Great sound alternative (no wiring required!)

duane_sword

duane_sword

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Until today, my coupe has no sound system, none at all… during the restoration I elected to delete the stereo equipment in the center console and ultimately install some auxiliary VDO gauges in that location. My enjoyment when driving the coupe came from the freedom of enjoying the sounds, the smell and the joy of a triple-weber equipped classic BMW.

However, for the journeys of more than an hour I desired some tunes…. but I didn't want to have a stereo per-se… I thought about installation of a system in the glove compartment but never really wanted to have speakers installed (even discretely under the seat or in the foot-well of the rear seats…..

JamBox is my solution! If you don't know what this is, go to your nearest BestBuy or similar and check it out…. all wireless, bluetooth, great sound and clarity from a fully portable speaker.

I went for a cruise this afternoon, placed the JamBox on the floor well behind the passenger seat, setup my mix of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chris Isaac, Crowded House and Mark Knoffler…. the cruise was longer than I expected to savor the sounds of the tunes and the webers :-)

Highly recommend a JamBox (by Jawbone) for fellow E9 enthusiasts who don't want to install unsightly speakers, have a modern stereo screw up the classic look of our coupe, or pull wiring through the carpet.

Rock on.
 

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I would if I could….

Vbigdog said:
Duane, be honest - do you own stock in JamBox?? :smile:
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They say you should invest in the companies or products that you personally admire…

However, I am unable to buy stock in JawBone given they are still a privately-held VC backed company.

Jawbone is a privately held company funded by Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitz.

https://jawbone.com/about
 
I drive with the iPhone and earphones. The cheap and selfish solution.
 
Different sizes of the Jambox

They seem to come in several sizes. I imagine you picked a larger one, as sound will no doubt be better. What is yours, roughly? 20"....
 
duane_sword said:
Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chris Isaac, Crowded House and Mark Knoffler….
Rock on.
Click to expand...
Some of my favourites too. If you like these artists you should check out Hunters and Collectors, particularly their hits.

Great idea for music in the car. Saves cutting circles for speakers in places you know you'll regret at some point. How is it powered?
 
I use my Bose noise cancelling headphones for the longer trips. Quite nice as you can cruise comfortably at 100mph or higher with them.

There are several alternatives to the Jambox : http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417433,00.asp

http://www.pcmag.com/products/1617?Type=Portable

I have the smaller Bose one and quite like it, the smaller size is nice too as it gets more portable.

For me I used to dislike Bose as their old sound had too little mid range for my taste but that has changed now.



I should mention I have no stock in Bose ;)
 
"you in the red car, pull over!!!"

Arde said:
I drive with the iPhone and earphones. The cheap and selfish solution.
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So that is why you never pull over when people behind you are beeping their horns!

Actually I tried the earbud idea and it worked pretty good overall.
The next step was to use rear speakers that my car was prepared for then use the DIN plug in the period-correct radio to connect my iPhone. I listen to Pandora on the long trips.
 
I looked at a lot of bluetooth speaker options (Bose makes one too) but the Big Jambox has the best sound and the most "kick." Since I have a few classic cars w/ original radios, I like that I can move it from car to car - or just use it for garage tunes while I'm working in there.

FYI: Driving with headphones on is illegal in most states - so you might want to check that.

Cheers
James
 
Gazz said:
Some of my favourites too. If you like these artists you should check out Hunters and Collectors, particularly their hits.

Great idea for music in the car. Saves cutting circles for speakers in places you know you'll regret at some point. How is it powered?
Click to expand...

H&C are also in my collection, as is Paul Kelly and Alex Llyod.

The Jambox has a Lithium-Ion battery and lasts upto 15 hours of continuous play…. and that is longer than any continuous drive I will be doing in my coupe ;-)
 
Stan said:
So that is why you never pull over when people behind you are beeping their horns!

Actually I tried the earbud idea and it worked pretty good overall.
Click to expand...

Nobody uses the horns in NorCal, we wait until the right moment to pass and and we lower our windows to pass them some Grey Poupon mustard.
 
IMHO there is nothing better than the Big Jambox, put it on the rear floor or on a rear seat and it can blow your ears off.....a much better alternative to destroying the originality of your car, unless the vibrations accelerate metal rust fatigue
 
About 15 years ago I got pulled over on the Mass Pike for earbuds and got a nice summons. Still believe it is not legal here.

I had a 72 Mercury Capri that someone had stolen my 15 dollar odd lot radio out of. BTW still have the original receipt for this car from the dealer on my wall, 4,150 bucks.
 
Please make sure to secure "brick like" items like the Jambox - especially if they are behind you. Nothing like getting hit w/ a brick in the back of the head should you be in a collision.

OK that's enough w/ the safety messages from me for a while :-)

Cheers
James
 
Mine came with a 8 disc cd changer with four speakers, I guess I have been taking it for granted, but music certainly helps to unwind on certain drives.

Two songs I really liked while driving my coupe were and still are:

The Darkness- 'I believe in a thing called love'

and of course the classic....

Rolling Stones- 'Sympathy for the devil'

I suggest anyone listen carefully to the lyrics of these songs and enjoy the drive....

MF
 
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