Garage Sound system options?

[VolksWomble]

I am sure this is discussed widely, but thought I would poll opinions while I search…

I like having the radio on while I work, and so need to get something setup in the new barn. I have always had pretty basic needs in this department, but they seem to be increasingly difficult to meet with out of the box solutions!

I tend to listen to music based radio, as I really don’t want to be having to make active choices as to what to listen to when I’m doing stuff. However, I absolutely cannot stand commercial radio and adverts. In UK we are blessed with the BBC and grew up listening to Radio 1 (a free to air, FM station). As I have moved out of it’s age demographic I have discovered BBC 6 music (a DAB and digital only station) which largely caters for my tastes…

My garage radio setups have always been pretty basic too - usually an older HiFi Amplifier, some speakers, more often than not acquired via freecycle or similar. I prefer this arragement as I still want things to sound good, and fill the space well, so little one box arrangements tend to be lacking.

As I’ve needed to move to DAB, I have tried adding DAB tuners but they tend to be expensive as separates or limited to smaller portable radios (and without a line out connection) and need a decent aerial. i thought I had it sussed with a dedicated Internet radio, but then the internet radio servers were slowly turned off last year.

So, at the moment I use my phone and a Bluetooth speaker. This is OK but I either have to leave my phone with the speaker or carry them both around with me.

The Barn is 100x40 so Bluetooth does not maintain connection if I walk away from near the speaker, or go somewhere else briefly (I spend my life walking between buildings…) - I really just want to leave the radio playing!

I do now have reasonable WiFi and cables Ethernet should I need it, so I wonder if there is a cheap device that would act as a receiver for streaming radio and/or the likes of Spotify that can be attached to an old school amplifier and speakers and free up my phone?

Thoughts appreciated.
Thanks
Mark

 

[Notgrownup]

I installed 4 ceiling speakers with a cheap Insignia amp with Bluetooth. I run my Sirius XM app though it on my phone. Or i can plug my little mp3 or use local radio.

 

[VolksWomble]

I should add that the Barn is 100x40 so Bluetooth rather struggles to stay connected when my phone is in my pocket.

 

[Notgrownup]

I should add that the Barn is 100x40 so Bluetooth rather struggles to stay connected when my phone is in my pocket.

Then you will need a bit bigger… mine is 24x24 with 10’ ceiling.

 

[Mike65]

I have a small system in our 24' x 25' garage/shop that I hook an old MP-3 player too & let it run through all the songs on it while I work in the garage/shop. It has 2 speakers & I would like to hook up 2 more for more even sound. We were using it in the house while we were renovating the house, & once we moved in it got repurposed to the garage/shop. Similar to the one picture.

 

[sizem]

obtain a used computer (e.g. w/ Mac OS 11 or Windows 10), then stream your choice (free to paid).

 

[Black300zx]

I bought this long-range BT receiver/transmitter a month ago to broadcast over-the-air radio from my shop stereo to my BT earbuds to let me listen to baseball games while I do yardwork.

The advertised range would allow you to stream from your phone a stereo anywhere within your barn. Ive gotten good tranmission at 50ft away thru 3 drywall walls and a partial concrete block wall. If you think this would work for you, I can walk around later and confirm open-air range for you

Long Range Bluetooth Audio... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075J4RKGH?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[rooster59]

Me: old 2 channel receiver (Onkyo) with the factory infrared remote. 2 high quality indoor/outdoor speakers. Wi-Fi reaches the garage. Then I use an old Android cell phone hooked into the amp aux input with a copper cable. Cell phone doesn’t have cell service but is on Wi-Fi and streams pandora / Spotify / whatever into the amp. I scrounged everything. Marie Kondo would have thrown it all away.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

I bought this long-range BT receiver/transmitter a month ago to broadcast over-the-air radio from my shop stereo to my BT earbuds to let me listen to baseball games while I do yardwork.

The advertised range would allow you to stream from your phone a stereo anywhere within your barn. Ive gotten good tranmission at 50ft away thru 3 drywall walls and a partial concrete block wall. If you think this would work for you, I can walk around later and confirm open-air range for you

Long Range Bluetooth Audio... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075J4RKGH?tag=atomicindus08-20

Check the iHeart Radio app as well. Chances are that your local radio station streams on that app. All you need is your BT earbuds and your phone in your pocket while you do yardwork.

 

[jpaw]

Any old computer, cell phone or tablet will allow you to stream in place of your phone as long as you have an internet connection.
I use an Amazon fire tablet in my barn hooked to a Bluetooth receiver thats connected to an old stereo receiver.
This allows me to control things remotely.
At some point I will wire a speaker in all 4 corners.

 

[Black300zx]

Check the iHeart Radio app as well. Chances are that your local radio station streams on that app. All you need is your BT earbuds and your phone in your pocket while you do yardwork.

