Home Theater Receiver instead of Jensen Factory Unit?

[WhatExit?]

Anyone using a Home Theater Receiver in their RV?

My 3120RL came with a Jensen JWM72A wall-mount RV DVD receiver with Bluetooth (https://www.crutchfield.com/S-4kTC6q...en-JWM72A.html). It's got good features (Bluetooth and app to control it) but it basically sucks - low power and the crap speakers don't help.

I could upgrade it with an 8-channel amp like this one: JBL DSP4086
8-channel car amplifier with digital signal processing — 40 watts RMS x 8 (https://www.crutchfield.com/p_109DSP...L-DSP4086.html) but it's $440.00.

For the same or less $$$ I could replace it with a Home Theater Receiver with all kinds of power, options and features. I could easily add a soundbar or even some inexpensive but much higher quality speakers. I'd plug the HT Receiver into the 110v outlet so it'd be plug-and-play.

Anyone doing this? Seems so simple - better than spending $$$ on car audio gear. Am I missing something? Thanks in advance!

[BB_TX]

My 2007 came with a no name home theater system (DVD/FM/5.1 surround sound system) that failed after 3-4 years. Went to Best Buy and bought a similar sized home theater system (Panasonic Blu-ray DVD/5.1 surround sound system) complete with better speakers. Small enough to fit in the existing cabinet opening although I had to enlarge the cabinet speaker openings a little.

Sounded much better than the original.

[jsb5717]

You’re not the first to consider this. Different upgrades are possible, it’s just a matter of how the equipment fits in the available space. I didn’t add a new receiver but I did add a sound bar with a bass bin. It’s connected directly to the TV with an optical cable and provides good sound for movies or TV watching. If your goal is for radio or CD music then you’d need a different solution.

[Foldbak]

I'm a sound engineer so I'm really picky when it comes to audio. I'm not willing to nor will my wife allow me to spend that kind of money on trailer audio. I spent enough on the home. I added a Yamaha sound bar that sounds great for the TV. I connected it to the sub out on the head unit. Minimize the bass on the RV speakers using the bass on the sound bar.



As far as music I'm using ION Bluetooth portables. They're from Costco, priced right and you can sync multiple speakers together. They sound OK. Can't go crazy in a camp ground anyway.

[WhatExit?]

Thanks everyone, for your responses and input!

I'm not happy with the Jensen unit and while it has decent features, I'm not enthusiastic about adding a separate 8-channel amp to make it sound better when that cost is about the same as a multi-function home theater receiver.

Just want to make sure I'm not going down a path that hasn't been done before

[Boondockboomer]

Has anyone considered removing the furion system that sits above the fireplace to allow for more room for a larger TV? Or considered utilizing the tv itself as your entertainment center? I would be interested in knowing your DIY if so.

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by Boondockboomer

Has anyone considered removing the furion system that sits above the fireplace to allow for more room for a larger TV? Or considered utilizing the tv itself as your entertainment center? I would be interested in knowing your DIY if so.

Depending on how good you are with tools just about anything is possible if you’re willing to take things apart and rebuild them. I had considered removing the entire section above the fireplace that contains the Furrion speakers and stereo to install a better stereo system. I did rebuild the TV cabinet which increased storage area and allowed for a larger TV. For now I don’t plan to rebuild the speaker section but it’s never completely off the table.

[WhatExit?]

Update: The more I thought about the Jensen unit and the features it provides including playing DVD and Bluetooth the more I realized, I only need better sound quality. I was sure the unit had line out plugs and it does. So I connected the line out plugs using RCA cables to a Yamaha Home Theater unit (older without HDMI which means you can buy one for cheap used). Added a couple Bose speakers for right and left and a Bose center channel speaker and voilà - a great sounding system using equipment I already had.

[Lee-CI]

Everything in the world is WAY too expensive now days, so I'm a HUGE fan of repurposing. Sounds (no pun intended) like you came up with a real nice sound setup for you.

[Rogueknight]

Originally Posted by WhatExit?

Anyone using a Home Theater Receiver in their RV?

My 3120RL came with a Jensen JWM72A wall-mount RV DVD receiver with Bluetooth (https://www.crutchfield.com/S-4kTC6q...en-JWM72A.html). It's got good features (Bluetooth and app to control it) but it basically sucks - low power and the crap speakers don't help.

