Finally lve fitted a surround sound setup to our van ! I know it probably sounds extravagant , but being an audio lover and because we use a 27" uhd monitor for our viewing l had do do something anyway to get some decent sound happening ( monitors speakers were crap )
I bought a used home theatre amp and speakers , and also some other smaller speakers to use as rears , the main problem of course was that all ht amps are big and l wanted to conceal it and the set top box and media player
Luckily one of the floor cupboards in a central position in the van fitted the bill , and after removing the centre divider to allow the amp to be shoehorned in diagonally , l used chocks to hold the centre divider ( once l had straightened the amp back to horizontal) and lifted it all back to the dividers original position....phew !
It was a squeeze as the amp is 420mm x430mm from memory , and weighs 18kg ..... anyway the rest was fairly easy, ran wires for the rears through existing holes and under floor and back up through conduits and top cupboards, same for left front speaker via another route, and the centre and right main through a 40mm hole l bored with a clamshell cover to tidy it up, this hole lets the HDMI and antennae coax through
To operate it l got a remote repeater l wired into the cupboard ( $60 from jaycar ) and a Logitech universal remote control ( though the standard ones work also )
Total cost for the audio was around $ 400 , the original new cost would've been around $ 4000 ( it's around 10 years old )
Sounds good and only idles along , didn't bother with a sub
patrol03 said
01:24 PM Jan 23, 2017
Sounds great Kesa 32. Just don't park next to me.
Brownie2 said
04:10 PM Jan 23, 2017
Ditto, can't stand noisy neighbours, especially in the bush.
kesa32 said
05:49 PM Jan 23, 2017
Just for your information l was only telling people how it can be done , not how to make a racket .... you guys are so sensitive , why bother reading this is at all , if all you can do is be instantly negative ..... get a life
-- Edited by kesa32 on Monday 23rd of January 2017 05:52:55 PM
-- Edited by kesa32 on Monday 23rd of January 2017 05:53:24 PM
patrol03 said
06:11 PM Jan 23, 2017
I wonder who is pulling who's leg ?
Grubbygypsy said
06:15 PM Jan 23, 2017
Hehehe....can't help but have a giggle kesa....you're going to need a nice gennie to go with that too .
The tvs are so tinny sounding these days. They actually hurt my ears!!
I put a sound bar in my van. Was a bit easier for me to fit/hook up.
I don't know where all these neighbours come from. I'm always alone wherever I am.
kesa32 said
06:32 PM Jan 23, 2017
Grubbygypsy wrote:
Hehehe....can't help but have a giggle kesa....you're going to need a nice gennie to go with that too .
The tvs are so tinny sounding these days. They actually hurt my ears I put a sound bar in my van. Was a bit easier for me to fit/hook up.
I don't know where all these neighbours come from. I'm always alone wherever I am.
Lol , yeah nah , mains only atm as the missus doesn't free camp ( that might change when we retire ) l thought soundbar too , but this come along......couldn't knock it back lol
Aus-Kiwi said
07:00 PM Jan 23, 2017
Yep generater and short lead lol
That'll get the natives agitated !! lol yes we have sound bar above our bed .TV is on wall other side of bed . With two little speakers rack side . Mainly so we can hear TV or entertainment system in bed quietly !! Just because you mentioned speakers or suround sound doesn't mean your a mobile party machine !!
Cruising Cruze said
08:43 PM Jan 23, 2017
@ Kesa32
Hi Ken
I can only say it is the way to go, nothing better watching an movie in surround sound Will be on the list for the next caravan we want to get Pity that we can't fit my Denon surround amp and our B&W speaker system in the van Bit to big and to heavy
Cheers John
kesa32 said
09:14 PM Jan 23, 2017
Lol@ Aus kiwi , yeah the loud days are well past mate
Hey John, yeah it's a shame they can't make small versions of nice av amps that'd fit in vans etc for a reasonable price hey..... you'd only need a few watts per channel
Sounds like you have a nice system at home
Cheers Ken
-- Edited by kesa32 on Monday 23rd of January 2017 09:25:36 PM
meetoo said
12:32 AM Jan 24, 2017
Another way is to plug an FM transmitter into the tv which sends the tv's audio to the the van's radio, and then listen to the tv through the radio's speaker system.
