Garage speaker positioning: let me hear from your experience

[gotta56forme]

All,

I'm about ready to insulate & sheet rock and want to run my speaker wiring for in-wall and/or in-ceiling speakers. I've been pondering this for a bit and am torn where to put the speakers in my garage. The inside of the garage is 31' long by 27' wide. I've been thinking four speakers.

The first 12' of of the garage ceiling going towards the backwall from the big door is a 9' high flat ceiling (created by my storage trusses) while the remaining 15' of ceiling is a cathedral (truss) style ceiling approximately 13' high at the peak (garage roof peak 15') . I'm considering some of PolkAudio's in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. If I choose the in-ceiling speakers, my cathedral style ceiling doesn't have any natural speaker 'box'ing happening since it all opens up into a shared area there. I've thought of putting one pair of in-wall speakers in the back wall of the garage aimed at the big door, and another pair of surface mounted speakers on the small vertical wall where the cathedral ceiling and storage area meet, aimed at the back wall.

Any wisdom on the matter is appreciated...

Here are a couple of photos to help visualize what I'm talking about

view from garage door to back (right corner) wall:

view from back wall towards garage door (note storage truss wall meeting cathedral ceiling in upper left):

view into garage:

Thanks in advance,

Scott/Gotta56forme

 

[StumpXJ]

I installed a surround sound system in my shop. I just used the back wall as if it were the TV, since thats where its eventually going. I put the 'front' two speakers in the front two corners, the 'rear' two speakers in the rear corners (the big door side), the center speaker on top of the surround unit, and the powered Sub right next to the unit. It works AWESOME for me. I am just using it as a radio right now, but I can rock out pretty good if I want. Mine is a fairly square set-up, and is 22 deep and 24 wide.

You should be able to see the speakers and unit/sub in these pics.

 

[bmwpower]

I like the sound and better bass output of a good set of non-inwall speakers. You can get better sound for less money. I'm not into surround sound in a garage as I don't watch movies out there. It screws with the imaging on most of the music I listen to. You really don't need more than 2 speakers unless you have work areas on opposite ends that warrant it.

I have a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 v3's that lay on top of my cabinets. Hard to see in some of the picts, but they're on either end.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I put them in opposite corners. Mounting them inside the wall is only going to limit your options as your use of the garage changes over time. I agree with BMWpower about regular speakers being the smartest approach.

I suppose if you're watching television in there, it's a different story.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

I like the sound and better bass output of a good set of non-inwall speakers. You can get better sound for less money. I'm not into surround sound in a garage as I don't watch movies out there. It screws with the imaging on most of the music I listen to. You really don't need more than 2 speakers unless you have work areas on opposite ends that warrant it.

I have a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 v3's that lay on top of my cabinets. Hard to see in some of the picts, but they're on either end.

Man, those cabinets and counters are simply awesome...

 

[Jack90210]

I like the sound and better bass output of a good set of non-inwall speakers. You can get better sound for less money. I'm not into surround sound in a garage as I don't watch movies out there. It screws with the imaging on most of the music I listen to. You really don't need more than 2 speakers unless you have work areas on opposite ends that warrant it.

Couldn't agree more, but then again soundstage and imaging are important to me (I prefer 2-channel to 5 channel). I've got a couple of sets of Dahlquist DQM-9c speakers (great speakers from the 80s, Ebay specials) one of which is in the garage: it's a 24x24 (two-bay) but I put the speakers at the end of one "bay" (so that one is in a corner, and one is in the middle of the wall) so that the area in which I do most of my work is between the two speakers.

 

[bmwpower]

Man, those cabinets and counters are simply awesome...

Thanks man.

Couldn't agree more, but then again soundstage and imaging are important to me (I prefer 2-channel to 5 channel). I've got a couple of sets of Dahlquist DQM-9c speakers (great speakers from the 80s, Ebay specials) one of which is in the garage: it's a 24x24 (two-bay) but I put the speakers at the end of one "bay" (so that one is in a corner, and one is in the middle of the wall) so that the area in which I do most of my work is between the two speakers.

Those are nice speakers. I was a big fan of the DQ-20's IIRC.

I looked around for something used, but got a good deal on a NOS pair of mine. I wanted something "slim" and black that I could lay on the on it's side. I contemplated getting 2 pairs, one for each side for better imaging in each work area, but that soon dropped to the bottom of the want list.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

In general, the best placement of speakers in your garage would be the upper corners of the wall opposite the garage door. You will get the best bass response, and two speakers will fill the room.

