What makes a good shop stereo system for 60x60x20 area?

[310 Guy]

How will my neighbors know there's a good song playing?

I don't always listen to Pink Floyd but when I do, so do my neighbors.
Bill

 

[josephk]

Funny, there's a half dozen sets of those JBL Eons for sale near me for $300-$500 and I was just researching them. I might go grab a pair tomorrow.

Make sure its the G2 which is bi-amped not the P1, I would also never buy(or listen) the 10" (no low end).

 

[M.B. Naegle]

Our shop's in a 10,000sqft room and we have 8 misc. speakers tied back to a pair of amps listening to Pandora. When I say "misc.", I mean ANYTHING that isn't blown out. Most are old home stereo speakers. One pair is a wood-grain job from the mid. 70's. We have them evenly spaced along all 4 walls staggering right and left hook-ups and I've been pleased with the budget-surround-sound effect.

I'm cheap, if you haven't noticed, but I've found that quantity is better than quality and we keep the volume low enough that the music is secondary to everything else going on around us. When we do have a speaker die, which is not often but mostly due to harsh environment reasons like grinder dust getting places, it's not as big a deal as if we lost some high dollar speakers.

It might be different if it was a one-man-shop, but I see the music as a luxury that shouldn't come over safety. I listen to some weird stuff too, so I like to know when a cutter or gearbox is going south, and when the beat is about to drop.

 

[DanASM]

I have a set of Bose 901 speakers and an old Marantz receiver/Amp unit with the brushed aluminum you like.

It is 30+ years old and was top of the line back then and still may be now. I did buy my mother a Bose wave radio for the house and was quite surprised how loud it got. It was all clear sound that they are known for. It would probably work in the shop. Doesnt matter where in the building you are, the sound is clear and crisp. Its what they are known for.

Wave(R) music system IV

 

[GregSY]

"Speaker choice is like a choice in women. Everyone has a different view of like and do not like."

Do you mean to suggest there are actually guys who don't want a speaker that looks really good, makes noise only when you apply power, costs little, is easy to obtain, has no sisters or mother, and mostly likes to sit quietly in a corner?

 

[josephk]

This is really handy in those cases, when testing a tool path.
Amazon.com: Mobile Edge Wireless (RF) USB Media Remote ExpressCard for iTunes and Windows Media Player for Laptops and Desktops (Up to Windows 7) MEAPE3: Computers & Accessories

 

[blcksmth]

I see the PA speakers all the time for not much so that's awesome.

It makes sense that they'd work well in a bigger space, but the audiophile guys would talk down about them since they aren't going to work well in a living room.

Moonlight- My dad bought a set of Cerwin Vega's with this JVC I still use in the early 70's. I threw some BIG parties as a teenager and used those with this JVC to shake things up and I remember them being AMAZING. I eventually blew the foam out of them and my dad tossed them when I joined the Navy in 2002. I would pay to fix those things up in a heartbeat!

Maybe the thing to do is just recap this JVC, empty a can of de-oxit in the controls and pick up some big PA's.

The foam used for the surround cone support probably was the victim of a bacteria that attacked it. This is a common problem for foam surround. We had to replace 16 bass drivers above the scoreboard in a university basketball arena because the foam fell apart. A 3 day job on a JLG reaching above center court from all 4 sides of the wood floor.

Bob
WB8NQW

 

[sheys]

How did you hang them, if you don't mind sharing?

Good question, it was a pain. I cut some U shaped brackets out of thin plate with holes at the ends of the U. These fit into the recesses around the two top center case screws. Remove the screws, insert the bracket and put the screws back in. Hanging from here alone doesn't balance them so I looped the support cable around something on the back of the case as well. Seems like there should be an easier way but I couldn't think of one.



I can take a pic that actually shows this later in the week if you like.

 

[cnctoolcat]

Any speakers from Klipsch will rock a shop, most from Cerwin Vega would do the same.

During the late 80's, in college I had a set of Cerwin Vega 6x9's mounted in a custom enclosure, built just for the rear hatch cavity of my 2-seat '76 Datsun 280Z. I drove them with a Kenwood tape deck w/built-in amp, and they sounded GREAT for a car setup on a budget. I will never forget the clear, crisp, loud sound of AC/DC and other heavy metal bands blasting out those CV's in that small space inside the 280.

Ah, the memories!

The classic Bose 901's are hard to beat, if you can find a set at a good price.

Good tips though about the PA speakers!

ToolCat

 

[cosmos_275]

I use a Roland KC-300 keyboard amplifier. It has plenty of power for my 60x20 shop and I never turn it up past half way. It takes two unbalanced 1/4 TR connectors. You can get rca to 1/4 TR paired cord to go direct from computer. It also takes balanced if you setup a longer run.