Cheers, John.
Desert Dweller said
04:53 AM Jan 24, 2017
When we're camping in the bush we use a pocket sized transistor radio, that's if we can get any signal that is. Sounds great for news & weather. We prefer the sounds of the bush that SURROUND us.
Congratulations on the new sound system.Just for future reference what's your rego number?
-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Tuesday 24th of January 2017 05:06:17 AM
Grubbygypsy said
08:02 AM Jan 24, 2017
meetoo wrote:
Another way is to plug an FM transmitter into the tv which sends the tv's audio to the the van's radio, and then listen to the tv through the radio's speaker system.
Cheers, John.
That's a good idea thanks John. I will look into something like that. Mainly I don't want to have to run a generator to power it every time I watch tv. JayCar?
Still laughing at the irritation people get over someone watching TV. The people I have met on the road are mostly bloody deaf anyways!!! Don't know why it would bother them.
Dougwe said
09:12 AM Jan 24, 2017
I plug a lead into the earplug socket on back of TV then into 'Aux in', on the vans radio system, works and sounds good. If I want to watch anything like a action movie I plug my ear buds with long lead into back of TV and sit/lay back and watch it through them as loud as I want without annoying "sensitive" people, all with a stereo effect too, everyone happy campers then.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
Aus-Kiwi said
11:43 AM Jan 24, 2017
Even half decent computer speakers close to be works a treat . It's the speakers in TV not so much the elect side of sound system . Plus we realy want to hear speech so base is not important and its low frequency bass that travels, annoys others . Mid range and tweeters are best . Quality low watt .
kesa32 said
01:03 PM Jan 24, 2017
Yes there heaps of cheap workarounds and l considered some like using the car stereo that's onboard , but the speakers are behind where we sit , with the monitor at the opposite mid van point so it would've been weird lol
Yes this system would need a good inverter etc for free camping.... but that's probably another 5 years away and we'd most likely change vans to something more suitable anyway as this ones more of a black top cruiser / park type van
Cheers Ken
kesa32 said
01:12 PM Jan 24, 2017
Desert Dweller wrote:
When we're camping in the bush we use a pocket sized transistor radio, that's if we can get any signal that is. Sounds great for news & weather. We prefer the sounds of the bush that SURROUND us.
Congratulations on the new sound system.Just for future reference what's your rego number?
-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Tuesday 24th of January 2017 05:06:17 AM
Rego's v86341 , but as we're both full time workers we don't use the van a lot , probably 4 weeks total a year , hopefully a bit more soon , as the youngest is finishing school this year
its a large biege coloured tandem Bailey van
meetoo said
08:26 PM Jan 24, 2017
Grubbygypsy wrote:
meetoo wrote:
Another way is to plug an FM transmitter into the tv which sends the tv's audio to the the van's radio, and then listen to the tv through the radio's speaker system.
Cheers, John.
That's a good idea thanks John. I will look into something like that. Mainly I don't want to have to run a generator to power it every time I watch tv. JayCar?
Still laughing at the irritation people get over someone watching TV. The people I have met on the road are mostly bloody deaf anyways!!! Don't know why it would bother them.
Grubby, I got the FM transmitter from Target. Cost around $60.00.
Cheers, John.
Grubbygypsy said
07:42 PM Jan 25, 2017
You guys are legends!!! I just did the aux thing for now - and it's just so much better than the TV and I don't have to run the sound bar (which doesn't like my TV much anyways for some reason). Not sure how much power my sound system uses off the 12v (normally only run one or the other) but today was a gorgeous day anyways here - so got plenty of power.
Like I said, the TV used to actually hurt my ears - inside - it was weird.....I could only have it down so low that you could barely hear it. So now it sounds reasonable thanks guys. I'll fix it up properly when I get to civilisation.
kesa32 said
12:18 PM Jan 26, 2017
Good to hear mate !
