Music Aboard

[shonorow]

I'm looking at upgrading my stereo system. Being off-shore and out of reach of the cloud, I'm thinking MP-3 and thumb drives are the best option to play my music aboard. Any better ideas out there? Any agreement?

[Donnybrook]

Playing music through a stereo with USB/MP3 capabilities will work and should be a straight forward, mature solution. You can also put music files on a CD-Rom. I prefer a Bluetooth connection from my phone so I can use the phone as a remote control and listen to streaming services, audio books and podcasts.

If you use a PC/laptop/Raspberry PI for navigation, consider connecting the sound card to your stereo (Bluetooth or an aux cable) and play your MP3 files from the nav computer. This allows alarms from your nav software (anchor, AIS proximity) to play loudly through your stereo.

On my boat, I use a Raspberry Pi for navigation and have audio connected to the stereo via an aux port. I play audio on my phone through the Raspberry Pi via a Bluetooth connection. I leave the stereo on whenever the nav computer is on, even when not listening to music, to hear alarms.

Look at the Fusion radios if your budget allows. It allows you to control music via NMEA 2000 and a compatible chart plotter. I don't have experience using one but researched them before deciding I'm happy with my current stereo.

If you go for a Bluetooth solution, I found a noticeable difference in Bluetooth 5 vs. Bluetooth 4 range. Using Bluetooth 5 I can play music from anywhere on the deck of my 34' sailboat (stereo at the nav table). Older Bluetooth 4 would start to cut-out with my phone in my pocket while standing behind the wheel or forward of the mast.

Hope this helps to confirm your thinking. For me, figuring out how to control audio from wherever I am on the boat and making sure I can hear navigation alarms improved my musical enjoyment a lot.

[CaptTom]

I'm old school. I have tons of music loaded on my phone. I can play it through BlueTooth systems on my boat or in my vehicles. I've used it on other people's boats and those portable sound systems you use at function halls and the like. Oh, and never any commercials!

I never warmed to the idea of "renting" music. If I paid for it, I want to own it. Obviously I'm in the minority these days, but it has its advantages when out of cellular data range.

[shonorow]

Thank you very much for your well thought out answer. I'm slowly getting dragged into the 21st. Century, having recently installed Garmin Bluetooth compatible sonar and radar units. Although I had never heard of either Fusion marine radios, or Raspberry PI, thanks to you, I am educating myself. My problem started with the recent demise of my PC, which took with it all my music and nav software (Garmin Homeport). The only things that survived were my thumb drives. Looking for something bullet proof. Thanks to you, I am definitely going with Bluetooth and USB compatible. My stereo unit is below at my nav station; so, don't see the need to spend the money for Fusion. Thanks again for all the erudite help.

[ohdrinkboy]

you can subscribe to spotify and download songs, playlists, podcasts to your device (phone, computer, tablet). You just need to login to your account every month with connectivity.

[shonorow]

Didn't consider spotify. Will give it a try. Thanks for. Your input.

[SV-Apres]

Originally Posted by Donnybrook

If you use a PC/laptop/Raspberry PI for navigation, consider connecting the sound card to your stereo (Bluetooth or an aux cable) and play your MP3 files from the nav computer. This allows alarms from your nav software (anchor, AIS proximity) to play loudly through your stereo.

On my boat, I use a Raspberry Pi for navigation and have audio connected to the stereo via an aux port. I play audio on my phone through the Raspberry Pi via a Bluetooth connection. I leave the stereo on whenever the nav computer is on, even when not listening to music, to hear alarms.

I echo Donnybrook's points above and also have my system set up like him. Additionally, I used a USB sound card to connect my VHF so that I can also hear my VHF radio over the stereo as I often think that VHF radios in the cockpit are too quiet without an external speaker.

here is a video demonstration (see 5:38 to 7:34)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSLpdpwWujo&t=608s

[wingssail]

We play MP3 music files from an external hard drive on our PC using a music player application (Media Monkey). We connect the PC to the aux-in of a automotive stereo driving power amps and external speakers, (10 speakers total, 8 indoor spread over two cabins, and two outside). Switches turn the main and forward cabin speakers on and off, as does another switch which controls the amp for the outside speakers. There are woofers in the main cabin and a cross over. Front and rear and balance controls on the stereo control volumes in the cabins separately.

We have about 3000 albums on the external hard drive (arround 32000 songs). we've been collecting it for years and only obtain our music legally. All of the music is cataloged in folders and meta tags are attached. The catalog is managed by Media Monkey and we can select music by all the various tags (artist, album, song, genre, date, etc).

To protect our music from loss the external hard drive is backed up roughly every six months and in between back ups the newer music is also on the local SSB hard drive of the computer.

Our stereo player accepts SD cards and USB thumb drives and we down load music to devices like that so we can play music on passage without the PC, to save power usage.

