What do you listen to when working on leisurely projects in your workshop or garage?
Headphones? Speakers? (Which ones?)
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Music? Podcasts?
Just the sounds of your tools doing their thing?
My 12+ year old computer speakers (a ~$60 Creative 2.1 setup) needs to be replaced. I made the mistake of ordering powered bookshelf speakers that are too large for my space. But, they sound crisp, clear, and simply wonderful.
I placed a new order for smaller desktop-sized speakers. Until they arrive, I’m left debating what to do with these quite large powered bookshelf speakers. Do I… return them (the Amazon seller allows for a no-risk trial period), or maybe I can place them in the workshop?
That got me wondering about what you guys listen to in your workshops, both in terms of content (music? podcasts?) and mediums (speakers? headphones? TV?).
When working with loud machinery, hearing protection earphones or earmuffs are pretty much the only option. But when doing assembly tasks, woodworking, layout work, or work with intermittent noise, speakers are more attractive, not to mention more comfortable.
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See Also: IsoTunes Pro Bluetooth Hearing Protection Earbuds Review
I don’t think I have ever listened to headphones when working with tools. But I do listen to wired speakers in my office workspace, and a jobsite speaker in the garage.
A few years ago, wireless audio was pretty bad. Then it was so-so at best. Now? Nearly all portable speakers, jobsite speakers and a good deal of desktop or powered “computer” speakers have Bluetooth connectivity. And they sound fantastic, too.
Jobsite speakers are good solutions for when you need ruggedness, cordless power, or added features such as battery charging.
But for a workshop? Garage? Basement? Other settings where you can plug in speakers, place them down, and then leave them there? It seems to me that powered desktop or small bookshelf speakers might be better. Plus, dollar for dollar, there’s more value put into sound quality, rather than portable ruggedness or battery-power features.
Even if not the speakers I ordered and are too large for my desk, I think I’ll be adding a pair of bookshelf speakers to the garage workshop.
And in case you’re wondering, the current garage music player is a test sample of Dewalt’s ToughSystem music player, which is probably the best jobsite speaker I’ve heard to date. Bosch’s Power Box is a strong contender. One of these days I’ll need to do a direct comparison.
Chris
I have an old Sony stereo that dates back about 20-25 years that never shuts off… It’s always going out in the garage… It won’t quit and will continue to be my source of music until it dies
jtr165
I had a Pioneer receiver from 1996 w/ a pair of 6 1/2″ Polk outdoor speakers from the era. The receiver was my first component stereo purchase as a kid, and the speakers were given to me at some point. The receiver wouldn’t die either, and that included some roof damage in a storm that funneled rain water onto it (didn’t try it ‘wet’, but let it dry in the sun for an afternoon and it was like it never happened).
I did finally have to let it go, though. I had a 3.5mm line for my phone, and it worked fine, but I never found a little bluetooth receiver or something that would cooperate well with it. Volume problems, and some weird hiss with some of them, none of which was present when just plugged into the phone. The power of the thing was also completely overkill, I never needed it at more than 10% of it’s output, and it was taking up a lot of space otherwise.
Bought a Sony bluetooth outdoor speaker last summer, and have been thrilled with it. Water, dust, drop resistant far more than that receiver was (although, none of that ever hurt it). Great battery life, great range from my phone, can link multiple so the one on my deck is playing the same stuff, etc. It’s not small, but also not massive, and fits nicely on a shelf
Dust
I use wireless Shure 215 headphones at work. They block up to 37db and are always available to protect my ears even when not connected. That said, they have excellent sound quality.
At home we use the dewalt dcr006, my preferred speaker. I also have a Milwaukee 2891-20 I use at work which is decent.
More often then not I find myself plugging into my Shure IEMs, great sound and hearing protection, with the added benefit of being able to talk handsfree.
Bill K
I like to engage my mind so I often listen to talk radio. Have been using a radio and earphones, but I’m in the process of setting up any old iPad and small speakers. This hopefully this will take the place of my earphone, while also allowing me easy internet access.
Bill K
I like to engage my mind so I often listen to talk radio. Have been using a radio and earphones, but I’m in the process of setting up an old iPad and small speakers. This hopefully will take the place of my earphone, while also allowing me easy internet access.
