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I'm looking for a way to avoid external speakers. I don't have much of an interior so usually I just put my ipod dock down there and crank it up. Only problem is when the motor is on or the wind picks up it makes it really hard to hear. I'm not looking for something that'll blast out my neighbor or shake the boat. Also it has to be cheap and light. I'm reading this thread http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/27514-great-cheap-marine-stereo-pick-two.html and am trying to make a list, but I must admit that I'm not audio savvy in the least.
Are cockpit speakers a must? Or with the below interior can I get away with just speakers down below?
And just a bit of a different opinion, I dumped the CD players in favor of a Fusion Ipod docking stereo. I never had much luck keeping the CD player working long, as something always seems to gum it up. You open the face where you would normally expect to feed the CD, and you will find a space for an Ipod. Once closed, the Ipod is safe in a waterproof compartment, is kept charged up, and the Ipod controls are on the face of the stereo. It sounds great as well.
I use an 80 gig Ipod Classic. I have about 1000 songs on it and I am using about 10% of the capacity so far. And I don't have to carry any CD's down to the boat anymore.
I can't hear the VHF radio and I can't share the music with others when I wear earbuds. And to top it all off, I'm a klutz and I'm betting I would drop the Ipod overboard.
No problem, just don't be scared off by the suggested retail price they list. West Marine used to have an exclusive with Fusion, but that seems to be changing.
The good news is the unit will come with a sleeve for almost every Ipod out there, so just pop out one sleeve and put in another and the unit can take a different Ipod. I have the 4-zone unit as that was all that was out when I got mine. Fusion has since come out with a 3-zone that sells for a little less money. And if you really want to keep a CD player, they have a CD player unit with a docking station add-on. Regardless, this has been the best sounding stereo I've had on the boat by far.
Best part is if you do have an issue, the company stands behind the product. I had a problem with the first unit I got. Not only did they give me a cell phone number to call when I was at the boat in the evening to help troubleshoot the unit, I received a replacement fast when they couldn't figure out a fix that I could do. The president of the North American branch also sent me e-mails and called during the process to made sure I was being taken care of and was satisfied. You couldn't ask for better customer service.
You might want to do some serious thinking and ask yourself if music in the cockpit is really what you want. Sound will dissipate out into the blue yonder very readily with speakers in the cockpit and the sound is not nearly as good as the sound that is contained below.
I just installed a 200 watt marine grade stereo last spring and I put all 4 speakers below. I mounted them so that each speaker had its own cabinette which were the natural storage cavities in various places on the boat. It is not a good idea for two speakers to share the same cavity as they will interupt the air movement of each other produced by the vibration of the cones. The 200 watts out 4 speakers produces some fairly decent sound and the base is pretty good and it is all contained below.
I do not care for music that much while out sailing, I prefer the natural sounds of the environment. I do like to have the music when at the dock hanging out and having a beer though, or at anchor or at a marina but always while secured somewhere. I can hear the music fine enough from the cockpit but I often sit below where I can hear it in its' entirety full surround. If I am running the engine I cannot hear it at all in the cockpit and I am sometimes motoring out there so even with speakers in the cockpit the engine noise would distort it. I am not a big proponent of speakers and sound in the cockpit, I prefer music when I can sit back and relax and enjoy it, not while under way.
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I do not care for music that much while out sailing, I prefer the natural sounds of the environment.... I am not a big proponent of speakers and sound in the cockpit, I prefer music when I can sit back and relax and enjoy it, not while under way.
And when our engine is running, it really doesn't matter. The volume would have to be cranked too high in the cockpit to enjoy it. Plus I think it's a good idea to "keep an ear" on things.
ZZ, one option you might consider: We have speakers below decks, but instead of being on short speaker wires, each one has an extra 10'+ of wire coiled behind it. So we can set them out on deck or closer to the companionway, as needed.
I got a waterproof enclosure with built in speakers for my ipod. I had contemplated putting in a stereo system, but when I started thinking about it all I would use it for would be to plug the ipod into, so why not just get speakers for the ipod?
I do have an ipod dock now with 2 small speakers and an aux output to connect more speakers. Could I just mount 2 speakers in the cockpit and run the wiring to the ipod dock? In this configuration would the dock (runs on 4 AA batteries) be nearly enough to drive the larger cockpit speakers?
Using equipment I already have is very appealing, and it sounds simple. Not to mention, I could remove it when racing.
I second Kermie and Pollard regarding cockpit speakers. I have them installed but found it anoying when sailing or even motoring. At marina I barely use them, as I'm afraid to disturb boats on my side, at anchor, I'm rarely alone, and friends chat is always our first choice. I realise there are few very specific situation for its use ....
We have a Sony receiver below deck with it wired to the helm navpod which has a remote built into the navpod as well as the aux I pod jack. Also put two Bose speakers in the cabin as well as two in the cockpit.
While most of the time just bay sailing we use the cockpit speakers infrequently, we take a few long trips each each like to Mystic or Block Island or somewhere in New England from the Chesapeake. Its nice to be able to play music from our 3200 song ipod when we are underway for 8 sometimes 10 hours per day.
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