Audio upgrade

I changed all the bulbs out to LEDs and added a MPPT solar controller and a flexible solar panel so I can boondock, but I’m sure that’s been covered.  I didn’t see anything about upgrading the sound so I’ll post on that. 

My R-Pod has the Jensen branded entertainment center.  The sound from this particular thing is absolutely atrocious.  I want to bring it up to a typical mid-fi quality in a senseable manner, that is without adding too much weight or power load and without cobbing up the interior joinery more than necessary.  That means identifying the problems correctly and working toward a good solution. 

The factory speakers are cheap, that’s a given.  I connected some better quality 4 ohm speakers and it really didn’t sound any better.  I was hearing clipping at very low volumes.  The player has a rated output of only 6 watts (I assume peak power).  That’s about 2 watts RMS.  Now there are some lovely sounding 1 watt stereos out there driving big efficient horns, but that solution will not work in an R-Pod.  My conclusion was that the output stage of the player was useless.  Now we could just order a quality double-din head from Crutchfield and be done with it. And, indeed it may someday come to that, but I want to see if there are other options given that the factory Jensen head is much larger in platform and something of a bastard child in the car audio world.

I pulled out the Jensen head by removing the 4 obvious screws. On the back are a pair of audio outputs. One is labeled output while the other is labeled AV output. I connected to those outputs (one at a time) and listened to the players line stages (everything before the power stage) with a high quality amplifier and good speakers and found it to be quite satisfactory.   By that I mean that it meets my mid-fi standard.  You could improve on it but you’d need to spend some real money and deal with the mounting issues.  

So here’s the plan and a few tricky details.  For about a Franklin, one can by a four channel power amplifier.  The most power efficient are the Class D type.  If you shop for a compact unit, you can find very small models ranging from candy bar size to paperback book size.  I want to mount it behind the Jensen head so it needs to be smallish. An old school type will not fit. I settled on the Soundstream Picasso Nano, but there are lots of good choices.  This unit has four channels so I can drive both the interior and exterior speakers. But as the Dude says, there’s lots of in, lots of outs and lots of what have yous.  Read on. 

The RCA output pairs on the back of the Jensen head will be the inputs to the power amp.  But they are not created equally. The “output” pair is taken out after the volume and tone controls.  The AV pair is taken before that stage (so it is always at full volume and without tone controls). That’s an important distinction.  I will run cables directly from the Audio outputs to the channel pair I designate as indoor but I will need to install a pot to attenuate the signal to the outdoor speakers.   The volume control on the Jensen will control the indoor volume and the new pot will control the outdoor volume. I’ll mount the pot down low by the load center (breaker panel) so it can be easily reached from outside. If you don’t want music outside, just turn it down all the way.  

If anyone is interested in a diy tutorial on wiring a pot as an attenuator, I can do that in a separate post. I image there is a YouTube video.  Soldering skill are required for a diy solution but any car stereo shop should be able to set you up with something.  Don’t try to do without, you’ll get full volume to the outside speakers and they won’t survive 60 watts RMS. 

I intend to use home audio speakers initially but I will search for some better quality speakers for the ceiling as time permits.  The outdoor speakers are also a bridge that I will likely need to cross. I’ll report back after the next outing. 

Be sure to follow the instructions for powering the new power amp.  I bought some 10 gauge wire at Home Depot and ran from a spare fuse block in the load center and returned a negative run to the terminal block located behind the load center. This is important. Don’t try to run from existing wiring. 

Finally, my Jensen head is always on.  This is not acceptable to me.  I don’t want it running down my batteries.  I mounted a switch beside the head so that I can switch it off.  This switch will also control the power amp as it has a sense wire used for its power switching that is meant to tie to that switch. 

I’ll post again if anything new comes to light as the install proceeds. 

I’m trying to avoid 120v as much as possible so as to avoid the weight, space inefficiency and inconvenience of a house inverter.  

Greetings 

I travel by myself, so I took the short queen mattress out, put in a twin.  I installed a shelf behind it next to the wall, purchased an Onkyo bookshelf system, with built in cd and stand alone speakers. I also purchased a small Yamaha bookshelf subwoofer,  Now I have some good sound!  I take the receiver and sub out and use them in my bedroom with larger speakers in the winter.  Not for everyone, takes 120v.

I use a omnidirectional FM  antenna with a rf amp and run it in on the outside cable connection.  carry along 3 5 ft pcs. of tv mast, attach  to hitch area and run a 25 ft pc of coax.  I strap everything down on the shelf.  There's room for storage underneath the shelf.

Crankster78  2015 R-179