"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...

Anyone using their iPODs on their boats? IF so, are you playing through an
existing stereo system, or through one of the newer car/boat dash stereos
with an MP3 player input, or...just hooking up to external iPOD speakers?


I have an MP3 player that I occasionally use on the boat, but not often.
More often playing CDs. My MP3 player is a Rio Karma, which is a 20 gig
hard drive player, no longer in production. I run it through the audio
system on the boat. The head unit doesn't have an auxiliary input, and
every FM modulator I tried sounded like garbage. So I had a mad scientist
type guy, who sits in a small laboratory in the back of a local high-end car
stereo shop custom build me a switching device to my specifications. The
device sits between the head unit and the power amps of my audio system. It
allows me to switch between the head unit, which has a CD changer plugged
into it, and any of three other auxiliary inputs. 1). Satellite TV
receiver. 2). Rio Karma docking cradle. 3). Open cable terminating in a
1/8" stereo plug, which I typically will plug into my wide-screen laptop to
watch DVDs and run the audio through the sound system on the boat.

Whenever any of the auxiliary inputs are selected, the custom switch box
will send 12V power to the amps (which are normally turned on by the head
unit), and send the appropriate line-level stereo audio signal to the amps
(which is attenuated by a volume knob on the box). When using the head unit
as a source, the head unit controls power to the amps, volume, EQ functions,
CD/Tape/Tuner functions, and is optionally controlled by the hard-wired
remote at the helm. The switch box also allows me to select whether the amp
for the cabin, cockpit or both are currently in play for the selected
source. Since all the source inputs are delivered to the power amps at line
level, they will be heard with every bit of audio quality they are capable
of rendering, which is quite good in all cases. The only thing I give up is
5.1 digital surround, in the case of the satellite TV receiver. Need a
bigger boat for that.

At night, if the wife is sleeping and I'm up with a music jones, I'll listen
to the Karma through a set of Sony MDR-V6 headphones.