Charles
If I’m not listening to just the noises of my tools, I either listen to music or sports podcasts. I have a portable Bluetooth speaker that sits on my workbench.
Cr8on
I modified a Black+Decker Bluetooth speaker to accept DeWalt batteries. I mainly listen to Freetalk live/casts, talk radio, and audiobooks while I work alone. I’m too much of an audio snob to bother trying to enjoy music from it so I’m planning on a portable speaker build soon. I have some older Klipsch bookshelf speakers that are prime candidates but I’m still looking for an amplifier I want to use for the build.
Tim E.
Portable eh… I really love my sonic impac T-amps for portable music (if you don’t need the thumpingest bass), the gen 2 amp particularly. And they run off 12V of AA normally, so not hard to rig for a 12V tool battery. Great sound. But hard to get secondhand even anymore. The amp in my current portable rig (the SI ones were repurposed for indoor uses) is a Dayton version of the T amp from Amazon, it’s in a black case and was pretty cheap, like $15. Looks to be more now. I actually took the amp board out of it since and mounted it inside the portable enclosure so there was just the volume knob. No Bluetooth or anything fancy, just 3.5mm in, but I really enjoy it. And nice and compact.
Cr8on
Good suggestions, but I’m looking for a tad more headroom, kinda need BT(books and talk shows) and of course 3.5mm or RCA in. My source is primarily my phone(LG V20… Quad DAC built in 😀 ) but I need the BT option open for the other guys on the jobsite. My personal taste in music ranges from quite heavy dynamic to sultry smooth (in easy terms Disturbed to Portishead ). Oh and I need it to run off battery (cannibalize a Kobalt battery? 6 cells for $10!) or AC sooooooo i gotta figure out my charge control too.
Chance
In my shop, which isn’t super huge I use a high powered Denon receiver, 2 large Infinitys speakers, 2 smaller Infinity speakers, 2 decent sized Advent speakers and a gigantic Kef subwoofer. I added the sub recently because having my earplugs in and missing some of the highs in the music I figured I would add more lows that I could actually feel. I play my music loud enough that I can hear it even with most of the tools in the shop and dust collector going, the planer is the only tool that will drown out the music. I usually play a local public radio station that doesn’t have any commercials and plays a wide range of genres, but I also stream SiriusXM a fair amount, and Pandora and YouTube a little bit or since I buy quite a bit of music I’ll play stuff off of my phone.
In the Garage I have a way to big Yamaha receiver, 5 moderate sized Kef speakers, and a smaller Yamaha subwoofer. The work in the garage isn’t as loud as the work in the shop so the music doesn’t have to be quite as loud, but still pretty loud lol. It’s the same mix of music in the garage. If the work isn’t quite as engaging or serious I might throw in an ATV racing DVD or something and watch it casually as I’m working in the garage, but that’s not very often.
I love music and will not work unless I have music playing. And I agree, the Toughsystem radio is amazing, and it sounds much better when plugged in than when it’s just running on battery, try it sometime. I still keep the DCR015 and the DCR025 in the trailer and even though I hate the cord on the ToughSysten radio, and the fact that it won’t charge Flexvolt batteries, I still find myself grabbing it because it sounds so much better, especially when working in large houses.
Brian
I use the Milwaukee jobsite radio where I stream podcasts via Bluetooth. I also bought an ikea wireless charger that I placed into my workbench so I can charge my phone as I stream said podcasts. It’s plenty loud and because they’re podcasts, sound quality isn’t a huge concern.
Brian
Oh, and the podcasts I do listen to are JRE, Collider Movie Talk, Paddock Pass Podcast, Hardcore History, Lore, and several others.
Corey
Bluetooth speakers, usually Joe Rogan podcast or Ted talks, something interesting lol if not in the mood to pay attention, then any old music from the library.
JoeM
Oh Geez… I’m going to sound like I need to be shipped off to the loony bin… But here goes…
When I was around age 9, I entered into the “Making” part of my life. Cooking, carving, building, tools, Scouting, Computers… I was young and the TV, Radio, Tapes, or Records were going in the house, or wherever. By the time I hit my Teens, I switched up to a Panasonic Shockwave Discman… You know, that CD playing Walkman thing that was impact resistant. By my LATE Teens/Early Twenties, I’d moved on to MP3s blaring through my Computer, or burned to CD. Then some bad stuff happened at the end of High School, about 2001 ish, and it would bite me in the ass by 2014. In between those years, I coded, carved, constructed, and did whatever to whatever noise was around me.
