Home Audio Questions - Please Help This Newb

[-Brent-]

Hey all,

In all my searching (and researching) for some decent tunes in the shop. I chose to go with a tuner and run the appropriate speaker wire throughout the ceiling to the four corners of my shop.

I don't yet have a tuner or speakers. I've narrowed things down but, still, I really don't have any knowledge. So, a few questions if you don't mind and please feel free to advise me on anything else you think of. I could go to an audio forum but I'm never going to be an audiophile. I just want a decent set-up that handles all my needs.

So, the plan is to get a tuner like a Yamaha R-S202BL stereo receiver so I can have Bluetooth, AM/FM and I could adapt my iPod to it if I want. First question - It's 200 watts and I'm thinking of running 4 bookshelf speakers, a pair of which can handle that, alone, should I consider running an amplifier, as well?

Second question - are bookshelf speakers enough, sound-wise? They'll be better than what I've used in the last decade but I'd like to get a decent sound the first time around.

Third question - This shop is a dusty environment, I do metal work from time to time, are there any best practices to keep everything in good shape? I assume too much dust isn't all that great for that type of equipment. 4th Is blowing it out enough?

Lastly, if there's any other advice for putting a home audio unit in a shop setting, please inform me.

 

[rattle_snake]

1) 200W should be plenty. unless you are like me. Is it attached to the house? How close are your neighbors? How loud do you want it?

The wattage rating on a speaker is it's average thermal capacity.

2) That depend on how much low end you require. If you want a deep bass then you will need something that will deliver it (sub(s) or speakers with decent woofers)

3) Buy used equipment and don't worry about it. If the receiver/tuner/amp has venting on top then a cover would help but needs to be spaced above to allow ventilation.

4) Two pairs of speakers doesn't have any advantage over 1 pair. Spend 2x on one good set. Hang the speakers on the wall /ceiling to get them out of the way.

 

[ASHMAN_AZ]

Most of the new integrated receivers have no bass or limited bass output to the main speakers and send the lower frequencies to only the sub output. I like older amps off craigslist made to power larger loud speakers not todays satellite surround speakers.

The Polk RC8 in ceiling speakers are only $150 a pr, sound good, I used 4 of them on my porch and for surround fill in my TV room. If you do those I would space them out from the corners about 2ft or they will sound too boomy. It would be an easy install since you already ran the wires.

 

[whonut]

Two car garage here, and I have a similar receiver, and a decent pair of "outdoor" speakers. http://a.co/5UbBk7H

Can't imagine needing anything more for my shop. Get's loud enough to wake the neighbors if I'm not careful, and sounds just fine.

 

[-Brent-]

4) Two pairs of speakers doesn't have any advantage over 1 pair. Spend 2x on one good set. Hang the speakers on the wall /ceiling to get them out of the way.

Two car garage here, and I have a similar receiver, and a decent pair of "outdoor" speakers. http://a.co/5UbBk7H

Can't imagine needing anything more for my shop. Get's loud enough to wake the neighbors if I'm not careful, and sounds just fine.

That's helpful to read, fellas. I planned on 4 and will still wire for 4 since I have all the materials to do so, but for now I'll buy a pair of decent shelf speakers.

 

[-Brent-]

1) 200W should be plenty. unless you are like me. Is it attached to the house? How close are your neighbors? How loud do you want it?

The wattage rating on a speaker is it's average thermal capacity.

2) That depend on how much low end you require. If you want a deep bass then you will need something that will deliver it (sub(s) or speakers with decent woofers)

3) Buy used equipment and don't worry about it. If the receiver/tuner/amp has venting on top then a cover would help but needs to be spaced above to allow ventilation.

Thanks for the response. I don't need a sub but I will look for something decent speaker-wise.

I haven't found anything good as far as a tuner/receiver go. Used speakers, though, are pretty plentiful it seems. I have my eye on a used set of Bose 301s.

 

[-Brent-]

Most of the new integrated receivers have no bass or limited bass output to the main speakers and send the lower frequencies to only the sub output. I like older amps off craigslist made to power larger loud speakers not todays satellite surround speakers.

