Advice on a music systems for the woodshop

[John K Jordan]

For those saying no TV don't discount the ability to watch an instructional video while actually working in the shop.

I haven't watched an hour of TV programming in over 10 years, in the house or anywhere, except for an occasional DVD. (Blu-Ray on a 60" screen, nice!) When my wife played back part of an interesting recording for me the other day (Christmas music from Berea College) I was surprised at how much of the time was taken by commercials. Pardon my ignorance, but are all shows like that? (She only watches recorded programs and skips through commercials.)

However, I do agree with you about having a screen in the shop: I put a screen in my office area, a separate room in my shop. It has no cable or antenna but it is has solid WiFi and a DVD player. Very handy for the reasons you mention, YouTube and how-to DVDs. I probably use it once every month or three. It seems like everything I buy these days comes with a DVD, even the ukulele I just got. Most product DVDs are not much more than worthless but I suppose they are useful for those who don't read manuals.

I play CDs or the radio in the shop sometimes but quietly. When a machine is running I can't hear it anyway so distraction is not an issue. But I do like quality sound, so it's Bose for me.

A friend of mine keeps music fairly loud in his shop and house during the day. His theory is it might make a potential burglar wonder if the buildings are occupied.

JKJ

[Alan Trout]

No TV but I have a Echo dot and blue tooth receiver that feeds my tube pre-amp run into a 200amp Parasound HCA1200 with a good set of speakers. I use the Echo dot most of the time. I love it. I have never wanted a TV but I have always worked to music.

[Bob Falk]

No TV but I have a Echo dot and blue tooth receiver that feeds my tube pre-amp run into a 200amp Parasound HCA1200 with a good set of speakers. I use the Echo dot most of the time. I love it. I have never wanted a TV but I have always worked to music.

Alan,
So, you are using the Echo Dot to voice control your more powerful stereo system? And this does it via Bluetooth?
Thanks, bob

[Brad Swanson]

I have a pair of speakers run from the home theater receiver being fed by a network streaming device (Squeezebox) for content. Lately though, I've been using a Ultimate Ears MegaBoom bluetooth speaker fed from my phone. Both allow me to stream radio stations so I can listen to sports while working. No need for TVs in the workshop for me, and if I need to watch an instructional video, I bring the iPad in the shop with me. I do this frequently.

[Alan Trout]

Wifi to the Echo Dot and 3.5mm jack to RCA inputs to the preamp. I have all the music available through my prime account plus I can listen to radio with the Echo dot as well. It will also sync with other music services.

Alan

[Matt McCoy]

I don't think I've seen the Chromecast mentioned yet. It's inexpensive ($35) and connects to any old gear you might have laying around using the included 3.5mm or RCA cables. Stream lossless audio from most popular music services or upload up to 20,000 songs from your collection for free. Use your laptop, smart phone, or tablet to control it. Does require Wi-Fi in the shop, though.

[Jay Larson]

For me, I have an old amplifier with some outdoor speakers. As a source, I use an old laptop with wireless connectivity. Then I have that set up to play Sirius satellite radio. Or I can play some music from files.
I do have the amp in a cabinet that I made with a 'chimney' in the back to prevent overheating. I also have speakers wired to the garage portion of the out building, and in the spring I and going to get a pair set up outside. So you don't see all the wiring, I used some 1" pvc as cable runs.

[Anthony Scott]

I had an extra stereo receiver and some speakers laying around. So I bought a bluetooth receiever that connects to the stereo and my iphone can connect to the bluetooth and play through the stereo. Works well. https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-...etooth+adapter
Do you have good wifi in the shop? I also bought a wifi extender since it was spotty in my shop. https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wi-Fi...=wifi+extender

[Stan Calow]

If you can, put the hardware in another room or closet, and just have the speakers in the shop. The dust is a killer of electronics. I ruined a good receiver and cd player that way.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I saw the Echo Dot mentioned, so although this is a bit of a tangent... I got one for christmas and plan to make it my shop helper... to help me do fraction math, play music, and (drum roll) turn my dust collector and central vac on and off with voice commands. Really hope I can figure out how to get that to work. You can by 120volt wifi outlets that work with the dot, so I figure I should be able to use a 120v contactor for my 220v 30 amp DC, using those outlets.

I'm still building out my basement shop, but I don't see any reason why it won't work... especially because the DC will be in a soundproof closet, so the dot should be able to hear my voice pretty easily!

[Aaron carter]

Build your own speakers, you will be able to get much better quality speakers for the price than buying them. plus your cabinets will be much higher quality. Check out Zaphaudio.com I am planning on building the SR-71 where the package can be found here: https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.co...ir-parts-only/ all you have to do is build the cabinets which I am assuming would not be a problem. The plans can be found on Zaph website. I will let you know how mine turn out.

[Aaron Conway]

Another vote for Sonos here but I'm partial as I work for Sonos. I have a Play:5, Play:1 and a couple old speakers hooked up to a Connect:AMP in my shop. I have an odd shaped shop so the multiple speakers helps me to keep the volume down but be able to listen wherever I am in the shop.

[Matt Lau]

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.

I second the Sonos too. I use it for my dental office, and it sounds amazing.

[Mike Dowell]

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 ;-)

Going to have to double down on this. I have a TV in my shop, and if I put anything interesting on, I find myself standing there, watching TV, and not working. This is my livelihood, and not so much a hobby, so not working = mortgage doesn't get paid.

That said, sounds like your circumstance is different than mine, so in your case, I'd recommend a smart TV, which has some services built into it, such as Pandora(free music), Youtube(takes care of your video needs), and many other services you might like. Drop a load on a nice sound bar, and you're set.

[Bob Falk]

Thanks Mike.....you nailed it...woodworking is my hobby so no concern about the mortgage from that standpoint. I find that I like to listen to live performances on Youtube as well as full albums of various artists. No plans for a recliner in my shop.

Do you have a recommendation for a soundbar?

Cheers, bob