How do you get your music?

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herekittykitty

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 26, 2013
Posts
443
Location
Birch Bay, WA
I'm looking for a decent all-in-one speaker/MP3 player which will play from a micro card and/or thumb drive. There are a few available but it's hard to tell which is worth it.

Not interested in a separate speaker that will "pair with" something else, or a docking station for an MP3 player, and can't afford to stream music from somewhere else.

I want everything in one box. Not needed: bluetooth capability, waterproof, mini or portable.
I intend to keep this plugged in, in my rig.
A remote would be a plus but I can live without it.

Goal #1 is good sound; goal #2 is not having to connect to any other device. (Goal #3 is not leaving me poor, but I'll deal with that when it comes time to purchase.)
 
I don't know what you have for a dash radio system on your rig, but here's an idea. Yes, it has bluetooth, but you can always ignore that. It also has a micro SD slot and USB. So it meets your criteria of not having to connect with anything; it is affordable, and as for sound quality, I can't vouch, but my experience with after market sound equipment has been that the sound quality is superior to OEM in older vehicles. I think if you shop around, there are many units that could meet your criteria.

Safe travels, and happy listening.
 
Dedicated MP3 players with speakers are... Well I'd like to say "Few and far between" but the fact is I don't think I have ever seen one.. Other than my Smart phone. Most Smart phones can do it.

I know there are table top devices that can do it, Like the All-in-one Record, CD/DVD, Mp3, Cassette player, Radio that Publisher's clearning hosue sells but as I recall the MP3 player is not native (Less it is recorded to CD)  and if you burn the MP3s to CD many CD players now days can do it.
 
I have a small mp3 player that I have not used in years. It has built in speakers but you might want louder speakers. If you want it just email me an address. No charge.

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-NWZS545-Walkman-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B002IPHA1W
 
I use this JVC.  Have it strapped into an upper cabinet so I can take it out if I want but seldom do. I just open the cabinet when I want to use it. Operates off AC or the house batteries so I can use it when boondocking.  Sounds great, nice full range fidelity. It has a remote, and plays CDs, Ipod, or a thumb drive full of MP3s which is what I use with all my favorite music on it.  Don't use it outside as I have a car stereo built in to an outside compartment which only gets used on occasion.
 

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SeilerBird said:
I have a small mp3 player that I have not used in years. It has built in speakers but you might want louder speakers. If you want it just email me an address. No charge.

What an amazing, kind offer, SeilerBird! I will take you up on it, just in case the best speakers I can get prove to be ones that really require me to have a player.  :D
 
Old Radios said:
I use this JVC... Sounds great, nice full range fidelity. It has a remote, and plays... a thumb drive full of MP3s which is what I use with all my favorite music on it.

Now you're talking.  :D Thing looks like a monster but it might fit on the shelf I installed over my front door. Can you tell me the model number, please?
 
When I'm inside the coach, I just use the dash stereo.  We have a lifetime subscription to XM, and an add-on receiver.

If I'm outside under the awning, I have a cheap pair of amplified computer speakers in one of the compartments and I just plug my phone into them.  I've got about 2 gig of music stored on the phone, and when I start hearing the same tune too often, I just hook it up to my laptop and change out the music(got about 30 gig stored on the 'puter).
 
herekittykitty said:
Now you're talking.  :D Thing looks like a monster but it might fit on the shelf I installed over my front door. Can you tell me the model number, please?

Not sure what model number mine is but it is a "Kaboom" and looks exactly like this one. "JVC RV-NB52 Kaboom"
It fits in one of my upper cabinets with a little room left on each side so the woofers on the ends are not blocked.
 
I get my music through the FM radio in the dash or the radio in the bedroom using a 12 volt FM transmitter. It plugs into a 12v outlet and transmits a signal to the radio. The transmitter can play mp3 from a usb thumb drive, a micro SD card, or streamed using bluetooth. The sound is as good as your radio will allow. Simple, cheap, and takes up no space. Here's the one I got from Amazon. I posted a video review there if you want to see it in action. Good luck. 

https://www.amazon.com/iClever-Wireless-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Controller/dp/B01FQKYIJM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485389685&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=iclever+fm+transmitter&psc=1
 
I guess I don't understand the aversion to using Bluetooth technology.  A laptop, a cell phone or an iPad - loaded with songs (I've got somewhere near 8,000 songs on my iPhone) - paired with a little JBL wireless speaker - and I've got music virtually anywhere I want it.  No screwing around moving files onto thumb drives or some other sort of media to move tunes to a speaker.  I understand somebody not wanting to have to be technical whiz just to listen to music - but, sometimes the effort you'll to use one technology while trying to avoid using another just doesn't make sense. 
 
spacenorman said:
I understand somebody not wanting to have to be technical whiz just to listen to music - but, sometimes the effort you'll to use one technology while trying to avoid using another just doesn't make sense.

On the contrary, I'm pretty well-versed in computer tech and not the slightest tech-phobic. What may be different for me (don't know anyone else's music habits) is that I don't stream music from a cloud source or even from one huge file of all my own MP3s - at home I listen to 180 self-curated and carefully-balanced playlists, one at a time.

What matters to me is the interface: I'm not always sitting near a computer or my phone, and don't want to have to (continue to) use one of those device's controls to quickly pause or advance the playlist, which I've been finding cumbersome. So for me a stand-alone system is ideal.

For anyone else who might be asking the same question, this is what I ended up with:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SHZJ39O

I tested it out today and am pretty satisfied with its sound and interface. (Sounds better than either my computer's or TV's speakers, so that's good enough.) The remote that comes with it is key to my satisfaction with this solution. A little disappointed that it only can handle a 16 GB card, but that will keep me in playlists for a long while. I'll just swap out the next card when the music "runs out".  :D
 
If you're happy with it - that's all that matters.  Clearly you're following your own drummer.  For me - the absolute last thing I want is another remote control. 

 
I get tired of playlists.  I usually listen to a single genre and let the device shuffle.  So far the best and most random devices are my ancient iPods.  I've had to replace batteries, displays, and switches but I will use them in the motorhome until they finally become unrepairable. 

 
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