The Polk RC8 in ceiling speakers are only $150 a pr, sound good, I used 4 of them on my porch and for surround fill in my TV room. If you do those I would space them out from the corners about 2ft or they will sound too boomy. It would be an easy install since you already ran the wires.

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it.

 

[mark11]

Any receiver you might buy will send a full range signal to any speakers you choose, bass and all, even the lowest of the low that the receiver can produce. You don't need a sub to get all the bass the receiver will reproduce but if your speakers can't handle the bass they just won't sound very bass-y.

Do consider a decent in ceiling or in wall speaker. Those along with bookshelves won't really get down below an honest 60-80hz no matter what they specs say they'll do but in a workshop they'll play plenty low for casual listening. I just put a pair of Polk in walls in my basement wood shop because the bookshelves I've been using were just taking up bench space. I'm not saying Polk's are good speakers and they don't compare to my B&W's but for background music in my shop I'm more than impressed and I'm a little bit of an audio snob.

 

[nehog]

...

Second question - are bookshelf speakers enough, sound-wise? They'll be better than what I've used in the last decade but I'd like to get a decent sound the first time around.

Third question - This shop is a dusty environment, I do metal work from time to time, are there any best practices to keep everything in good shape? I assume too much dust isn't all that great for that type of equipment. 4th Is blowing it out enough?

Lastly, if there's any other advice for putting a home audio unit in a shop setting, please inform me.

2nd-I have 15" three way speakers now. No matter what the noise level I can hear my music! Good quality sound too. I did use bookshelf speakers but they lacked bass and I had no good place for a sub. My speakers weigh about 50 lb each, and are mounted about 8 ft above the floor in two corners of the building. Sound is good.

3rd-No problems with dust or such. However my shop is big, and the sound system is a ways from the work areas. I also have the shop computer connected and stream stuff from the Internet.

4th-If you did have a dust problem, low pressure 30-40 PSI, should work well.

 

[CoogarXR]

The acoustics in my garage are terrible. I had to run 4x speakers with 15" woofers to get enough bass to satisfy me. I run 3 150w amps, two for the big speakers and one for a set of small ones near my workbench for when I don't need mega-volume, lol. I run all 6 most of the time though.

 

[CB427]

If there is internet access, consider SONOS, if it meets your needs

http://www.sonos.com/en-us/home

A smart phone or a tablet serves as the remote control, I also access my iTunes CD Music Library on my iMac

 

[RegeSullivan]

I to am a big SONOS fan. I hesitated to spend the money to replace my home theater system and get a couple of play ones for around the house but now I am hooked. It's worth every penny just for the convenience the quality of the sound is pretty amazing, especially the sound bar with the sub and two play ones.

 

[kbs2244]

How much of a sound freak are you?
I just want some back ground noise and some thing to leave on 24/365 to keep the chipmunks out.
A garage sale selling the daughter's dorm room unit is fine.
It even has a turntable and twin casset drives.
I-Pod inn a docking station goes into the AUX port.
Speakers are nicer Sony from curb side hung in the corners at top the plate.
I throw a towel over it to keep the dust out.
I never have had any overheat problems.

 

[Fasthotrod]

If you are looking for something decent and not a lot of money, check out the ceiling mount speakers at Monoprice. We setup my friends 40 x 60 with four pairs of 8" speakers and four 15" subs, and for a shop, it sounds great. For this system, we used a receiver, mixer, two Crown XLS-1500 pro audio amps (one for mains, one for subs) and four remote volume controls for the mains. The only issue is that the volume controls aren't rated for the power that the Crown amp puts out, so too many cold beverages and great music can lead to needing to buy replacement volume controls.