Here’s where you’ll probably want to check me into the crazy farm… In 2001, an incident left me with PTSD, but I neither acknowledged it, nor had it treated. I just retreated into my hobbies and it got worse. And with that suite of anxiety issues, nightmares, and trauma, came this deep, dark hole of addiction that I couldn’t get out of. So… what I was listening to was essentially… The voices in my head that hated me enough to not let me sleep… Constantly craving Coffee, and working non-stop on projects for days on end, waking up after having crashed and recovering after skipping a day or three to sleep. In 2014, I was at my wit’s end, a friend rejected me romantically, and I snapped. I ended up in a hospital for treatment, got the PTSD diagnosis, and I’ve been medicated since.
Drastically, I have noticed that when I do projects now, what I’m listening to is… ME… Me and my Tools at work… I talk to myself while I work, nothing serious, just… “A little there… Yep… Now I’ll grab the saw… that needs to be, let’s see here…” that kind of thing… Now I listen to what I’m saying, as I talk my way through the project. Along with that is me listening to how my tools sound as they do their work. Different sounds mean different problems, or that you’ve got through the material safely. So… I’m now listening to my tools, no hearing protection, because I’m listening for those changes in pitch and growl that indicate how the tool, and the project, are doing. Plus, I listen to my own dialogue to keep organized. Beyond that, I set my MP3s in a specific playlist for when I go to sleep, an that is the only time there’s any kind of Music for me anymore.
To be perfectly honest, whenever I see “Jobsite Radios” I find it genuinely astonishing that anyone wants them. I would expect, for a Jobsite Radio, the primary use should be for sending communications to the entire jobsite. As one shift ends, a Foreman can hit a button on their phone or a dedicated device that came with the Radio, and the Radio becomes a PA System. In our more advanced days, I would expect even more from it, that everyone gets a dedicated headset that doubles as hearing protection, and the Radio is the centralized comm station for everyone talking to eachother for the job. Someone gets hurt, hit a button and call for a medic. Hired someone who can’t walk to run the excavator, they call for a couple hands to pull them out of the cab at the end of the day, or if they need a bathroom break, or even just Lunch. But that’s not what Jobsite Radios do, so, I’m honestly confused as to why they’re so popular. They’re far less capable for a jobsite than we should expect of them. They’re little more than really rugged speakers at this point. And, really… shouldn’t we want more out of them? I dunno… Paragraphs I’ve written above this one may just make me sound like a nutjob, so that may very well be why I don’t understand the appeal.
Stuart
Yikes, sorry you’ve been through all that!
With jobsite radios, think about the guy painting a room by himself. A father and son team demo-ing a kitchen for a remodel. Tailgaters.
JoeM
Okay, so…Rugged background noise generator integrated into the tool line… I suppose I understand that. I guess I just expect more from something so widely adopted by tool users. Just me, I suppose.
Pete
Mental health is no joke. Thank you for talking about it publicly. Hopefully we wont ostracize and shame people who need help with their mental health.
My wife had a suicidal break down a year ago and we are still working thru it with her therapist.
JoeM
Well, Mental health is no joke, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave it out of your sense of humour. What happened to ME was not my fault, therefore, I’ve never adopted that “Shame” mentality that so many other mental health sufferers adopt. Fear that it might make people reject you socially, or that it might change how people see you, or that people won’t see you the way you’ve tried to portray yourself. I don’t suffer with that problem, because frankly… I’ve always rejected social standards to start with. I would rather people see my work, and not me. See those I’ve taught, and not me.
So, although I DO have an Ego the size of a small planetoid, my experiences with PTSD only inform me of the important lessons that come with living with it. And those lessons are universal, so… although I leave the personal details out, because, let’s face it, there’s only so far I’m willing to share before it pushes the boundaries of personal space… I’m completely comfortable talking about having a mental health issue. I feel absolutely no shame in having it, only in the part where I didn’t seek help for 13 years, and allowed someone to utterly break me before I’d actually GET help. That, I’m ashamed of. I’m smarter than that, and I should have got on it immediately, not waited over a decade.