This is what I usually do, however MLB and NFL black out games from being streamed, so I have to fall back to real over-the-air radio if I want to listen to the Phils or Eagles

 

[4x4Pete]

I have an old-school Sansui G7700 receiver, Cerwin Vega D5 speakers and an old 52" led tv in the shop. I use an amazon fire stick connected to the tv via hdmi, and the tv has rca outputs that I connected to the receiver. We use spotify for most of the music as the shop has wifi through a powerline adapter which actually works good enough to stream some sports and youtube when the need arises. It sounds really great. I use the shop as a place to work on my junk/hobbies and socialize with close friends and family. I think it works perfectly for what I need.

 

[M.Brane]

The 2011 Mac Mini, and the XM receiver are hooked to the Marantz 2230 in the living room. Hooked to the tape out of the Marantz is a little FM transmitter I got from Amazon. It transmits pretty clear for about 1/2 mile radius. Easy way to have the same music anywhere on the property.

Most of the time it's iTunes on shuffle by album, occasionally Ozzy's Boneyard or Deep Tracks via XM. My library on the Mini will go for a week or so before it reaches the end.

 

[dandan111]

Alexa, modern tube amp from amazon and old speakers. Best system I’ve had.

 

[niget2002]

Roku. Old stereo. Old TV. Old speakers from when I replaced stuff in other parts of the house. TV is a rear projection from 2006. Something wrong with the main board because every time I turn it off, it forgets who it is and I have to go back through setup when turning it back on. I keep thinking about replacing it with a cheapie from walmart, just haven't pulled the trigger.

 

[bdbecker]

I'm running one of these in my shop:

Amazon.com

The range on it is ridiculous. I have to turn it off when not in use otherwise it causes issues with being able to connect with other bluetooth devices around the house. Where I park my car in the driveway is around 150' away from my garage is located (only obstruction is my garage door). As soon as I pull into the driveway, my phone will disconnect from the car and switch over to the shop speakers. Same thing if I try to listen to my earbuds around the house. If your shop stereo is somewhat centrally located in the building, I don't think you'd have any connectivity issues as you move around with your phone in your pocket.

The only caveat is that I bought mine ~5 years ago and I see they are now selling an updated 2023 model, and the range is listed as 30-40 feet, so YMMV. If you decide to try it, maybe keep the packaging handy if you discover you need to return it after testing.

 

[duneslider]

I have a roku sound bar at the moment and it is working well.

 

[nadogail]

My Workshop music system is Sony Kitchen Radio I bought at Walmart. It is bolted to the underside of a cabinet. It plays AM, FM and CD’s.

 

[66Caprice]

A LIVE BAND!

 

[VolksWomble]

Alexa, modern tube amp from amazon and old speakers. Best system I’ve had.

I have that same tube amp in my office - the combination of a Bluetooth tube amp just amuses me…

 

[P0234]

Older tablets are a dime a dozen, if you don't have one, a friend will.

 

[dandan111]

I have that same tube amp in my office - the combination of a Bluetooth tube amp just amuses me…

Yes. The Bluetooth isn’t great. I keep Alexa hooked with rca jacks.

 

[PGSD1]

I agree with using a cheap Alexa dot connected to an old-school receiver (or, just the dot by itself isn't bad). I really like walking into the garage and asking Alexa to play *whatever I want to hear* (usually on Pandora). Plus, if you're using Pandora and a crappy song comes on, you can yell out "Alexa next!" and it skips to the next song or, ask Alexa to change the music type if your mood changes. There are occasional commercials but, you can decide to pay ($6/month?) for no commercials. I'm cheap so...

Alexa can be useful as you can ask the time, weather, set a timer, ask for an answer to some odd question you just thought of while working in the garage, turn on/off lights (Alexa connected plugs and lights), open/shut the garage door (if Alexa capable). It's like having an assistant in the garage...

 

[GrayFlattop]

Live radio is what I grew up on, but it can become tiresome with all of the commercials. Although we are blessed with several very good radio stations, I occasionally want to listen to something else. I use an old iPhone as a source for my iTunes library. The phone’s battery is near end of life, but it works just fine sitting in an old docking station, feeding the receiver in the garage, which power some old 8” 2-way speakers in the woodshop and a smaller pair in the front.

Live radio is great for listening to baseball games (better with a winning team) while working on something in the garage.

 

[rebel150]

I normally don’t respond to posts that are very personal to results and open to wide variance. However I will say I’ve had old school 5.1 channel system wired with a receiver. I have switched to Sonos system wireless as long as WiFi reaches one speaker the rest will align with each other. It is voice controlled to turn on or off and you can have an app to change and turn off on up down. Stations that are free vary on you likes. Also speakers are compact the only negative is the speakers require 120v power but that is easy if you have outlets spaced through out your shop as shown in pictures below.

 

[Lorydr]

Use your old phone as a music server. link it up and let it stay in place close to your BT speaker

 

[Git]

I bought one of these 'ION Pathfinder 4' all weather speakers/sound system from Costco a couple of years ago. It's rechargeable, and has a wireless charger, so if your going to use your phone, you just lay it on top .

It works well and I am pleased with it. I see Costco now has a smaller version for about half the price

 

[leadfoot415]

I bought one of these 'ION Pathfinder 4' all weather speakers/sound system from Costco a couple of years ago. It's rechargeable, and has a wireless charger, so if your going to use your phone, you just lay it on top .