For less than $60/pr, they are impressive speakers:

http://www.monoprice.com/mobile/pro...categoryid=10837&subcategoryid=1083702&cpncd=

The rear covers are worth the extra $28/pr.

http://www.monoprice.com/mobile/pro...id=109&categoryid=10837&subcategoryid=1083707

I use two pairs of these for my rear surround sound in my home. I liked them so much, I recently bought 18 pairs of them for our brewery in OKC. We bought five Yamaha RX-V579 receivers on sale from NewEgg that can play either 5.1 + Zone 2 stereo, or 7.1 surround. The cool part is that they can play 7 channel stereo, so basically three stereo pairs and a generated center image. We setup four zones in the Tap Room, and have the fifth zone for the brewery side. So far, it's been a great setup, for not a lot of money.

Hope this helps... good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Mark

 

[Fasthotrod]

The acoustics in my garage are terrible. I had to run 4x speakers with 15" woofers to get enough bass to satisfy me. I run 3 150w amps, two for the big speakers and one for a set of small ones near my workbench for when I don't need mega-volume, lol. I run all 6 most of the time though.

This is the same basic idea we had for my friends shop. Four zones with moderate volume for coverage all over the shop, vs. a single pair on one end that you have to blast to hear on the other end. Firing down towards the floor seems to help cut down on reflections, too.

 

[M-technik-3]

When I remodeled my other house I considered adding in ceiling speakers but decided against it reason being is technology is changing to fast so why add wired or bluetooth speakers when a simple set of older Bose did exactly what I needed and still sound great after being around the world twice.

Nothing beats the sound of a Tube amp and a great set of full range speakers.

 

[Katodog]

I use an old computer speaker system, Creative Labs 4.1 surround. There's enough volume to hear it over the compressor, and more than enough volume to hear it all the way into the back yard. I never crank it up that high though, when I'm in the garage I have it up high enough to hear over the shop vac and that's about it.

The only issue I have is that the cables are too short to put the speakers in any corners, but when I stop being lazy I'm gonna fix that by soldering in longer wire. The sub is adjustable, so I can have a lot of bass or a little bass. The whole setup runs off of my Zune, so I can listen to commercial-free music or the radio.

Dust isn't a problem, that's what I have a leaf blower and a compressor for. When stuff gets dusty I blow it all out. Never had issues damaging speakers, never had any issues with the tape decks or cd player in the shelf unit either. Just blow that stuff out, and maybe run a Q-tip with rubbing alcohol on it over the cd laser and tape deck heads.

 

[Fasthotrod]

Hey all,

In all my searching (and researching) for some decent tunes in the shop. I chose to go with a tuner and run the appropriate speaker wire throughout the ceiling to the four corners of my shop.

I don't yet have a tuner or speakers. I've narrowed things down but, still, I really don't have any knowledge. So, a few questions if you don't mind and please feel free to advise me on anything else you think of. I could go to an audio forum but I'm never going to be an audiophile. I just want a decent set-up that handles all my needs.

So, the plan is to get a tuner like a Yamaha R-S202BL stereo receiver so I can have Bluetooth, AM/FM and I could adapt my iPod to it if I want. First question - It's 200 watts and I'm thinking of running 4 bookshelf speakers, a pair of which can handle that, alone, should I consider running an amplifier, as well?

Second question - are bookshelf speakers enough, sound-wise? They'll be better than what I've used in the last decade but I'd like to get a decent sound the first time around.

Third question - This shop is a dusty environment, I do metal work from time to time, are there any best practices to keep everything in good shape? I assume too much dust isn't all that great for that type of equipment. 4th Is blowing it out enough?

Lastly, if there's any other advice for putting a home audio unit in a shop setting, please inform me.

For a shop receiver, that Yamaha fits the bill nicely. Saw that NewEgg has it on sale for $129:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16886971039

Power Ratings:

Rated Output Power (8 ohms, 40 Hz-20 kHz, 0.2% THD): 100 W + 100 W
Maximum Power(8 ohms, 1 kHz, 10% THD): 140 W + 140 W
High Dynamic Power / Channel (8 / 6 / 4 / 2 ohms): 125 W / 150 W / 165 W / 180 W

It has an A/B switch, so you can run a pair of speakers on A, a pair on B, then choose which you want on at any given time. A, B, A+B. When you run A+B the speakers are in parallel, so you would be in "High Dynamic Power" mode at 4 ohms, with 165 watts to the speakers, at about 80 watts each. Is that enough? Depends on the size of your space, how efficient your speakers are, and how loud you want it.

