Any speaker experts around?

[dave*99]

get as many as you can, sell them to have the money for what you want in your shop. Most shops up to about 800 sq ft do well with one pair of speakers sitting on shelves. If you have a 3000 sq ft shop then get two pairs. You don't need loud sound in a shop, it will not be pleasant after a short while when you are trying to concentrate on doing something. You want background music. I love music and prefer it to TV / home theatre. I ran a store for a big US audio store chain many years ago. Trust me. You do not want music blasting in your shop nor do you want the hassle of having to ceiling mount speakers all over the place unless the building is big enough for, "Clean up on aisle 9" announcements.

All true. Every single word.

 

[BobnCO]

I think people confuse having more than two speakers with wanting it “loud”; having more numerous speakers throughout a larger space allows for more consistent sound levels at any level (very low to “medium”). With only 1 (bluetooth speaker) or 2 speakers your background music is inaudible from over there, but somewhat too loud standing by the 1 or 2 speakers. I like your plan (just install it already )

 

[BurtEggley]

I think people confuse having more than two speakers with wanting it “loud”; having more numerous speakers throughout a larger space allows for more consistent sound levels at any level (very low to “medium”). With only 1 (bluetooth speaker) or 2 speakers your background music is inaudible from over there, but somewhat too loud standing by the 1 or 2 speakers. I like your plan (just install it already )

hardly. The biggest complaints from ceiling speakers is why is the sound so crappy. The answer is it was never designed to be more than elevator music. I have music on in the shop all the time. 500 sq ft. Pair of book shelf speakers sitting on a shelf up high. Have to turn it down sometimes. Can hear it outside too when the doors are open. In a shop the sound bounces off everything. But if someone wants "Clean up on Aisle 9", then go for the ceiling mounts. Just don't come back and ***** about the music being crappy in the shop.

 

[CoogarXR]

get as many as you can, sell them to have the money for what you want in your shop. Most shops up to about 800 sq ft do well with one pair of speakers sitting on shelves. If you have a 3000 sq ft shop then get two pairs. You don't need loud sound in a shop, it will not be pleasant after a short while when you are trying to concentrate on doing something. You want background music. I love music and prefer it to TV / home theatre. I ran a store for a big US audio store chain many years ago. Trust me. You do not want music blasting in your shop nor do you want the hassle of having to ceiling mount speakers all over the place unless the building is big enough for, "Clean up on aisle 9" announcements.

I don't know, I like loud music in my shop when I'm doing boring things. If I'm trying to concentrate on a diagnosis, I want quiet. But if I'm just changing oil or sanding/painting, doing scrap teardowns, whatever, I blast away.

This has kinda been a constant theme around here when the topic of garage stereos come up. Some just want ambient music, some want to party.

I personally like a little of both. At one time I had the full-on Doc Brown setup with multiple amplifiers, 21" subwoofer, speakers all over the place. It was fun. Now I've moved into a tiny temporary shop, and all I have set up at the moment is a little 2.1 PC speaker set. It gets the job done in my microscopic shop for now. But when my big shop gets finished, I have 4x 15's and 2x 18's ready to deploy, along with a 70v setup for the driveway/courtyard area, lol.

 

[dave*99]

I need and have enough volume to drown out my wife yelling "Turn it down." But I suspect that's the exception rather than the rule.
There is a pair of 3 way PA speakers with 15's hung with chains from the ceiling in the garage and a 250 WPC amp driving them. Along with 5 other systems throughout the house, woodshop, patio and pool. I used to be a soundman. I still like loud R&R. You will find everything from PC speakers to Klipschorns at my place.

 

[BobnCO]

But if someone wants "Clean up on Aisle 9", then go for the ceiling mounts. Just don't come back and ***** about the music being crappy in the shop.

That may just be your experience with crappy speakers and systems, they make alot of quality ceiling speakers, the OP thinks those are and I'm not gonna argue; JBL and others currently makes high fidelity 8" ceiling speakers. I had some (JBL or similar) I used to run in a rented shop that sounded good to me. Now if you're one of those $5,000 Amp and $1,000 - $2,000 per speaker guys, I'm sure it all sounds crappy to you and ignore my comments.

 

[dave*99]

That may just be your experience with crappy speakers and systems, they make alot of quality ceiling speakers, the OP thinks those are and I'm not gonna argue; JBL and others currently makes high fidelity 8" ceiling speakers. I had some (JBL or similar) I used to run in a rented shop that sounded good to me. Now if you're one of those $5,000 Amp and $1,000 - $2,000 per speaker guys, I'm sure it all sounds crappy to you and ignore my comments.

Never spend more on the amp than the speakers.