Tunes

[Photobug]

We have a UE boom which is good for hanging out on a blanket but would like a better sound system for filling the area if we are camping in a remote location. I am tempted to add a stereo to my power box like I have seen in another build but would like to consider other options. For those into music how do you fill your campsite with it?

 

[rayra]

Nobody wants to hear your taste in music blasting in 'the great outdoors'.

 

[dreadlocks]

Ain't nobody close enough to my camp to hear any music, and if they could maybe it'd be a nice reprieve from all the gun shots reverberating through the valley.

I've got a 8in 120W sub and a few 6in speakers in my trailer, sounds great.. thought about some external ones but those do just fine on their own.. without the sub it was garbage tho.. very little range.

 

[Photobug]

Nobody wants to hear your taste in music blasting in 'the great outdoors'.

If I was in Socal I'd agree. Since i live in a very different place things are just a tad different. I spent the weekend at a Bluegrass concert, with 1500 neighbors my neighbors played there music all night long. The bass was really loud, they had a stand up bass, guitars and a Ukelele. Quiet time was between 5-6am, although I could still hear people partying in the tent campground at those hours at least my immediate neighbors were sleeping then.

When I camped down in Utah, my neighbors have been Mormon families and their families of 30+. I would like to have a decent sound system so I could listen to my music rather than their karaoke. I need more Ooomph than the UE Boom provides to drown out my neighbors.

I think I'd like to build my own version of this.
https://demerbox.com/

 

[hour]

Man.. I built a custom boom box in a huge Dewalt DS300 tool box with 8" polk sub. Enormous, heavy, powerful, and sounded like absolute ass. Not even worth it, what a stupid project that I spent way too much time in building, debugging, and with great futility - trying to salvage.

I have a W-King 50w boom box now with 8,000mah battery built in. It charges over USB-C (though sadly not USB-PD) and is amazingly clear - and loud. No distortion to be heard at the upper levels of volume and it lasts forever. Can seriously hear every word of a song from hundreds of feet away. The bluetooth range is nuts, too. I think it's advertised as 60ft but I was triple that (line of sight across a meadow) with my phone and still playing this weekend. I can't find it on Amazon right now, but consider spending <$100 for an advertised 40-50w bluetooth speaker with decent reviews. So much less headache than building your own and hoping it sounds halfway decent.

These threads always have a couple cucks chime in to tell you that you shouldn't enjoy loud music when camping. I can walk around in my boxers, shoot guns all day, run the generator all night, and blast music as loud as I want. That freedom is why I go, and why I've spent years finding spots that I'm unlikely to see another soul for as long as I stay out there. I'll be damned if I put on headphones. Second I do that I bet I become cougar food.

Anyway, give amazon a whirl, find well rated non-shill reviewed products, make sure it's not a speaker released 8 years ago, and return it if it sucks.

 

[shade]

I need more Ooomph than the UE Boom provides to drown out my neighbors.

Sounds like a doctrine of mutually assured destruction. Few things anger me as much as hearing music blasted like that, especially when I'm camping. Maybe that's just part of the scene at the gatherings you attend, and if that's the case, I guess pumping out your own tunes is acceptable.

When it comes to a higher volume battle, headphones really are the smart choice, IMO. They block some of what you don't want to hear, while providing high quality sound that's hard to match in an open space. Bluetooth models don't require much power.

 

[Photobug]

Sounds like a doctrine of mutually assured destruction. Few things anger me as much as hearing music blasted like that, especially when I'm camping.

Me too normally. This is not my usual camping routine just the two concerts I have attended this summer. I knew what I was getting going into it. And while working on my boat in Utah, of course I have to share my campground with the large karaoke families. I used to hate generators in the morning but since I wake very early I am usually up for a few hours before they get started, yet they still annoy me. The flip side is I usually pass out and sleep through anything after a day outdoors.

We plan on being more backcountry in the future and like music. The Boom is decent but small speakers sound tin-ey. I want the Panasonic Boombox of my youth, boombox of my youth.

