Garage Speakers

[Stuart in MN]

One thing about big old speakers is while they may be too large to use in the living room anymore, they can be repurposed in a shop by mounting them high up on a wall or even in the ceiling, so they won't take up valuable floor space.

 

[Pontiac787]

I ended up trying the Alto TS410. They sound great with 60’s Soul but don’t have the snappiness I was hoping for with AC/DC type stuff. I’m using it as a Sonos speaker on steroids so I can stream directly from my phone and in that regard it’s a decent buy. I’m wondering if adding a second speaker will help give more mid-range punch. Or maybe I should have gone with a single 15”.

 

[jeremybarnes]

After reading about the DML speakers on this site, I decided to build a set for my 1400 ft shop. I drive them with an old Onkyo receiver and a Sony 5-disc carousel CD player that were literally gathering dust in a closet, plus a lightning cord to run off my iPhone. Took me about 90 minutes to make them and cost me less than $100, including buying 150 ft of speaker wire. It was a fun project, and the end result is way better than I ever thought it would be.

Are they the best speakers in the world? No, not really, but they do sound absolutely fantastic, considering what they're made of and how much they cost. Actually, I'm selling them short - they sound fantastic, period. I'm fairly sure the listening environment is about as bad as it could be in my shop -- hard concrete floor, lots of metal cars, spray foam ceiling at 16', etc, but they really are impressive. As others have said, they need a subwoofer to fill in the sound properly.

 

[SBAG]

I absolutely agree with that option for a small or personal space. I bought a couple of Soundcare Motion+ speakers and take them everywhere (even Europe). I mostly use a single speaker when having a cigar, but when synced with its mate in stereo it is amazing. I'm a speaker engineer (now retired) and cannot recommend them highly enough. Lots of power, 8 hours of charge, crystal clear sound (and you can adjust the eq via their ap), waterproof, etc. They are on sale for $85 each with free returns. Certainly worth trying.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P39MLKH/?tag=atomicindus08-20

What do you think of the Kali In-8? I’m thinking these mounted over my bench might give me good near field with a soundstage before the hard scape in the shop has too much of a say in it; and would be good enough for podcast and general back ground music (at lower volumes) mid and far field. I am good with the flat frequency response of these type of monitors (also have Eve Audio SC203s and Genelec 8530s for desk setups).

 

[WildBill]

I was experimenting with those DML speaker setups on Harley Davidsons, using the fairing and saddle bags as speakers. Was interesting but ultimately couldn't produce the output we needed. I ended up using two office doors as speakers in our business workshop, worked surprisingly well. You could barely tell where the sound was coming from,even though it was pretty loud and sounded good. I also added a subwoofer. I tried hooking up exciters to my desk and pretty much anything in the shop that was kinda flat, the cheap hollow office doors sounded the best by far.

 

[ZRX61]

One thing about big old speakers is while they may be too large to use in the living room anymore, they can be repurposed in a shop by mounting them high up on a wall or even in the ceiling, so they won't take up valuable floor space.

4x Wharfdale E90's ferinstance

 

[BobsYourUncle69]

I run a B&W A5 with a Bluetooth adapter. Small footprint , relatively portable, sounds decent and kills any cheap HTIB in terms of sound quality.
They can he had 2nd hand for around $150 -$200

 

[TheRealBastard]

I got a JBL 310 Partybox, and set up out of the box took about 2 minutes. It's really freakin loud, with incredibly low bass, and rolls like a suitcase so I can move it around the garage easily. I like that I can take it with me wherever I'm working because it's cordless (In or out of the garage). I love it, and my wife hates it . I haven't tried it, but I betcha it can connect to a TV too...

 

[Shiftless]

One thing about big old speakers is while they may be too large to use in the living room anymore, they can be repurposed in a shop by mounting them high up on a wall or even in the ceiling, so they won't take up valuable floor space.

Speaking of big old speakers, do any of you “bigger is better” aficionados remember lusting after a pair of these back in the day?
(no connection to the seller)

 

[Skellyii]

Speaking of big old speakers, do any of you “bigger is better” aficionados remember lusting after a pair of these back in the day?
(no connection to the seller)

Wow!

That brings back memories!

When I was in high school, my senior year I was a TA for the electronics teacher, so i also got to do the sound for the school plays. I had open access to the auditorium, so I would go in there sometimes and blast my favorite music through those things.

That was a good time! And the other fringe benefit was open access to the theater girls....that was an even greater benefit!

