Furrion P.O.S Soundbar Upgrade!

[Biggearn1959]

Love the sound of nothing but nature when we camp. But, we do appreciate the responsible and considerate neighbors always.

[Br3ntl3y]

Can't leave out Infinity and Kicker! #Living Loud!

[War Eagle]

I’m partial to Rockford Fosgate.

[colomap]

Nice mods.

In my new camper I am realizing the Furrion 12v TV is a POS. Especially the sound. My wife and I like to watch TV but this wont work - especially since she needs hearing aids (for real) but won't pay for them. I'm pretty sure we are going to use a laptop on the counter or bed to show streaming content. I mean the Furrion isn't even a smart tv.

Also - I have a Goal Zero power station that I would much rather use to power a regular small smart TV and not even use the 12V Furrion. I'm considering selling the Furrion altogether...

For sound I use a Bose Soundlink portable blue tooth that works really well and is portable ($129)

[NJKris]

Sound is always awful on these new TVs which is why you need to pipe it through another sound system. Colomap, don't ditch it, just get an Amazon Fire thing, then you have a smart TV. Less than 20 bucks. All worthless anyhow if you are boondocking or using crappy park wifi.

[25RKSFun]

Originally Posted by Br3ntl3y

... I took out whatever cheap 4" speakers are in the soundbar and replaced all four with Kicker CS 4.5" 80 watt competition grade 2-way speakers and 6.75" Kicker Marine grade speakers outside. They will fit barely and still run off the factory soundbar ($95 and $115 on Amazon) for another ($20 on Amazon) you can buy a DAC 3.5mm headphone jack converter to use your AUX input on the soundbar to connect your TV.

I'm so glad you posted this. I'm thinking about doing something similar! I like the functionality available in the built-in soundbar, but the sound quality is terrible. Did you find that simply upgrading the speakers themselves was a big factor in improving the sound quality? Or is it important to upgrade the amp as well?

[25RKSFun]

Originally Posted by NJKris

Waiting for some grouch to complain we shouldn't have outdoor speakers, lol. I will head them off: I use my speaker in a reasonable manner when other campers are nearby, and it's nice to be able to turn it up when boondocking with nobody around. It's nice to be able to sit outside and be able to control head unit with phone or Alexa remote.

I exclusively camp in the desert or national forest where there's nobody else around for miles. It's fun to be able to play some music now and then. It's much easier to have responsible neighbors when there are no neighbors

[Bob K4TAX]

I can't imagine 3KW of audio in any RV.

I worked in sound recording studios and professional audio for years. I taught Studio Electronics at Belmont in Nashville.

Anything that drowns out the sound of leaves rustling, bird whistles, and chirps, is more than a nuisance to me. If I can hear the neighbor's sound system or outdoor TV at my campsite, it is too dang loud and I won't hesitate to let folks know.

To each his own, but do keep the music out of my hearing range.

Bob

[G37x]

I don’t listen to music in the camper but sometimes when drinking with a group by the campfire I just pull out my bluetooth speaker that I always have in the camper https://a.co/d/bP1XDAx

[GolfingDave]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

Anything that drowns out the sound of leaves rustling, bird whistles, and chirps, is more than a nuisance to me. If I can hear the neighbor's sound system or outdoor TV at my campsite, it is too dang loud and I won't hesitate to let folks know.

X2

And closed windows and doors do not muffle too much noise in a camper.

[corn18]

I have the Sonos Beam under my TV. Thinking of getting the mini sub to go with it.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

I can't imagine 3KW of audio in any RV.

I worked in sound recording studios and professional audio for years. I taught Studio Electronics at Belmont in Nashville.

Anything that drowns out the sound of leaves rustling, bird whistles, and chirps, is more than a nuisance to me. If I can hear the neighbor's sound system or outdoor TV at my campsite, it is too dang loud and I won't hesitate to let folks know.

To each his own, but do keep the music out of my hearing range.

Bob

3k watts in an RV does seem insane. You'll be happy to know I always try to introduce myself to my neighbors, and let them know if my music ever gets too loud to please let me know immediately. I have profound hearing loss and tend to run things a bit loud. I always try to walk over to adjoining sites to try to hear if my music is carrying over.