I will say this… Stop saying “Working Through It” when it comes to suicidal tendencies and other self-destructive issues. There is no “Working Through It” there’s only analysis of the causes, understanding where they come from, and doing what is necessary to make whatever life choices you have to make in order to live your life. You and your Wife went through something truly life changing, and you both need to accept that it both happened, and that things need to change. But you also have to acknowledge that it will never erase it from ever happening. Not to get too mushy here, but no matter what happens, or what is revealed about your Wife in the analysis phase, you need to be Man enough to still LOVE HER, whatever she needs. Let her dictate the terms of the change, and be willing to sacrifice a little of yourself to show your support. I’m not saying it’s your fault or responsibility, I’m saying you’re her spouse, and having a safe anchor point for support is important for EVERYONE who is going through Mental Health issues.
I don’t want to get too graphic, but if it turns out she needs to do a little… experimenting… with the orientation of your marriage… in order to heal? Then you need to be honest, take a deep breath, and let her make the change. If she desperately wants to go to Italy, or Jamaica, or Tahiti, just to unwind? Find a way to enable that dream. Even if none of this is what she needs, my point is, you have to show her you’re willing to make the changes she needs for her health. And, for your OWN health, don’t be afraid to show concern, or express that you aren’t comfortable with a specific change. You have to try your best, but not at the cost of your own mental health. You’re married, so, work it out as a team.
I have cousins in my generation on my Mother’s side, with various ranges of psychological disorders. I learned very young that being in our family came with certain risks in our genes. As such, being a Nerd as I am, I went to a Library and read some PHD level psychology and Profiling texts. Just to keep up an interest in understanding what is going on with people in these kinds of distress. So, I’ve already started all this mental health journeying with a deep set, long standing, interest in the topic and the many forms of what used to be deemed “Abnormal Psychology” of all sorts. I’m like that with a lot of things. If I’m even remotely interested, I read EVERYTHING, enough that I could get a Doctorate level degree in it if I wanted. And that’s just out of curiosity.
Irony of Ironies… I never diagnosed MY OWN issues. And on THAT, I find some humour in it all. I know so much about what I’m going through, and yet missed it when I looked in the mirror. You have to find some laughter in all the tragedy, in order to accept it and get by.
firefly
At one point in my life I was suicidal. Fortunately I was able to brought myself out of it completely and forever.
Music is a great way to boost morale. Think of a roofing crew on their break, I have heard roofing crew singing their way through the job to beat the Texas heat :).
JoeM
It’s not as uncommon as you might think, the singing. I have a couple Non-Biological Brothers who went into Construction, and joined two different unions. They both ended up on the same government contract, building a new stretch of the 400 series Ontario Highway. Older Brother turns and sees the Younger one, they looked at their crane operator for the day, who had been working with the older one off-and-on for about 2 years all over the place. Five minutes into the job, they broke into Bon Jovi – Wanted Dead or Alive. Crane operator was using the Walkie as a mic, and during the choruses, you could hear everyone from the various foremen, to the excavator and earth mover drivers singing along, all stretched out over about a 5KM long stretch of highway. Luckily they only did it once, or everyone would have been in trouble from the executives and such for wasting time.
Music is pretty universal for mental health, and I still listen just to analyze it. I’ve actually used my computer to DJ-Style mix back and forth between Beethoven’s Requiem Mass, and Queen’s I Want It All, just to discover for myself that the reason it worked is because of several keys they share, and elements they share with quite a few compositions we would label “Epic” in nature and impact.
If I may say so, firefly, I once shared that self-destructive urge during the 2014 event that broke me, as well as a few extremely brief instances during my youth and teen years (only a few moments at a time when I was young, the 2014 incident was a breakdown greater in severity many magnitudes in size larger than the brief glimpses into dark places from my younger years.) and I am very glad you have recovered. Your posts here on ToolGuyd have often been extremely helpful to me, and I’m sure others as well. It would not be the same without you, and I hope you stay healthy for many years to come.
Joe
Way too personal
JoeM
Not really. All the details are left out. Just acknowledging these things as milestones that, at least personally, changed my listening habits. The fact that it gave others an excuse to not feel shame about their own mental illness struggles is just a bonus.
