Advice on a music systems for the woodshop

[Bob Falk]

I have built a new woodshop for my retirement (about 22x26 or 600 sf) and plan on spending a lot of time there. I want to be able to play background music (rock and roll, jazz, classical) as I work as well as have a wall mounted TV (40” or so) to watch woodworking videos on Youtube. Being older (62) and old school, I am a bit overwhelmed by the music delivery systems out there and would appreciate any thoughts on what type of components would best meet my needs (perhaps they are desires?). I am not an audiophile, but appreciate good sound and would like a system better than the jobsite radio/ipod player I currently am using. I am willing to spend up to about $1500 (including TV), but less would be nice.

1. I plan on mounting a flat screen TV to access Youtube and perhaps music. Should this be the basis for a music system? Is a sound bar and TV good enough or should the TV be stand alone? I currently have a Roku TV in the house as we don't watch much TV (only Netflix and Amazon movies). Perhaps I should have the same in the shop?
2. I would like access to internet radio, but would like to avoid a dedicated computer to access this option, if possible. Can I do this through the TV or should I use another device?
3. I would like to play my Ipod as I converted all my CD’s some years ago.
4. I have about 300 albums and a quality (albeit 1970’s military PX) stereo system (Sansui receiver/amp, B&O turntable, JBL speakers). It would be nice to play these occasionally, but not essential. Are these components useless or can one or more of these be integrated into a workable system?

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Cheers, bob

[Dean Baumgartner2]

Can't help you with the TV, especially how to keep dust out of it in a workshop. But for music I have a Vizio sound bar that has a Bluetooth connection with my phone or an Ipod. IIRC it was about $120, self contained and really good sound. Just needs something else to provide the signal. From there you can stream with Pandora or one of the other services. As far as watching utube videos I might suggest a fairly inexpensive tablet. Not as big as the flatscreen you were thinking of but you're much closer to it when in use so the effective size is the same and for around $100 if it gets damaged or stops working you're not out that much. In fact as long as you have WiFi in your shop, the tablet can stream music to the sound bar and then you're all set for only a couple hundred.

[Don Jarvie]

If you can run a cable line to your shop your better off. You then hook up a wireless modem off the line. You can pick up the wifi from your house but you need a strong signal. You can wire the tv, etc off the modem and not worry about the annoying buffering.

If you can put all the components in a separate area the better to keep the dust down. You can run woes for the speakers to the work area.

[Prashun Patel]

I love sonos.

It is a wireless speaker. You buy a device that hardwires into your router then a wireless speaker. You have to have your music digitally stored or stream it with something like Amazon prime, Spotify, or pandora.

[Mike Henderson]

If you get your "cable" through a digital media, then the TV is often provided via Ethernet. For example, I have AT&T Uverse and the connection between my DSL/router and the set top boxes is Ethernet. And the length limitation on Ethernet is 100 meters which is pretty far.

So if you have such a system, get an external rated Ethernet cable and run it from your router to you shop. You'll have access to TV and Internet. And with Internet access you can get radio stations and other sources of music.

Mike

[I do this at my place. My external rated Ethernet cable is less than 100 meters but it really will work out to 100 meters. Even gigabit Ethernet is rated for 100 meters over the right cable (Cat-5 or better). I run 100 Mbs over Cat-5 external cable.]

[Mike Heidrick]

Look for into a Denon avr910w receiver refurb on newegg or amazon. It does about everything. About $400. For tv wait for black friday. Speakers pick you fav style. Consider Polk, paradign, Klipsch, Boston acoustics, Infinity, or whatever you can demo that sounds good. I have vega fronts, Klipsch subs, and paradigm surrounds. My mount and speaker wire came from monoprice.

[Van Huskey]

Before you run cable to the shop take your laptop out there and see what kind of Wifi reception you have, I have no issues at ~100 feet from my router. Now I am only at about 20Mbs but unless you want to run 4K video that is fine and borderline for 4K.

My choice for video would be a cheap 40-50" panel and a Roku stick, they seem to work more seamlessly than the built in Apps on cheaper Smart TVs plus you are used to the format. If you have even reasonable dust control in your shop they should last longer than you expect while dust is an electronics killer TV are fairly robust these days AND while they are on the heat convection currents will help move dust-laden air away from the vents.

Forget the vinyl in the shop, vinyl plus dusty environment is going to be a pain.

I'm sorta old school and would use a cheap/used/refurbed receiver for the sound and get a semi-nice pair of speakers there are a ton of them out there, I can recommend if you set a price range for speakers.

As for sources the Roku or TV will have all the standard internet radio apps and you can output from the TV to the receiver and input the iPod into the receiver and have everything but the vinyl which you CAN do (but don;t recommend it) with a fairly inexpensive turntable BUT you are going to have to find an inexpensive receiver with a phono input, which is getting VERY rare these days in the lower priced receivers but you can find cheap phono preamps. Since you are not switching video a nice low end 2 channel receiver would be great, my choice would be a Yamaha RS202 or if you want to go internet and bluetooth into the receiver then the RN301. The RS202 might be easier for you to manage just using the Roku through the TV audio output and hardwiring your iPod when in use, neither of which require you to "learn" anything new, I only say this based on the old school comment.

[Van Huskey]

Look for into a Denon avr910w receiver refurb on newegg or amazon.

