Camp Stereo

[Cee-Jay]

I'm looking to pick up a compact, durable and good sounding stereo for camping. I tend to like my camping quiet, but every now and then I want some good tunes playing. A CD Player and radio would be a plus, but really those are unecessary as long as the unit has an aux input for a personal music player like an I-Pod. This is for car camping so I don't need something very small and I'd glad to trade some size for a big increase in sound quality. On the other hand, I don't necessary want to make room for a gigantic boom box either.

What are your suggestions?


Here are some suggestions made in the Best battery powered speakers? thread from October of 2011:

Very Small:
Altec Lansing iM227 Orbit $20.00 - Single speaker (not stereo), extremely small and light, 24hr battery life (3 AASs), carrying case, very limited sound quality and volume.

Small:
Jawbone Jambox $200 - Wireless capability, 10hr battery life, very small but can only be recharged via micro USB and is designed for use in small rooms (85dB)
Goal Zero Rock Out Portable Speaker $40 - 20hr batterly life, can only be charged via micro USB (75dB)
Bose Sound Dock $320 - 8hr battery life, charged via DC in. remote control.

Medium:
Milwaukee M12 Cordless Radio $100 - AM/FM Radio, 2 AAA Batteries + M12 Lithium Battery Packs or DC, weatherproof (plus protected compartment for your MP3 player).

A shop-type radio is not a bad idea. The Sangean FB-100 at $220 looks tougher than h@ll, but it's not small and weighs nearly 20 pounds. It includes AM/FM radio with presets, 2 aux inputs, digital tuner, equalizer, waterproof speakers, water resistent compartment for mp3 player, built in charger for D lithium batteries and DC power input, 250 pound weight limit and can sustain a fall from 6 feet high!

Also I have a soft spot for the rediculously expensive Thodio Abox, but I do no want to spend that kind of money on a radio (up to $450, depending on the model).

The Roland Mobile Cubes $180 are also pretty cool and can run on D batteries. On the plus side it can be used as a mini amp for instruments, mini PA or just a stereo and they're pretty tough. Sound quality is only okay, however.

 

[Crom]

Not exactly what your looking for but just to share what I do which is similar to what your searching for...

I plug a set of PC speakers (with sub woofer) into my Samsung Galaxy S III head phone outlet. I believe it's the standard 1/8" mini jack. I have access to all my stored music on my mobile phone. The downside to my setup is I need AC voltage (it's an amplified setup); as such I am only using it in my garage right now. I was wondering which voltage the PC speakers use because it has a rectifier (transformer), so maybe there is a way to adapt it to a battery and cut out the AC part. Haven't looked into that part yet. PC speakers with subwoofer were like $60 new many years ago (still work great!).

That ammo box with speakers looks cool! That would be fun to make.

 

[justfred]

Many computer speakers use 12v, so you can leave the adaptor (and the inverter) at home, rig up some wires and run them directly off battery.

 

[Cee-Jay]

That ammo box with speakers looks cool! That would be fun to make.

I noticed today some online suggestions on how to make your own ammo can stereo.

The TDK Three Speaker Boombox $300 sounds good, has some nice features and looks great, but it's d*mn heavy and I'm not confident those unprotected speakers would last long.


Some jobsite type radios can be found here.

 

[elcoyote]

I use the Goal Zero Rock Out rechargeable speakers with my iPod and with my smart phone if we have coverage to access Pandora radio. The sound is good, it recharges quickly from the USB port in the truck. Run time on a charge is about 20 hours. I also use it with my laptop. Can't beat the price. http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/24/Rock-Out-Portable-Speaker

 

[troyboy162]

Those cheapo ispeakers that look like a tiny round acordian sound decent for a little campfire tunes. I had friends with them at work and I don't think they are more then 10 bucks

 

[Vinman]

Dewalt Jobsite radio
http://www.dewalt.com/tools/cordless-radiochargers-radio-charger-dc012.aspx

Virtually indestructable, runs on batteries (with built-in charger) or 110V and has an AUX input. I have an older one for the past 5 years and it's been great for what it is. I use it at the jobsite and it's been kicked, dropped and generally abused and it keeps on playing music.

It will run most of the day on a single 18v battery and I just plug it in when I fire the genny to charge the camper batteries in the evening, also recharges the radio battery at the same time.

Vince

 

[SoCal_80]

I use the Goal Zero Rock Out rechargeable speakers with my iPod and with my smart phone if we have coverage to access Pandora radio. The sound is good, it recharges quickly from the USB port in the truck. Run time on a charge is about 20 hours. I also use it with my laptop. Can't beat the price. http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/24/Rock-Out-Portable-Speaker

X2. I have been very happy with the goal zero speakers. Good sound an the battery seems to last forever.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ramjet]

Another one for the Goal Zero. I've had mine for 4 years now and they are still going strong.

 

[Cee-Jay]

Thanks elcoyote, vinman, troboy162 and Ramjet. Here are a couple of other options I dug up last night:

Sony ZSH10CP Heavy Duty CD Radio Boombox $129 – Water and dust resistant, CD Player, AM-FM Tuner, uses D batteries. 22 x 11 1/2 x 10 7/8 inches, 7.1 pounds w/out batteries. Doesn't get very loud and some complaints about battery life.



Grace Digital GDI-AQ2SI60 ECOXGEAR Rugged and Waterproof Stereo Boombox $120 - 14.5 x 5 x 7.8 inches ; 5.9 pounds w/out batteries. Waterproof, 4C batteries or AC power, 25hr batterly life. Waterproof center compartment holds music player and other items. Concerns voiced that it is not very loud and not actually waterproof.

Others alleged to be decent include the Altec Lansing iMT810 $300, JVC Kaboom $240 and Sangean PR-D5 AM/FM $70.

 

[CSG]

Remind me to camp far away from you.

Something wrong with an mp3 player and earbuds?

 

[Cee-Jay]

Remind me to camp far away from you.

Something wrong with an mp3 player and earbuds?

Ha, usually I like it quiet, but there are times I want to listen to music. Generally I camp in remote places so I won't be bothering anybody with my music, but when there are others near by I would certainly keep the volume low so as not to pollute their experience of nature. Earbuds would be great were I alone, but I'm normally I camp with friends. I'd prefer to be able to share music with them while talking, which doesn't work so well with earbuds!

But um, I think I'm making this waaaayy too complicated. I should just go to Salvation Army and buy a cheap, reasonably sized boom box with an aux input that takes batteries and call it a day. I waste so much money on gear that a) I don't need, or b) is of much higher quality than I actually need.

 

[RHINO]

seriously, get the goal zero rock out speakers, they sound great at the volumes you want around camp and are so compact and easy to use.

 

[SWITAWI]

My friends and I usually listen to a game or some music with the truck doors open. Not saying some decent-sounding music system wouldn't be nice, but unless the wind is blowing we don't need much volume to hear it next to a crackling fire and nobody really wants to pack something we already have installed in all our vehicles. I have a small pair of battery-powered speakers to connect to my phone or MP3 player in the tent if we got rained in - http://www.amazon.com/INSIGNIA-PORTABLE-SPEAKER-NS-MP3CS2-IPHONE/dp/B004H1P68E

They've been crushed, rained on, accidentally dropped kicked into some water... still working. Not Hi-Fi by any means, but I haven't had a need for a real standalone music system yet when camping.

 

[Ramjet]

I have to agree with Rhino on this one. Just ge the Goal Zero speakers. Quality over Quantity. I just hate packing a bunch of stuff around.