# Infrared Speakers for a Car?



## dj51

Hey folks,


This is my first post here so go easy on me if this is really a dumb question.


I have a vehicle that has a rear seat DVD system for my 3 year old daughter to watch movies while on long trips. We just bought the car and it came with 2 sets of wireless IR headphones. They work great, but just not for her. She will eventually learn to like them but until that time, I am stuck driving and listening to whatever movie she is watching at the moment and cannot listen to the radio separately.


So I thought if there was a speaker I could purchase and rig up some sort of mount to her seat, I could do that and still use the wireless IR coming from the DVD system to play on said speaker. One major problem... There is no such thing as a portable wireless IR speaker that is powered by batteries!


My question is Why not? It seems pretty simple. Take the same tech that is used in the headphones, change the form factor and amplify it a little more so it will be audible from a few feet away and BOOM! You have a small portable wireless IR speaker. But after hours of searching, I have come up empty. Only finding RF style home theater wireless speakers that need to be powered by a standard outlet. I have also come across several bluetooth and wi-fi speakers that connect to a PC with a USB transmitter. But again, that will not work for me...


So I come here to the land of audio genius with my quandary in hopes that someone here can assist me in my quest to make my daughter and myself happy at the same time...


Thanks,

Dan


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## bigbarney

You would have to find out what frequency the ir headphones function at... then see if you can find a set of ir speakers to match that frequency. That in itself would be a pretty tall order.


Might be easier to use the headphones themselves as a receiver and pipe speakers (with amp) off the earphone speaker wires.


I have a HU hooked to my stock rooftop dvd player on its auxillary input. I don't use the ir headphones at all because there are 2 headphone jacks built in the the dvd player. My kids use the jacks with wired headphones... but you can also plug a set of amplified speakers into it. (My HU has dual zone ability so the wife and I can listen to music while the kids listen to a movie through the headphones)


Are you sure your dvd player does not contain a headphone jack?


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## dj51

Thanks for the response.


I looked all over for an audio jack for wired headphones and did not see one, but that doesn't mean that there isn't one. I had a different vehicle previously and it had audio output jacks and we used a small battery powered speaker connected to that jack and it worked great.


I guess i really don't understand why there are headphones that work on batteries with the IR, but no speakers that support the same technology. My guess would be that the support for such a product was just not there and it never got off the ground.


Dan


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## bigbarney

Quote:

Originally Posted by *dj51* 
I guess i really don't understand why there are headphones that work on batteries with the IR, but no speakers that support the same technology. My guess would be that the support for such a product was just not there and it never got off the ground.


Dan
Well to be honest, I'm not quite sure what your need for the speakers are, or why anybody would have a need for what you're asking for.


With most dvd players you have a choice of hearing it through the main speakers, or through headphones. One would figure that with those choices available, an extra set of speakers on top of these choices would be kind of redundant.


It seems to me that you would be stuck listening to your little one's movie whether they play through the main speakers... or a set of independent speakers from the wireless port. The whole idea of headphones is to avoid a competition in volume-upping between different media types being played in the same space by different people.


This whole thing kind of reminds me of dual climate control... a really neat idea... but I have learned through experience that it's kind of useless when I can't *keep* the warm air on the wife's side and the cooler air on my side. We end up in competition with the temperature dials. She keeps turning hers up while I'm turning mine down.


There is only so much you can do in the confined space of a vehicle and trying to further individualize that confined space is wasted money.


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## MrBobb




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dj51* /forum/post/20399750
> 
> 
> My question is Why not?



For 1, driving speakers use up lots more power than driving two tinny earphones, the batt would last u maybe 1/2 hour.


And 2, IR headphones intend is to provide a no-cord experience to the wearer. With fixed mounted speakers, there is no reason to go wireless, from the designer point of view.


I know it still doesn't help, but hey, you got a niche market there.


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## dj51

Thanks again folks...


I understand where you all are coming from with regards to trying to keep my sound mine and her sound hers. She is 3 and very finicky, like most kids. So getting her used to wearing the headphones will be tough, but it can be done. I am just worried that she will find the volume and turn them to the max and damage her hearing. Over protective parent, I know... And yes, we do have the ability to listen to the movie audio through the normal speakers, but when driving on long trips, we want to be able to listen to our stuff while she watches and listens to her movie separately.


I also understand about the speaker needing lots more power to keep it going. I have a small portable 'cube' speaker that uses 4 AA batteries and connects with a 3.5mm jack that worked great. But the power was short lived too.