I could upgrade it with an 8-channel amp like this one: JBL DSP4086
8-channel car amplifier with digital signal processing — 40 watts RMS x 8 (https://www.crutchfield.com/p_109DSP...L-DSP4086.html) but it's $440.00.

For the same or less $$$ I could replace it with a Home Theater Receiver with all kinds of power, options and features. I could easily add a soundbar or even some inexpensive but much higher quality speakers. I'd plug the HT Receiver into the 110v outlet so it'd be plug-and-play.

Anyone doing this? Seems so simple - better than spending $$$ on car audio gear. Am I missing something? Thanks in advance!

I was in a similar boat. But my jenson head unit sucked and wouldn’t play dvds anymore it just says loading and then no disk.
I put a furrion head unit in I liked because it has independent zones meaning outside speakers can play something different than inside so my granddaughter’s will be able to watch Disney and I can listen to music outside.
I replaced the 11 year old factory speakers with Polk marine certified. Went and made them all the same. It’s sounds nice but not great. I did not look at the rms wattage the speakers wanted which was 100 watts. lol. The head unit pushes 50 watts and 30 to the outside. Way less than needed. So my solution was two 4 channel pioneer amps. And I still have radio without generator or plugging in.
And for me the big thing was the furrion has a hdmi input so I can hook up a 4K Blu-ray player.
Can’t wait to get these amps installed

[WhatExit?]

Looks like you're on the way to replacing the broken head unit. Those amps have a lot of power - with good speakers that should rock your trailer! Give us an update when you get it all done.

[WhatExit?]

Originally Posted by WhatExit?

Update: The more I thought about the Jensen unit and the features it provides including playing DVD and Bluetooth the more I realized, I only need better sound quality. I was sure the unit had line out plugs and it does. So I connected the line out plugs using RCA cables to a Yamaha Home Theater unit (older without HDMI which means you can buy one for cheap used). Added a couple Bose speakers for right and left and a Bose center channel speaker and voilà - a great sounding system using equipment I already had.

One more update: I installed the Yamaha Home Theater receiver which I was holding on to (no resale value so that means you can get similar non-HDMI units for very cheap) and installed it in the opening next to the factory Jensen unit.

One thing that happened is that all the power consumption tripped a breaker when we were boondocking. It seems the power demand was too great on that circuit when powered by the Onan 5500 generator. When the trailer is plugged into 50-Amp service there's no issue so when we're boondocking we no longer use the Home Theater receiver.

[Carl n Susan]

Originally Posted by WhatExit?

....It seems the power demand was too great on that circuit when powered by the Onan 5500 generator. When the trailer is plugged into 50-Amp service there's no issue so when we're boondocking we no longer use the Home Theater receiver.

Are you tripping the CB for the circuit in the breaker panel *OR* are you tripping the breaker on the generator (i.e. too much amp draw overall)??

The CB for the entertainment circuit shouldn't trip depending on the power source. It should trip based on demand. And the power demand for the entertainment system should be the same regardless of the power source.

[WhatExit?]

Originally Posted by Carl n Susan

Are you tripping the CB for the circuit in the breaker panel *OR* are you tripping the breaker on the generator (i.e. too much amp draw overall)??

The CB for the entertainment circuit shouldn't trip depending on the power source. It should trip based on demand. And the power demand for the entertainment system should be the same regardless of the power source.

Thanks @Carl, for asking. Tripping the entertainment circuit. I assume it's due to adding the Home Theater Receiver which was on with the Jensen unit and TV and whatever else is on that circuit. It actually seemed to take our more than what I would have thought would be that circuit. I assumed it was due to the HT Receiver which was on at the time and there were no other changes to electrical system or demand.

[AZ Traveler]

Dan,

If the CB only trips on your genny and not on shore power the genny may be producing a little lower voltage than the shore power. The lower voltage would draw a little more amperage to trip the breaker. You may be able to rearrange what you have connected to your breakers to share the load across breakers differently.

[432bartman]

We replaced the lame factory TV with a smart one (50"), disconnected the lame Jenson unit, and bought a soundbar with a bluetooth subwoofer. It has more than enough power to rock our Montana. I think the total purchase of the TV and soundbar system was under $500.00.