Sound Bar in Truck

Ok, so just wanted to throw out the idea and see what people thought. I run tube doors pretty much exclusively now and was thinking a soundbar would be a good option. Something cheap, like this:

$78 Wohome 2.2 Sound Bar for TV with Built-in Subwoofers, 32"es Detachable Soundbar Speaker, Bluetooth 5.3/Optical/AUX/USB Connection with Colorful Backlight (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/Channel-Blue...oor+sound+bar&qid=1563682840&s=gateway&sr=8-3

I'd build some sort of custom mount for it along the upper section of the rear view window most likely. I figured from there it would be as easy as a power inverter to plug up into. However, how could would it be if it could run off the radio, maybe be paired with some subs down the road. I mean, shit, boats do it all the time. I've thought about marine speakers but a soundbar would look a lot more slick and take up less room

 

I have been impressed by the sound that wetsounds sound bars make... but they are not cheap.

 

The bad thing about in-home sound bars is that they’ll need an inverter to be powered. And they will definitely draw more power than the 120w a cig lighter can provide. This means you need a higher wattage inverter and it needs to have heavier gauge wire run straight to the battery. This is adding a lot of extra cost. Also, it will have no easy way to tie into the factory radio.

I would either look into passive sound bars that need an amp to power them, or look at speaker pods made for motorcycles or boats. This way you can easily tie them into the radio, and add on subs or more speakers as you see fit.

 

Tons of good quality sound bars that are designed for the elements. I’d look at the utv/sxs world. Those guys are usually running an all in one unit that runs via Bluetooth

 

I’d hook up a power inverter with a wall plug I think

 

Right. To have enough wattage to power a sound bar and subwoofer, it would have to be a good-sized power inverter. The cig lighter is only good for 120w but you’d be looking at a 400+ watt inverter. This will mean power wire run to the battery.

 

Not that I condone doing a soundbar install in a vehicle but... 1 AMP, DC as well. Ditch the plug I say. I can't tell if it takes 12VDC though, it sort of looks like 22 but ZOOM only gets you so far and I didn't figure the specs for the power adaptor were in the product description.



IMO just road noise would drown this joker out. Also it comes with no external subwoofer. Best use for this would be toss it in the bed and use it at bonfires or whatever.

 

Yeah if that’s the power supply it comes with, it sure isn’t worth a hundred bucks lol.
I’ve done the WetSounds passive bar in a Jeep, but it sure wasn’t a hundred bucks, and sure needed more power. I want to say we did a 150.2 marine amp. 75w rms x 2
It sounded good (though it should have for what the guy spent on it)
I definitely wouldn’t do a home theater sound bar though.

 

My Taco hasn’t gone over 45 in probably a year, it’s just for wheeling and around town, which is why I figured a soundbar would be a decent option

 

I’d get a wetsounds bar but I’d rather spend $600 towards my tons, sub $200 or so wouldn’t be bad

 

You could simply buy a bluetooth speaker and plug it in.

 

Yeah but that would be boring

 

Those JBL speakers put out a ton of sound! We use the charge 3 on my in-laws boat and it can keep the party going at 40mph on the water

 

Damn that's pretty sweet, i'll have to consider it then

 

Plus, you can take it out and use it once you get where you’re going. We use it camping, at the beach, pool, lake, wherever we want music.

Going back to the original post for a second, there would still be no easy way to tie this in with the truck radio or add a subwoofer. Something to keep in mind

 

Your idea of adding a soundbar to your vehicle's tube doors sounds intriguing! The Wohome TV Soundbar you've mentioned seems to offer a variety of features, making it potentially suitable for your purpose. Mounting it along the upper section of the rear view window with a custom mount is a creative solution, giving you good audio coverage.
Running the bluetooth sound bars for utv is feasible, but it would require wiring and connectivity considerations. If you're aiming for a seamless setup, ensure compatibility between the soundbar's inputs and your vehicle's audio outputs. Bluetooth connectivity could be a wireless option, though some vehicles might have limitations.

 

i've got somewhat of an obsession with big-sounding tiny speakers, and really unique installations. something about the engineering requirements that go into them to fit a bunch of stuff in a compact enclosure always intrigues me. i'm also one of the few people here that have ran both a 'headless' car audio setup, as well as a dual carpc/headless full active setup.

tbh, most off-the shelf sound bars under $100 are pretty quiet/abysmal once you start getting things like road noise/wind noise--many do run off regulated 12v(need a regulator for it, but entirely doable), but they just don't get much louder or clearer than that jbl speaker until you start stepping up to the $300-600 range.

the good news is that there's a ton of options that run off 12-24v, i imagine i could come up with something that fits your needs.

what kind of budget are you thinking?

what space are you willing to give up in the truck for audio? you want to keep it mostly to something in the headliner/front windshield?

 

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but it's new to me.

So... this works? You can just sync it via BT to the OEM radio and have a portable speaker for around the campfire or whatever?

 

You sync it to your phone, not the radio. Just want to clarify for you

 

Shucks. I was hoping there was a way to sync to the radio and use it as rear fill with the ability to unplug it and use outside of the truck. That would have been pretty sweet!

Tnx for the clarification.