Dan


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## dodgefamily

DJ51

I feel your pain and i can no longer take listening to Barney for another minute but, the kids should be able to listen to something they like as well!


My friend is a huge techy and is currently working on our issue! I will let you know how things move along! I did find headphones for KIDS at walmart online only for $18.00 each which fit much better for my three year old however my 17month old wants no part of them? They sinc perfectly with the dodge system.


My buddy has a plan just waiting on a couple parts, the speaker he is making will require AC voltage which my van does have, if yours does not you can purchase a cheap inverter? I'll keep you updated


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## monsteraudio

 http://www.tonepublications.com/revi...able-speakers/ 


just get these and wire them in, kids might not like sound quality of a cheap speaker, you could hang them from the ceiling, of course have your child demo a few locations to make sure their seating position is the sweet spot. "Each of the MM-1s only takes up a 3.9 inch (100mm) x 3.9 inch square on your desktop and stands a mere 6.6 inches tall (170mm). " Rock on kids I wish I had a such an accommodating father lucky kids.


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## Sparkss

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I also have this need/issue.


Like others her age, our 4 year old is also not a fan of headphones. We bought a new vehicle and opted to have a rear dvd entertainment system, not realizing that *none* of them came with external speakers. I would completely swap out/replace the screen if I could find any with built-in speakers, but so far no luck on that front.


And while I don't care to listen to her shows, it would be preferable to listening to her fuss on a long trip. Previously we lived with a portable DVD player (with built-in speakers) and could still listen to our radio while she watched her show(s). The separation of front car speakers and dvd player speakers was enough to make it work. It isn't like either one of us needed to blast their audio to be happy with it







. This was supposed to be a step up from that, but so far it is falling short.


Has anyone come up with any solutions to this issue ?


TIA !!!!


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## chief15

maybe you can let the backseat kids listen through the car speakers and you can listen to the radio through the headphones.


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## Sparkss

Thanks, but the last time I checked it was illegal in most states for the driver to wear headphones. (but I honestly haven't checked in quite some time).


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## MrBobb

HEADREST-MOUNTED speakers. Intended for convertibles but should work for u folks.



Kids! I keep saying, *only* if they come with a nanny!


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## cubdenno




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MrBobb* /forum/post/21555561
> 
> 
> HEADREST-MOUNTED speakers. Intended for convertibles but should work for u folks.
> 
> 
> 
> Kids! I keep saying, *only* if they come with a nanny!



And the nanny better be hot!!


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## jpndr919

Please let me know if anyone has found a solution to this. Bought a car yesterday and just found out you cannot separate the speaker system for DVD player and radio. In the past, the kids had a portable player in the back while I happily listened to the radio in the front. There was never a battle over volume. My 2 y/o does not like the headset and I worry about the volume too high. I also want them to hear me if I want to communicate while driving. With the headset, its not as easy.


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## dblaa

I think I found a fix. I am ordering soon and will try to come back and let you know if it works....

I am ordering an ir headphone with a 3.5mm jack output. Then, ordering a portable speaker that connects to 3.5mm jack.


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## dblaa

I am so happy to say, it worked!! For $44.95 (shipping included) I found a fix.

I got an IR headphone that also has a 3.5mm jack output. I then got a little portable speaker that plugs in to a 3.5mm headphone jack. Voila!

What I got specifically (on Amazon) is the Bravo View IH-05A Single Source Automotive IR Wireless Headphone ($19.95). Then, I got the Marware Upsurge rechargeable mini speaker with 3.5 mm headphone/audio jack ($24.99).


The speakers volume adjusts by using the volume on the headphones. The sound is not super loud but that is preferable for me as I don't want my daughters movie (on Range Rover dvd system- factory installed on seat backs) to interfere or compete with my music. As the speaker is super small I can set it up by her and it is plenty loud for her to hear but I don't hear it when I have my music on.


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## dblaa

As a side note, the above totally works. However, when I went to try my Jawbone Jambox (full size) speaker instead of the Marware speaker mentioned above, it cancelled out a lot of the ir signal and my headphones had to be right up by the ir output in my car to work. As soon as I unplugged the Jambox the ir was reading just fine as usual. NOo sure of it's the wire that can't handle the bigger speaker or the ir itself.


