Shop Stereo

[Matt Woodworth]

I've been thinking about upgrading my 15 year old SuperRadio (http://www.gnnradio.org/gesuper.gif) to something better. If possible, I'd like to do it right but for under $150 or so.

At first I considered a "microsystem" (example (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ENd2Z0pNAgz/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=121000&I=257FSG5) ) but I wasn't sure that it was right for a harsh environment. Then I thought about a shelf system (example (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ENd2Z0pNAgz/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=120900&I=257MXGC5)) . While that may work, I can hardly stomache the look of it. :)

My shop isn't huge but at 21'x22' with an 11' ceiling it is a lot of space to fill with music. I saw outdoor speakers for sale at around $100 but I wasn't sure what I'd drive them with. I'd like something that could play CDs and MP3s burnt to a CD (I'm sure a hard drive would blow the budget). Also, I was thinking of mounting it high and out of the way (wall space is precious) so a remote control would be great.

Any ideas?

[JayStPeter]

Try ebay or local want ads for an old 2 channel receiver. With the popularity of surround sound, some good stuff is available cheap. I hooked my iPod up to one of my old receivers.
Since it's for your shop, why not build your own speakers. These (http://www.acoustic-visions.com/~acoustic/products/speakers/complete_kits/kit_41.shtml) are supposed to be excellent. Just add MDF. My shop speakers are one of my first "woodworking" projects.

Jay

[Tim Morton]

I think the garage sale/pawn shop Idea is a good place to try first before going out and buying new. I picked a an NAD reciever with a sony 5 disk cd changer and decent speakers recently for under $50....DIY speakers would also be an option, but think you would want something with a bigger woofer to fill that room...

[Joe Unni]

Matt,

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000067S15.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
$89. at Amazon.
Though it doesn't play cd's or mp3's, it's a great radio for the shop. I've got 2600 sf of old mill space and when no other tenants are around, it fills it with music nicely!

I believe Bosch has a jobsite radio as well that DOES play cd's.

Good luck,
-joe

[Jim Becker]

I bought a Sherwood (100w) received for $99 from Circuit City awhile back and mated it up with some small, but great, aluminum speakers I've had since I ran a Radio Shack store back in the mid-1980s. It really sounds great in the shop and with a simple FM transmitter thingie, I can also use my MP3 player when I decide I don't want to listen to the radio.

[John Cavanaugh]

I bought the netgear mp101 (http://www.netgear.com/products/details/MP101.php) on a closeout for $50 and hooked up some old multimedia computer speakers. Ive got access to all my mp3's, playlists, shoutcast radio etc.

I may not have 220V in my shop, but Im probably one of the very very few that has a gigabit ethernet drop in my garage.

--
John C

[Andrew Ault]

Careful of the Bosch unit. It has a reputation of getting poor reception. If someone has a different experience, I'd like to hear about it - because it is pretty neat.

-Andy

[Larry Browning]

I have a Philips MCI250 which can be hooked to the your home lan and directly play internet radio without going thru another computer. It also can do this via a wireless connection. I really love it. I live in an area with poor radio reception, but I am able to listen to just about any kind of music on demand.

Larry

[Doug Jones]

Careful of the Bosch unit. It has a reputation of getting poor reception. If someone has a different experience, I'd like to hear about it - because it is pretty neat.

-Andy
No reception problems at all with mine.

[Dan Owen]

Matt

Is your shop connected to your house? Could you consider just running speaker wire from an existing set up and just put out the $$ for a nice pair of book shelf speakers?

I have a basement shop and that is what I have done. I have a nice pair of Polk bookshelves that sound awesome. I also run my TV through the receiver so I can listen to television or any of the music channels that run through my satellite receiver.
Anyway, just a thought.

Sincerely
Dan

[John Hart]

I use an older computer for my shop music, satelite TV, CAD, and SMC. I built the system into a workbench and keep it pretty much out of the dust. It's held up for a few years now with no problems. Want one? I have an extra I could send you.

[Paul Canaris]

Bought a Panasonic micro recently from Best Buys, tuner, cd etc....time will tell how well it holds up in the shop....buy the extended warranty if you go this route,,,,

[JayStPeter]

....DIY speakers would also be an option, but think you would want something with a bigger woofer to fill that room...

Tim,

It's possible ... or not. There are some speakers with big woofers that can't keep up with smaller speakers, especially DIY. I've read in numerous publications that 80-90% of the materials cost of a typical speaker from Best Buy is the cabinet. So, if you take a set of $200 speakers, take 50% off (easy) for retailers and distributors to take their cut and you're left with $100 for mfring. Even if the mfr took no profit and you had $100 of materials cost, that's $20 worth of parts for the PAIR. So, to DIY this set of speakers, you're talking around $40 retail (given my lame 50% example markup) So, that's $20 for a woofer, tweeter and crossover per speaker. This is easily doable, but they are using old/cheap technology. In this case you need big woofers to get reasonable output. I'm just talking volume and bass response here, as the simple/cheap crossovers aren't going to be able to do much to help tame any problem spots in the response of the drivers. So, the driver design is a compromise between output levels and sound quality using cheap crossover components.

Some of the newer more expensive drivers have new motor technology. These motors allow the driver much more excursion before distortion sets in. So, these drivers tend to perform as well as the next size larger driver in a typical consumer grade speaker. While I haven't heard it personally, the kit I referenced with 4" driver is supposed to perform on par with most 5-6" bookshelf speakers. These should kill any mini-systems or boom boxes while still not taking up much space. That said, I would personally pony up the $ and space for the 6" drivered version of these (kit 61). But, it blows the proposed budged :D . There are other kits out there with larger drivers that fit into the budget if desired. Some of the budget kits from zalytron(.com) for example. The speakers I have in my shop were $100 in parts for the pair with 6.5" woofers and 1" tweets.

Jay

[Jack Wood]

I bought a Sherwood (100w) received for $99 from Circuit City awhile back and mated it up with some small, but great, aluminum speakers I've had since I ran a Radio Shack store back in the mid-1980s. It really sounds great in the shop and with a simple FM transmitter thingie, I can also use my MP3 player when I decide I don't want to listen to the radio.

Jim I have some of those old radio shack speakers and I love them! They feel like they weigh 5lbs each! I've dropped them and they sound just as good as the day I got them, best value for the buck going!

[Jim Becker]

Jim I have some of those old radio shack speakers and I love them! They feel like they weigh 5lbs each! I've dropped them and they sound just as good as the day I got them, best value for the buck going!

They were called Minimus 7s (there was a larger version, too, called the Minimus 11) and were quite remarkable for the time. While certainly not having audiophile response, they sound good. I have them up high near the "ceiling" of my shop and am getting a bit of bass boost as a result, too. Perfect for decent quality background music and listening to NPR.