It works well and I am pleased with it. I see Costco now has a smaller version for about half the price

I have the older, larger version like you have for use on my pontoon boat. It has a very good lasting battery, and gets loud enough for usage in a shop; however the FM tuner is garbage. I can get more stations off of my 2x AA battery powered panasonic portable am/fm radio while fishing or boating in the middle of my lake.

 

[no704]

Surf your local fb or cl

 

[SteveL]

Two Sonos 5’s and Sonos Beam sound bar under 65” QLED tv. Wireless using internet and sounds awesome! Not cheap but well worth it in my opinion.

 

[Dig Doug]

Smart TV and a used amplifier - check thrift stores / 2nd hand stores for the amplifier & speakers

you can get sports, movies, music over TV or use pandora / apple, Spotify etc

I have 6 - 8inch ceiling speakers and a older powered sub and it rocks

garage is 54x36


you could also get a car radio & an amplifier and a 12 v battery on a trickle charger to keep battery charged. Run speakers every 20-25 feet

 

[PoorUB]

I do now have reasonable WiFi and cables Ethernet should I need it, so I wonder if there is a cheap device that would act as a receiver for streaming radio and/or the likes of Spotify that can be attached to an old school amplifier and speakers and free up my phone?

Can you get your hands on an old smart phone? Do you have an old one that got tosed in a drawer?

I have a cheap Bluetooth receiver, WiFi in the shop and use and old cell phone the stream Sirus Radio or YouTube from my internet connect and Bluetooth it to the receiver. The phone is plugged into a wall wart charger all the time, it has been for several years.

 

[Skellyii]

I have a garage that's attached to my house, and also a garage condo a few miles away. Both of them have a receiver and speakers that I got from Goodwill or estate sales really cheap. I use surplus android tables connected via their headphone jacks into the receivers to stream from Sirius, Spotify or other online services. One of them has a USB stick with a GB of my favorite MP3s

 

[dantecl]

I have a 70V system in my garage, currently using 5 speakers, but plan on adding more. The head unit is 300W and has multiple inputs, I have an Alexa and a Roku attached to it for sound sources. I really like the flexibility of 70V systems where you just add speakers and don't have to worry about impedance matching, as long as your total wattage doesn't go over what the head unit provides you're golden.

 

[WildBill]

I have a cheap tablet running spotify to a beefy soundbar/sub setup that's also connected to my shop tv. I have the tablet mounted by the door and it has apps for controlling the lighting, air quality meter, mini-split, and spotify on it. Works slick. With spotify I can also pull out my phone and control the tablet to switch songs or change volume.

 

[jshillin]

The answer has already been said a couple times in this thread and in many others. A traditional receiver, a speaker in each of the 4 corners and an Amazon Alexa device where you can get it to play about any station or use Amazon music. I have them in my garage, woodshop and all over the house.

 

[BombShelter]

I'd plan for the future, if you have ethernet, get a laptop then you can split that into a TV or stereo. My shop has internet to go with a big TV and a huge vintage AKAI Stack of Metal and some nicely matched ADS Speakers. I can play from just about any source and sometimes it's fun to crank some music videos on YouTube. I also watch a ton of car repair videos while wrenching.

You may want to watch for used, small event speakers, recently a pile went for cheap here, I bet they would sound fine in a big barn. Personally I picked up a set from a local ice rink, some killer Fraiser's with massive horns. They only need around 15 watts to make some serious noise.

 

[VolksWomble]

To draw this thread full circle, I finally found the closest I think I am going to get to my (fairly specific) ask…

in an idle moment I put ‘streaming music player’ into Amazon on prime day, and one of the results was the WiiM Pro Airplay2 Reciever… which seems to meet most of my requirements. I still have to drive it from my phone, but it isn’t tied to it via Bluetooth, as using Airplay it has its own network connection. it uses my existing old school amp and speakers, and still has the flexibility to use DAB or Spotify (or any other streaming source).

I’ve really appreciated the suggestions x the two overriding ones being a TV or an old tablet/smart phone. I get terribly distracted by TVs so prefer not to have moving pictures above, and did very nearly employ an old tablet, but the WiiM box really seems to work well for reasonable outlay (especially on Prime Day)

 

[Shiftless]

I’m late to the game here, but I’ll add to the conversation. I bought a used Sony receiver and 4 Advent speakers at 2 different garage sales. I then bought a 100 foot reel of speaker wire and hooked it all up. One speaker high up in each corner of my garage. All in, I paid $100
Sounds great! Volume is usually set at 2. Putting it at 10 is painful.

One of the benefits of living in this area is that we have a commercial free public radio Jazz station.

 

[bwringer]

One obscure detail I'll mention if FM radio is important to you... many cheap Motorola phones have a very good FM tuner built in. The catch is that you have to plug something into the headphone jack so it can use the wire as an antenna.

In other words, connect to your amplifier or amplified speakers via the headphone jack, and you've got all the streaming stuff a phone can do plus an FM tuner. Yank the SIM out of an old Motorola phone and use it as a little wifi connected tablet and you're all set.