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## candjhuntley

Again, bumping an old thread, but a thread that came up for me in my search for this very same thing. I liked the idea of the speakers connected to an IR headphone - i was even planning on just connecting a speaker to the audio (headphone) output from our MTG10 DVD Player Flip Down Monitor. However, i had decided to install a Kenwood DNX890HD as the head unit in the van so that we could control the DVD player from the dash (we have the signal from the DVD in the HU going to the A/V input on the overhead DVD player). What i found out is that the Kenwood Head unit has Dual Zone capabilities. Thus it allows us to send the audio for the DVD system to the rear speakers while my wife and i can listen to something else in the front. Yes, there is some overlap, and it's probably worse for those in the middle row in the van, but it's not much different at all from what we had before when we listened to what we wanted to and they used the speakers on their 7" portable DVD players. As a bonus, they can listen to any audio source that they want to and the separation is not just limited to their watching a DVD. They can listen to kids music from my iphone on one source while my wife and i listen to our music from her iphone in the front on another source. In actuality - this setup ROCKS!


What i have:

Kenwood DNX890HD

Audiovox MTG10AU (i think)

Special iPhone Cable from Kenwood

Cables from the Kenwood HU out to the DVD Roof Mounted System


I'm sure this could work with any head unit that has dual zone capabilities. I hope this helps someone who comes along this thread and sees this solution option as well. It's certainly more expensive going with this kind of a head unit WITH teh DVD player, but imo the convenience and capability is completely worth it!


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## amitjulius


Hey folks,

 

After searching for almost a day, i finally found a forum for the very same thing that I want to do and would like to post my question in front of all you experts!

 

I have a 2013 vehicle (mid size SUV) that has a rear seat DVD system to watch movies while on long trips. This rear seat entertainment system came factory installed in my car and I specifically selected the car model with a rear seat entertainment system, for my 3 year old son to watch and enjoy!

Within few days I found that it is not integrated with my car stereo system, dosnt have inbuilt speakers and the ONLY way to hear sound is through 2 sets of wireless IR headphones, provided to me during the car purchase. (Long story shot, I was really pissed off with the sales person who told that it is integrate entertainment system, with Bluetooth headsets etc etc, and finally found, the system is not integrated and head-sets were infrared instead of bluetooth - Called manufacturer and they said, the system is working as designed.)

 

For the same reason, as Dan mentioned, I don't want my son to wear the headphones (neither he wants to) and I want the sound of my roof-top dvd player to play sound through the car stereo system (wireless - do not want any wires hanging), I got an re-chargeable FM transmitter and hooked it in one of the headphone jacks (built in the roof-top dvd player) and tuned the same station on my car stereo. Works fine, but off and on, I have to keep recharging the FM transmitter, or keep changing stations, which is a pain.

 

So to find an alternate solution, I thought that my roof-top dvd player is transmitting infrared and my headphones are acting as a receiver, so if my IR headphone has a 3.5mm jack output, I can use a 3.5 mm audio cable, with one end in my headphone and one end in my AUX input of the car stereo. But then I found that my IR headphones do not have a 3.5mm jack output.

 

So my question to you all is ... is there a IR receiver device (other than a IR headphone with 3.5mm jack) with one end as a IR receiver (that can be hooked always for charging with my car lighter socket), that will receive IR sound transmitted by my roof-top dvd player and other end as a 3.5 mm jack, so that it can send out the output through the 3.5 mm jack hooked to my in my car stereo AUX?   

 

Thanks,

AJ


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## ladypolarbear

DBLAA can you please clarify how you made it work? I have looked up those headphones and they only have an INPUT jack and not the OUTPUT one. Did you use some sort of additional attachment or coverter? I even called the Bravo company and he told me this would not work. I am getting desperate. I have two kids under 2 and they wont wear headsets (and I dont really want them to anyways). I spoke with Best Buy and the clerk said they sold some headphones with output jacks a few years ago but he hasn't seen them in stock since. I've called every auto installation center in town and they all tell me there is no solution. (On a side note, yes our system plays through the radio but this is also not going to work reasonably. Both boys basically will need their own choice of speaker sound to keep from fighting etc...plus we have an older child that will want something other than Baby Einstein.)

Our system is a Rosen dual channel IR DVD headrest setup. If I had known it was this much trouble I would have passed. 

Any help is greatly appreciated!!


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## cubdenno

http://www.parts-express.com/parts-express-bluetooth-audio-transmitter-and-splitter--320-358

Give this a try.


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## richardc1983

cubdenno said:


> Give this a try.


Looks good


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