@Bush and @Bukit....I am glad you guys ARE in the rabbit hole (i learned something from your posts) BUT what is your recommendation to the OP?
A lot of people probably would like to hear what an audiophile would do for garage sounds using a budget of a used Bose Soundwave (~$100 - $200). OP wanted decent (but not concert / studio quality) and good AM/FM. Very interested in your thoughts.
Bukit - thats quite a back bedroom...KUDOS!
The real headache here is the damned radio, of all things. It's all going Bluetooth in "table top" systems, and there's rarely a tuner.
EDIT: For radio, one solution is to pick up a receiver with Bluetooth output, and use any of the solutions, such as those mentioned below, or any wireless receiver. Given the rarity of quality radio speaker systems these days, you're better off with that separate source.
You can physically plug it into an AUX input, or just use the Bluetooth output. Yes, Bluetooth affects audio; but this is a garage that will eat some of that quality anyway.
1: A previous post somewhere was on point with a suggestion I almost always forget. Studio monitors connected to nearly any source with outputs will really do the job in that budget.
I like JBL 305P MK II monitors. Their price to performance is outstanding, and new they're about $130. Used they can be much cheaper. Quality?
I remaster films and tailor Foley effects with a set of these. They're great.
The main thing to remember is you want at least a tweeter and mid-bass driver in each speaker, or very good full-range drivers (not BOSE).
You'll want to favor silk (or otherwise textile) dome tweeters, as the sharpness imparted upon the sound by some polymer and many metallic tweeters can cause irritating reflections in rooms like a garage. In other words, you may not be able to crank the volume without it hurting your ears or sounding "tinny".
In a home or car, that's tamed by various soft materials and the human itself. In a garage, the issues are amplified; not reduced.
Placement is critical. Walk around that garage clapping your hands. You WILL hear where the reflections are terrible, and where they aren't so bad. Put the speakers where the reflections aren't so bad.
2: Another great option is the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 multimedia speaker system, which can be had brand spanking new for $150; but used they're cheaper. They are incredibly reliable, and while not quite hi/hi, they're damned close.
It's the best all in one computer multimedia system you can buy, and LITERALLY has been for twenty years. Nobody's ever topped them. These units now function with Bluetooth, but they can plug into any source.
The speakers themselves are used for some of Klipsch's nicer consumer-level theater systems, and are THX certified, for what it's worth.
They have one flaw: The volume knob is
guaranteed to become "scratchy" within a couple of years for the first quarter or so. People have been overlooking that for two decades, because you're really going to set it and forget it anyway, using the source to adjust volume.
I still have my original 20 year old set, and I've used them on countless computers and yes... In my garage.
EDIT: If the speaker cables on the Promedia aren't long enough, you can just cut and extend them; they look proprietary, but they're not. Only the control cable is. You can also just run the speakers off of any source with an appropriate output if you don't want the sub in the way.
3: Beyond that, you're going to be leaning into wireless speaker systems, and some are nice enough to get away with full-range drivers, such as the Klipsch One II. They're a very good manufacturer to consider, used or new at this price point. They don't build junk. They do the best they can at a price point, and they do make sure to dip under $200 in each line.
There are also individual wireless speakers, and there's the temptation to use your home theater system to run a couple of speakers as the "second room" in your garage. This does work, but you'd better have some way to control it out there, or you'll be going back and forth constantly.
You can get decent job site radios, as well, but they're not what you're asking about.
EDIT: Nearly any hi/fi solution will either involve separate speakers or cost more than $200; and clarity of that caliber isn't going to be super worthwhile in a garage. The space will eat some of it.
I've potentially bumped it over $200 here, depending upon what is purchased and how, but if we get into too much older stuff, finding it becomes complicated, and quite a bit of the great all in one units are already climbing in value.
Some boom boxes are good, but they aren't hitting "hi/fi" at that price point.
Likewise, some dedicated portables are good, but there are about a billion of them, and most products at that level are either going to be more than $200, or not have a tuner.
about $200 (Translate to $40 if she asks).
... Steve