Bookshelf speakers are typically small, and small drivers typically means low bass. If I had to go with bookshelf, I'd get one that had a 6.5" driver as a minimum. I've seen/heard some Polk Audio that sounded good for the money. Worst case, return them and try something else.

For a shop environment, I'd recommend a ventilated rack/box to keep the dust/crud out. Even a simple shelf system with the receiver on the bottom, and a shelf about an inch or two over the top will allow proper ventilation and provide some dust protection. An old stereo cabinet with a glass front door might be the ticket if you could find one on Craigslist or something of that nature. Not sure what your overall budget is, but if you're just looking for something basic, that would probably work for you.

Good luck!

 

[-Brent-]

Awesome, fellas, so much useful info!

I'm going to go with the Yamaha and keep a lookout for speakers. I am not an audiophile but I'd like something nicer than all the stuff I've used in the past. I'd like to be able to make changes in the future and I think that is a possibility the way I'll be setting it up.

What I'm thinking of now is some wall mounted indoor/outdoor speakers on one side of the shop and some floor speakers up on the shelves in the open bay of my shop that has shelving at both ends.

For now, I'll buy some new wall mounts and keep a lookout for some decent used floor speakers, locally.

Thanks again for the comments and advice. It's been really helpful.

 

[sprchrgd1]

I found you need lots of power for a garage system. I like my bass low and tight. I use an old Kenwood preamp and a couple of Crown DJ amps. One amp runs the mains the other runs the subs. Even at low volumes it still sounds full and crisp, something I couldn't obtain with just a reciever.

 

[-Brent-]

sprchrgd1 what size is your garage?

 

[rattle_snake]

I run 1700W for my 1300sqft space. It will exceed 100dbSPL down to 25hz. Like my interior walls, the enclosures are yet-to-be-finished and just sitting on a temporary shelf. I use PA/live sound gear as I think it is a better fit to high power/high SPL systems at a better price. Using a active x-over and dedicated amps is a HUGE improvement. I got everything used on CL/ebay except the subs.

 

[-Brent-]

Awesome Rattle Snake!

I chose the Yamaha R-S202BL (previously mentioned) for a simple tuner. After a little homework I chose ELAC - Debut B6 shelf speakers for the upper shelves. They have really great reviews.

I looked into a few different used speakers and it seemed like all of them would need some sort of attention before putting them to use.

The plan is to get another set of speakers to mount in the opposite corners from where the B6s will sit. I've got plenty to do before that time comes.

Also, this next month I'm going to fab a small shelf/cabinet to house the tuner.

One thing I do need to learn about is antennas. Is it about the length that will get me good reception? Could this be something that's run in the attic? Or? Any help is appreciated.

 

[nh_yota]

Keep in mind that mass-market audio/home theater gear suffers from creative marketing just like shop vacs, air compressors, and anything else that involves inflated power ratings.

I have a 25+ year old NAD 2400 power amp that I use for general audio in my house and I bet it outperforms anything you can find in a big box store these days. You can find good deals on CL for used audio equipment that is in perfectly good condition, and would allow you to experiment with different setups without breaking the bank.

For a large open space like a shop or garage, I think PA/DJ equipment works best if you like to crank up the volume because you can get good power for a good price at the expense of audio quality, but shops have crappy acoustics anyway.

 

[DC73]

One thing I do need to learn about is antennas. Is it about the length that will get me good reception? Could this be something that's run in the attic? Or? Any help is appreciated.

Search the site for J-pole antenna. Plenty of info on how to build one on the internet if not on this site already. Great for weak stations.

You could also try putting a TV/FM antenna in the attic. It will be much better than a standard dipole stereo antenna but not as good as a J-pole for weak stations.

DC