Garage Speakers

[wishin4snow]

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.

 

[BrandonV]

I'd run with a half decent class D amplifier that comes with a remote.

Dayton Audio DTA-PRO 100W Class D Bluetooth Amplifier with USB DAC IR Remote and Sub Output

Dayton Audio DTA-PRO 100W Class D Bluetooth Amplifier with USB DAC IR Remote and Sub OutputDayton Audio DTA-PRO 100W Class D Bluetooth Amplifier with USB DAC Rediscover your favorite music with the DTA-PRO. This all-in-one amplifier starts with a refined, brushed aluminum case and fills it chock...

www.parts-express.com

Find some high-quality speakers people have chucked at your local thrift store and call it a day. That combination will beat most people's home listening setups.

Just an audiophile's 2 cents.

 

[ez-duzit]

I bought a complete Sony surround-sound system, with subwoofer and 5-speakers and receiver, off C/L for $25.

 

[Spud McGee]

I went with sonos on my garage. Even the tiny $100 one are pretty loud. I added a second one so they would run in stereo.

They support streaming music directly. So you can use your phone to say "play this playlist from plex/spotify/etc". But then the speakers talk directly to that service. The music does not have to go through your phone and then get beamed to the speakers over bluetooth. Result is higher quality music without running your phone battery down. Music keeps playing when you get a call or when you walk away and the phone is out of bluetooth range.

 

[Davefr]

I just went thru this myself and decided that premium noise reduction, bluetooth, over the ear headphones were a much better option. (ie superior sound quality and the added benefit of a big reduction in shop noise).

Just an option to consider.

 

[Metal-Marc]

I went nuts.

I have 6 Realistic Mach 5000 speakers and and older 6x100W RMS Pro amplifier in the garage hooked to a Sony Blutooth module.

 

[clutch47]

 

[BombShelter]

My shop/garage setup is better than most modern home stereos but it's all vintage and I love spinning vinyl cuz I have to listen to the whole side while wrenching.

On either side of my TV are Polk 10's but my workbench has ADS Brauns. Larger vintage speakers can be pretty cheap because nobody wants them anymore. Polk around the classifieds and you'll find some gems but beware, some of these weigh 75+ lbs, but the sonics will be worth it.

 

[charbar]

What's your budget and how particular are you about the sound? Seems like a good question to me instead of just throwing random ideas out there.

I have thousands of dollars of audio equipment in every vehicle I own yet my shop has a crappy Sony receiver with a couple freebie Allegro speakers from God knows what year hanging off the walls and I am totally content with it. Its a working business/shop not a concert hall.

Man cave on the other hand......

 

[Metal-Marc]

My shop/garage setup is better than most modern home stereos but it's all vintage and I love spinning vinyl cuz I have to listen to the whole side while wrenching.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I bought a cheap Wuzhi brand bluetooth amp for my garage connected to some 6x9 car speakers which I mounted in boxes. I usually power it from an old laptop power supply but can use a battery from my cordless tools to make it portable.
It has a 3.5 jack that could be connected to a TV.
My neighbor did the same but his is one box with a 8" sub woofer and some old computer speakers.

 

[SlappyWhite]

You can also consider a jobsite radio in whatever cordless tool eco system you have. It will run on the cordless tool battery (say if you need a radio during a power outage or outside where there is no power). Will charge the batteries (gives you another charger). Most have Bluetooth etc. They sound pretty decent these days, specially for a shop. Portability means you can move it around to where you are working etc.

Depending on how cold it really gets...you can always go with an old or used receiver and some regular speakers. You can get a cheap Bluetooth unit to plug into it.

 

[exmaxima1]

What kind of phone do you have? Modern phones are at least Bluetooth 5.0 (much better than 4.2) and iPhones also have Airplay which is better yet. I suggest the Wiim streamer that connects directly to your wifi so you don't need to be connected to your phone all the time--you control it with a phone ap but you can walk away and the music keeps playing. For the garage you can use the cheapest $89 version:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HC5GRKY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Add a $60 digital amplifier such as:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CJZGT6H/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[BrandonV]

OP should note that while streaming music recievers are a plus compared to streaming from your phone or other device via Bluetooth you need to look at how long that hardware device will be supported.

Lots of cheap streaming music devices will become worthless bricks as the providers (Spotify, Pandora, etc.) update services on their end. Don't cheap out if that is the direction you plan on going. You want a device that will have good support from the vendor and provide firmware updates/etc. as the device ages.

