Ultimate stereo 110V or 12V ??

[artswarlock]

I am buying a larger aft cabin SR and am planning an audio/Video upgrade. I want a multi zone system and wondered why I don't see more home audio syatems. I love my Niles home system it has 6 zones with volume and source controls in each one. AM/FM, satellite,CD, Ipod and any other source you want. If we are at the harbor we are plugged into the shore power,while underway or on the hook the generator is running. With all the benefits of the 110V home system, I just wondered why they don't seem to be popular.

 

[tdschafer]

I think that with space at such a premium on a boat the 12v stereos are a better fit. I also guess that not all people want to run their gennys the whole time they are on the hook to listen to tunes. With that being said if you've got the space and know how you're going to run have at it! That's the beauty of it you can do any cool mod you want!:thumbsup:
Todd

 

[Cocktail Time]

Size. If you have the room for a 110v component system, why not. Interior cabin is a no brainer. When you start adding speakers and a source unit at the bridge is when most opt to use a marine head unit and marine speakers. Plus when you use a 110v receiver system you will get source switching and video distribution along with killer audio.
Take a look at the posts from Four Suns for an idea of a really well done blend of both. I hope you don't mind, Gary, but the photos of your install looked great and I'm sure sound even better.

 

[Four Suns]

Once you get into the bigger boats, Sea Ray put in 110v multi-zone systems. They used the Bose Lifestyle stuff with 2 zones on my boat... Many of the high-end boat builders use the same Bose Lifestyle systems. The bigger boats don't really work well without a generator running so it doesn't really matter.

There are a couple issues that come up. Size is one (as Cocktail mentions). You need to get all the sources crammed into a single area so you have to have a big enough cabinet that can hold the electronics. And... then cooling it all becomes important...

The other thing is finding small quality 5.1 surround sound boxes that are compact and not loaded up with garbage. There are a lot of crap $400 systems out there... I think that's why Bose Lifestyle systems are popular in boats... If I had to put a new one in now (or replace the one I have), I would get this:

http://www.jr.com/denon/pe/DNN_S5BD/#productTabDetails

I have everything tied into a 6 channel video/audio router (AVAtrix) but you still have to have local amplification in the staterooms, salon, bridge, and cockpit. I basically have 2.1 sound in the staterooms with local amps tied to the TVs as controlling devices, 5.1 sound in the salon with a Bose Lifestyle 5.1 system, and then the router is fed into a marine Fusion system (12v) on the bridge for local amplification on the bridge and cockpit (the 12v Fusion system is set up with 2 zones).

There's lots of ways to skin this cat... but at the end of the day, you don't want it to look like a college dorm project. The devil is in the details on this stuff... and requires a lot of cabinet work.

 

[artswarlock]

Thanks for all the great idea's. I also am really impressed by the Denon piece. I think you are right in that a hybrid system 110v and 12v is what's needed. I am thinking for room the cabinet where the old tv/vcr went in would work, and fans with stats like in my home rack system would keep it cool. I really like the Fusion equipment as well, I looked at it for the 340 but ended up with a Clarion CMD-6 with the stock cabin amp and an Alpine 4 channel with Alpine Type R components and an Alpine 1000 watt sub amp with a 12" type R for the cockpit. I added manual switches for each amp so I could choose what amps I was driving.