Half of the fight we have with our own mental illness is caused by the perception that others will push you away if they knew you had it. That this became a tiny part, of a little conversation, where that was a pressure that we DIDN’T have is healthy and helpful to us getting better. And, as we see along the thread elsewhere, it hasn’t stopped other groups of like-minded individuals from sharing and suggesting things eachother would enjoy. Orchestral versions of Pink Floyd is a little further down, and various types of speakers and other systems are both higher up, and lower down. We all have our little milestones that dictate how and what we listen to while we are in our shops. It’s merely one other avenue that this was where we acknowledged that some of us are having to deal with mental illness while we work. And frankly, it’s only so much longer because these issues don’t have model numbers, they’re experiences that take sentences to write down, rather than a string of letters and numbers. It’s no different, or more personal, than people’s favourite Amp, or Band, or whatever. Mental Illness is very common, and it is important to acknowledge it that way. That it makes people no less welcome in a place than their preferences in music, or tools, or whatever else. It should be treated like it’s common, and doesn’t change how a person with it is perceived. That we’re talking about it so mundanely is probably the best way we all could handle it, for both those of us going through it, as well as all the rest of the posters who talk to us regularly.
Your Mind is every bit a tool you use to do what you do as any other tool you have. Keeping your MIND healthy is no different than cleaning your tools after using them. It’s maintenance, like any other tool related task that goes with what you do.
glenn
JoeM… I too, at near 60yo suffer from similar issues, but overshare comes to mind. Being open about it is all good…. but this blog is probably not the best place. To Joe, your comment does not help or contribute in any way at all. The guy is being open about a way more prevalent issue than you may think. Some compassion would be more useful mate.
JAYoung
The one piece of advice I retained from reading “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” 40 years ago was that a shop radio blaring was a sign of a distracted mechanic and was to be avoided.
It’s a rare craftsman who works in silence on the problem at hand, using only the audible signals his tools generate, but they’re the best at analysing and safely accomplishing the task.
Me? I play a $5 boom box I got at a yard sale.
clayton
NPR and local community music station on my Milwaukee radio.
Tom
Same here! I use my M12 radio all the time.
I had a M12 Bluetooth speaker I won. It was used around the house for audiobooks until it died.
Kurt
I have an old iPod with a dock, routed through a speaker bar in my shop. I prefer music when I’m working, but podcasts when I’m driving.
ktash
I’ve never listened to anything while in my workshop. It’s too distracting. However, I may start using some earmuff hearing 3M protector headphones for when I sand. It’s just that there are so many things to get out to sand, different grits of sandpaper, nonslip pad, power and several hand sanders, tack cloths, work pieces and probably more. By that time, I just forget the earmuff hearing protectors because the batteries are not in the workshop ;). I’ll probably remember next time.
All the stuff I listen to the radio on are ancient technology. I like to listen to audiobooks when I drive and do that all the time. Podcasts are ok, but I like novels more. Makes driving long distances much more fun.
James Davis
On my M12 Bluetooth speaker. Pure electronic music. You can set/hang that little devil in a corner and have at it! I find the lack of lyrics or explicit meaning to be a driving force that helps with focus.
Pete
I enjoy symphony covers of popular music. No words just a full majestic symphony that i imagine is being played as i create a beautiful “something”.
Adam
Same hear. Though I enjoy the more rock like interpretations. I really love the LSO covers. (London symphony orchestra). Pink Floyd done by an orchestra is amazing.
Adam
I was selling an older Yamaha sound bar, one with some actual weight to it. While demoing for buyers I decided to keep it for the garage. Very simplistic all-in-one unit, aside from providing the audio source, usually my phone.
ktash
I’ll have to try to find Pink Floyd done by an ochestra. Sounds great!
Lukas
Milwaukee M18 jobsite speaker. I keep it plugged in in the garage though.
CG
I build high-end speakers. They often end up being “tested” for extended periods in the wood shop aka garage.
Ben
How about a Sonos + Alexa. Great options for content, plus voice control…
Wayne R.
I sure enjoy Sonos everywhere. But I can’t/don’t want to get into having an AI-backed internet-connected, always-on mic listening to everything.
That just seems like asking for trouble.
Pete
I usually use wireless earphones. I like that i can knock out a earbud to hear something, not to mention there is some hearing protection. Of course im not gonna use it as ear pro if i actually need ear pro. I dont really like using headphones cause they make my ears sweat(+110 days) and they pinch my head(big head).