Personally I've been burned here a few times so I'll stick to streaming via Bluetooth.

 

[4x4Pete]

I have a Sansui G7700 with Cerwin Vega D5 speakers. Sounds great! I added an older 52" Led tv and a Firestick. The fire stick enables the receiver to stream Spotify, and Tuned In radio apps, as well as You Tube for some occasional entertainment.

 

[SteveL]

Have two Sonos Five’s and a Sonos Beam under the 65” Sony. Sounds incredible but not cheap. All wireless

 

[Alchase]

I use two Home Pod Mini's synced.

 

[kbuhagiar]

I got lucky...REALLY lucky.

The previous homeowner was an audiophile, he died and his heirs left thousands of dollars of older (but hooked up and working) TV & stereo equipment and infrastructure (speaker/ethernet/cable wiring) throughout the house. Nothing but Polk Audio speakers, Pioneer & Sony flat-screen TVs and Onkyo stereo components. We got a few grand from a re-seller for most of the audio equipment, but kept the TVs and the garage stereo (which was the best of the lot). So, my inherited garage AV/sound system consists of several separate Onkyo components (tuner, amplifier, equalizer, CD player, and dual cassette tape deck), four Polk Audio speakers, and a wall-mounted Pioneer Elite 50" plasma TV.

Just last month I installed an Amazon Echo, so now I can stream my entire Amazon music library through this monster system, and needless to say I can pretty much blow the garage doors off with any volume setting over 6, lol.

DISCLAIMER: I never would have dropped this kind of coin, or gone through the trouble of installing this kind of system if it hadn't dropped into my lap. My last garage stereo consisted of a cheesy thirty-year-old Montgomery Wards all-in-one stereo/cassette/receiver system with two speakers, and it suited me just fine.

And get this - the TV was cutting-edge state-of-the-art in 2009 and retailed for $12,000; PO paid $9999 for it in 2011 (I have the receipt). Although it is 15 years old and obsolete, it still has a gorgeous picture after all these years.

 

[JasonMcElroy]

Another vote for old equipment you own or find at thrift stores.

I don't keep an audiophile system in my main living quarters because kids, times have changed, space, etc. But I did put some old equipment to use in my garage and it sounds great.

I have a Rotel surround pre-amp that was pretty high-end in its day but became instantly obsolete when digital surround processing came out. Took advantage of this when I bought it new from an esoteric shop in NYC twenty-five years ago. Never used it for surround, but it sure has a nice clean sound.

For power, I use an old SAE amp I bought in college long ago. I think it's 100W per channel and built like a tank. Have used it in countless dorms, apartments, workshops, houses since 1990 when I got it. Cool 80s lighting and design too if that's your thing (IDGAF).

For main speakers, I have four JBL studio monitors mounted high at four corners of my garage (x-channeled of course). They have adaptors to run at 70V, but I'm using them in regular mode. Also sound very nice. Also quite indestructable. Relatively small form-factor too.

Then finally . . . a big *** 400W Velodyne sub. If you look closely you can see I made a new cabinet for it out of plywood. The other one fell prey to dampness in my Brooklyn and Philadelphia workshops (old buildings).

I use a Bluetooth receiver (with decent specs/standards) to send music from my phone to the system. Convenient and comes up every time with no messing around.

Sound is clean at all levels . . . and it can rock the block when called upon (I'm suburban dad all the way these days, but you know . . .)

Jason

 

[driftpin]

I had a 'wall of sound' from thrift-shopping and it included Cerwin-Vega large bookshelf speakers (2 pr), AR-3a (1 pr), and a number of other quality bookshelf speakers whose manufacture I cannot recall, it was probably > 20 years ago I started the wall of sound. I decided to sell-off the collection, freeing up space in the room where they were. Now I have a pair of Infinity floor-standing speakers, RS3-b, and a vintage harmon kardon quadraphonic receiver, along with probably 2500 LP's. Then there would be the 5 turntables. Yes, that occupies a lot of space. The thing is, I hardly-ever use any of it. I probably could sell-off 3 of the turntables and not miss any, and some of the receivers, and the tuner/amplifiers.

I saw someone mount some speakers and a quality older car stereo into an old Craftsman gray toolbox (like a 19"), it looked good, dunno how it sounded. I thought it was a cute set-up. Adding some input for a USB stick somehow, or Bluetooth connection, and you could make it work well-enough.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I have 4 Cerwin Vega speakers, in cabinets. I got them at a garage sale for $10/each. I also bought a tuner and an amplifier for another $20. I can play Dark Side of the Moon on my Thorens TD160 loud enough to get visitors. I should never forget Mike Oldfield and his Tubular Bells. And then there is .........................

