Suitable Stereo unit for yacht

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by rourkeh

If it is too loud you are too old. If you managed to grow up in the 60's or 70's and not blow your eardrums out with the music back then then you were probably a nerd and listened to Lawrence Welk.

What a stupid remark....

[rourkeh]

I find it offensive when I am forced to listen to someone (anyone's) else's music.. and this includes outdoor wedding at the estate we are moored 1000 feet from.QUOTE

If you are going to park your ass in someone else's very expensive back yard I would probably be embarrassed to complain about how load they play their music, after all they have paid for the privilege and you are an over modulated free loader.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by HibbleJames

Hi,

New to forums.
Currently have a Colvic 31. Had it for over a year now and enjoyed it. But its time to put some work into it.
I am sure I will be frequenting these forums a lot over the next 4 months looking for tips!

One of the many improvements is to sort out the sound system.
Current thinking is
- Car stereo unit placed inside the lounge hooked up to 2 external speakers and 2 internal speakers.
- I want to be able to choose whether playing outside and/or inside
- Want to be able to control it wirelessly through any android phone from a decent distance.
-Looking for a very decent volume on the external speakers

So if anyone has any advice on external speakers and the head unit?

Welcome to CF James...

Here's a budget bluetooth receiver and speakers I've thrown in a few flip boats that is a really good bang for your $ ...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01176I0LQ
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JP37JC

[Stu Jackson]

On our way up the coast from SF to Vancouver Island in August, we stopped in Brookings, OR, and went food shopping. Their little "electronics" section had some stuff. My son, Morgan needed backup ear buds for his iPhone. All they had was a garish purple and a mottled green, but for only $5. He pointed out a small Bluetooth speaker for only $9.99 and said, “That’s a great price, they’re usually a lot more.” So we got both, the black speaker and green ear buds. Now Morgan has a backup set of buds if his do die, and we have a speaker we can use to listen to the music we both have stored on our phones without using the old “tape-in-the-stereo” trick. My boat SONY stereo system is the last of the soft-touch quality car cassette decks, with a 10 disc CD changer and AM/FM radio. Yes, cassette tapes. No laughing allowed. I still have all those MIX TAPES I made back in the eighties.
The little cheap Bluetooth speaker is very good. We were both amazed at the sound quality.

I saw similar ones a few minutes later in a pharmacy store that were minimum $30!!!

[n13L5]

Originally Posted by iancoombe

I can tell you that you will never regret bose speakers, just the warmth of sound .

Uhh, first of all, BOSE's business concept is to use very cheap drivers and then electronically smooth out the frequency curve.

A perfect example are their Bose QuietComfort 25 headphones: with the internal electronics (noise cancelling) turned off, the $250 set of headphones sounds like an $19,95 headphone. Once you turn ON the electronics, sound improves drastically.

Headphones and speakers that use well engineered drivers will always sound better electronics on or off.

Either way, this racket has worked really well for BOSE, no doubt.

_______

Another one I don't put much stock in is B&O's new line of Bluetooth speakers. They DO use good drivers, but provide no way of replacing the battery after the 2 year warranty is out. They refuse to ship or replace the battery, even if you're willing to pay for it after 2 years - even though its still a current product.

That makes them the most expensive disposable speaker system ever.


_______


:: SPEAKERS ::

I'm still positive on MB-Quart - they make high end car speakers specifically designed to be impervious to moisture. They also have a line of drivers for marine use.

They certainly are the best car speakers I ever bought - and I used to have JBL PA speaker drivers in my car in 1979, long before that became a fashion thing in the 90's...

So, for speakers, I'd recommend MB Quart or JBL or Pioneer (though Pioneer quality varies through the years, sometimes good, sometimes not)

If you don't get speakers designed for marine use, at least get car speakers. Home stereo stuff won't last.


:: AMPLIFIER ::

Much better to get a modern and efficient 4 Channel Amplifier than use the cheesy built-in amps from a car stereo. It'll not only sound better, distort less but also save electricity (at equal volume).

For amplification, you should get one of the new "Class D" amplifiers designed for cars or boats, because they are very efficient with their use of electricity.

Do not buy or keep an old, used amplifier - advances in amp technology have been too significant in both quality and efficiency to stick with anything old sucking your batteries dry. And $80 will buy you a perfectly decent 4-channel Class D unit with ~4x60 Watt RMS (don't pay attention to outlandish claims of 1600 or 2000 Watt, just look for the RMS value, if its not available, look for another brand/model.