 

[Photobug]

Man.. I built a custom boom box in a huge Dewalt DS300 tool box with 8" polk sub. Enormous, heavy, powerful, and sounded like absolute ass. Not even worth it, what a stupid project that I spent way too much time in building, debugging, and with great futility - trying to salvage.

I have a W-King 50w boom box now with 8,000mah battery built in.

These threads always have a couple cucks chime in to tell you that you shouldn't enjoy loud music when camping. I can walk around in my boxers, shoot guns all day, run the generator all night, and blast music as loud as I want. That freedom is why I go, and why I've spent years finding spots that I'm unlikely to see another soul for as long as I stay out there.

Thanks for the details of the failed homebuilt. I saw a battery box build that I was going emulate with a stereo in it but realized it would make my expensive box more attractive to steal. I don't want to waste time building something that sounds bad. I will check out your suggestion.

I also like the idea of walking around in my boxers shooting guns, cranking tunes. I doubt even in a crowded campground anyone would confront me over my music choice or the volume.

 

[dreadlocks]

ah volume battles, reminds me of when I lived in a trailer park and woke up every weekend to carnival music... I'd respond in kind w/3800W of heavy metal.. headphones, now why didnt I think of that

I find music soothes the beasts, my dogs are alot less likely to bark at every car that drives by or chase every squirrel/chipmunk thats pissed off the dogs exist... we always leave some tunes playing when we leave the doggos in the camper just so they calm down and dont bark at everything that moves outside.. volume is hardly detectable outside the trailer.

Not like I crank it up at the crack of dawn like everyone w/their gensets at a improved camp.. but if I'm dispersed camping then it'd be pretty high density if sites were more frequent than every half a mile.. many times its a few miles between sites, especially once your deep down a forest road... if the evenings mission is BBQ, Beer, Corn Hole and Campfire.. then a bit of hippie music aint gonna hurt anybody.. and once the sun goes away the radio is draining the battery so it'll only go for an hour or two after the solar output is nothing I pull the plug for the sake of my morning coffee.

The whole great outdoors silent crap nonsense, you have to work pretty damn hard to reach a place of peace and quiet.. between generators, recreational shooting, 2 stroke OHV's, big open exhaust trucks and everything else thats out there you have to try pretty damn hard to find peace and quiet.. I can recall being a dozen miles or more down a hiking trail backpacking in Yellowstone and hearing a constant roar of Harleys going through the valley the week before Sturgis.. now thats obnoxious... I can walk 25y away from camp and you cant even tell the music is playing.. not like I need it cranked to 11, or wish to burn that much electricity to make noise... but music is a large part of my life, and it comes with me when I'm having fun.. and is enjoyed when the mood/situation is right... trust me, I'm far far more considerate of my neighbors than any of my neighbors are of me... or I'd of just bought a cheap construction genset you can hear half a mile away and saved a ******** ton of money like everyone else around here.

 

[Kerensky97]

Good headphones not only provide great sounding music, they can also block out noisy neighbors too. If you really want good sound quality headphones are your best bet, plus it will give better sound blocking the neighbors rather than "overpowering" them. Personally Sennheiser is my brand of choice.

If you're just looking for an audio arms race sometimes the best bet is to ask the enemy to de-escalate on their end so your own speakers don't mix with theirs.

 

[Photobug]

Good headphones not only provide great sounding music, they can also block out noisy neighbors too. If you really want good sound quality headphones are your best bet, plus it will give better sound blocking the neighbors rather than "overpowering" them. Personally Sennheiser is my brand of choice.

If you're just looking for an audio arms race sometimes the best bet is to ask the enemy to de-escalate on their end so your own speakers don't mix with theirs.

You guys just don't get the situations I have been in this summer. Last weekend I was at a Bluegrass Festival. Imagine a dead show with a mixture of hippies and Millenials. I didn't bring my speaker because I had an idea of what I was getting into. Asking my neighbors who were likely tripping balls to keep it down would have likely have gotten me laughed at. If I was successful at getting them to be quiet they would have moved two doors down to join the next party.