 

[Colin Len]

I don't have a perfect answer here but after trying a handful of different "budget" setups based on using an old stereo amplifier and basic new or old speakers... I'm OVER IT. Sound has always been good or acceptable but connecting the devices I want to use has become more troublesome. But this is coming from someone who uses 3-4 different devices in the garage rather than one dedicated one. Plus, the devices themselves take up space. I don't want a cabinet dedicated to amplifiers, I'd rather have more room for tools

With the ubiquity of Bluetooth and Wifi these days my next setup needs to move in that same direction. And if the speaker system itself uses wireless connections too then that's even more ideal. Likely not large enough for a pole barn but in my smaller garage I'm thinking I may just get a wireless 2.1 soundbar setup. They aren't that expensive and are quite versatile with great sound output. In my garage a single soundbar could easily fill the space with sound. But a 4.1 or 5.1 system would be an option too. And to keep noise down for the neighbors a small bluetooth speaker could be used. You could get a battery powered one and move it to whatever area you're working in. Or, I've found that my Amazon Echo has amazing sound and I can easily play music from that when I don't want to blast the big speakers.

 

[rattle_snake]

Can never have to much power or to many drivers.

 

[Metallitubby]

(1) Sony STR-DH190 ($160 on Amazon)





(2) Alesis 2.1 studio monitors (found used at Goodwill for $25)

Loud and clear enough that my closest neighbor 1/4 mile away knew I was listening to Full of Hell.

 

[exmaxima1]

I don't have a perfect answer here but after trying a handful of different "budget" setups based on using an old stereo amplifier and basic new or old speakers... I'm OVER IT. Sound has always been good or acceptable but connecting the devices I want to use has become more troublesome. But this is coming from someone who uses 3-4 different devices in the garage rather than one dedicated one. Plus, the devices themselves take up space. I don't want a cabinet dedicated to amplifiers, I'd rather have more room for tools

With the ubiquity of Bluetooth and Wifi these days my next setup needs to move in that same direction. And if the speaker system itself uses wireless connections too then that's even more ideal. Likely not large enough for a pole barn but in my smaller garage I'm thinking I may just get a wireless 2.1 soundbar setup. They aren't that expensive and are quite versatile with great sound output. In my garage a single soundbar could easily fill the space with sound. But a 4.1 or 5.1 system would be an option too. And to keep noise down for the neighbors a small bluetooth speaker could be used. You could get a battery powered one and move it to whatever area you're working in. Or, I've found that my Amazon Echo has amazing sound and I can easily play music from that when I don't want to blast the big speakers.

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

 

[Metal-Marc]

AB International 6x100W RMS amplifier. Sony Bluetooth module.



Six Realistic Mach 5000 speakers.

 

[smackey05]

+ Another one for Sonos in the garage.

 

[HogDude]

Can never have to much power or to many drivers.

Very nice setup. Absolutely LOVE the exhaust stacks for speaker ports. Genius! (and really cool)

 

[BombShelter]

I think a big ole stereo and speakers win out everytime, who knows when some company is over and they want to pull out some vinyl and wine coolers. You can still get old audio castaways for a good price, years ago I got a full set of speakers for an ice rink, I'd love to set that up in a pole barn. Their rated for crazy low power, something like 15 watts but they would shake the snow off your roof.

I've never had an issue with the cold but you will want to protect the equipment in the spring. When that 70 degree day hits but it was 40 over the night, you'll get a lot of condensation which will ruin the equipment. I shrink wrap anything I'm not using and keep a dehumidifier running 24/7.

I bought some 48" tall server racks at an auction, they're rolling doored metal enclosures with adjustable shelves. I've mounted the equipment and on the top shelf that pulls out, I've placed my turntable (Pioneer PL-115D if anyone is interested).

Mti-Marc, I've got the portable vinyl fully covered with some of the heavy-weight boomboxes that had a disc player including the Sharp VZ-2000, the Marantz PMS-6000 and the JVC-DC-7 (they all clock in around 40 lbs). I also have been known to dabble in the cool old early 70's Crown/Sanyo Suitcase Models, it makes me feel like a secret agent carrying one around.

