Xbox and stereo upgrades

[Lara Me]

My 2014 28' FC has the factory Sony deck, Bluetooth Samsung DVD player, and two pair of speakers (one pair located in the bedroom). The sound is merely decent.

I'd like to add an Xbox to the system, and I also have a good 5ch amp handy, plus some extra speakers. A few questions for those who have done similar upgrades to their recent model AS.

1. How did you hook up your audio and HDMI video of your Xbox to the Sony deck? The new Xbox One has a cool HDMI pass through, so it might be as easy as hooking it up between the Samsung DVD and the TV. Then again, the new Xbox also has blue-ray so I could just ditch the Samsung and install the Xbox. But otherwise, will I need an HDMI switch if I want to use my old 360 Xbox??

2. Does the FC have a subwoofer, and if so, where is it?

3. If you added a 5ch amp, did you have to run all new power cables to the amp? Was this difficult, and did you need to do a ground cable?

[daveswenson]

As far as the subwoofer, if you have one it's probably under the L sofa just forward of the power center and water heater.

[Wayward]

I started a similar upgrade but have not finished. I am going all 12v so it is more complicated than just using 110v components. If you are going with 110v, I can help start you in the right direction.

- As you say, HDMI carries the surround audio. It can be "daisy-chained". So feed your HDMI signal into your TV or Bluray, and then run a cable to your audio system from the HDMI-Out on your TV or Bluray. Your set may also have digital audio out or other format that you audio system accepts.

- My conclusion is that Airstream factory speaker layout (2 front, 2 rear) is not conducive to surround sound but is OK for stereo audio. The speakers just above one's head, in the dinette area are less than ideal for rear speaker surround placement. The bedroom speakers are too far away and blocked, making them less than ideal as "front" surround speakers.

- The factory subwoofer is decent but is far from "subtle" bass and uses a lot of power (if designing a 12v system).

- Placing a proper surround speaker setup in the main cabin can be done, but would be a challenge to make it non-obtrusive in the well designed Airstream interior. Unlike cars and home theater, rear surround speaker placement is especially hard given the seating in the Airstream. Placing a home surround sound amplifier out of sight is also a challenge.

- A single compact, powered Dolby soundbar placed under the TV, with decent bass, is a good solution. These simulate surround sound very effectively with electronic processing. Power and a cable from the audio output of your TV is all the wiring they need.
Some examples:
http://www.zvoxaudio.com/item/400430...-430HSD/1.html

ZVOX Audio SoundBase 320 | ZVOX Audio

This has a wireless subwoofer.
Boston Acoustics TVee Model 2 (Black) Powered stereo sound bar with wireless woofer at Crutchfield.com

There may even be a Dolby sound bar made for your TV set depending upon the brand.

- Also, for another option look over the owners manual on you factory Sony deck. Most of them have a menu option buried somewhere that does surround sound simulation if a dolby signal is fed into the aux audio input. If your deck has that option, the Sony will create effective surround sound through the factory installed speakers (the front speakers however will still be in the bedroom). To use this, your xBox would need an audio out with Dolby or you can by a box to split the audio out of the HDMI before you send it to the TV set.

- Not sure what you mean by a ground cable. Tricky grounding situations can occur with 12v systems creating hum, but there are cheap filters for that.

- Do not know much about x-Box but this dolby decoder may come in handy. Amazon.com: DTS AC3 Digital Audio Decoder 6x RCA for Microsoft XBOX360 PS2 PS3: Video Games

[jasperkins]

First, plan with the XBOX One. It has pass-thru and Blu-Ray. The Samsung DVD can then be sold or re-gifted as a Christmas present :-)

This is based on our 2012 27FB Eddie Bauer:

1. The lounge Samsung TV has HDMI in, and Audio out to the Sony Car deck. So, if I place the Sony Car Deck on CD2, all 4 speakers (2 front / 2 back) play 2 channel sound.

The sound bar idea... where will you be sitting? We find that the overhead speakers in the lounge area are distributing the sound good. Not 5.1, but then again I am not sure with the AS TV layout 5.1 is an option. Maybe a soundbar would be the best as Wayward noted with this cabin design.

2. We have a subwoofer in under one of our benches. Powered, and the TV sound out back to the Sony Car deck throws the Bass really well.

3. 5ch AMP where? Where are you planning on wiring the speakers? The TV placement and AS design on the 28' (or 27FB) make that not really practical.

So recap- loose the Samsung DVD. XBOX one can be its replacement. Pass-thru XBOX One for DirectTV / Dish / Etc. If you really want better Sound- a Soundbar.

Now if you really want to take this one step further.... I have a lot of media on hard drives / Media Server. The Samsung TV's have DLNA and USB ports. They can play pictures (making them great LCD picture screens), music, and movies. Also XBOX One can connect to the mediashare / and take USB drives. This will allow you to stream media from the XBOX one that way too. And Netflix. Granted you need a good wireless / internet setup for the Netflix. However media can connect directly via USB or via a network router / media drive.

[Lara Me]

Update. I got the new Xbox One running at home. What an awesome console, it sits in between my cable box and TV and controls all of these devices, plus my receiver, with just my voice as the remote control. Yes, for the TV too. Truly impressive so far. I ditched my older Blu-ray, as well as several remotes, and now use voice control or the game controller to navigate my entertainment. Setup was a breeze.

But... not convinced this is the right solution for that AS. I will take my spare Xbox 360 instead and use it, probably with an HDMI switcher. It's not Blu-ray, but does do DVD, plus Xbox music, and with enough bandwidth, allows me to access Comcast on demand, Netflix, amazon video, Hulu, and HBO.

Found the sub where Dave Swenson said. It is a cheap unit that is better than not but not super fidelity. A small passive sub, powered by my 5ch amp, would sound much better. The amp would sit atop the current shelf where the Blu-ray player now sits, and speaker cables would be re-routed from the Sony deck to the amp. I'd also upgrade the current speakers to something better.

Still questions about running power to the amp, but I will let a local shop provide suggestions.