16 replies to this topic

[greybeard101]

If you have this setup, I have a question or two about the wiring off the back of the DVD unit and the procedure used to activate the surround sound feature.

[hermanmullins]

graybeard101,

Have you contacted the dealer where you purchased the unit? They may be able to walk you through the step you need.

Good Luck

Herman

[greybeard101]

Yes but I am not sure I accept their explanation.  

They say that in order to to get sound through all the speakers I have to set the dashboard radio to "AUX REAR".  None of that is mentioned anywhere in the vehicle handbook or the DVD manufacturer's handbook.  Furthermore all that does is play sound through all the speakers....not "surround sound" The DVD home theatre unit has ports for L front....L rear...R front...R rear... center and subwoofer. There are no leads from any speakers for anything but "center" and "subwoofer" A true surround system would have them all hooked up just like at home and the handbook for the DVD player/home theatre system gives all the details of how to set that up.  That's not possible if there are no leads to the correct speakers........and.........it seems a bit strange to have to employ the dash radio ...which I assume runs off the chassis battery, for a system that should run completely off the house batteries during a 2 hour movie.  It's as if they forgot to wire the speakers to the Home Theatre system at bthe factory and the answer I am given at the dealership is a "good enough" solution as far as they are concerned.

So I just wondered if anyone out there has the same MH and how it's hooked up at the back of the DVD unit.

[IgorP]

Yep, you are right - the dashboard radio has nothing to do with "surround sound"...

[WILDEBILL308]

Take it back and tell them you are not happy. Have them show you how the surround sound works not just the radio. Just a thought have you tried turning your home theater amp receiver on to see if it works?
Bill

[wigginsjsr]

I can't speak to your exact model, but on my 2011 Monaco Knight the surround sound only works when you are playing something on the DVD. It does not work for the TV or dash radio.

[Larry196]

I have a 2006 HR and I agree with wigginsjsr, my house unit only works with the DVD and when my granddaughter stayed with us she got a Star Wars movie, when the battle began it scared the wife so bad she almost peed he pants,(that's her description). It will not work with the TV and has a built in FM radio receiver.

[desertdeals69]

If you have this setup, I have a question or two about the wiring off the back of the DVD unit and the procedure used to activate the surround sound feature.

Does your DVD unit contain the surround sound processor/amp? If so all of the speakers need to be hooked up to their respective outputs.

[boyle908]

2009 Neptune 35SBD
Surround only works when using the DVD/CD player, I have not rtried the tuner portion. The radio they installed sounds like it came from 1950 it has that tinny sound that is irritiating even when playing CD'S.

I could send a few buck and get something decent but I dont use it much and I would need to upgrade the antenna which also sucks

Michael

Sorry about the spelling DW is harassing me. AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!

[hermanmullins]

I just reworked my TV Cabinet and my old TV had Audio R & L out that went to my VCR/DVD player. I had sound from the surround sound only when I had the VCR/DVD player on. My new TV doesn't have the Audio R&L out lets. But hey I'm deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other so surround sound sound the same to me as anything else.

Herman

[pgoris7223]

Greybeard101, Your Magnadyne M3-LCD is your surround sound home theater system. The subwoofer is located under the dash in front of the passenger seat. The front three speakers as you know are mounted on the ceiling near the television and the two back speakers are mounted over driver and passenger seats. As far as I can tell, when you insert the DVD into the M3-LCD the DVD surround sound should play through the five speakers and subwoofer. You should have received the M3-LCD manual in the form of a CD/DVD in amongst all of your other manuals. It can also be found here: http://www.magnadyne...12231C25912.cfm

[smokeater75]

Hi Greybeard101, we have a 2003 Windsor with a Sony radio and cd player. When we watch a dvd we have surround sound. We have a switch on the dash that says tv/radio, if I play a cd we have surround sound going through the rv. When we are playing a dvd I have to remember to flick the switch to tv and then I have the surround sound for the movie. I agree with the idea of going back to the dealer and having them go over the system with you. Its ashame to pay all that money and not being able to enjoy its full potential. Good luck smokeater75.