 

[Conrad Hoffman]

We use a couple PA speakers. Working great for the last 15 years or so. Any decent receiver should do the job. Our problem is it's tough to get FM in the metal building. A big wire antenna in a big window works, but we also have very noisy fluorescent ballasts that screw it up. Someday we'll run a cable to the outside, maybe in a decade or two.

 

[kustomizingkid]

I rock airpods... phone stays safe on the charging stand and I can answer calls and go right back to music fluidly.

 

[Garwood]

I'm considering going to go look at 4 Behringer B212D powered PA speakers tonight. They're 550 watts each and I can get all 4 for $400. Seller seams nice/knowledgeable and said the JBL EON G2's are better, but the Behringers are probably overkill for me and will sound better than two of anything inside a 60x60 building if I use 4 of them.

Or I can get a pair of G2's for the same $400 and a bit further drive.

What do you guys think? 4 Behringers or 2 JBL's?

 

[cosmos_275]

Correction: I have a KC-100(!) in my 60x20 and is more than enough power. 4 x 550W sounds like way more than you need.

 

[CarbideBob]

..... It would probably work in the shop. Doesnt matter where in the building you are, the sound is clear and crisp. Its what they are known for.

Wave(R) music system IV

I bought one of these for the wife at Christmas as her "Boom Box" died.
It is very clean at normal or somewhat higher in the kitchen were it sits with the well know high quality Bose sound.
At higher volumes the $100 boom box was better and so we were a bit disappointed.
To me it's the ultimate clock radio but will not work in a area the size of a shop. An office yes, a shop...no.
As I said loudspeaker efficiency matters more than amp power. It takes 10 times the power to get twice as loud so to double a 50 watt you need 500.
Unfortunately high efficiency means large drivers, large ported boxes or perhaps folded and/or front loaded horns which are so big and bulky.
Bob

 

[Rob F.]

Are the JBL's 10" or 15"? I see both sizes advertised down here.

 

[Garwood]

Are the JBL's 10" or 15"? I see both sizes advertised down here.

I'm just looking at the 15 inch ones, but not set on JBL's if the Behringers are good enough and save some money.

 

[Garwood]

Correction: I have a KC-100(!) in my 60x20 and is more than enough power. 4 x 550W sounds like way more than you need.

I think it's way more than I need, but I don't have to use it all.

 

[CarbideBob]

....

What do you guys think? 4 Behringers or 2 JBL's?

The JBL's have better low end from the specs, and the Behringers sort of lie on power ratings as peak and the THD is sort of crazy high.
Note that the max SPL on the JBL is higher that the Behringers also but that number can be misleading as you do not know how clean.
If you want the opening on Dark Side of the Moon to rock your world I'd go with the JBL but I have never tested or heard either of them.
One is a 12 and one a 15. Way general but in this world bigger is better. JBL is also well known for high quality mid-range drivers.
You need to push a lot of air to get the solid bottom that has the hit.
Adding 4 self powered speakers does not get you twice as loud as two of the same. It's complicated and in 4 source placement becomes funky so that they do not cancel each other and make it worse.
This world is all so confusing. I think you'd like either choice and with the four I'd place them in pairs and not split to the four coroners of the shop.
Rear channels are nice and with time delays in the rack you can make the room "feel" larger but the backs need to be under the fronts.

All that BS said I'd buy the JBL but my opinion stinks as well as any other. Your room size is big and "good" sound everywhere in it will be hard.
I do think you may be happy with either choice.
I tune mine to the center of the room and the Blanchard operators will just have to live with a sort of not so nice off axis sound and reflections.
You may want to play with placement and pointing any speakers you buy. 10 degrees of twist in a direction that seems not right can make a difference.

Bob

 

[Garwood]

The JBL's have better low end from the specs, and the Behringers sort of lie on power ratings and the THD is sort of crazy high.
Note that the max SPL on the JBL is higher that the Behringers also but that number can be misleading as you do not know how clean.
If you want the opening on Dark Side of the Moon to rock your world I'd go with the JBL but I have never tested or heard either of them.
One is a 12 and one a 15. Way general but in this world bigger is better. JBL is also well known for high quality mid-range drivers.
You need to push a lot of air to get the solid bottom that has the hit.
Bob

Damn you're right! I thought the Behringers were 15"s, but they are 12"s.

I had to google THD and Total Harmonic Distortion seems pretty damn important. Where did you find that spec? I'm not seeing it, but maybe I'm searching poorly?