Sound System

[padlin]

Originally Posted by WillyB

I recently purchased a Bose Mini Soundlink for $150 for our weekend camping adventures in the back of our 2014 Honda Pilot.

This tiny link speaker has incredible quality sound, is very portable and holds a charge for 12 hours. We play music or stream radio via Bluetooth from our phones.

An amazing great sounding piece.

That's what I used too. I did however miss a good fm radio.

[johnnyv]

Yes I have one also, along with a harmon jardin and echo show. Oh yeah echo dot and echo tower. Too much stuff.

[Dave Walter]

I struggled over the decision of whether to go with the factory supplied radio or to supply my own. I eventually had Escape install a Jensen similar to that favored by CPHarley. Was not my best decision as we have only used a radio a handful of times in 7 years. If I was to have a do over, I would forgo the radio altogether and simply bring a Bluetooth speaker along with me.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by padlin

That's what I used too. I did however miss a good fm radio.

There are apps for that.

[akmacs]

I plan on installing an aftermarket head unit sometime as the factory one has horrible bluetooth functionality with feedback and disconnects. It serves our basic needs since we don't use it that much but if I want to play audio from a phone or tablet we need to use the headphone aux in.

[UncleTim]

This is what I do. I love NPR but the mountains take away any radio signal quickly. So no radio for us.

I use a bluetooth speaker that will allow for a guitar and a microphone to plug in. I never travel without a guitar and I love extremely good sound. Here are two to consider. Both are $600 each.

1. Bose S1 Pro Mini PA system. Huge sound and of course two inputs, one for guitar and one for a mic. And then a 3.5mm jack for your phone or sound source if you do not want to use bluetooth. This is also great if you need to address a small crowd. The sound is pure Bose. To me, their EQ is a little heavy handed and so I prefer the next choice for my absolute first choice. About 20 hours of music on a charge. This is a good one and my wife loves this unit.

2. Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge. Every time I play my guitar thru this box I attract a crowd. The last time I played thru it, an entire family came over and introduced themselves and told me how important music at a campground is. They were very thankful.

This little guy also has about 20 hours of sound in him. The sound is the best I have ever encountered and that acoustic guitar sounds amazingly sweet thru it. This one is a head turner. The EQ is superb. I still EQ everything. This speaker is awesome for singing as well. It is my preferred amp and I also own the high end top of line amp in this group. Cannot say enough great things about it.

You can take them outside. You can aim them at you! You can move them across the trailer and point them away. They both sound great at low volume. They are both bluetooth and either one makes an excellent trailer sound system. You can even play them in your car.

[drjp]

I’ve hung a 2017 vintage JBL Boost TV Soundbar below passenger rear side cabinet of our 2017, stream Apple Music, NPR, etc (sounds like Escapers are NPR fans!), and it works great. Also doubles for audio output when we stream movies from Apple TV 4K onto a 21” Vizio hanging of the adjacent fridge bulkhead.

No problems with loosening of the soundbar despite many miles of jostling.




Latest version of this mini soundbar:

JBL Boost TV Compact Bluetooth Soundbar (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017UZMJYM..._q.wOFbKX4KH8R

Thinking about a Bose, though, for 5.0 we’ve got reserved for next autumn. Would not buy the unit ETI sells; not a value.

Jonathan

[steve dunham]

I have a 75% hearing loss in my right ear and a 77% hearing loss in my left ear so spending a lot of money on an elaborate sound system that I can’t hear anyway does not make sense .
I purchased a $100 Pioneer AM / FM radio with CD player and a couple of low cost Jensen speakers
Works perfect for listening to NPR or playing an occasional CD

PS ; The Pioneer Radio / CD has bluetooth and someday I may actually learn what bluetooth is and how to use it but so far the need has not arisen !

[Eggscape]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I have a 75% hearing loss in my right ear and a 77% hearing loss in my left ear so spending a lot of money on an elaborate sound system that I can’t hear anyway does not make sense .
I purchased a $100 Pioneer AM / FM radio with CD player and a couple of low cost Jensen speakers
Works perfect for listening to NPR or playing an occasional CD

PS ; The Pioneer Radio / CD has bluetooth and someday I may actually learn what bluetooth is and how to use it but so far the need has not arisen !

Sounds like you need a pair of Bluetooth hearing aids. This allows you to send music directly into them.

[Greatboatz3]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

My trailer came pre-wired for stereo, but none was installed. So last year I hung a pair of Polk Audio Atrium 4 outdoor speakers beneath the rear cabinet so that the speakers wouldn't take up cabinet space. I don't have a U-shaped dinette so there is no chance of someone banging their head on a speaker. I bought a single-DIN Kenwood stereo and enclosure to power them.

The speakers sound nice but I don't care for the radio or its location above the short cabinet near the bed. In particular Kenwood's cellphone app is crummy. So I'm going to replace it with a double-DIN Pioneer unit and enclosure and put it near the speakers at the rear of the trailer.

Mike,
I can believe the timing of this Thread. I'm finalizing my build sheet and I'm down to the stereo system. I've narrowed my choice to a Double Din
JVC-KW-660BT from Crutchfield $349 US DVD, Inputs: Aux, Audio/video, USB Apple Car Play, Android Auto, Bluetooth and Video Output to my TV plus Siri and Alexa.

