# VES audio questions



## jettafock (Mar 11, 2004)

Is the only way to listen to the VES either by setting the head unit to VES so it plays on all speakers or via the VES headphones? Is there any way to connect a portable speaker to play the audio but listen to satellite radio from the head unit? I'll be going on a long road trip with 2 boys 3 and 18 months. They won't keep the headphones on and I don't want to listen to little einstines for 13 hours.


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

A few ways perhaps to go about this. 

I think you're looking to tie into the IR (infrared) signal the headphones are using, so you need a IR speaker that is battery powered or that you could at least plug into a lighter/DC source behind the left sliding door. If your VES has screens for both 2nd and 3rd row, you have dual frequency/channel headphones and you'd need to figure out what IR frequency(-ies) Chrysler uses. There are after-market headphones that work with the Chrysler systems, including the foam padded over-ear style. So it's nothing proprietary. I think you'll have a tall order though finding a portable/battery powered IR speaker, b/c most IR speakers are intended for rear surround on a home theater/stereo and typically have to be plugged into the wall for AC power. Also, even if you were to find something along these lines, me thinks it would not be the most cost effective solution.

Another approach would be to purchase aftermarket IR headphones that would work with Chrysler but also have a 3.5mm auxiliary jack. Then also buy a portable speaker with 3.5mm cord that is intended to plug into headphone jacks on a laptop/tablet. Plug the speaker into the headphones. Basically use the IR headphones as sort of an amp to push the audio signal to the portable speaker. Again, even if you make this work, it's likely not the cheapest solution.

Example, although I'm not certain these particular IR headphones have correct frequencies to work on Chrysler:
IR headphones: https://www.amazon.com/Bravo-View-A...ingle+Source+Automotive+IR+Wireless+Headphone

Speaker: https://www.amazon.com/Marware-UpSu...rds=Marware+Upsurge+rechargeable+mini+speaker


Your cheapest bet may be to find a cheap portable DVD player (Colby, or similar). The SD DVD players are cheap. Then plug a portable speaker into it. You could run the power off the lighter/DC power supply with a 2-way splitter. You couldn't use the overhead screen, but many of these DVD players have velcro straps to install it on the back of the headrests on the front seat.

Easiest thing might be to let your boys have the VES *and* audio system, fade the speakers to full rear, and then use a bluetooth or 3.5mm portable speaker up front and run tunes off of your phone or portable mp3 player in the front seat. Wouldn't work for Sirius though, I suppose.

Good luck. I feel your pain. My boys are 18 months apart (now 6 and 7 years), and we did some 2000+ mile road trips before they would keep the headphones on their heads. We just gave them the audio system and I went temporary insane for a few days/weeks listening to it. It was better than me trying to listen to what I wanted to while they screamed and bickered and fought, so I wouldn't be able to hear anything anyway. At least they shut up and it was relatively peaceful with them watching (and listening) to Lion King, Nemo, and Cars. Oh, and the Toy Story series.


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Here's another workaround. I have this portable dual screen DVD player for our other car that I picked up a few years ago for $40.
http://www.cnet.com/products/sylvan...-with-built-in-dvd-player-display-7-in/specs/

The primary screen includes the DVD player itself, along with AV and headphone outputs and power input. Instead of sending the video signal to the secondary screen, you could instead send it into the VES auxilary panel behind the left sliding door. There is a 2.5mm AV output on the primary screen/player to send the signal to the secondary screen. It also comes with a splitter where the 2.5mm cord splits into red/white/yellow RCA jacks. The primary screen also has a headphone jack. 

You could play the movies on the portable primary DVD player/screen, split the video signal to RCA jacks and send the video signal to the VES auxiliary panel. That will put the video signal up to the overhead screens. Then use the portable DVD player's headphone jack to plug in a portable speaker. You could get power for the portable DVD player and portable speaker either from the dual lighter jacks in the center console, or from the auxiliary panel where the RCA jacks plug in.

You can probably find a better portable DVD player that includes the RCA outputs on the player itself and skip the signal splitting part. Just using this model as an example because I happen to have it. It also has a SD card and USB input to load videos digitally rather than dealing with spinning discs and lasers skipping as you barrel down the highway.


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## serega12 (Sep 14, 2013)

After 3 years of listening to McQueen, Frozen, veggie tales etc... I finally realized that they have earphones for our 2009 Routan SEL Premium. On a trip from Seattle to Sacramento of all things. Ordered them to come to the place I was visiting (gotta love amazon prime) and viola! For the rest of the trip I was enjoying my music while the kids were watching their movies quietly. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IY2OO8A/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ordered three pairs of these. They work flawlessly on our 2009. YMMV depending on your year, but for $22 a piece they are definitely worth it. I had to set them at the second setting to work. And the IR receiver needs to be in plain view of the IR blaster on the screen, otherwise your kids will throw a tantrum that they can't hear anything. And they have to be in the correct direction for the same reason (when on correctly, you can't see their green lights) 

Also make sure they don't set the volume too high and turn them off when not in use. Our batteries (2xAAA batteries each) last for over a month with moderate use. 

Hope this helps.


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

I _way_ overpaid for replacement VES headphones (Chryco OEM) after we bought our Routan used 4 or 5 years ago, and that was on ebay. Wish I had better researched b/c they are cheaply made too and the felt covers are stretched and torn.

From what I've gathered anecdotally, the IR systems for cars are all universal. The main channel is 2.3 Mhz right / 2.8 MHz left, and for dual channel the channel B is 3.2/3.8 Mhz. The lower frequency channel is good for 12-20 ft, while higher frequency will travel farther (25-30 ft) but is more susceptible to interference.

I also found those kid-sized headphones serega12 posted. I was considering either that or these over-ear version that are 2 pairs for $30 and good reviews:

https://smile.amazon.com/Dinly-2-Ch..._SR160,160_&psc=1&refRID=GNGB1HPCT17R7HQPYHK9


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