ATF: Cyclone - Sound system

[snappy2265]

Cyclone 4100, Quite disappointed in workmanship of installation!
Things I found not up to professional std.
Base speaker not fastened to anything, bouncing around on floor under storage compartment in rear of island, causing severe distortion, paneling over speaker hole and not a cloth grill, amplifying the problem even more by being loose, no HDMI cable to tv to utilize sound system when watching antenna tv.
Question 1. How is the speaker to accessed and how is it to be mounted?
Question 2 Is there supposed to be a cloth grill and trim like the grill over the tv?
Question 3 What is the procedure to run a HDMI cable to tv? How long? Where to run cable?
Why wasn't this done as a std feature?

 

[danemayer]

Cyclone 4100, Quite disappointed in workmanship of installation!
Things I found not up to professional std.
Base speaker not fastened to anything, bouncing around on floor under storage compartment in rear of island, causing severe distortion, paneling over speaker hole and not a cloth grill, amplifying the problem even more by being loose, no HDMI cable to tv to utilize sound system when watching antenna tv.
Question 1. How is the speaker to accessed and how is it to be mounted?
Question 2 Is there supposed to be a cloth grill and trim like the grill over the tv?
Question 3 What is the procedure to run a HDMI cable to tv? How long? Where to run cable?
Why wasn't this done as a std feature?

Hi snappy2265,

Heartland has been moving to sound bars on some models instead of the traditional surround sound with ceiling speakers. On those traditional setups, I don't think they've ever connected the TV audio output to the surround sound input. It took me a while to get mine connected and even then, there was a complication with the Directv audio output.

One thing I've noticed is that the selection of TVs and surround sound devices changes quite frequently, and the connectors on those devices change as well. Many TVs these days have audio output only through a headphone jack. Others have Optical TOS. Others have Digital Coax. A few still have RCA phono.

I've personally seen quite a variety of combinations of audio outputs and inputs.

We have an RV Audio Connections Illustrated User Guide that can help you figure out what connection is need for your equipment. Btw, I'd be surprised if HDMI is the answer. I know it's possible, if both devices use HDMI with Audio Return Channel, but I've yet to see an example of that on both devices used in these RVs.

 

[pcardoza]

We also have a 2014 4100. It's hard to believe the sound system the Heartland installed in this unit at such a high price point. For the heck of it I went and priced out the audio system on Amazon and found the entire setup can be had for UNDER $100. Heartland should be embarrassed. I haven't powered the audio system on since the first week we owned the RV.

 

[oscar]

Yes, the entertainment system is definitely low end. For those that don't watch a lot of TV but are more into music, I put an XM radio in the cabinet above the TV and use the cable that is the audio feed from DVD to TV to pipe the XM sound to the sound system. This allows an unobtrusive cable along the side of the LR slide for the antenna which sits on the seatback of the couch. Not the most elegant solution, but it avoids a lot of snaking and drilling for an external antenna. The tv just uses it's own speaker.