I like listening to music and podcasts. All types of music and all types of podcasts- the survival podcast, gunfighter cast, proarms, armchair expert, nra tv, waking up, psych central, art of manliness.
RKA
Garage – Sonos amp and BA outdoor speakers. It doesn’t sound as good as I had hoped.
Shop – NAD amp, Sonos streaming box and Dynaudio bookshelf speakers (and maybe a sub when I replace the one in the family room). This rivals what I have in the house – I love it.
Wayne R.
Had a Playbar with the TV for a while before adding the Sub. Wow, that thing’s great for music & even better for the shows where they take advantage of it.
Corey
When I’m working in the shop, I normally throw on Pandora, which runs almost constantly in the background of my life. I find silence while working to actually be distracting; having music on in the background occupies the parts of my mind that want to fly off on tangents.
When there’s something I want to work on creatively, I often pull out a CD I got in high school. It’s called The Great Fantasy Adventure Album by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops. It’s got orchestral covers of themes from Conan, Henry V, Hunt For The Red October, Jurassic Park and others. It was designed to show off surround sound back when it was new. But I have found very few jobs that aren’t improved by blasting The Anvil Of Crom when it’s time to get started.
Bertil
Triple J for days, with occasional YouTube/Spotify lineups. Sometimes through my phone, sometimes I run a cable from the amp to a speaker to get the extra volume.
Starting to form an idea of DIYing my own bluetooth & DAB+ radio that runs off dewalt batteries. Shouldn’t be too hard to integrate a charger into it either.
glenn
In my garage I have a Yamaha Bluetooth clock radio with a dvd player hooked up to it for cds and just recently bought a Sonos Play 1. The Sonos gets used about 95% of the time now.
In the past I have always had a TV in the garage as well but haven’t got around to putting one in my current one yet.
glenn
Should have also said that whatever I am playing in the garage is at very low volume. More just background noise rather than a distraction. Too many ways too injure yourself when working with power tools.
Steven
Have an m18 radio(broken antenna) usb aux in via a dewalt Bluetooth receiver and just internet radio to local stations or whatever from my phone. This way if i get text from wife I can hear it.
Justin
I have a Bosch jobsite radio. Not only is it a surprisingly good sounding radio (with bluetooth), but it will also charge batteries and acts as a 4 way power distribution. For content, I just stick with plain old FM radio. Something for background noise.
The yeti
Got the blue tooth bosch power boss a few years ago. Its not loud enough. Other than that no complaints. The Milwaukee one my brother has is much louder.
Thom
I listen to Pandora and Audible on my Makita Bluetooth speaker
G Green
Listen to my 1000+ CD collection on an iPod mated to a Altec Lansing dock.
Adam g
Tough system radio, this thing has great sound and bluetooth range.
S cotty
I bought a small Sony boom box at a thrift store for the garage. $4 radio has kept me entertained for the last 20 years ?
Andy Ringsmuth
I’ve got an old Sony receiver up on a shelf and a couple bookshelf speakers in the corners. Have had all of them for probably close to 20 years.
They’re plugged into an older laptop with a broken screen that’s hooked up to an even older LCD monitor on the wall, coupled with a grimy mouse & keyboard.
That way, I can listen to whatever I want, usually music from my iTunes library or some streaming audio stations I like. And, if I need to look up something while I’m working, I can do that without getting my phone or regular computer all dirty.
Diamond Dave
I bought an “ION Block Rocker” about 6-7 years ago when they first came out. Because it has (2) microphone inputs it was perfect taking to vendor shows when I was in that industry. It cranks out great volume and nice clarity and runs on a Sealed Wet Acid type of battery about the size of Motorcycle. In the last 7 years I have only had to replace the Battery once and they are around $20. It has rollers and a telescoping handle so I can easily move it outside on the patio or wherever. Since it was the first model the company put out it doesn’t have bluetooth and also has the older Apple connnection which works great with my older ipod. It also has rca inputs so you could hookup any type of sound accessory if wanted! Love this unit and it sounds better than the newer ones IMO because many times as a product continues to be produced the manufacturer figures out how to save $$$ on production costs including lower lever speakers. Cheaper components etc.