I haven't given much thought to speakers yet but glad to find out now the factory speakers are junk. Since we plan to be spending a lot more time in my truck RVing I just upgraded the stereo and speakers in my very low mileage 2004 Silverado (60K miles) with a Sony AX1000. With Apple car play I can play Sirius XM from the account I have for my car, no charge. With the Aux port I can play the 3500+ songs I have on my Kindle Fire Tablet.

Here are my concerns:

1. Will ETI prewire the E21C for speaker wires and the stereo?
2 If I supply the stereo and speakers will ETI install them.

I have no experience with wiring a car stereo . There is 5 wire harness , Light switch, Ignition, car antenna etc. that would confuse me. Finally since all of the inputs and outputs are on the rear they would all need to be brought forward using something like a Powerwerx mounting plate. That part I could I could handle but at the least I would need ETI to prewire everything.

Has anyone had any experience having ETI do a custom installation of a stereo?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Jim A.

[kavm]

Originally Posted by Greatboatz3

Mike,
I can believe the timing of this Thread. I'm finalizing my build sheet and I'm down to the stereo system. I've narrowed my choice to a Double Din
JVC-KW-660BT from Crutchfield $349 US DVD, Inputs: Aux, Audio/video, USB Apple Car Play, Android Auto, Bluetooth and Video Output to my TV plus Siri and Alexa.

I haven't given much thought to speakers yet but glad to find out now the factory speakers are junk. Since we plan to be spending a lot more time in my truck RVing I just upgraded the stereo and speakers in my very low mileage 2004 Silverado (60K miles) with a Sony AX1000. With Apple car play I can play Sirius XM from the account I have for my car, no charge. With the Aux port I can play the 3500+ songs I have on my Kindle Fire Tablet.

Here are my concerns:

1. Will ETI prewire the E21C for speaker wires and the stereo?
2 If I supply the stereo and speakers will ETI install them.

I have no experience with wiring a car stereo . There is 5 wire harness , Light switch, Ignition, car antenna etc. that would confuse me. Finally since all of the inputs and outputs are on the rear they would all need to be brought forward using something like a Powerwerx mounting plate. That part I could I could handle but at the least I would need ETI to prewire everything.

Has anyone had any experience having ETI do a custom installation of a stereo?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Jim A.

Interested in the answer you get. We have to finalize our 5.0 build by Feb.

Our plan has been to skip the Stereo with Four Speaker option from ETI. We can normally get everything on our iPhone/iPad. But, there is a question of cell phone/wifi reception. So, perhaps it might be worth it. But, our camping life is very much nature and mountain heavy - and it is unclear how much better the FM reception would be compared to the cell phone reception...

So - wondering if it is worth considering it. We do have / like Bose radio and audio options. So, that might be the alternative...

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Dave Walter

I struggled over the decision of whether to go with the factory supplied radio or to supply my own. I eventually had Escape install a Jensen similar to that favored by CPHarley. Was not my best decision as we have only used a radio a handful of times in 7 years. If I was to have a do over, I would forgo the radio altogether and simply bring a Bluetooth speaker along with me.

I use mine every time camping as I like the bad weather approaching feature and set the warning alarm to wake us up if need be, it has gone off several times with plenty of warning time to bring in the awning or move.

[GoCampBC]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

An iPhone with Bluetooth to Bluetooth UE ( Ultimate Ears ) portable speaker is compact and mobile.

We agree that wireless is really the way to go. We have a Ultimate Ears Boom 2 Bluetooth speaker that sounds great and is still going strong after about 5 years. Well worth the under CAD$200 investment. We used to use it t home as well, but upgraded to SONOS speakers a few years back.

[DenverRTC]

Hopefully the sound system DVD feature has changed to allow DVDs from the US.
In our original Escape 19, 2013, when we tried to play some movies we got a message "not allowed in this region". US versus Canada.
Otherwise it was fine.

[Red]

I spent considerable effort researching the factory sound system and in the end decided I could do much better and cheaper. Like others have mentioned the EI BOSS system has a number of flaws, is outdated and the speakers are not great. We use a Bose SoundLink Colour II with Bluetooth connection to a smart phone. This allows us to take the sound outside or anywhere else we want it. It has survived being left out at night as it is water resistant. I have down loaded our music to the smart phones and can play anything we chose. I do like to get weather reports and have used the radio in the tow vehicle when out of cell range in parts of Canada. The Bose speaker has remarkable sound for what it is and is particularly good at low volume when used outdoors in crowded campgrounds.

[Jean]

I, too, use the Bose Soundlink Mini with my Android phone by Bluetooth; I have USB charging ports so can charge it, and more devices, when boondocking. The Bose speaker is really good, I use it in my house, too. Can play downloaded music offline on phone. For NPR, I have a small transistor radio with a long antenna. I like things simple, like my 2011 17B.
But, if you're asking about a sound system, I'm guessing you want something higher tech and perhaps higher quality sound. Options abound for your enjoyment!

[brroberts]

Melissa at ETI told me today no installation of non stock stereos.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by padlin

That's what I used too. I did however miss a good fm radio.

Originally Posted by gbaglo

There are apps for that.

An app can play audio files on the mobile device, or stream audio from a website, but that's not an FM radio. A phone or similar device can contain a real FM radio (my phone and iPod both do), but an app can't make it a good FM radio.

[Mike Lewis]

ETI used to pre-wire for stereo, as my 2014 Escape came pre-wired. There are speaker wires in the front and rear overhead cabinets. The other ends of the wires are in the overhead cabinet adjacent to the "closet". I don't know if ETI will still pre-wire a trailer for a stereo to be installed later.