar settings.

You'll get bigger files, of course.

 

[bedouin]

There are 3 ways you can go on this
(1) Car Stereo with USB input
(2) "IPod" Dock style
(3) Computer speakers

Each have their pros and cons but underneath they should perform in a similar way. My concern with (1) is that speakers can be a bit tricky

Of course if you like the JVC you could easily add a pre-amp between the MP3 and the JVC to up the level and get round the issues

 

[Chris_Robb]

If you're ripping your own CDs then use a higher quality setting - a higher bitrate for example.

Here is a summary of settings for the 'lame' mp3 encoder. I don't suppose you're using lame but any ripper should be able to produce higher-fidelity mp3s using similar settings.

You'll get bigger files, of course.

I need to do something about the sheer amount of space the CD's take up - also the books too......

 

[BrianH]

Maybe car sound system with usb for stick ?

It's what I use - an Alpine CDE-130R. The cheapest car head units have usb input, usually conveniently on the fascia.

There are cheaper but the advantage of Alpine - perhaps others too - production costs dictate using the same reasonable quality audio output chip in all models, even this low-end one (ca. €80) and it sounds great.

Let's face it, a boat and its loudspeakers are rarely true Hi-Fi and MP3 is hardly loss-less. But for the likes of myself who, through age, probably couldn't hear the difference anyway, it is the ideal medium for compact living aboard.

4Gb USB sticks are cheap-as-chips now and a single one can hold hundreds of albums. I find personally that it helps to have some physical separation of the various genres - classical, popular, artists, etc., sticks can do that without being bulky.

 

[OldBawley]

As I understand a car unit would be fine, the Alpine as suggested by Barnac1e. Have found a source.
Some more questions for the advanced sound specialists :

The Alpine can random play, but just on CD. Is there a “thingy “ that would allow to play random from a memory stick full of different kinds of music ( I like jazz as well as classic )

The old JVC speakers are build in, good quality and marked : 8 Ohm Max 15 watt.
Could I use them on the car set ( 4 x 50 watt ) or would I blow them up?
Who needs 200 watt in a yacht?

I could not find the consumption of the Alpine CDE 130, guess it depends on the volume, my question is, would it be less than a laptop at 2,5 / 3 Amps ? ( 12 V )
Ps. Don´t have Ipod, to expencive.

Just now we have the first period of dark clouded weather, electric power starts to be scarce.

 

[Cloven]

We use an iPod with a small iPod dock which has its own internal batteries. Great sound quality & completely independent of the boat 12v system. We can also run this with a 240v adaptor if required.

FWIW, we also use this iPod dock as an external speaker system when connected to the laptop for watching DVDs etc or listening to BBC iPlayer (boat is in France so we get only poor Radio 4 LW reception).

 

[BrianH]

As I understand a car unit would be fine, the Alpine as suggested by Barnac1e. Have found a source.
Some more questions for the advanced sound specialists :

The Alpine can random play, but just on CD. Is there a “thingy “ that would allow to play random from a memory stick full of different kinds of music ( I like jazz as well as classic )

After a summer of use - 95% playback from USB sticks - I never tried the mix function, which I assumed was identical to the CD MP3 playback function. Unfortunately, I closed-up the boat in Italy last weekend and am now 700km distant so cannot test.

The manual (PDF version here) shows CD MP3 mixing but omits the same description for USB MP3 playback, so you may be right.

The old JVC speakers are build in, good quality and marked : 8 Ohm Max 15 watt.
Could I use them on the car set ( 4 x 50 watt ) or would I blow them up?
Who needs 200 watt in a yacht?

You probably have only two stereo speakers so would be connecting only the two front speaker connections, so you can forget the 200W. The quoted 50W per channel is not likely to be RMS so you can halve the effective output and that would only be at maximum volume output. The more available power you have the less distortion you are likely to get when driving at lower levels.

I could not find the consumption of the Alpine CDE 130, guess it depends on the volume, my question is, would it be less than a laptop at 2,5 / 3 Amps ? ( 12 V )

The manual referenced above quotes: Current Consumption Less than 2.1 A (CD mode; 0.5 W × 4).

Hope this helps.

Edit 1:
Thinking about the USB MP3 playback, the entire display and file structure manipulation was identical to the explanation under the CD MP3 playback description - not repeated under the USB MP3 playback heading. So it is possible that the mix function, although not described, could also be available.
Edit 2:
Nope, looks like you are right, just looked at the current data sheet to find: "M.I.X. Mode: All / Folder Random (CD Only)"
But check out other manufacturers' products, maybe you can find one with that USB MP3 playback functionality.

 

[Carmel2]

Ps. Don´t have Ipod, to expencive.

How many tunes do you have?

 

[OldBawley]

After some thought, the Alpine is no good to me, plays no random via the usb entrance and the consumption of 2,1 A is a lot higher than I thought.
The laptop uses only slightly more, maybe even less in Linux and with screen off.
Problem is the heating of the laptop in summer, but then music is not that important. Lots to see outside.
So I will have look at some good quality USB speakers as Mr Reed suggested.
Have Linux but never used it, ( New challenge for oldBawley ) and use VideoLan to play random. We also have a notebook witch we don´t use any more, believe that one uses more power than the big Dell.

Carmel, what are tunes?

 

[charles_reed]

Use a modern computer - the LenovoEdge I have runs @ 0.85 amp of 12v volt through a voltage stepper - about 20% of any stereo at whisper.
If you want to improve sound quality and reduce power consumption use good headphones. Sennheiser or Pioneer.

Old laptops are very power-hungry (x5-8 the Edge) and usually have very iffy sound cards.

An iPod is, in essence, a SSD hard disc, with a control system and costing x8 the price of either a 32Gb USB stick or an external HDD of 500-1000Gb. Great pieces of kit, superbly marketed. Who now boasts of their Walkman.

It's been quite a bit of work to transfer my 400 off vinyl LPs to MP3 and the 300 odd CDs, but they now occupy 1/2 of a 3.5' external HDD. An SSD, though smaller and more expensive would use about 40% of the power, the 125Gb ones are now reasonably priced.
I can play any of my tracks through the USB slot of the Roberts radio or the Clarion car radio I have at home.
Most car speakers unnaturally accentuate low and high frequencies and they are gluttons for power.

 

[DaveRo]

...The laptop uses only slightly more [power] maybe even less in Linux...?

In my experience (on Thinkpads) you're unlikely to save power using a standard Linux distro and power management (ACPI) compared with Windows. The Windows board drivers are just more developed. In Linux you can reduce power using 'powertop' but it's a faff.

I asked a similar question to yours in this thread. The power used by car radios may not be as much as you think (and I thought) according to answers there.

 

[Chris_Robb]

In my experience (on Thinkpads) you're unlikely to save power using a standard Linux distro and power management (ACPI) compared with Windows. The Windows board drivers are just more developed. In Linux you can reduce power using 'powertop' but it's a faff.

I asked a similar question to yours in this thread. The power used by car radios may not be as much as you think (and I thought) according to answers there.

My Pioneer car radio plus Ipod (on cigar lighter) has a combined amp usage of about 1.5amps - driving decent size Mission speakers.

I was given the Ipod complete with the last owners music on it, I dare not put it anywhere near Itunes to add more to it! Can the existing stuff on there - a really good mix, be saved if I start adding my own CD's to it?