What do you use in the garage/workshop?

[Trouble Maker]

I'm curious to see what level people are going to with their secondary, tertiary... setups. If you have anything to listen to music in your garage or workshop, what do you use? Some previous re purposed hifi level system, garage sale level stuff, Bluetooth speakers, homemade horn made from an old tin cup with a piezoelectric exciter on the back of it?

I have a UE Roll and love it. The built in bungee cord is highly useful and versatile. I can move it where is needed, garage if working there, basement if working there. If we are going on a 'relaxing' vacation throw it in the luggage and it doesn't take up much room. Take it to the front porch or back deck. Not hifi, but it's just usually background music when the saw isn't ripping, air compressor isn't running, the ugha-ugah (impact wrench) isn't breaking things, or I'm loudly swearing after it (not me) breaks things.

 

[maverickronin]

I've always used my beater IEMs (currently Westone UM1's) because they double as hearing protection when the power tools are fired up.

I have an ancient pair of Bose 901's inherited from my dad I could hook up in the basement workshop but I've never bothered because then I'd have to mess around with some other form of hearing protection.

 

[Mnyb]

We used my Squeezebox Radio doing garage work today it has batteries and is a streamer so as far as the WiFi reach we can have music ..

In order of musical performance.

My main system is a complete small Meridian system + rytmic sub.+ RasPI with Squeezelite streamer with digital output.

Head phone system a pair of sennheiser HD650 + violelectric amp and another RaspiPi with hifiberry DAC with Squeezelite.

Kitchen system a Squeezebox Touch paired with Adam A3X speakers.

HT some mid tier denom AVR + a canton cinema something. ( god for films but uneven subwoofer integration/performance messes up music ) + a Squeezebox Touch toslink used to the denon.

My office has some foster desktop monitors using the motherboards built in audio + Squeezelite installed to communicate with the music server .

A Squeezebox boom in the bedroom. That can be moved to wherever we have both WiFi and an outlet .

My battery operated Squeezebox radio that goes where we need music and have no close outlet for power you got to have music.

 

[Trouble Maker]

I've always used my beater IEMs (currently Westone UM1's) because they double as hearing protection when the power tools are fired up..

That's a good point, I wonder how well they work compared to some good ear muffs or even plugs. I guess you could always wear ear muffs over the IEMs in some situation those weren't enough. I've not had many IEMs, but there is no way they would stay in working in the garage on/under the car. Any IEMs or ear plugs I've ever used bother/hurt my ears after very long. I usually just use ear muffs now, but they do get hot if it is very hot out and if I'm working the yard with the mower, string trimmer or leaf blower for a while.

 

[maverickronin]

That's a good point, I wonder how well they work compared to some good ear muffs or even plugs. I guess you could always wear ear muffs over the IEMs in some situation those weren't enough. I've not had many IEMs, but there is no way they would stay in working in the garage on/under the car. Any IEMs or ear plugs I've ever used bother/hurt my ears after very long. I usually just use ear muffs now, but they do get hot if it is very hot out and if I'm working the yard with the mower, string trimmer or leaf blower for a while.

Some shallow fit ones seem to only attenuate high frequencies. For medium fit ones you can usually expect at least 20dB attenuation across the spectrum. Using foam tips instead of silicone and/or deeper insertion models get you even more.

If you want IEMs to stay in while working you need the musician's monitor style like Shure or Westone where the cable goes over your ears and cinches behind your neck. I clip the cable to my collar and keep a SanDisk Clip Zip in my shirt pocket and they almost never fall out. The "cable down" style which just hang from you ears won't stay in very well if you're doing much more than sitting or walking though.

Not everyone can get used to shoving things into their ear canals though. I often use IEM several hours a day, but it took quite a bit of luck and experience to find one I could use several hours a day.

 

[HemiRick]

I use a pair of late 60's vintage Pioneer speakers my father bought while in Okinowa. They are driven by an icepower 125asx module in a Feather amp. I use the line in and feed it w a Sansa clip. I need to get some kind of streaming/network available in the garage.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I've a pair of beat up Klipsch Heresy's picked up at a yard sale for $10. They work. The people I purchased them from had them mounted in the ceiling of their garage. I've plans to put them up and drive them with an early 80's Sherwood fully discrete mosfet receiver. I usually don't have music on in a workshop or while making repairs. I wish to focus on the job at hand.

Saw a fellow with a nice workshop. Had an Altec Voice of the Theater in one corner hooked to a NAD 3020. Not something I expected to see.

 

[Trouble Maker]

Saw a fellow with a nice workshop. Had an Altec Voice of the Theater in one corner hooked to a NAD 3020. Not something I expected to see.

Those seem like they would take up quite a bit of precious shop space.

 

[Chrispy]

Actually sitting out here in the 'shop now 7.3 system. Small old lcd tv for when I want video, but do have multich music sources via a bluray player as well as wifi/usb. Nice to have choices. I'd say this is my tertiary system....altho can spend quite a bit more time listening here than in the "secondary" system in my bedroom....

 

[DEXCOM7]

We used my Squeezebox Radio

This ^^, We upgraded to sonos and we have several Squeezebox Radio in the closet... So we took one out for the garage

 

[jhaider]

Airport Express -> Parasound Zamp -> beat up looking (but working fine) pair of KEF RDM Two.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Those seem like they would take up quite a bit of precious shop space.

Well he only had one. But yes, its like a large box. It came from some church auditorium he said. It played loud easy which is why he used it that way.

 

[Vintage57]

My scuffed black plywood Klipsch Heresy’s look like they fell off a truck. But they work great with a Yamaha digital receiver Model N303BL.
From Amazon on sale for $200.

 

[LTig]

For our bathroom I made a wooden box to house an old Blaupunkt stereo car radio and a DIY linear 12V power supply with parts I had lying around. The radio feeds a pair of small DIY 2 way speakers (closed MDF box with cheap Monacor drivers) purposely made for this job.

In the cellar/garage I have an even older BB speaker with an extra horn tweeter and a similar 12V ps for a very old mono car radio. However, after I got a JBL Charge 3 bt speaker this old box is very seldom used.

 

[renaudrenaud]

In the bedroom I use a... Err... I've build a player with an Atomic Pi running Daphile and 3D designed and printed parts, connected to an Orange Pi running armbian with the Logitech Media Server on it, a nice Sabaj D5 for DAC and a venerable Pionner receiver and speakers I've build.

 

[HemiRick]

For our bathroom I made a wooden box to house an old Blaupunkt stereo car radio and a DIY linear 12V power supply with parts I had lying around. The radio feeds a pair of small DIY 2 way speakers (closed MDF box with cheap Monacor drivers) purposely made for this job.

In high school I made a similar setup for my locker powered by a motorcycle battery ! I had the most popular locker in the whole school. I had bought my 1st car radio before I bought my 1st car, so I put it to good use.

 

[renaudrenaud]

The screen is a touch screen, 35€ from Ali and works fine.

 

[Prana Ferox]

I had a shop setup with a personally modded Audiosource AMP-100, fed from a Logitech Bluetooth dongle, going to a set of cheap Miccas. It wasn't enough for the room but it worked fine for hanging out music. An intern ended up blowing up the amp because he was looking for a load for a 240VAC power supply and didn't realize things that weren't dual-voltage switch mode existed. I think we replaced it with an SMSL chipamp box.