Advice re car radio

[umpire111]

Need to replace existing car radio in boat. Can anyone advise, are car radios still the best. Am looking for a dab radio that takes a USB or sd card to play MP3 and if it could Bluetooth to play music from iPhone that would be great. Have looked at amazon but there are so many. Only have two speakers to output to. Thanks and all advice welcomed

[Chewbacka]

Mine is a Sony car radio but now discontinued, but it has Bluetooth, USB, FM, DAB. Does everything I want, and easy to find similar.

This is a good site to have a look at the alternatives.

http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/

[umpire111]

Mine is a Sony car radio but now discontinued, but it has Bluetooth, USB, FM, DAB. Does everything I want, and easy to find similar.

This is a good site to have a look at the alternatives.

http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/

That's great, been going thru site for last hour. Sure I can find something there

[FORTUNATA]

Mine all electron tube. Listened to Kid Jenson show today on a 1955 GEC set that's been rewired and upgraded. I also have a mid sixties car radio as well as 8 Track players. Audio wise the tube sets easily outperform modern digital.

[Chewbacka]

Agreed about valve radios, but I like BBC 6 music as well as R4e not to mention planet rock, none of which are on FM, only DAB.

Sadly they have yet to make a tubed DAB radio so for me content wins over audio quality.

[DHutch]

The other option, which I am looking to move to when I get around to it, is a t-class amp and domestic speakers.

 

Car audio equip is mixed at best, and the t-class amps are in the same price bracket and many can be run off 12vdc, or in out cars 24vdc.

 

Cant yet remoment a specific unit, but there are other threads on the topic on here. Or just ebay-search for t class.

 

 

 

Daniel

[Jess--]

The other option, which I am looking to move to when I get around to it, is a t-class amp and domestic speakers.

 

Car audio equip is mixed at best, and the t-class amps are in the same price bracket and many can be run off 12vdc, or in out cars 24vdc.

 

Cant yet remoment a specific unit, but there are other threads on the topic on here. Or just ebay-search for t class.

 

 

 

Daniel

Don't forget the TPA based amps. (http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=82366)

 

after 8 months mine is still working perfectly, it gets almost daily use at normal levels (10-25% volume) and roughly weekly blasts (100% volume for an hour or more)

the 100% blasts used to get my old (normal) amp hot enough to cook an egg on the casing, the TPA based one just about gets to skin temperature.

[spadefoot]

Car audio stuff is good in a robust sort of way, designed to work in cars with engine running. Can be a bit power hungry. Car audio speakers are very power hungry, and their audio response is tailored for the cabin of a car, would work well in a small bathroom stuffed with sofas.

 

D. Hutch's suggestion of t-class and domestic (bookshelf?) speakers is excellent.

 

You have to be careful with the voltage of the supply with t-class, they can't take more than about15v. Their quiescent power consumption is very low.

 

I'm listening to music on a home-made boombox with t-class amp right now, it runs off it's own internal rechargeable battery, and audio-wise knocks the socks off anything car based.

[Jess--]

the voltage sensitivity of the t-class was partly the reason for suggesting the tpa3116 based amps, they are happy with anything from 10v up to around 28v.

 

My one at home runs from an old 19v laptop PSU, the one on the boat runs off whatever the boat batteries happen to be at.

[spadefoot]

the voltage sensitivity of the t-class was partly the reason for suggesting the tpa3116 based amps, they are happy with anything from 10v up to around 28v.

 

My one at home runs from an old 19v laptop PSU, the one on the boat runs off whatever the boat batteries happen to be at.

That sounds really useful. Any idea of the quiescent current draw? Are they as good as t-class?

[Jess--]

That sounds really useful. Any idea of the quiescent current draw? Are they as good as t-class?

just stuck a multimeter on it......

 

all readings taken @ 19V DC

 

26mA in the off position

61mA in the on position (no audio input connected)

10.53A in the on position, full output (100w to sub & 2 x 50w to sats)

 

note that the full output reading was the peak reading while driving the amp to clipping on all three outputs

Edited October 19, 2016 by Jess--

[spadefoot]

Thanks for that Jess. 61mA sounds good to me. Could be another mobile sound-system project.

[Chalky]

the voltage sensitivity of the t-class was partly the reason for suggesting the tpa3116 based amps, they are happy with anything from 10v up to around 28v.

 

My one at home runs from an old 19v laptop PSU, the one on the boat runs off whatever the boat batteries happen to be at.

I'd stick a common mode choke in the power lines and add a decent size zener in for good measure. With a decent scope you'll see + ve and -ve voltage transients into the kV region caused by things like the fridge switching. They won't kill it straight away but they will stress it and cause premature failure.

