Question for Audiophiles -- On Board 5.1

[Dockhead]

This looks pretty good:

Robot Check

But it's just speakers. I had thought that sound bars also had the electronics? It means I have to have a receiver as well. So maybe there's little point to sound bar versus small good normal speakers.

What do you audiophiles think about 5.1 with the rear speakers deleted?


Edit: this DOES have the amp built in, and looks kind of perfect: http://www.sonos.com/en-wo/shop/playbar#panel2-2

[ryon]

Can I buy you a half-dozen bluetooth earbuds? No really, my pleasure!

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by ryon

Can I buy you a half-dozen bluetooth earbuds? No really, my pleasure!

The blue tooth headphones I have tried all had lip sync issues and drove me bananas watching video. Music was fine but video gave me a headache. Is there a blue tooth head set that doesn't have obnoxious delay?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by ryon

Can I buy you a half-dozen bluetooth earbuds? No really, my pleasure!

Don't worry; you won't be sharing an anchorage with me

Where I sail, more than 90% of the time I am completely alone at anchor. In winter nearly 100%.

[ryon]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

The blue tooth headphones I have tried all had lip sync issues and drove me bananas watching video. Music was fine but video gave me a headache. Is there a blue tooth head set that doesn't have obnoxious delay?

If you're using the popular VLC media player (and who doesn't?) this should do the trick:

Fix Out-of-Sync Audio in VLC with a Keyboard Shortcut

Rock on! (Quietly.)

[Mycroft]

I looked very closely at the Sonos solution. Yes, the amp is built-in and other than power, they're wireless. Unfortunately, the big problem with it was the thickness of the speaker. Including the bracket, my Visio is about 3 1/4" from the bulkhead. The specs for the Sonos Playbar show 5.5"!

[a64pilot]

To get real, true subsonics, you need a rather large driver, like as in 18". And you need it in a Heavy enclosure, and a rather large amp to drive it. It's just simple Physics
My current house system has the JBL Sub driver as the coffee table for instance.
Since that is obviously not an option in a boat, maybe you can get something that fools the ear by processing.
Now I hate Bose, but they have since the days of the 901's done a good job of tricking you into thinking your hearing something your not, by processing.

I've actually been pondering the same or similar thing, and I believe I will go the Stereo route and not the 5.1 way.
I wouldn't leave the back channels out myself, but if you can get a very good Sub in your Settee or similar, then you can get away with rather small satellites. Real subsonic is not directional, you can't tell where the source is.

I have to find a home for my JBL system and don't know quite what to do with them.


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[Mycroft]

Agreed, you're not going to get a home theater experience on a "small" boat. I had a Klipsch reference speaker system when I was a dirt dweller. A small sub under the salon table is a good compromise.

[a64pilot]

I have wanted a set of Klipsch Horns, well since I was a kid.
Maybe one day when we swallow the anchor, I can get my horns.


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[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I have wanted a set of Klipsch Horns, well since I was a kid.
Maybe one day when we swallow the anchor, I can get my horns.

I just inherited a pair of Altec 604E speakers. Absolutely mint, not abused. I'm re-homing them in different cabinets to 'recreate' the Abbey Road monitors of the late 60s. Obviously not a marine-use choice, unless you're Paul Allen.

I kind of dug Bose 901s back in the day. I don't like the marketing push behind the new Bose line, but there are some decent performers in the lineup. I've seen (and heard) a small pair of Bose speakers factory-installed in a big Hunter.

[tanglewood]

As I understand it, and I confess I don't really, the center channel is probably the most important thing when it comes to viewing movies. Even more important than a subwoofer. I'm told that the dialog is heavily concentrated in the center channel, and that's why when watching with just the TV's audio the sound effects are loud but you can't hear the dialog. I really struggle with this when watching movies, and figured it's just because I'm getting old and deaf. But my son claims otherwise, and normally he'd be the first person to say I'm getting old and deaf.

Anyway, can anyone else confirm this?

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by tanglewood

As I understand it, and I confess I don't really, the center channel is probably the most important thing when it comes to viewing movies. Even more important than a subwoofer. I'm told that the dialog is heavily concentrated in the center channel, and that's why when watching with just the TV's audio the sound effects are loud but you can't hear the dialog. I really struggle with this when watching movies, and figured it's just because I'm getting old and deaf. But my son claims otherwise, and normally he'd be the first person to say I'm getting old and deaf.

Anyway, can anyone else confirm this?

You're not wrong. Even when movie theatres went into multi-channel sound, the center speaker remains the most important. When the action is center-screen, the sound should be there too.

In a home/boat setting... it might be less critical when you're using just the TV speakers, or a stereo pair very close to the tv. But a center channel speaker is definitely more important than a subwoofer.

If you're finding that dialogue is low compared to effects, you may have too much bass and/or treble boost. Dialogue is in the middle band. Try setting tone controls as flat as possible. It's a sad fact that hearing loss with age is often in that voice range. I have trouble hearing conversations at parties these days.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by tanglewood

As I understand it, and I confess I don't really, the center channel is probably the most important thing when it comes to viewing movies. Even more important than a subwoofer. I'm told that the dialog is heavily concentrated in the center channel, and that's why when watching with just the TV's audio the sound effects are loud but you can't hear the dialog. I really struggle with this when watching movies, and figured it's just because I'm getting old and deaf. But my son claims otherwise, and normally he'd be the first person to say I'm getting old and deaf.

Anyway, can anyone else confirm this?

Maybe the blind leading the blind, but this definitely corresponds to my perceptions, FWIW.

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[rourkeh]

Up until a few years ago if you wanted high end audio on your boat you really only had one choice, JL Audio. They only make speakers and amps so you still need to find a decent head unit.
When I did the refit on my current boat over the last few years I checked out the Fusion Audio equipment made in NZ. Their head units are the best available. The new 750 model is great and even has the first and only 12v hdmi cable output for my TV. This provides me with CD/DVD and I bought a separate ipod dock. For speakers and amps I went with JL Audio 10" subs and 6.5" speakers in the salon and cockpit which required cutting a few holes but worked out really well. The sound quality is amazing, and the volume can be a little over the top. I hear a lot of " what are you deaf " all the time, but I figure if it is too loud then you are too old.
Cost was very reasonable as well.
Any kind of pre packaged in a box type system will make OK noise for you but is a serious compromise to really good home theater type audio.
Good luck

[IdoraKeeper]

I am currently using a subwoofer in my media room at home that could best be described as a "thumper". It's designed to reproduce the bottom bottom of movie tracks, i.e. explosions and crashes. It came to me used, out of a very large system installed on a mega yacht. The original system had one of these units installed in each of the couches in the salon. Set to low volume, they provided a literal kick in the butt every time there was a door slam or explosion. The rest of the system was a 7.1 rig mounted in the overhead. On the whole the system failed. The sound from each channel was too localized. The users destroyed the speakers with excessive volume in vain attempt to hear all the channels from a central seating position. Not long after that the amp(s) were destroyed by an inverter failure. This was a cost is no factor system on a boat with an unlimited budget. It illustrates the difficulty involved. Kiss would indicate a 3.1 system with a sound bar as the most compact and effective solution.