Stereo Head (pre-amp or passive) with Aux & USB Ports

[myoldboat2]

Hello,

I've been searching all around the web and can't find what I'm looking for. I figure you guys will probably be able to point me in the right direction.


What I want for my kids' wakeboat:

Stereo Pre-amp (or passive) Head Unit
Marine (better) or Car (fine)
Aux Port to plug in MP3 players or phones
USB Port for flash drives with MP3 files
...(prefer orientation alongside, not sticking out)
...(this could be SD card instead, but no one carries SD cards around)
Volume control
optional bass, mid, treble or equalizer controls (don't really care about this)
optional ability to play USB song files in shuffled order (or handle playlist files)
No CD deck!
No radio!
No primary amp!

This thing should be small, maybe 2 or 3 inches wide and 2 to 4 inches tall at the most. With no CD and no radio dial, and no primary amp, there's nothing left to make this thing large.


The signal from this "head" unit will go to several amps which power the subwoofer, boat speakers and tower speakers. I'm fine with wiring those and not looking for manufacturer preferences... just thoughts about the head unit.

Is something like this available?

If not, I'll give up the USB/SD port and just go with a pre-amp something like this: Phonopreamps.com TCC TC-780i Details and Hookup. But I'd prefer some MP3 file handling, if possible.

Thanks for your input!

 

[myoldboat2]

Re: Stereo Head (pre-amp or passive) with Aux & USB Ports

Oh, by the way, I should've mentioned that I've seen the Milennia AM/FM/USB, but it's pretty big and I can't tell if the USB stick goes into a cable or somewhere on the unit (I reviewed the manual previously). Other than that, it's a pretty nice unit.

 

[marine 1]

Re: Stereo Head (pre-amp or passive) with Aux & USB Ports

Take a look at the Fusion line. I install them and the clients really like them.
http://www.fusionelectronics.com/en/ProductMatrix.aspx?ptid=2

 

[myoldboat2]

Re: Stereo Head (pre-amp or passive) with Aux & USB Ports

Take a look at the Fusion line. I install them and the clients really like them.
http://www.fusionelectronics.com/en/ProductMatrix.aspx?ptid=2

Thanks for the tip on the Fusion line. Those are some gorgeous units, but they cost much more than I'm looking for and provide much more functionality than I'm after--and they are too big physically for the space I have.

When I really look at my "wish list", the only thing I am looking for, beyond the pre-amp I linked to, is a USB port to read MP3 files. Of course, this means that the unit then has to have an MP3 player, whereas if I just use a pre-amp with an aux port, I would rely on each person's MP3 player or smartphone. We have our pontoon boat set up with just a stereo mini plug cord from the large amp that I have mounted on an inside wall of the helm. That setup works great, except it's a pain to grab the MP3 player out of a cup holder to turn down the music--that's why I want a volume control.


I have a question that you might be able to answer for me:

With just a cord to the amp, the MP3 player volume controls the speaker volume.

Now if a pre-amp is used between the MP3 player and the amp, then the output from the MP3 player is being treated like a "line out", even though it isn't really a line level output. Presumably I could turn the MP3 layer volume a bit lower than when using just a cable (but high enough to avoid the noise floor). However, I might find that I have to turn the MP3 player up more, and then use the pre-amp volume control to throttle it back quieter when desired (I guess it depends on the gain adjustment in the pre-amp).

Now I believe that when an MP3 player is turned up, that the (rechargeable) battery drains faster. So my question is...

When an MP3 player is turned up and then the pre-amp volume control is turned down, is the MP3 player amperage output reduced, or is it being lost to heat in the pre-amp; in other words, would running an MP3 player through a pre-amp possibly run down the MP3 player battery even faster than just using a cable to the primary amp(s)?

I hope that's clear. I would know the answer if it was a simple circuit, but these electronics have all this line level matching stuff these days that's way beyond me.

Thanks!

 

[myoldboat2]

Re: Stereo Head (pre-amp or passive) with Aux & USB Ports

.

I got a little input and posted some of my finds over at the CarAudioForum, if anyone is interested:


Preamp or Head with Aux & maybe USB

Line Level Matching - MP3 Player Battery Life


Thanks.

Steve

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Stereo Head (pre-amp or passive) with Aux & USB Ports

Now I believe that when an MP3 player is turned up, that the (rechargeable) battery drains faster.

Not even a detectable difference between low and high.

 

[myoldboat2]

Re: Stereo Head (pre-amp or passive) with Aux & USB Ports

Not even a detectable difference between low and high.

Yes, I think you're right when the player is driving an external amp, because the impedance is so high. Here is an interesting discussion I found: Battery drain vs volume

Thanks.

Steve

 

[OllieC]

Re: Stereo Head (pre-amp or passive) with Aux & USB Ports

Do you just need an amp and a connection to plug in you MP3 Player? PYLE makes one - here on ebay;New Marine 400W 4 Channel Waterproof Power Amplifier Amp w iPod MP3 Connection | eBay

They make 2 channel ones - Kicker also has one specific to an iPod.

Put it behind your dash and run a headphone adapter out - good to go.