Automotive power supplies are rated to 60v and reverse battery as well as surviving kV transients.

[Sea Dog]

I wonder whether the OP managed to buy himself a car radio or whether he's studying electronics in night school as we speak so that he can follow the replies?

[spadefoot]

That might depend on whether he just wants something to fit the hole, or whether he's looking for something that sounds better & uses less power to do it. Either option has validity.

[DHutch]

I wonder whether the OP managed to buy himself a car radio or whether he's studying electronics in night school as we speak so that he can follow the replies?

 

Yeah, there is that, I got as far as trying to work out which amp would work well on a 24v boat and what I might need to do to get there, but as yet have not bought one or tested it!

 

 

Daniel

[Robbo]

Need to replace existing car radio in boat. Can anyone advise, are car radios still the best. Am looking for a dab radio that takes a USB or sd card to play MP3 and if it could Bluetooth to play music from iPhone that would be great. Have looked at amazon but there are so many. Only have two speakers to output to. Thanks and all advice welcomed

Have a look at a Fusion Marine, they do some nice looking radios. They have just brought out a Dab module as well to upgrade existing units to dab.

[Sea Dog]

Do we think a car radio is still the best boat solution? They can be quite power hungry.

 

I use a £100ish Cambridge Bluetooth speaker, which not only sounds pretty good but also runs for 10 hours on its internal battery so it charges as we cruise and uses nothing from the domestic batteries when we're moored. We stream music to it from a tablet or phone and, whilst I'm sure it's not as good at providing a signal everywhere, I've yet to be let down by my phone's fm or Internet radio. It's also left jack plugged into the TV to improve its sound output too. Quite an elegant solution, although not the only one of course and, whilst the sound would satisfy most, it's not hi-fi for buffs.

[spadefoot]

Could be a useful bit of kit. I'm not keen on Bluetooth though, does it have a jack input as well?

[Psycloud]

We have one of these and they sound great, plus 24hr battery life and also waterproof to some extent - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-SRS-XB3-Waterproof-Portable-Speaker/dp/B01E4N7H54/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476965312&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+srs+xb3

 

They can be run off a cable or bluetooth.

[FORTUNATA]

My car radio is a Phillips 1962. And still going. I also have a Bush 1969 Tranny that runs on 9 volts. The audio sound of the Tranny is different and the Germanium transistors were good back then. My oldest car radio is a 1960 Ever Ready in a fabric covered wooden box. My oldest radio of the lot is a 1939 Cossor that ran on 120 DC. The problem with that was the tube filaments weren't drawing and I'm not sure yet of the cost for new tubes. I did restore the HT Unit for this set which uses a metal half wave rectifier. As to best audio that would be the 1964 Saalburg GDR model.

[Dave Payne]

If you enjoy playing around with things, then maybe a Raspberry Pi could be a route, lower power consumption, can be tucked away...

[Sea Dog]

Could be a useful bit of kit. I'm not keen on Bluetooth though, does it have a jack input as well?

 

Yes, it does: a 3.5mm socket which I leave connected to the TV permanently. This has no effect on the Bluetooth as you press the ON button briefly to switch on in BT mode or a longer press to turn on in wired mode for TV sound. I also leave the mains plugged in, switching it on for charging when we cruise. It has bluetooth charging output socket to charge/power your bluetooth device should you wish, which works whether from mains supply or by sharing power from its internal battery.

[FORTUNATA]

Strange how Silicon took over completely. In 1960 audiophiles understood tubes gave the best sound so transistors were merged. Silicon diodes were used to replace tube rectifiers and so on. Now the modern audio sound is just not at the same level. Nothing like. Enhanced bass for example isn't what defines quality audio. The bottom line is the modern players are mass produced for profit and the quality has suffered accordingly. Without a doubt early Sixties audio engineering hasn't been rivaled to date.

[Chewbacka]

Strange how Silicon took over completely. In 1960 audiophiles understood tubes gave the best sound so transistors were merged. Silicon diodes were used to replace tube rectifiers and so on. Now the modern audio sound is just not at the same level. Nothing like. Enhanced bass for example isn't what defines quality audio. The bottom line is the modern players are mass produced for profit and the quality has suffered accordingly. Without a doubt early Sixties audio engineering hasn't been rivaled to date.

The great public has never been that bothered by quality compared to content and function. Remember the video cassette battle. Philips V2000 was by far the best picture quality and was first out of the market, followed by Betamax leaving the worst picture quality in the VHS system.

Same with radio, silicon gave instant turn on - no waiting a few mins for the tubes to heat up, or portable radios powered by small internal batteries and of course small size for car radios etc. and the greatest driver of all, silicon was much more affordable than tubes at a reasonable audio quality.