Wood Shop Stereo

[Chris Rosenberger]

I used to have a receiver & speakers. I got tired of not being able to listen when a tool was running & getting poor reception of AM in my shop. It was also a problem turning down the volume when the phone rang or someone came in the shop. After I add an office to my shop I moved the receiver there. That solved the poor reception of am but I still had the problem of not being able to listen when I was making noise in the shop & turning the volume down quickly. I decided to make my own wireless system. I connected the reciever to a low power FM transmitter instead of speakers, bought work tunes hearing protectors & I also bought 4 reconditioned Millwaukee radios that are set in different areas of the shop for the times that I do not want to wear the work tunes. I can turn on a radio in the area I am working in the shop & keep it at a reasonable volume level. I have my computer & TV connected to the reciever. Now I can listen to a race or ballgame that is on tv & listen to music or podcast playlists that I have created on my computer. The fm transmitter has enough power to reach most of my yard so I can wear the work tunes while using the mower.

[Rob Will]

I used to have a receiver & speakers. I got tired of not being able to listen when a tool was running & getting poor reception of AM in my shop. It was also a problem turning down the volume when the phone rang or someone came in the shop. After I add an office to my shop I moved the receiver there. That solved the poor reception of am but I still had the problem of not being able to listen when I was making noise in the shop & turning the volume down quickly. I decided to make my own wireless system. I connected the reciever to a low power FM transmitter instead of speakers, bought work tunes hearing protectors & I also bought 4 reconditioned Millwaukee radios that are set in different areas of the shop for the times that I do not want to wear the work tunes. I can turn on a radio in the area I am working in the shop & keep it at a reasonable volume level. I have my computer & TV connected to the reciever. Now I can listen to a race or ballgame that is on tv & listen to music or podcast playlists that I have created on my computer. The fm transmitter has enough power to reach most of my yard so I can wear the work tunes while using the mower.

Very Very cool stuff Chris

Rob

[Dave Lindgren]

I use an RCA Lyra system. The transmitter plugs into the sound card of my computer, and I have receivers wherever I want tunes. Shop has a Muntz (!) stereo receiver the Lyra plugs into, and a couple of Panasonic speakers from Goodwill. A second receiver is hooked to my home theater system aux port, and a third one to a set of computer speakers i can take anywhere else I want sounds. I have about 500 hours of music on my computer to select from, so I don't get much repetition, and local control wherever I need it. Picked up all the Lyra components on sale for about 40 bucks.

[Mike Cutler]

iPod.

Like David stated, it plays forever. Bob Marley tunes in the background while sanding can't be beat.

Mine just plays through some middle of the road Boston Acoustics. Complete overkill for a shop.

[Brad Townsend]

I have a small modular system that has a receiver/CD player and two detachable speakers. To keep dust out of the CD player, I built a box out of OSB with a hinged top and plexiglass panel for the front (to allow for the infrared remote) and mounted the whole thing on the wall of my shop.

[Al Willits]

Kinda depends on what you consider "nice", I have a tri amped 250wpc system with custom speakers, and some might consider that "nice", I'd consider it a bit excessive, but I'm a bit nuts when it comes to audio stuff anyway.

Personally, if all I wanted was decent sounds for my shop/garage, I'd look at one of the boom boxes out there, for under $300 you can get a 6 CD player, remote controlled system that should fill most shops with enough noise to help drown out the wife's screaming..
Most now will play MP3's and some will play WMA even, so you could load up the 6 CD's with enough music to keep ya happy for the better part of a weekend.

Plus a boom box would probably be easier to keep sawdust out of.

Al

[Brian Penning]

I use an old Sony boombox and listen to whatever station isn't playing "Delllliiiilaaaah..." Sheesh!

Other than that John Tesh is supposedly making me more intelligent, but not so, according to the Mrs.

[Jim Becker]

A few years ago, I picked up a Sherwood 100w receiver from one of the box stores online sales for $100. It's mounted in the shop and drives two old, but very serviceable Radio Shack Minimus 7 aluminum speakers. Since I have said small drivers up high and near corners, I actually get a pleasing frequency response...not audiophile, but not tin cans, either. Since I've had those speakers since the mid-1980s, they have certainly paid for themselves many times over!

[Per Swenson]

Bosch power box.

6000 songs on the ipod.

No commercials.

On the job, I don't have to pay some one to change cds.

I could not be happier.

Per

[Don Bullock]

I went to the Sony Outlet store and bought a reconditioned boombox that I play CDs on. Some day, once I quit "needing" so many tools (it will be a while ), I'll get an iPod set up like some others have mentioned.

[Gary Herrmann]

Old, old radio I think I bought when I was a sophomore in HS. Maybe one of these days I'll put something decent down there.

More happy with the outdoor speakers and stereo I put out by the pool. I'd much rather focus on what we can listen to while splashing around than listen to my wife say "you're going to buy WHAT for the shop?"

[Larry Fox]

XM Radio with their version of the boom-box. I got it dirt cheap on one of their specials and I have one in the car so adding the shop one is about $6 per month (less than the cost of a new CD). 100+ stations and no commercials on the ones that I listen to. Can't beat it.

[John Revilla]

Shop tunes? I use a full pledge backloaded horn using Fostex drivers powered by a 300B tube amp. Source is either a 30G ipod, a Dual 506 turntable or a Pioneer CD player. I also use Bozak 301S speakers powered by a Marantz receiver or a Mc Intosh receiver as alternative. Yes, I used to be an audiophile. Godspeed.

[Dave Hale]

A few years ago, I picked up a Sherwood 100w receiver from one of the box stores online sales for $100. It's mounted in the shop and drives two old, but very serviceable Radio Shack Minimus 7 aluminum speakers. Since I have said small drivers up high and near corners, I actually get a pleasing frequency response...not audiophile, but not tin cans, either. Since I've had those speakers since the mid-1980s, they have certainly paid for themselves many times over!

I thought for a second Jim and I switched ids.
I have a Sherwood 100w stereo receiver from Circuit City purchased 2 years ago on 'Black Friday' for $50 (1/2 price) and some old RS Minimus metal speakers from the mid 80's. Shame RS doesn't make them anymore, them and the cockroaches will both be around after we're all gone. iPod is hooked up via RCA cables to headphone jack (another RS product). Very, very serviceable for the gar... SHOP.

Per,
How much you pay for changing playlists? I need a new career.

[Jim Becker]

Well, Dave...in the mid-1980s I was running a large RS in a local mall...so there was quite a bit of "that stuff" around my house for a long time. Only those speakers and a few odds and ends still survive. (I still do have a set of large passive radiator tower speakers boxed above my shop...who knows what condition the cones are at this point as I have not opened the box since before moving here in 1999)