RC Ward
I have a Sony receiver with 5 outdoor speakers , left ,right , front and rear and center and a cheap subwoofer from Best Buy, then I have a Echo Dot to stream music, works great. All for less than 350 bucks
FM2176
When I still lived in my house, it was an old surround sound system, connected to a TV which I’d run cable to. I’d turn on a game or race and listen while I worked. Those were the relatively primitive days…
More recently, I’d gotten two DeWalt Bluetooth speakers and three ToughSystem radios. I envision keeping one of each in the shop, a radio in the house, and one of each with various tool boxes so I can stream SiriusXM wherever I’m at. My preferred channels o that are Faction (which I’ve lost radio access to since they switched channel numbers a while back), which plays mostly punk; Liquid Metal, a metal channel; and Faction Talk, which branched off of Faction before the change. I’ve gotten to the point where I can’t tolerate FM and would rather listen to AM talk radio than any FM music station, so SiriusXM is well worth the cost.
Chris
I have a small ihome dock that I bought when I bought my first iPod Touch, back in 2009 or so. the dock is usless to me since my phone doesn’t use that charger so I just put it on the pegboard and listen to it when I’m down there.
I have a Dewalt Bluetooth speaker, but it’s only that, a speaker. It doesn’t have the radio.
Jonathan
@Stuart if you liked the Creative 2.1 setup and size (I assume that it had the typical cubed subwoofer that house a 3-4″ sub) that were targeted for desktop setups.
I’ve tried a variety of BT/wired solutions both fixed and portable. Best Buy had the Insignia NS-PSB4521 a BT/3.5mm 2.1 as a special for $29.99 on its Deal of the day (like HD).
One of my biggest issues with a majority of BT speakers I’ve run into is the “Power savings” mode turns them all the way off (instead of LE sleep that allows re-pairing and power-up) or if you pause the playback for 3-5 min they power down and you have to turn them on again.
I bought two for the price. I use the other unit in the bedroom with Roku/TV setup.
Mainly because of hearing loss from OPE in 80s without hearing protection. As well as from percussive damage and a side gig working stage and setups one summer after HS. I digress, so it can be hard to hear dialog on Flatscreen TVs without disturbing DW or the rest of the house.
The Insignia ns-PSB4521 one satellite controls Volume and Bass/ Treble via knobs. I put the SubCube under the bed and a Satellite on each nightstand for Stero. In the shop the it provides great bass and ample volume without disturbing neighbors ( but DW does ask me to turn it down sometimes). You can’t dual pair with BT 5.0 unless it is a speaker with similar latency (I think this unit is BT 2.0/ 3.0) it’s not an issue with video playback.
BB replaced this model with a similar one that goes on sale from time to time for around $30 but you can still find the Insignia ns-PSB4521 online. Unsure if the newer model is just a makeover with same internals.
That said I will share what I have or had or eliminated. As I work in our landscape or in the garden or wrench on the rig as much time as I spend in my shop.
I was using an circa 2000 Sony bookshelf component setup that had CD/MD with a powered sub (but in sleep mode it was using 75W) for my shop sound.
I listen to everything from classical to Metalcore (except country) for music, I listen to Audible books mainly educational or business related when doing auto-pilot jobs, I used to listen to talk radio – but I found it just spun me up and left me unhappy.
I like BT around the neck earbuds for hands free and music when on the road or buying stuff at a Box store, just pull an earbud, I dual pair with my vehicles when driving.
For hearing protection and listening I really like the 3M Worktunes connect, average sound quality, even better with Samsungs Adpat Sound and its customized EQ for each ear and adjust for band and any hearing loss in each ear, ( it was like listening to music when I was a youth again).
Tried a variety of portable speakers off Amazon:
Taotronics Pulse X (great bass, great volume, weak mids highs)
Anker Soundcore 1(charge while playback, great playback time, LE sleep -instant on, fast pairing, weaker lows and ok volume).
Milwaukie M12 -in pic above (E-rebate promo -if I paid for it I would have returned it, was planning to keep for its USB for charging). Gave to a buddy with M12 at home/work.
Ryobi Score wireless w/SKAA -didn’t buy after learning playback signal was only Mono. Was impressed tested in store with TTi rep worked line of sight almost 300′ (est).
