question about shop stereos

[tod evans]

i`ve killed yet another cd player and really disslike the commercials on the radio so for all you techno geeks what type of source would allow me to play recorded music in the shop? i`ve never owned or held an mp3 player......would they survive the sawdust better than a cd player? or is there a better alternitive? thanks, tod

[Marty Walsh]

i`ve killed yet another cd player and really disslike the commercials on the radio so for all you techno geeks what type of source would allow me to play recorded music in the shop? i`ve never owned or held an mp3 player......would they survive the sawdust better than a cd player? or is there a better alternitive? thanks, tod

Tod,

Time to join the 'satellite revolution' and get yourself an XM reciever. No moving parts to get clogged with sawdust, no commercials (except on the x-rated comedy channel), and every possible genre of music you could imagine. Plus, you can use it in your truck, and bring it into your shop (or home) when you arrive.

And before it starts, I prefer XM over Sirius. I find the music selection a little better (with the exception of the Motown channel on Sirius).

- Marty -

[chris del]

A mp3 player has no moving parts, so for sure it would be much better.....
I would personally keep the CD player, build a nice box for it and put some weather stripping on the lid.... Silicone the hole where the wires come out.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

I too had a CD player bite the dust, so I had this old laptop sitting around, cost me nothing.

I loaded all the music I have into it, and then downloaded Itune for it, and use it like a jukebox.

I have it set up to play even when the screen is closed, so I hit play, close the screen and then I put a cloth over it to keep any dust out.

It has been working well for a few months now.

An Ipod or such will be the way to go, but, you have to buy one.

Don't you have a computer at work?

Could you not set it up as a jukebox?

Just run a wire from the headphone jack on the computer to the "Aux" jack on an amp and you are good to go.

The other nice thing about having the laptop in the dungeon is that I can look at pics I've put on it, for example, the new fangled bowl finishing tool I have. I can look at the pics that I took of Eli Avisera using it at the demo that I took, helps out a lot.

I don't have an Internet connection in the Dungeon........................yet..............

Cheers!

[Nick Clayton]

Hi Tod,

If you like your CD player, what about building an enclosure with 115v computer fans for cooling and some sort of filtering media in order to prevent dust from entering said enclosure?

Like Marty I have a satellite radio. It's a Sirius, I paid $500 for a lifetime subscription and I can tote it around from car, to house, to barn or listen via my computer. The downside is you need a receiver in order to listen to the thing (unless you're using your computer) and you cannot listen to your own recorded music which is what you want to do in the first place.

My wife swears by her MP3 player. Then again it's because she's a runner and it doesn't skip. They are pretty neat you can store days worth of music on the, but then again you need to sit down and record the days of music on it; not for me. They are again small enough to carry around with you everywhere and can plug into your car your house stereo or a small docking unit for a shop stereo.

I don't know if that helped or made sense. In my 02, unless you run or want the benefits of a satellite radio; build an enclosure of sorts so you can listen to your favorite recorded music on a decent stereo.

[Chris Barton]

Tod,

Time to join the 'satellite revolution' and get yourself an XM reciever. No moving parts to get clogged with sawdust, no commercials (except on the x-rated comedy channel), and every possible genre of music you could imagine. Plus, you can use it in your truck, and bring it into your shop (or home) when you arrive.

And before it starts, I prefer XM over Sirius. I find the music selection a little better (with the exception of the Motown channel on Sirius).

- Marty -

I second Marty's suggestion. I have had an XM unit for 4 years now and it is worth every penny. Music channels are commercial free and every type of music you can think of has its own channel (as well as some you couldn't even immagine). All you need is the receiver (which can be hooked up to any stero unit) and a clear view of the southern sky.

[Steve Strickler]

One word... iPod.

[Al Willits]

I might be the wrong guy for this considering I have a tri amp system out in my garage, but I like the CD format, I picked up a 5 CD/DVD changer for under $150 and its worked well for over a year now.

I burned copies of my CD's and keep a bunch out in the garage to rotate music selection, depending on mood.

I'd build a box for it to keep most the dust out, but I don't think I'd seal it, not sure about CD players, but most audio equipt generate heat, and that's almost as bad as dust.

I'd put a few air holes in the box and see how it goes, unit seems to get warm, add a few more holes.
Maybe cover it when your not using it.

Gotta have tunes...

Al

[Larry Fox]

I agree with Marty and Chris - XM all the way. I have had one in my shop for a couple of years now and have never looked back.

[scott spencer]

An IPod or MP3 should do well.

[bill walton]

I'm loath to throw anything away so I have a bunch of old stereo equipment, going back to the Viet Nam era, in the attic that I use in the shop until it croaks and then on to the next piece. Now, I have a wireless network in my home. Over a period of time I encoded all of my CDs, about 40,000 minutes, into MP3. I purchased a unit from Roku that I have hooked into an old receiver in the shop. I can navigate all of that music with a remote in the shop and listen as it streams over the network. If you have a similar arrangement it's a possibility.

[Ian Barley]

I use an MP3 player, mainly to listen to audiobooks. I dislike Ipod because I don't like Itunes (too proprietary for my taste). I use a creative MUVO with the earbuds loose inside my ear defenders. Works perfect. No moving parts. No airflow. No Problems.

[Jim Becker]

I listen only to non-commercial radio and in that I haven't worried about an additional music source to plug into the shop receiver. But if I did, I'd probably go the MP3 route. These devices are solid-state and are, relatively and reasonably speaking, immune to dust, unlike a CD player with moving parts. I personally don't value sat radio since I have such good local non-commercial broadcast available (WXPN.org and WHYY.org), but if I didn't I'd consider it after testing to see if there was material I'd enjoy.

[Randy Long]

I'm with Bill's idea, stream it in from a computer in the house.

Monthly charges to listen to music! Not for me!

Ipod, too prepritary for my as well.

[John Bailey]

I like the sound of CD players better than the iPod. I swear by NAD equipment for my home for sound and value, but for my shop, I use Yamaha because it holds up better. My wife came up with the idea of using a cut off blanket case to cover it. This is the kind of case that is plastic see-through. I put it over the tuner and CD player. I put the stereo up high on a shelf. The bottom is open but any dust that settles does so on top. It's not completely dust-free, but it's been in the shop for two yrs. with no problem. I presently don't have any dust collection, so it gets pretty dusty in the shop at times.

The pictures are the stereo under cover, how I reach in for the controls and the uncovered stereo. If you look real close, you can see lots of dust on the top of the cover, but none on the stereo itself.

Shop stereo reach for controls.jpgShop Stereo under cover.jpgShop Stereo.jpg

One of the nice things about this set-up is you can use the remote, although I never do. The sound with the B&W speakers is great.

John