 

[Thirdyfivepickup]

I picked up a used surround sound speaker system and a mid grade receiver. Currently it's just music but will connect to a TV should I put one out in the garage (don't have plans to)

I hooked it up to my Alexa so I could be sawing or painting and just ask Alexa to play whatever I want to listen to and it plays. Sounds good for minimal investment.

 

[Terra Nova]

I ended up trying the Alto TS410. They sound great with 60’s Soul but don’t have the snappiness I was hoping for with AC/DC type stuff. I’m using it as a Sonos speaker on steroids so I can stream directly from my phone and in that regard it’s a decent buy. I’m wondering if adding a second speaker will help give more mid-range punch. Or maybe I should have gone with a single 15”.

Any further thoughts on these? I'm not an audiophile, but like some decent sound so these may be the solution I was looking for. Originally looking at a JBL partybox 110 or 310 but don't need the portability and am not wild about another battery charging 24/7.

 

[BobsYourUncle69]

Party box and decent sound aren't usually used in the same sentence. Party box =loud with boosted bass.
I'd go B&W zeppelin (any of the models ) , the B&W A series or I'd grab something from Sonos as they're about as good as afforble great sounding speakers get.
JBL , since Harman was bought out by Samsung , the rot is finding it's way to the shelves with JBL and Harman Kardon badges on it.
Thankfully , they seem to be leaving Mark Levinstein alone as far as that goes, for now.

If you don't need portability, a receiver and a set of speakers may be an option too.

Having said that , great sound is subjective I guess so my opinion may not applicable to you at all.

 

[Copymutt]

Posted my set up earlier.
Recently paired my IPad via blue tooth to Alexa. Shes wired to my amps CD input. Everything is available on Youtube

 

[Terra Nova]

Party box and decent sound aren't usually used in the same sentence. Party box =loud with boosted bass.
I'd go B&W zeppelin (any of the models ) , the B&W A series or I'd grab something from Sonos as they're about as good as afforble great sounding speakers get.
JBL , since Harman was bought out by Samsung , the rot is finding it's way to the shelves with JBL and Harman Kardon badges on it.
Thankfully , they seem to be leaving Mark Levinstein alone as far as that goes, for now.

If you don't need portability, a receiver and a set of speakers may be an option too.

Having said that , great sound is subjective I guess so my opinion may not applicable to you at all.

Thanks for the info, I will look into B&W and Sonos. Looked briefly at vintage/used speakers on marketplace. Not really interested in piecing something together and then running wires, etc. Have enough projects on my hands at the moment, just need some tunes while I'm at it

 

[AC-WC]

Finally got my old stereo hooked up in the garage. Optimus 4X100 Receiver, Optimus 12" speakers, Pyle Driver 12" sub-woofer. Pictures coming...after I get done jammin!

 

[Mudhog03]

Old school jam. I bought everything for $800 and it has been jamming for over 20 years now. All in my shop with high humidity and south Texas summers. I do live out in the sticks, and we do have parties, and these get a workout. I did hook up a BT but I usually load up the CD player and hit random. BTW I just looked on ebay those speakers alone are going for over 3k. (picture of Klipsch speakers is not mine but exact same, stereo is because I had the picture on my phone)

 

[orangeblood]

Klipsch LaScalas in the garage?....I salute you sir

 

[afinepoint]

Hey guys! Just had my pole barn built. Starting to get things moved in and organized. I was looking for suggestions on some shop speakers. I am looking for bluetooth to connect to my phone. Also, I would like the ability to have them connect to a tv if/when I add one. Garage is currently not heated so it must be able to handle the cold.

I have wall mounted speakers driven by a Bluetooth receiver. Sounds great and connecting is issue free.

 

[j keith w]

This probably doesn't help the OP, but it's an excuse to show my shop setup.

I've collected FB marketplace deals and am completely satisfied with my little system - Polk SDAs from the early 80s powered by Adcom amp and preamps from the 90s, with an obsolete Brennan B2 as the source (you can rip a few thousand CDs to this thing/Bluetooth/internet radio/etc.)

(excuse the disarray; I'm still not really moved in yet)



The setup is still temporarily on a table but is going into a salvaged electronics enclosure that I inverted to put the fans at the bottom and force air through it to try to reduce the dust.




The speakers will eventually go above the doorways shown here, mounted in brackets I designed to hold them at a 10-degree downward angle—pointed somewhere mid-shop.





I do spend roughly 50% of my time at the shop, so it gets used continuously. - And it's loud enough to turn it up and go sit outside in the cool breeze of the loading dock area after midnight if needed.