:: HEAD ::

For the head, you could either use one of the current model car stereos with USB support, Bluetooth support and Android/iOS compatibility. These can also be had for $80-$100

Or, if you really just want to play music from your existing phone, you can get a Sony Bluetooth (4.x with APT-X) receiver that plugs straight into the amplifier for $30. But you'd have to control playback volume from your phone, after adjusting the amp input levels to get the full range.



:: AN ALTERNATIVE ::

If you don't like the whole idea of cabling together a system like that, you could go to a musician's store and buy active studio monitors plus the above mentioned Sony Bluetooth receiver.

For the quality and power you get from a pair of active studio monitors for $200-$300, you couldn't come even come close to the sound quality in a consumer audio store.

Each driver has its own, perfectly matched amplifier built in, with even the cable length from amp to driver taken into account. True engineering marvels.

Since they're active, you don't need anything else other than a sound source, like anything with an audio out and a long enough cable to connect to your playback device.

And of course you can use that same SONY Bluetooth receiver mentioned above and plug that into the speakers with an audio cable.

This may not be cheaper than the first method, but there will be no installation work and you can take it out of the boat and use it some place else.


PS: If you go for active studio monitors, make sure you don't get a model made with paper-based cones or MDF enclosure.

[thruska]

UE Megaboom...
360sound
Waterproof
Bluetooth
Done and done....
Car stereo never again....
No wiring to installed and trouble shoot,
No holes for anything !!!
We have two...
Amazon, Verizon, and a boatload of others...

[n13L5]

Originally Posted by thruska

UE Megaboom...
360sound
Waterproof
Bluetooth
Done and done....
Car stereo never again....
No wiring to installed and trouble shoot,
No holes for anything !!!
We have two...
Amazon, Verizon, and a boatload of others...

"Car stereo never again"...?

Those things give you more convenient control and a full frequency sound spectrum. And installed speakers don't tumble about.

Nothing against small Bluetooth speakers, they have their place, when you need to keep it light.

[thruska]

Originally Posted by n13L5

"Car stereo never again"...?

Those things give you more convenient control and a full frequency sound spectrum. And installed speakers don't tumble about.

Nothing against small Bluetooth speakers, they have their place, when you need to keep it light.

To each his own of course.👍
The megaboom has a loop for lanyard. Hang it any where with the optional sky hook 🌙. ;+)
Control it from my dumb fone.
Did i mention water proof ? ☔️
(
Im partial i guess cuz a boat i got had 8inch marine speakers installed in the.cockpit. Gee i guess those 8" cockpit drains come in handy., 'cept they drain into bilge .PO must have thought marine meant "waterproof ". Rusty wire terminals aint waterproof in my book . )
No axe to grind.
If you havent seen or heard them, bebop down to verizon and test drive one ,(thats where i tried it ) hey i once said id never drive a Prius lol..

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by rourkeh

I find it offensive when I am forced to listen to someone (anyone's) else's music.. and this includes outdoor wedding at the estate we are moored 1000 feet from.QUOTE

If you are going to park your ass in someone else's very expensive back yard I would probably be embarrassed to complain about how load they play their music, after all they have paid for the privilege and you are an over modulated free loader.

The sound radiates over much of Northport harbor... and so their commercial interest in hosting weddings has made a large portion of the mooring field/harbor subject to their business practices which include load and often crappy, if I might add... music.

[n13L5]

Originally Posted by thruska

To each his own of course.👍
The megaboom has a loop for lanyard. Hang it any where with the optional sky hook 🌙. ;+)
Control it from my dumb fone.
Did i mention water proof ? ☔️
(
Im partial i guess cuz a boat i got had 8inch marine speakers installed in the.cockpit. Gee i guess those 8" cockpit drains come in handy., 'cept they drain into bilge .PO must have thought marine meant "waterproof ". Rusty wire terminals aint waterproof in my book . )
No axe to grind.
If you havent seen or heard them, bebop down to verizon and test drive one ,(thats where i tried it ) hey i once said id never drive a Prius lol..

I heard them. For something that small, they sound good, if not on a level of fidelity with B&O's Bluetooth offerings, which are being hawked all over the place these days.

But I don't buy the "waterproof" at all. For one thing, the adverts avoid the word "waterproof", they say some other, similar sounding thing.

