Oontz wireless Bluetooth speaker for Spark
I've been thinking about and researching some possibilities for a sound system on the Spark, and may have come up with something I'm going to try.
First, I'm no stranger to custom stereo installations on boats, cars, and scooters. In addition to the Spark, I have a Donzi 18 Classic. It is capable of 60+ mph, and with the small block with through-transom exhaust the engine and wind noise at speed are considerable. I have a 25W x 4 stereo with 4 Infinity speakers and a JBL powered woofer, and the system needs to be near full on to be heard. Wind noise on the Spark is the main consideration, and to truly overcome wind noise you need a lot of power.
In my opinion the best place to locate speakers on the Spark is the handlebars. This gets the speakers about as close as possible to the driver's ears and best to overcome wind noise at speed. I think a very good solution would be a pair of 4" speakers on the handlebars and a Bluetooth amp of at least 50 watts. However, that would almost certainty require tapping power from the Spark. If operated for hours at a beach or sandbar, it may tax the stock battery. Installation would be a bit involved. There is insufficient 12 power available at or near the handlebars out of the stock wiring harness, so power would need to be run to the battery and fused. Certainly something I have done before, but I was wondering if I could avoid it in the Spark, especially as one would need to accommodate separating the top from the hull.
I was just experimenting with this Oontz 3 wedge water-resistant Bluetooth speaker. It has a number of interesting features. It is claimed to have over 10 Watts of power, and is actually quite loud. I measured 90-95 dbC at 2-3 feet away, which compares favorably to one of my scooter's speakers. It uses a novel passive radiator for bass, which works quite well in a room. The bass does get lost somewhat on the Spark. It has a microphone and can be used to answer phone calls. It is also quite inexpensive, at under $30.
I used a couple of bungee cords to fasten the Oontz onto my Spark's handlebars. If a more permanent mount were fabricated in this location, it would actually not look too bad. The black color and angular features fit the Spark aesthetics. But I was mainly out to test performance at this point. I live on a canal connecting to a freshwater lake, and it takes about 15 minutes at required slow speed to reach the lake. The Oontz was unsurprisingly great at that speed. Out on the lake, at speeds up to 25 mph is was not too shabby. Wind noise is not too great, and the Qontz can be heard fairly well. At higher speeds, wind noise becomes predominate, and the Oontz is barely acceptable. It can still be heard, but I was wanting more volume.
All in all, however, this battery-powered system is not a bad trade-off. It is certainly adequate at low to moderate speeds, and at the sandbar or beach.
Back to aesthetics. I opened the Oontz up, and discovered that the components could be fairly readily removed and reconfigured to a custom installation inside the white handlebar trim piece of the Spark handlebars. This peice just snaps off and on, so it would be easy to remove it and the installed Oontz components to charge the battery or use off the Spark. The speakers would be in the ideal position. The switches on the circuit board would be duplicated with waterproof switches on the Spark handlebars for convenience, as could the LEDs (although not completely necessary). The unit could actually be made more watertight, as the weakest area appears to me to be the rubber flap over the micro USB charging port.
I think this setup has some definite possibilities. I am probably going to pursue it. Oh, and if I do bollix the installation, a replacement trim piece is only $19.