 

[AC-WC]

Finally got my old stereo hooked up in the garage. Optimus 4X100 Receiver, Optimus 12" speakers, Pyle Driver 12" sub-woofer. Pictures coming...after I get done jammin!

Pardon the wires, just picked up a CD player today and don't have everything cleaned up yet but pictures as promised.

 

[Mudhog03]

Klipsch LaScalas in the garage?....I salute you sir

At one time I had LaScalas and a set of CV D9s running, after refoaming the CV woofers the third time I retired them

 

[Skellyii]

This probably doesn't help the OP, but it's an excuse to show my shop setup.

I've collected FB marketplace deals and am completely satisfied with my little system - Polk SDAs from the early 80s powered by Adcom amp and preamps from the 90s, with an obsolete Brennan B2 as the source (you can rip a few thousand CDs to this thing/Bluetooth/internet radio/etc.)

(excuse the disarray; I'm still not really moved in yet)



The setup is still temporarily on a table but is going into a salvaged electronics enclosure that I inverted to put the fans at the bottom and force air through it to try to reduce the dust.

Sweet setup!

I wasn't familiar with the B2, it looks like a great thing to have around! I'm running a Logitech Squeezbox duet connected to a Pioneer receiver that talks to a PC that stores several hundred ripped CD's. I can control it either via a phone, a tablet, or the garage PC. The Duet comes with it's own remote, but as they get older the screen starts to fade out.

I've been using surplus stuff that I've picked up from garage or estate sales.

 

[bazzz]

I have had old speakers around and sometimes the rubber or foam surrounds will deteriorate over time. Make sure to listen to old speakers before buying them or at least look at the surrounding rubber around the cone.

I used the plans that I found on the Parts Express forum to build the MTM Overnight Sensations. A Dayton mini amp drives them with a Fiio MP3 as a source with CDs I have ripped on it. Sounds great for the shop and gets loud enough for the wife to complain

 

[supersaiyan93]

I have an old Denon AVR-1604 receiver I got for $10 at a garage sale, hooked to the cheap front/center speakers that my living room 5.1 system came with, which I upgraded. Plugged in an old iPad mini with a mini headphone jack to RCA adapter, and I keep it plugged in to a lightning cable for power. I can stream Pandora or Sirius without having to tie up my phone. Sound quality is good, and honestly the two little stereo speakers put out PLENTY of sound for my 24x30x9. I am thinking I'll add a powered subwoofer at some point though if I can find one cheap. When the ipad mini goes out of date and won't work anymore (since Apple does Apple things), I'll just add a bluetooth adapter and keep on trucking with something else.

I also have an Amazon firestick plugged into my TV and a TOSlink cable going to the receiver, so I can watch movies or TV shows from streaming apps in the background while I work. The best thing about that firestick is that during two moves I've managed to lose the remotes for both the TV and the receiver, but the Firestick remote was programmable and works with both.

 

[Beelzeboss]

I have an old Sony 5.1 surround sound mounted up on the ceiling in the 4 corners of the garage. The amp is hooked up to a 60" TV which has a Chromecast on it. Simple setup from stuff I had lying around and allows me to cast Spotify/Youtube/Netflix to the TV and get sound that way - it's worked flawlessly so far.

 

[j keith w]

This probably doesn't help the OP, but it's an excuse to show my shop setup.

I've collected FB marketplace deals and am completely satisfied with my little system - Polk SDAs from the early 80s powered by Adcom amp and preamps from the 90s, with an obsolete Brennan B2 as the source (you can rip a few thousand CDs to this thing/Bluetooth/internet radio/etc.)

(excuse the disarray; I'm still not really moved in yet)



The setup is still temporarily on a table but is going into a salvaged electronics enclosure that I inverted to put the fans at the bottom and force air through it to try to reduce the dust.




The speakers will eventually go above the doorways shown here, mounted in brackets I designed to hold them at a 10-degree downward angle—pointed somewhere mid-shop.





I do spend roughly 50% of my time at the shop, so it gets used continuously. - And it's loud enough to turn it up and go sit outside in the cool breeze of the loading dock area after midnight if needed.

hit the thermal protection on my Adcom 545II amp by cranking it for a couple of hours one night recently, so I went to a 555II - could not be happier - it's not as loud, but sounds better with the SDAs and doesn't get anywhere close to the heat of the 545II. (I am moving that one to my mountain shop after I rebuild it from the WNC Helene flooding)

 

[drmarkr]

Main room is my Bose 201's that I've had since 1979. Still sound great!