Enjoy the sun :). We're back to reality Tuesday :(
Finally lve fitted a surround sound setup to our van ! I know it probably sounds extravagant , but being an audio lover and because we use a 27" uhd monitor for our viewing l had do do something anyway to get some decent sound happening ( monitors speakers were crap )
I bought a used home theatre amp and speakers , and also some other smaller speakers to use as rears , the main problem of course was that all ht amps are big and l wanted to conceal it and the set top box and media player
Luckily one of the floor cupboards in a central position in the van fitted the bill , and after removing the centre divider to allow the amp to be shoehorned in diagonally , l used chocks to hold the centre divider ( once l had straightened the amp back to horizontal) and lifted it all back to the dividers original position....phew !
It was a squeeze as the amp is 420mm x430mm from memory , and weighs 18kg ..... anyway the rest was fairly easy, ran wires for the rears through existing holes and under floor and back up through conduits and top cupboards, same for left front speaker via another route, and the centre and right main through a 40mm hole l bored with a clamshell cover to tidy it up, this hole lets the HDMI and antennae coax through
To operate it l got a remote repeater l wired into the cupboard ( $60 from jaycar ) and a Logitech universal remote control ( though the standard ones work also )
Total cost for the audio was around $ 400 , the original new cost would've been around $ 4000 ( it's around 10 years old )
Sounds good and only idles along , didn't bother with a sub
Ditto, can't stand noisy neighbours, especially in the bush.
Just for your information l was only telling people how it can be done , not how to make a racket .... you guys are so sensitive , why bother reading this is at all , if all you can do is be instantly negative ..... get a life
-- Edited by kesa32 on Monday 23rd of January 2017 05:52:55 PM
-- Edited by kesa32 on Monday 23rd of January 2017 05:53:24 PM
The tvs are so tinny sounding these days. They actually hurt my ears!!
I put a sound bar in my van. Was a bit easier for me to fit/hook up.
I don't know where all these neighbours come from. I'm always alone wherever I am.
Lol , yeah nah , mains only atm as the missus doesn't free camp ( that might change when we retire ) l thought soundbar too , but this come along......couldn't knock it back lol
@ Kesa32
Hi Ken
I can only say it is the way to go, nothing better watching an movie in surround sound
Will be on the list for the next caravan we want to get
Pity that we can't fit my Denon surround amp and our B&W speaker system in the van
Bit to big and to heavy
Cheers John
Lol@ Aus kiwi , yeah the loud days are well past mate
Hey John, yeah it's a shame they can't make small versions of nice av amps that'd fit in vans etc for a reasonable price hey..... you'd only need a few watts per channel
Sounds like you have a nice system at home
Cheers Ken
-- Edited by kesa32 on Monday 23rd of January 2017 09:25:36 PM
Another way is to plug an FM transmitter into the tv which sends the tv's audio to the the van's radio, and then listen to the tv through the radio's speaker system.
Cheers, John.
When we're camping in the bush we use a pocket sized transistor radio, that's if we can get any signal that is. Sounds great for news & weather. We prefer the sounds of the bush that SURROUND us.
Congratulations on the new sound system.
Just for future reference what's your rego number?
-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Tuesday 24th of January 2017 05:06:17 AM
That's a good idea thanks John. I will look into something like that. Mainly I don't want to have to run a generator to power it every time I watch tv. JayCar?
Still laughing at the irritation people get over someone watching TV. The people I have met on the road are mostly bloody deaf anyways!!! Don't know why it would bother them.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
Yes this system would need a good inverter etc for free camping.... but that's probably another 5 years away and we'd most likely change vans to something more suitable anyway as this ones more of a black top cruiser / park type van
Cheers Ken
Rego's v86341 , but as we're both full time workers we don't use the van a lot , probably 4 weeks total a year , hopefully a bit more soon , as the youngest is finishing school this year
its a large biege coloured tandem Bailey van
Grubby, I got the FM transmitter from Target. Cost around $60.00.
Cheers, John.
Like I said, the TV used to actually hurt my ears - inside - it was weird.....I could only have it down so low that you could barely hear it. So now it sounds reasonable thanks guys. I'll fix it up properly when I get to civilisation.
Enjoy the sun :). We're back to reality Tuesday :(
Ken