Getting a better speaker is not just about blasting out my neighbors, it's about better sound. No way am I going to get a set of headphones so everyone in my group can listen to their own soundtrack and ignore our neighbors. I want to sit next to fire with a beer and some tunes and talk to whoever I am camping with. If I have neighbors I turn the music low at quiet hour.

 

[shade]

You guys just don't get the situations I have been in this summer. Last weekend I was at a Bluegrass Festival. Imagine a dead show with a mixture of hippies and Millenials. I didn't bring my speaker because I had an idea of what I was getting into. Asking my neighbors who were likely tripping balls to keep it down would have likely have gotten me laughed at. If I was successful at getting them to be quiet they would have moved two doors down to join the next party.

Getting a better speaker is not just about blasting out my neighbors, it's about better sound. No way am I going to get a set of headphones so everyone in my group can listen to their own soundtrack and ignore our neighbors. I want to sit next to fire with a beer and some tunes and talk to whoever I am camping with. If I have neighbors I turn the music low at quiet hour.

You're right. I couldn't get away from something like that fast enough.

I've used a small JBL Charge 3 for a few years and been happy with it. You want something larger, and JBL makes them. From what I recall, Best Buy usually has a wide variety of similar speakers, so you can listen before you buy.

If you go DIY, I'd look into automotive speakers and an amp to simplify everything with 12VDC power. As you probably know, it's not easy to make a lightweight box output good sound, so you may want to consider something on wheels. Ridgid sells a wheeled toolbox that would make a great cabinet, and it's weathertight. It can also be used as a stool or table. I think it's big enough for your use, with a few speakers in the sides, a battery inside, along with an amp and whatever you'd need to connect it via Bluetooth to your phone. Crutchfield would be a good place to start shopping for ideas.

 

[FJR Colorado]

I recently picked up one of these:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-tabletop-fm-hd-radio-black/4888900.p?skuId=4888900

Open box special $26.

It is FM and FM HD only. It has excellent reception and surprisingly good stereo speakers. It is small, thin and light. Takes a 5.9V AC power adapter. I can run it off 12V (on a transformer to 6V) just great. It also runs on batteries for portability

The HD Radio feeds are great. It has the data display to show station, program/song title, etc. It will feed a headphone jack or take an iPod in. While it has no AM, many AM stations are carried on the digital sub-channels. The display helps keep things understandable.

Definitely NOT the solution for the audiophiles among us. But for something good, cheap, light and surprisingly high-tech, this was a nice little find...

 

[Photobug]

You're right. I couldn't get away from something like that fast enough.

It was actually two very cool events at Grand Targhee. Targhee Fest in July and Targhee Bluegrass Fest in August. I got to see 28 bands in 6 days. There were less hippies than I might have made it sound more older people still into music and partying. Targhee Fest had way more people on social security than Millenials. Most of the people in their 20s had adult supervision.

In some ways it was like a huge overland gathering plus music. There were probably 3000 people in attendance almost all camping out. I saw a lot of very cool rigs from expedition trailers to a super stretched Sprinter and everything in between. It was very cool to walk around and talk to the different owners about their setup.

It is also a top rated mountain bike resort.

 

[Photobug]

Leaning towards this.

Amazon.com: Bluetooth Speakers. Waterproof Outdoor Speakers Bluetooth 5.0 .40W Wireless Stereo Pairing Booming Bass Speaker. 2400 Minutes Playtime with Charge Your Phone. Durable for Home Party. Camping(Black): Gateway

Amazon.com: Bluetooth Speakers. Waterproof Outdoor Speakers Bluetooth 5.0 .40W Wireless Stereo Pairing Booming Bass Speaker. 2400 Minutes Playtime with Charge Your Phone. Durable for Home Party. Camping(Black): Gateway

www.amazon.com