How did this thread from 3 years ago come back to life, lol.


edit: Ahhhhh, 25RKS quoted me!

[25RKSFun]

Originally Posted by NJKris

How did this thread from 3 years ago come back to life, lol.


edit: Ahhhhh, 25RKS quoted me!

It was meeeee. Sorry. I'm just hoping for a little advice from someone who's already upgraded their Furrion soundar.

[GolfingDave]

Originally Posted by 25RKSFun

It was meeeee. Sorry. I'm just hoping for a little advice from someone who's already upgraded their Furrion soundar.

I myself would rather see a thread added onto like this. The more info in a thread the better.

It means you did a little bit of research which I like to see.

Too many of the same questions asked in new posts over and over again. Good thing some of these folks can put up with it and keep answering the same questions over and over again.

[NJKris]

Amen, Golfing Dave! And just busting chops 25RKS. Your question is entirely relevant to thread.

[deewan]

Originally Posted by corn18

I have the Sonos Beam under my TV. Thinking of getting the mini sub to go with it.

I swapped out the JBL soundbar and JBL sub that came with my Riverstone for a Sonos Beam and the mini sub. Amazing sound for what it is. I also have a Sonos One in the bedroom and a Sonos Move that I can place anywhere around the RV or the campsite. For the outside TV I have the Sonos Ray. It's great having all speakers sync'ed to one of the TV's when I'm working outside and trying to watch/listen to a sporting event.

Long story short, I highly recommend the Sonos mini sub if you have not added one yet.

[corn18]

Originally Posted by deewan

I swapped out the JBL soundbar and JBL sub that came with my Riverstone for a Sonos Beam and the mini sub. Amazing sound for what it is. I also have a Sonos One in the bedroom and a Sonos Move that I can place anywhere around the RV or the campsite. For the outside TV I have the Sonos Ray. It's great having all speakers sync'ed to one of the TV's when I'm working outside and trying to watch/listen to a sporting event.

Long story short, I highly recommend the Sonos mini sub if you have not added one yet.

I have a Sonos Arc and mini sub in my den at home and they are great. I have a full Roku surround setup just sitting in my house basement unused so I think I am going to swap over to that in the 5er. It uses BT instead of WiFi like the Sonos so it will always be connected. I will use the Roku soundbar and sub in the 5er and the pair of surround speakers as portable sound. Not quite as good as the Sonos but they are sunk cost so no additional $$$ required.

[deewan]

Originally Posted by corn18

I have a Sonos Arc and mini sub in my den at home and they are great. I have a full Roku surround setup just sitting in my house basement unused so I think I am going to swap over to that in the 5er. It uses BT instead of WiFi like the Sonos so it will always be connected. I will use the Roku soundbar and sub in the 5er and the pair of surround speakers as portable sound. Not quite as good as the Sonos but they are sunk cost so no additional $$$ required.

I posted about this, but at least on my 5ver and the few I've checked while at RV shows have the sound bars connected in the 90's way and cause more frustration than ease. I mentioned the backwards way of AV connections to Bob while at the Riverstone Topeka factory, but I don't think they are making the change.

From the FR factory the Samsung TV in my unit had an optical audio cable connected from the TV to the JBL soundbar. That works, but it also requires the user to use the TV remote to handle content and the JBL remote to handle volume since the optical cable cannot send anything but the audio signal. I yanked out the optical cable and connected the a hdmi cable to the ARC connection on the TV and then to the hdmi input on the JBL soundbar. Then I could use the TV remote to control everything including the volume. Please note if you do this yourself you also need to change the settings on 99% of TV's to "use extra speakers" or "Use AV audio". Each TV menu is a bit difference.

After a few months I switched to the Sonos Beam and wireless sub. At the same time I swapped out the TV mount for one that can swing out on a 36" arm to give easier access to the storage behind the TV, replaced the cheap factory hdmi cables provided by FR with some Audio Quest cables, added two new hdmi cables to connect a BluRay player and my NAS movie streamer, and added a Panamax surge and power conditioner. Now the "Man Cave" area of the 442MC can live up to its label.