And generally NOTHING seems ready for a constant mist of water droplets mixed with salt. I think the median lifetime of my friend's boomboxes, which are always used from inside a plastic bag, adding a slight muffle to the sound was about a year, give or take



I wonder what the time difference is, for sweet-water vs saltwater boats needing a major overhaul...?

[thruska]

Originally Posted by n13L5

I heard them. For something that small, they sound good, if not on a level of fidelity with B&O's Bluetooth offerings, which are being hawked all over the place these days.

But I don't buy the "waterproof" at all. For one thing, the adverts avoid the word "waterproof", they say some other, similar sounding thing.

And generally NOTHING seems ready for a constant mist of water droplets mixed with salt. I think the median lifetime of my friend's boomboxes, which are always used from inside a plastic bag, adding a slight muffle to the sound was about a year, give or take



I wonder what the time difference is, for sweet-water vs saltwater boats needing a major overhaul...?

Yep, water resistance carries no waterproof guarantee
Obviously salt environment is tough on equipment. Some people like those old freshwater boats for there condition and take them south. You don't see many saltwater boats resurrected in northern climes. I helped a buddy with a La. salvage once. Biiiig job , down to bare hull.
What's the going rate for the b&o speakerssetup you refer to ?
Tanks

[thruska]

Originally Posted by rourkeh

I find it offensive when I am forced to listen to someone (anyone's) else's music.. and this includes outdoor wedding at the estate we are moored 1000 feet from.QUOTE

If you are going to park your ass in someone else's very expensive back yard I would probably be embarrassed to complain about how load they play their music, after all they have paid for the privilege and you are an over modulated free loader.

Arrghh, a couple o' volleys of rock salt off port bow oughtta quiet down the natives.....

[n13L5]

Originally Posted by thruska

Yep, water resistance carries no waterproof guarantee
Obviously salt environment is tough on equipment. Some people like those old freshwater boats for there condition and take them south. You don't see many saltwater boats resurrected in northern climes. I helped a buddy with a La. salvage once. Biiiig job , down to bare hull.
What's the going rate for the b&o speakerssetup you refer to ?
Tanks

If you consider the demonstrated sound quality, the premium they charge is completely reasonable, but I do not recommend to buy them, because of B&O's refusal to install or even just mail you a replacement battery for cash after the 2 year warranty is over (even when your model is still current, has not been replaced with a new product)

So their miserable company policy spoils the deal. I mean isn't the mountain of waste plastic floating on the ocean big enough yet? Must we produce things and make sure they have to be thrown away as soon as possible for corporate greed?

And isn't it the corporate elite, the ~147 families that go on complaining that we are too many people, talking about needing a population reduction, cause we're creating too much waste? I mean its not us slaves who just can't wait to throw our stuff away /rant

Anyway, I boycott companies and products that willfully curtail product life to extremely short periods. Even if they sound great and look really nice

[thruska]

Originally Posted by n13L5

If you consider the demonstrated sound quality, the premium they charge is completely reasonable, but I do not recommend to buy them, because of B&O's refusal to install or even just mail you a replacement battery for cash after the 2 year warranty is over (even when your model is still current, has not been replaced with a new product)

So their miserable company policy spoils the deal. I mean isn't the mountain of waste plastic floating on the ocean big enough yet? Must we produce things and make sure they have to be thrown away as soon as possible for corporate greed?

And isn't it the corporate elite, the ~147 families that go on complaining that we are too many people, talking about needing a population reduction, cause we're creating too much waste? I mean its not us slaves who just can't wait to throw our stuff away /rant

Anyway, I boycott companies and products that willfully curtail product life to extremely short periods. Even if they sound great and look really nice

Hey n13 , id be first in line to join in your rant , honestly.
But my dog passed away yesterday and no amount of bitching can change that or make it better.
Thanks for your frank reply.

[Saltyhog]

Originally Posted by John Holbrook

If you want cheap get a class D 12v amp from eBay or Amazon for $30-40 and a couple of speakers. I have this on my centre consule and it works great. Music comes from my Ipad which also acts as a plotter.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

**This** Most boats (sail or power) do not make for a very good listening platform. If you just want some tunes, have it not cost much in amp-hours (or $$$), it's hard to beat one of these cheap class T amps. Just plug your mp3 player (or phone) in and it'll play all night on next to no power. In the house I can be a real audio snob, but on the boat it just does not make sense. For speakers, find the most efficient drivers that will work for where they are mounted. I've found that the Fusion 7" coax speakers work well in the cockpit.