 

[rd65]

Some old Pioneer receiver with even older Sherwood Ravinia SR3 speakers and some Amazon bluetooth rig for my phone. There is also a DVD player if I get the itch to put in a CD. I typically will flip through the FM dial/presets vs phone music.

 

[u2slow]

My home system is likely more primitive than many of y'all use in your shop. 25yo Kenwood 5.1 surround receiver with an optical/digital input. Speakers are from 2nd-hand stores. A PC feeds in to it.

The shop has a PC with some of the better Soundblaster multimedia-kit speakers

 

[budget76]

my setup is just an old home audio amp with misc speakers i had kicking around, and an echo dot to to run it.

i've got a very similar amp to this powering outdoor speakers and am VERY impressed. tiny footprint, bluetooth, usb stick playback. i'm confident it has just as much power as the full size amp in the garage. It's all i'll run for 2-4 channel needs in the future https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0875WY9TX/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[ycgoat]

I have a stand alone shop with a Milwaukee charger / radio and use a Bose Sound Touch 20 in the attached garage.

 

[Bruce Amacker]

You guys are all lightweights, when I want to listen to Led Zeppelin, the whole city listens to Led Zeppelin. I can feel the concrete floor shake when it's at 1/4 volume.

 

[PassnThru]

I have a Sansui G7700 with Cerwin Vega D5 speakers. Sounds great! I added an older 52" Led tv and a Firestick. The fire stick enables the receiver to stream Spotify, and Tuned In radio apps, as well as You Tube for some occasional entertainment.

Man - you had to mention D5s. I bought a set of them new in the 80's. I no longer have them - I actually gave them to a friend when he built his shop - it's much bigger than mine. I still have a set of Vega's that are out in the garage - but I don't even know the model anymore. I think they were the 'Digital' series. All black cabinet. Not much of a speaker considering the D series but I bought them new cheap at a Service Merchandise outlet store of all places.
Worked out for the best though as I'm not looking to rock in my garage and the new Vega's have enough bass to cover what I need.
And they fit on a 12 inch deep shelf. Not sure where I would have hung the fives.....

 

[4 Ever-Fish N]

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

How does the Soundcare Motion device I'm looking at compare to what you posted above? I'm definitely not a stereo expert. Thanks.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LQNL42Z/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[remagenman]

I have a Value Village near me that is practically giving away top shelf electronics and a Goodwill that prices stuff like they paid for it but occasionally find a great deal and can't resist. Yesterday at VV I picked up a HDMI Onkyo receiver with remote for $15!

Just getting large no-name speakers will produce sound, but not good sound and unless they can reproduce good bass the music will sound awful.

Personally I would get some decent smaller speakers with a separate subwoofer attached to a AVR for a simple good setup. Now I have a 5.1 setup in my shed where I have a dedicated NAS with music that I control through a tablet hanging on the wall (raspberry pi and Volumio) but also Sonos wifi speakers, Google Max, etc. Sometimes I like listening to dedicated music but honestly most of the time walk in and say "hey google, play.....".

 

[exmaxima1]

How does the Soundcare Motion device I'm looking at compare to what you posted above? I'm definitely not a stereo expert. Thanks.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LQNL42Z/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I don't believe it is in the same category. That's more of a boom box with emphasis on boomy bass and LOUD. The Motion+ is more of an audiophile design with active eq and multiple power amplifiers--it sounds amazing and plenty loud enough for a personal space or a small party. My buddy was raised on JBL Century 100's and big power amps--as soon as he heard mine he ordered them and uses them daily on the patio and out in the yard. You wouldn't believe the quality of the sound including the clean bass response.

 

[My Old Tools]

I use a self powered Bose bluetooth that connects to my phone. Simple and all I need while I'm working. I use the same thing in the house with the TV.

 

[Citation]

So many options but for many I feel like this is the easiest thing. Some set of stereo speakers, an old receiver (old means just about anything without HDMI!), and either an RCA to 1/4 jack or a Bluetooth receiver and your phone or laptop.

I did the 2.1 computer speakers but my garage is tiny and I don't spend much time in it. I will note that some of the 2.1 systems do produce quite a bit of sound so I would outright dismiss something like the better Klipsch, Logitech or Soundworks brand systems.

Instead of a simple BT receiver I use an Amazon Echo Dot connected via the 1/4" plug. I can ask Amazon to play music or connect to my phone via BT.

I picked the computer speakers over the receiver only because I had them. If I didn't have the computer speakers I was planning to use a set of bookshelf speakers and a class D amp.