[dkreuzen]

You didn't say which Holiday Rambler model you have and that may make a difference.
I have a 2012 Monaco Knight 36PFT (same as a the HR Ambassador) and my dash radio (Magnadyne M3-LCD) has nothing to do with the TV's DVD player system. The TV- DVD player has all it's own speakers and should work if a DVD is playing.
As for the missing speaker wires... When I got mine almost all of the speaker wires had pulled out of the back of the DVD player, maybe yours did the same thing? In any case you are correct in that all the speakers must be connected to the DVD player for surround sound to work.

[f301359]

I agree, the radio should have nothing to do with the DVD.

 

Take it back to your dealer and have them explain how it works and bring your favorite DVD and have them show you. My DVD goes into surround sound when I play a DVD. I also found that when I play my big screen TV, I hit the function button on the DVD front panel, to Aux1 or 2 and I also get surround broadcast through the coach--try it. Also If you are not getting surround when playing a DVD,,it's quite possible that it's not set up properly or the the RCA connections running from the DVD to your "main TV" are not connected correctly.

[greybeard101]

Greybeard101, Your Magnadyne M3-LCD is your surround sound home theater system. The subwoofer is located under the dash in front of the passenger seat. The front three speakers as you know are mounted on the ceiling near the television and the two back speakers are mounted over driver and passenger seats. As far as I can tell, when you insert the DVD into the M3-LCD the DVD surround sound should play through the five speakers and subwoofer. You should have received the M3-LCD manual in the form of a CD/DVD in amongst all of your other manuals. It can also be found here: http://www.magnadyne...12231C25912.cfm

Thanks for everyone's input. Newbie I don't have the touch screen dash unit. I have a DVD player in the cabinet above the driver's seat and a dash radio. After taking it back to the dealer again and speaking to the General Manager ( who also thought it was strange to have a player without all the leads hooked up), they hired an independent audio company to go over it and what they told me earlier is indeed the correct procedure. The amplifier for the DVD player is in the dash unit ( which plays CD's) and to get surround sound one has to set the dash unit to "aux rear". The dash unit amplifier runs off the house batteries so my concern about draining the chassis battery is explained away.

 

To change the subject a little, the coach has been in the shop for half of January and all of February for various things to be fixed so I'll play with the DVD unit when I get it back tomorrow.  I year anniversary of ownership comes up in March. Of that, it it has been in the shop for 230 days of 351 days we've owned it. 

To top it all off the Ford dealer's mechanic who was working on giving it an oil change..trying to hook up the DRL ( my chassis was missing the standard wiring harness that all F53 chassis come standard with) and trying to figure out why the V10 stalled on every hard left turn ( misrouted wiring harness by Monaco causing the front wheel to make contact with it and damaged the wiring)....he creased the dr side rear compartment door, pushed back the rear cap joint moulding and generally scraped the whole left rear side of the cap.

 

Me pulling my hair out?......nahhhhhhh.........When we get it back I am going to wrap the entire coach in duct tape...that should help...maybe.

[hermanmullins]

GB101, Sound to me like your coach is well broken in now.  Should be smooth sailing from now on.  Maybe.

 

Herman

[-Gramps-]

Doesn't sound like true surround sound to me if all the speaker outputs from the DVD are not wired.  When you use aux rear that seems like multi channel stereo not true surround sound. What's worse, depending on the dvd/home theater setup, you could be missing parts of the audio if it is feeding sound out say to the L Rear and there is nothing connected. I take it this Dvd player does not have its own speaker amp built in? So the outputs are line outs not speaker outs?

The reason I ask is because I do a lot of home theater and background music wiring and modified my coach as well as others.  What model radio and dvd player do you have? 

My HR has a switch in the overhead for dash/home theater. This switch controls a large relay box that switches six speakers, including the sub from one device to the other.I have true 5.1 sound. The two bedroom speakers always stay connected to the rear speaker output of the dash radio.