Headphones for the Stereo?

C

CaptMac

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 24, 2008
Messages
303
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2715K213
Vessel Name
Passage Weaver
MMSI Number
367558060
Has anyone figured out how to connect headphones to the stereo that is installed? I've checked the manual for the Clarion CMD4A stereo, and can't figure it out. There isn't a headphone plug or jack, but there are a lot of RCA connectors hanging in the back that say they are right & left line level outputs. Maybe I need to plug these into a pre amp or something? I tried plugging a headset directly into these, but couldn't hear anything.

Thanks,
Mac
 
Mac,
I have had the same problem. In the past i had it working but the quality was poor. It does not cut out the audio to the other speakers. I will be trying to get that working some how. Dee lets me know that I must. Wish they would have put a plug in where the mp3 input is. Those extra wires 2 of them have got to be for another set of speakers. There is a fade ajustment on the radio. Maybe I'll cal Clarion.
captd
 
One that should do the job...
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/256306.html

And a fancier one...
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/231220.html
Here you may have to go to Radio Shack and get an adapter for the separate L+R line outputs on your stereo to match into the single stereo input on the headphone monitor - or you can wire up your own adapter, it ain't rocket science...

You can also wire up a simple resistor pad to go between the high impedence, 2v p-p, line output into the 4 ohm, millivolt, headphones...

cheers

denny-o
 
Thanks - that's what I needed. But if I can't cut out the main speakers while listening on the headset, then it isn't what I want. Let me know if Clarion has any ideas..

Mac
 
OK..

So I actually took out the manual. In the specifications section, there are three sets of RCA connectors described for:

-Right Front Line Level Output (Full Range)
- Left Front Line Level Output (Full Range)

- Right Rear Line Level Output (Full Range)
- Left Rear Line Level Output (Full Range)

- Right Non-Fadeable Line Level Output (Full Range)
- Left Non-Fadeable Line Level Output (Full Range)

And yep, I can find all these connectors. Is it correct that if I were connecting the headphone pre-amp to 4 way sound (left/right & front/back), I could use the first two sets listed, and if I only wanted left/right - I would use the last set (and not be able to change the left/right balance)?

Does line level output mean that it is controlled by the source unit's volume knob? (if yes, I can't turn the volume down and still listen to the headphones...right?)

I'm starting to think that I should just load everything into an IPod....

Mac
 
Sounds like you got desperate to actually dig into the instruction book.
Mac, I would think the volume on the head set would be your only volume ajustment aside from setting the radio to a low livable level of sound. Is not the fader just a splitter to put sound in the back seat or front seat? It seems to me that the radio is hooked up for the fader to be balance instead. I have only found the one ajustment. The furtherest button to the right.

Back to the drawing board.
captd
 
OK, basics... LINE OUTPUT, is just that, an output that has a preset voltage level...
The volume control does not change it... It is this way so audio can be routed/shared to other units (moog, keyboard, synthesizer, drum machine, etc.) and those units know what level of signal they will be getting at all times - regardless of what the loose nut on the guitar does...
you should be able to turn the speakers down to zero and still have the same audio level to your headset mixer...

Some units also have a line output that does change volume level - it is not really a 'line output' and should be called something else - but we are dealing with engineers who read/write from right to left..

denny-o
 
Denny-o , Come on over to my boat, I'll buy the beer or the wine or even some hard stuff.

Mac, if this is all true why do we have so many problems? I have tryed quite a few different tricks to get it to work. Been buzy lately. But I am going to get to the bottom of it.

Captd
 
Yep - it may be simple for some people, but I didn't have a clue! Sure glad I asked 😀

Now, just need to get one of those pre-amp boxes and give it a try

Thanks Denny-O

Mac
 
I'm not sure why we need a preamp, anyone?
captd
 
If ALL those line outputs change volume with the volume knob, then you are forced, besides the 'tap' to add an L-pad between the speakers and the stereo so you can turn the speakers down while leaving the stereo volume up for the headphones... Find some pimple faced 14 year old who is into stereos and he can solve it in 4 seconds flat... OTOH, he might find colregs and horn signals confusing... It is all in what you spend your time learning...

denny-o
 
Ok Mac, I got it working. I have been trying the hard wired head sets. Could not get it working. I now have hooked up my old Sennhieser wireless. It has got the little red lights with lithium rechargable batteries. It uses only one RCA connector.
So it is plugged into the white wire on the radio. It also works on the Naxa TV. It cuts out the other speakers on it. It has its own volume so I can turn down the radio where it bothers no one. It charges two batteries at a time while using the third one. Kind of spendy. You buy this one from a hearing aid outfit. Batteries were $35.00 apiece. This gadget was made in Ireland. They are easy on the ears and don't get your ears to warm like the muffin type. The sound qaulity is better than the tv sound. I took some pictures and I'll see if I can get them posted in my album. I title it "hearing aids"

I have seen the same type at Wallmart or Sams for the same type for around $80.00, batteries and all. They were hooked up so you can try them. I did not do it because I already had the Sennhiesers.
captd
 
Mac,

Not really to your point but it might be a nice solution. Ryobi makes a set of sound canceling headphones that plug right into an Iphone and presumably an Ipod as well. You can regulate the amount of ambient noise you want to hear with a dial. They work quite well and are not expensive. They run off of their own lithium battery based 4 volt charging system which is also pretty good. They have a deal on a kit that I bought that turns out to be pretty useful.

Thanks for your help at the Seattle boat show.

Kurt Widstrand
 
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