Clarion Sound System on Classic 2015

[TonyGuyer]

We have a 2015 Classic with the Clarion Sound System and the two TVs. Does anyone know how (or if you can) mute the sound in the bedroom only when running the main TV on the Clarion Sound System? There is a remote for the sound system mounted in the bedroom, but there does not appear to be any may to mute only the speakers in the bedroom.

Thanks

Tony

[Sjcjr]

[QUOTE=TonyGuyer;1663070]We have a 2015 Classic with the Clarion Sound System and the two TVs. Does anyone know how (or if you can) mute the sound in the bedroom only when running the main TV on the Clarion Sound System? There is a remote for the sound system mounted in the bedroom, but there does not appear to be any may to mute only the speakers in the bedroom.

Thanks

Tony[/QUOTE
I was under the impression that a Polk Audio sound system was installed in the 2015 classic.

[TonyGuyer]

Nope - Clarion

[Sjcjr]

Originally Posted by TonyGuyer

Nope - Clarion

The clarion unit in my current unit(waiting on classic to be delivered this week) is insanely complicated to operate. I pretty much gave up on fine tuning it because I couldn't figure the thing out! I hope the classic unit is more intuitive. If not, I will need a another college degree to learn how to operate it.

[Rich W]

They're just car radios, aren't they? We just use the "Fader" control to set it to Front or Rear to turn off the other set.

[DoublTrouble]

Yes fader. But it seems that the sub woofer is tied to the front pair of speakers. So, if you fad all to the rear, you might lose the sub.

[switz]

Same "wonderful" radio system installed in the 2015 23D Int'l Serenity. Instruction manual written in broken English. Probably the cheapest unit Airstream could buy.

[dames7]

After 6 week on the road, I think this is a pice of junk. I can not tell you how many times I tried to make it work.

Will change it out when I get home.

[gwg]

We have the Polk in our 2015 Classic but have the same mute issue.

[BillfromWI]

I have the Sony version of this problem in our 2014 Flying Cloud 25. As stated earlier, you need to figure out how to get to the fader control in menus to reduce the volume wherever you don't want it. I hate this Sony.

As far as the sub-woofer is concerned there may be a separate control for it but I only "mute" the bedroom speakers so I haven't looked for that feature on the Sony.

I added a switch to the Collins IC 100 sub because I don't want to power its amp when dry camping. Its power is remote switched by the blue wire from the radio--when the radio is playing the sub is powered.

[TonyGuyer]

Actually, I was mistaken. We have the Polk system in our 2015 Classic (my apologies to SJCR in their earlier post). Strangely, the set of manuals which came with the trailer contained both the Polk and Clarion systems and for some reason, I thought it was a Clarion system. Everyone who mentioned it above was right, you can reduce and/or mute the sound in either the bedroom using the Fader control which can be accessed through the Polk menu system - I tried it this morning with success.

Tony

[ghaynes755]

The subwoofer has some controls on it. Think there are two knobs. One for volume and the other for cutoff????

[DoublTrouble]

Right, I'm not sure what they do. One seems to be a gain, the other??? I think msmoto knows.

[Msmoto]

Hi, On the Classic, I have no idea of the controls. But, most decent subwoofers have a gain (volume essentially) and cut off (frequency where it begins to emphasize the bass notes).

As a side note, on my Serenity, the sub was mounted so it was impossible to access these controls.....

If, one has the Clarion sub, take it apart, pack the interior with either a closed cell foam or lots of insulation, remount the sub to the frame with better attachment, and I used a piece of foam for a gasket, and make certain all is tight. This improves the sub greatly, creating less "booming" and while it uses a bit more power, the result I obtained was to get a much "tighter" sound in the 50-100 hz range, actually acceptable with proper adjustments.

Also, I remounted my sub on the fat side rather than on its back. It needs to be firmly attached to the floor. And, a power switch was installed as it was on whenever 12v power to the trailer was on, killing the batteries due to constant power drain.

[BillfromWI]

Cut Off is usually the frequency at which the speaker crossover begins to deemphasize signal components. Subs should not amplify higher frequencies they weren't designed for but the crossover point also depends on the capabilities of the other speakers in the system. If the crossover point is too low some frequencies of the program may not be heard or would be incorrectly deemphasized because the midrange speakers may roll off lower frequencies too much.

My sub is installed under a dinette bench with the volume and cut off out-of-reach so fine tuning would be time consuming and probably not worth the trouble. I really don't expect high quality audio form this system. If that were really important to me in the Airstream I would probably get a Bose player of some sort...but the system in my Ford rocks!

What I would really like is a headphone jack in the radio, but no luck there either.

[StillRod]

Does anyone have a reasonable, i.e., easy to operate, replacement for the Sony and Clarion units?

[AStreamNerds]

I have looked at our Clarion (which I hate) and plan to upgrade at some point. It is a single din chassis and you can replace with any model you want as long as it has the same feature set as currently (or you will lose functions). You want to look for Bluetooth, subwoofer output, an IR remote function, aux inputs - you could also cut the hole larger and put a double din chassis in with not much more work than a larger hole. If you purchase from somewhere like Cruchfield you will get wiring diagrams and help over the phone if you need it. I like the double din chassis because you can get a nice large touch screen and almost not need a remote to do everything. Plus the menu system is much better laid out for you to do things such as fade and increase sub volume.

I like the Kenwood and JVC double DIN models and have had good luck over the years with Alpine. I will also replace the clarion speakers and take a look at a custom sub

[Msmoto]

When someone does get a good substitute, let me know. I doubt the actual sound will change much unless one does the following.

1) Change the speakers as follows: Remove the Clarion speakers near the front of the trailer, replace these on the vertical face of the overhead, but thoroughly pack the area behind the speaker with a closed cell foam. I am using a Polk Audio replacement.

2) Change the head unit and subwoofer, the sub could be Bluetooth, and powered up only when a signal is received from the head unit.

3) In rear of trailer, remove the current speakers, patch the holes with aluminum after fishing wires to locations in the ceiling so a stereo sound stage is created when in the bed. Under the new mounting areas a firm mount needs to be created, I think this can be done with a very thick closed cell foam, lots of silicone sealer. Possibly, mounting a 3/4 inch plywood panel behind the aluminum would be beneficial. (Done in two pieces)

So, what is the cost....new head unit and matching sub....maybe $400 - 600 plus. Speakers about $200-400. Labor at a shop might be as much as $500.

It requires a lot of work to get sound in the aluminum box, avoiding resonance frequencies is a potential challenge.

And, the television sound, I am planning on using a sound bar under the TV in the main room. This of course after I move the television up about 12-18 inches.

Please understand I am a bit OCD with sound systems even if I am so old I can't hear the difference...LOL

However, at present, the Clarion is adequate for the absolutely inadequately engineered speaker system. IMO, the individual responsible at Airstream for the audio system has no knowledge of acoustical engineering, is making decisions only on an economic basis.