We play movies and stream Internet programs on the computer and play the sound tracks through the stereo/speaker systems at pretty good quality. When we make a skype or zoom call or connection the audio comes out the speakers (and for this reason we have a bright LCD light to indicate when the outside speakers are on. We don't want to be in the cabin having a conversation with our banker and have it amplified throughout the marina, which has happened).

There is no connection to the audio system from the VHF.

This system sounds complicated but it is rather simple with very few devices and no subscription costs. It is optimized for playing while on passage or in anchorages and for loud parties onboard or dockside. The outside speakers are big. Headphones may be connected to the PC for private listening.

I like my music, mostly I play newly released alternative music, and my daily ritual of music and whiskey while I BBQ outside in the evenings is a cherished part of life on board Wings.

[bensolomon]

I use my iPad connected via Bluetooth to my stereo. But, my stereo is old and only has an AUX port and the USB port. So I purchased a Bluetooth receiver that connects into the AUX port to receive the signal from my iPad and cell phone. I got it on Amazon for about $20. Works great! Also, use the iPad to watch movies soni get the surround sound effect down below!

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by wingssail

We play MP3 music files from an external hard drive on our PC using a music player application (Media Monkey). We connect the PC to the aux-in of a automotive stereo driving power amps and external speakers, (10 speakers total, 8 indoor spread over two cabins, and two outside). Switches turn the main and forward cabin speakers on and off, as does another switch which controls the amp for the outside speakers. There are woofers in the main cabin and a cross over. Front and rear and balance controls on the stereo control volumes in the cabins separately.



We have about 3000 albums on the external hard drive (arround 32000 songs). we've been collecting it for years and only obtain our music legally. All of the music is cataloged in folders and meta tags are attached. The catalog is managed by Media Monkey and we can select music by all the various tags (artist, album, song, genre, date, etc).



To protect our music from loss the external hard drive is backed up roughly every six months and in between back ups the newer music is also on the local SSB hard drive of the computer.



Our stereo player accepts SD cards and USB thumb drives and we down load music to devices like that so we can play music on passage without the PC, to save power usage.



We play movies and stream Internet programs on the computer and play the sound tracks through the stereo/speaker systems at pretty good quality. When we make a skype or zoom call or connection the audio comes out the speakers (and for this reason we have a bright LCD light to indicate when the outside speakers are on. We don't want to be in the cabin having a conversation with our banker and have it amplified throughout the marina, which has happened).



There is no connection to the audio system from the VHF.



This system sounds complicated but it is rather simple with very few devices and no subscription costs. It is optimized for playing while on passage or in anchorages and for loud parties onboard or dockside. The outside speakers are big. Headphones may be connected to the PC for private listening.



I like my music, mostly I play newly released alternative music, and my daily ritual of music and whiskey while I BBQ outside in the evenings is a cherished part of life on board Wings.

Is your music stored in a compressed file and if so is the compression lossy?

[jbinbi]

Subscribe to Sirius. You get their Xmas radio w all channels AND can get weather. Satellite so works well when not close to land.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

Is your music stored in a compressed file and if so is the compression lossy?

Yes, all of our music is MP3, it is a lossy compression algorithm. Many of the music we download comes in at high bitrate etc and are bigger files and generally a 4 minute song is 6-10 MB, where as 15 years ago songs I downloaded were 3-4MB. I think the quality is better now. But not like FLAC or any other lossless format.

Honestly, the quality of my speakers and amplifiers does not warrant audiophiliac quality recording.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

Subscribe to Sirius. You get their Xmas radio w all channels AND can get weather. Satellite so works well when not close to land.

Nobody likes the music I like, not Spotify, not Sirius, nobody. There is no channel on any of those music sites which I care to listen to. Even when I choose a few songs and they say, "Want more like that?" It isn't.

[s/v Jedi]

We converted our music collection to mp3 before setting of for full time live aboard in 2002. Then a couple years later, we converted it all to flac to have lossless quality, before giving the CD’s away.

We used several different systems over the years, but for now have settles on Sonos. The music is on a hard disk that is connected to a raspberry pi on the network, serving as music library service as one of it’s side jobs. The Sonos speakers just plug into an outlet and connect to the disk via wifi.

[ChrisJHC]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

We converted our music collection to mp3 before setting of for full time live aboard in 2002. Then a couple years later, we converted it all to flac to have lossless quality, before giving the CD’s away.

We used several different systems over the years, but for now have settles on Sonos. The music is on a hard disk that is connected to a raspberry pi on the network, serving as music library service as one of it’s side jobs. The Sonos speakers just plug into an outlet and connect to the disk via wifi.

I use Sonos at home but not (yet) on my boat.
How do you find the power requirements?
Does it need AC or have you been able to make 12VDC work?