Four speakers in the ceiling would also be good. Three or four feet out from the corners.

My shop radios tend to come from yard sales, but it's still rock and roll to me.

 

[gotta56forme]

One thing that concerned me, when thinking about it, was having too wide of seperation between the stereo speakers such that when moving around my shop, I would notice being closer to either the L or R channel. Do any of you notice this effect or perhaps you are running your music in mono? Additionally, it appears most of you hung your speakers just above your head height to not create a 'hot spot' when passing in front of a speaker.

Thank you to those of you who have replied...

 

[jmh21586]

Don't put the left speakers on the same side. As you go around the room alternate, left right, left right.

If you're looking at a floor plan:
Dont do:


L ---------------- R




L ---------------- R



Do:

L ----------------- R






R -----------------L






If you do it this way when you're closer to lets say a Left speaker, then next two closest speakers will both be rights. Evens it out.

 

[nonhog]

I spend some time researching this and there is lots to learn.
I finally said "screw it" and mounted them within acouple feet of each other
about 7' off the ground and all is fine. Probably not optimum but good enough
and that was the only place they would fit w/o making it a bigger project than its worth. Just my 2 cents.

 

[floyd]

I have a 30X40. The back half has a 13" ceiling for a lift. I put two small bose indoor/outdoor speakers up in the corners in the back and angled them slightly down and towards the center of the garage. I have a small 'bookshelf' stereo (with tuner, CD, and ipod dock) and I have more sound than I need. I did have to spring for a decent FM antenna so I can pull in some local radio stations. I'm with "nonhog" simple is better.

 

[litljay]

Wow, I'm surprised some guys are worried about "imaging" in a garage with nothing but hard surfaces.

 

[Jack90210]

Wow, I'm surprised some guys are worried about "imaging" in a garage with nothing but hard surfaces.

Fair enough, though I do have carpeting covering half of the garage, and much of the rest of the surfaces are irregular (roller cart, table, steel cabinets, bench, ****, motorcycles, etc). I'm not exactly running modern tube gear in there but I do like for it to sound good if possible -- though it still depends on where you are standing.

 

[eldirector]

Are your garage doors up much? Unless you want to project the sound out the doors (and bug your neighbors), place the speakers on a side wall. I briefly looks at some in-wall speakers for the garage, and a side wall made the most sense to me. It put them over the benches, and not firing down the driveway when the doors were up.

In the end, the fancy speakers were used in the house, and the garage has an old boom-box. Works like a charm!

 

[Cobra4B]

It's a garage KISS.. I have one speaker in each back corner of my 20x20 garage. They're mounted on the walls up high. They were freebies left by an old roomate.

 

[litljay]

Exactly...I guess I see garage tunes as just background noise while working on a project.

Here's what I did...

Picked up 2 pair of these:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-402

and mounted them in the ceiling. I mounted in a way that if a car is parked exactly in the center of the garage, no matter what side I was on, I could hear them. So, one pair on the pass. side, and one pair on the driver side. I made sure that the speaker's closest to the garage door wouldn't get covered if the garage door was open.

If I was starting with a clean slate like the OP, I'd probably go with 2 pair of in-wall speakers. That's just me...I like the stealth, out of the way, don't take up any storage space idea.

 

[mustangcrazy77]

I'm not sure why people get all wrapped up with surround sound setups in a garage that will in all likelyhood see music intended for stereo sound.

For my I just threw a cheap pair of Pioneers I picked up at a garage sale under both corners of my work bench. It keeps all of the AV wires somewhat short as it's in close proximity to the receiver, computer and TV....and they sound is plenty loud and clear for when I'm working on any projects. Sound clarity just doesn't seem important when the air compressor kicks on.

You can see one speaker here...

The other here (only a small piece of it in the lower right corner)...

And some of both here....

 

[StumpXJ]

I 'got all wrapped up' with my surround sound system because it has been in a box for 3 years since my wife didnt want it in the house. I use it in "hall" mode (all speakers powered all the time) with the radio, and will use it in surround mode when I am watching something on the TV. Aside from mechanic and fbrication work, I also do model (RC) building and throw poker tournaments out in the garage, so its nice to be able to have quality sounds when the job permits. If I was just turning wrenches, any old boombox on the work bench would work just fine.

~James

 

[NUTTSGT]

I mounted a couple of mine on corner shelves near the ceiling to keep them out of the way.

Figure out where you want them, run the speaker wire to a couple of boxes and use a couple of wall plates for CATV.