Why an AVR when he won't be needing to switch video or I assume want to use any surround sound. The audio portion of a 2 channel receiver 1/2 the price will be better and with the AVR you are paying for all the surround Codec chips and video switching hardware and 3 or more extra amplification channels none of which I suspect he will ever use.

[Andy Giddings]

Agree with Van. You don't need surround sound in a woodworking shop. Stereo would be fine. Agree with Roku - that or Amazon Fire will provide virtually all you need on a HDMI TV panel. I've got a B & W Zeppelin which provides great sound, has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and LAN hookup, as well as AUX in. You could use something similar and not even need an Amp. Just the TV hooked up to the speaker with Wi-Fi or LAN. You can control everything from a mobile phone, pad or laptop. Store all your music on a hard drive to stream it. 300albums is not a lot of storage - could probably fit this onto a mobile phone's SD card. I've got a large music collection and almost never listen to it as I subscribe to a streaming service. I use Wireless AC in my garage workshop and get plenty of bandwidth (over 100Mb/s) at about 70 ft from the router.

[Dan Hulbert]

Since you are already hooked up with Amazon, consider Alexa. The sound is way better than you would expect from something that size. The voice interface is a snap to set up and you can change tunes without putting down your tools. If you have Wi-Fi, you'll be all set. My son has linked his Alexa to all kinds of devices and pretty much voice controls his house. I'd have mine in my shop, but I'd have to arm wrestle the wife to get it. My shop is a block building about 200 feet from my router and I have great Wi-Fi coverage.

[Robert Engel]

I can't recommend a TV in the shop. I had one years ago and it was 1) a distraction and 2) I ended up never watching it because I was working. I figure if I'm going to watch a movie it will be in my recliner with a cold one ;-)

If you have a smart phone you can listen to anything on the internet. Most of the oldie vinyls are available on sites like Pandora or Sirius XM radio.

With high quality blue tooth speakers I guarantee you will be amazed at the sound. I would recommend getting two of them and setting up as stereo.

If your Ipod supports blue tooth this is the best way to go IMO.

I would not recommend putting a turntable in a ww'ing shop but you can run speaker cables if you so desire.

[Garth Almgren]

I bought a relatively cheap stereo amp on Amazon in October 2015 and it has really worked well for my needs. It is surprisingly compact, and because the power supply is separate it doesn't need big cooling vents - the aluminum body acts as a passive heat sink for the electronics. It has bluetooth, FM, a remote, and will play MP3s from a USB flash drive or SD card. There may be some problem with dust intrusion through the USB and SD slots, but I don't ever use those features and it hasn't been a problem for me so far. I hung a couple old bookshelf speakers from the ceiling, and typically connect my phone to the amp via bluetooth or the aux input and listen to Pandora, podcasts, or audio books through Overdrive.

While working on my office shed, I've been using an Altec Lansing BoomJacket bluetooth speaker to connect to my phone. This thing is a beast, "everything" proof, and lasts up to 40 hours on a charge. Surprisingly good sound for the size, and I've been finding myself using it way more than I expected to, any time I need waterproof or portable tunes.

[Mike Heidrick]

I like all the Apps supported by the 910w, the wireless streaming from all devices, included Pandora, receiver control from phone, built in wireless network, Ability to stream music seamlessly from a nas share, as well as the ability to do everything video in the future that his he and his TV might want to do. Have weird speaker placement the receiver will get your timings right during setup.

[Philip Rodriquez]

I have a 42" TV with a Sonos system and Apple TV. I love it and it is well within your budget. Sonos also connects to your itunes library as well as your iPhone, via a wireless connection. I also have Xfinity X1 installed in the shop but I find that I very rarely actually watch TV but it is nice to have.

[Wes Ramsey]

I have a fairly unique setup - I'm an IT guy by day and hobby woodworker by night. My 30x32 shop has a finished 10x30 office/man cave complete with my desk, reclining couch, TV, xbox, guitars, hunting gear, mini split heat pump and a full bathroom with shower. I'm not a fan of having electronics in the shop due to dust/heat/humidity/critters, so all that stays in my office. It is very handy to have a temp-controlled place to store finishes and acclimate or dry small lots of wood or turnings. When I want to watch TV or Youtube, design or think on a piece, play/nap/etc I retreat to the 'cave where I can sit in a clean chair with no dust or spiders and drink a coke without having to think about what surface I put a sweating can on.

But no shop is complete without tunes. I had a set of older Dell computer speakers laying around and they fit nicely on a shelf and are plenty loud with decent sound. For the music source I either use my iPad or plug the speakers into a portable radio. You can find computer speaker sets cheap at garage sales and thrift stores. A single set does well for my small shop, and if you want bigger sound then get a 2nd set and wire them together or find a set with a subwoofer.

When I'm using power tools or my lathe I wear bluetooth ear buds, and the bluetooth signal is plenty strong enough to reach across my shop and even most of the way outside where I dump shavings.

If you're intent on having a place to relax and watch a screen I would section off a small part of your shop as an 'office' so you can keep it clean. For me, any office furniture with a horizontal surface would be covered in clutter in no time. My table saw is a fine example and I usually have to excavate it before each use. After all, it is a table before it is a saw

Also, my dog has a corner in the office. My cat owns the shop. No shop is complete without a shop cat. Just sayin'.