 

[gotta56forme]

JMH..., thanks for the L-R-L-R channel array idea - such a simple and effective plan.

From reading this, I think I will go with four in-wall speakers - a pair on the back wall, and a pair on the garage door wall, in the corners. I'll mount them about 8.5' high, so they are above my head.

Thanks to all for the photos, feedback and info.

Scott/Gotta56forme

 

[Dragster Racer]

I saw this old thread, and figured instead of starting a new one I would ask here:
40X40 shop with 15''+ ceilings.
I have a set of Klipsch KG4.2's that since we built the new house have not been used. Too big for my wife's taste in decorating. Fair enough. They can come out to my domain.
I have a loft in the back corner that I have always set my speakers on. The speakers are within 2" of the loft edge. They are setting with enclosure directly on the chip board floor. Driven by a Kenwood KRV5580 with 50w per channel.
The problem I have is lack of any tight base. Now, I will say that when we retired these speakers, I thought maybe I was having that same problem in the house.
Where do I start? The position may not be good. Componants that need to be checked/replaced? Any audiophiles here?

 

[jdieter]

Have a vintage Pioneer Quad receiver and mounted 2 Klipsch and 2 Advents in each of the 4 corners near the ceiling angled slightly down and towards the room center hanging from chain supports.

 

[Spinaker01]

I like the sound and better bass output of a good set of non-inwall speakers. You can get better sound for less money. I'm not into surround sound in a garage as I don't watch movies out there. It screws with the imaging on most of the music I listen to. You really don't need more than 2 speakers unless you have work areas on opposite ends that warrant it.

I have a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 v3's that lay on top of my cabinets. Hard to see in some of the picts, but they're on either end.

Holy LISTA BATMAN!! That is a sweet cabinet setup, Nice!

 

[bmwpower]

Holy LISTA BATMAN!! That is a sweet cabinet setup, Nice!

Thanks! I wish it was still that clean!

 

[jomobco]

I was surprised how much thought people put into this. I hung them 1/4 of the way in on the sidewall facing the long length of the shop. Nice separation from the side walls and each other. I added a sub to the Sonos as well. It's not a concert hall but it works fine for tunes when I'm working in the shop. It doesn't face out the garage door to really make the neighbors mad. All are happy.

 

[Ray916MN]

....40X40 shop with 15''+ ceilings.
.....
The problem I have is lack of any tight base. Now, I will say that when we retired these speakers, I thought maybe I was having that same problem in the house.
Where do I start? The position may not be good. Componants that need to be checked/replaced? Any audiophiles here?

Way too much physical volume to get substantial bass response. For home audio speakers designed to be used in something more akin to 15x15 with an 8' ceiling, this is more than 10 times the room volume.

 

[jmiller_2308]

I think it depends how you use your garage. I ended up essentially triple zoning things.

I have a three car garage where two bays get used for daily drivers and no real work happens of there; subsequently no sound there either. The third bay is the working bay and in back of it is work bench area that is roughly 10x15. There is a beam that goes across the top of the ceiling between the work bench area and the working bay.

The first zone is the work bench area. I have two speakers mounted on the beam pointing down into the work area. I have plans to add a sub in this area but haven't gotten around to doing that yet. This is the most important area for sound as I tend to hang in that area of the garage the most.

The second zone is the work bay. On that same beam I mounted two additional speakers that are much larger than the ones in the work bench area. When I'm making noise and grunting on a car I can crank those puppies up nice and loud. Sound also carries over from this area into the workbench area to make things fuller. Actually, the large space in the bay tends to actually improve the bass in the work bench area.

The third zone is just outside the shop door. I mounted some outside speakers on the eve and can hear music when I'm in the shed or garden that I get to by going out the shop door.

None of this is particularly useful for sound imaging but heck, I can't hear that well any more anyway, and even if I did, I'm rarely sitting for any length of time at "the" spot where the sound image would be best.

Jeff

 

[Kevin54]

I mounted a couple of mine on corner shelves near the ceiling to keep them out of the way.

Figure out where you want them, run the speaker wire to a couple of boxes and use a couple of wall plates for CATV.

That's the same thing I did to mine. I built some corner shelves out of 1"x4" MDF prep-primed ans screwed them into the corners of one wall, 28' apart from one another.

 

[nehog]

I've got surround in my shop too. Speakers in each corner, center is front of the lift wall, and two subs (actually old band speaker systems, 15", 4" and dome) in the front corners up on the wall. I mounted the subs up high to get them out of the way: they are huge.

I can open the doors and have a major yard party (and have done so) with the system.