Finally settled on a pair of UE Wonderbooms for $99 at Costco, waterproof & float and playback for lap swimming -lol. Awesome sound, decent battery, easy pairing and SKAA like pairing/playback. Media only, no hands free. You can pair to a second unit for perceived boosted volume, or play back in another room. Daughtets each have one, and with BT 5.0 you can pair four Wonderbooms. Con: powerdown after about 5 minutes paused, but you can charge during playback. BTW UE is owned by Creative.
Went through about 5 pairs of LG tones since 2012 -13, several copycats. MPOW Jaws etc.
Real happy with Anker SoundBuds Lite Bluetooth Headphones – held up well can catch them on sale at Amazon for about $25, Sweatproof (what killed 1-2 pairs of LG tones) great battery life, great sound, great warranty service had an earbud die sent a replacement free. Earbuds wiring is molded/cast into the headset, LGs are not and can be opened and solder back and it’s a common fail point as no stress relief points for earbud wires. (LGs are innovative and vibrate, more options.
Returned a pair of wireless BT earbuds (poor battery life, inconvenient to remove insert or store, and easy to loose and bigger hassle to charge.
BT knit cap, pretty could for a few hours in the cold and being able to talk and hear your surroundings, so-so sound quality and battery life.
A bit long but I normally have to have music or TV or something playing on background to block out distractions.
Stuart
I did, especially compared to the Logitech 2.1’s I bought later for a different system.
But compared to the new bookshelf speakers, they sound muffled and muddy with overcompensating bass. I need something in between, or better – bookshelf speakers that I can connect a small sub to.
Koko The Talking Ape
If you want another suggestion, the Mackie CR4BT speakers are well-reviewed. 3-inch “woofers,” so they need a sub if you want any bass at all, but supposedly the mids and highs are well-reproduced. $100.
Tool Of The Trade
I’ve never been much of a job site radio person. I’ve always thought that if you want to listen to music, bring earbuds and never bring your radio inside a customer’s home because it’s unprofessional and rude. Especially if the home owner is trying to speak to you and you have to turn your radio down to listen to them or if your working with someone and you can’t hear them without yelling. Very unprofessional. Also if I’m working in a bad part of town, it helps to keep my ears peeled and hear what I can’t see. I understand that it might make the time go by, but it damn sure doesn’t help when something goes wrong because you couldn’t hear someone cuz the radio was loud. I’ve had it happen more than once.
Steve
The Sonos Play:1 is awesome as some have mentioned. If doing loud work where I wouldn’t otherwise be aboe to hear, I use Senso Bluetooth headphones which are a direct copy of the Beats headphones and are way cheaper. I mostly listen to podcasts these days, there’s just tons of great content out there.
Luke
AirPods + The Adventure Zone podcast
Rx9
I got an m12 speaker for use when noise isn’t unwelcome or when I am not using a loud tool. Sony Bluetooth headset for use mowing the lawn, etc. Podcasts are good to keep one company at a tedious task. Minimal techno or classical when I have to think something out. Metal when I need something to raise my spirits… there’s nothing like wailing on a crossmember to the sound of Amon Amarth.
firefly
Typically I don’t listen to anything while I work. When I do it’s usually whatever on my smart phone or tablet.
Jeremy
I think listening to music really depends on the job at hand. Working on an engine? Silence please. Otherwise how are you going to hear where the @#$#$ing bolt you just dropped went. Grinding, running a router buffing etc, I wear SE215 bluetooth headphones that clip to your collar behind your ears(no cord to get caught). Audiobooks for fun or educational podcasts or music. Music for grinding and buffing especially, helps stay energized and focused after the 10th hour… I used to have a speaker, but realized it made me more likely to skip the earplugs, and I don’t want to go deaf. 0
J. Gramm
I always have a tiny bluetooth mono earpiece under my earmuffs and that is how I listen to 35h of podcasts per week. Google s530 bluetooth earpiece, dirt cheap, super tiny and works excellent with spoken word. I have about 5 of them.
Adam
I do the same with regular wired earbuds. If you run a podcast app like Pocket Casts, you can get a lot more than 35 h of content in your 35 h of listening–it has a “remove silence” feature, a “skip x seconds at the beginning of each episode on a per podcast basis” feature, and variable speed playback (a default value and/or per-podcast settings–so a slow-southern drawl host gets 2x, but I might use 1.2x for a fast talking NY/NJ speaker).
Per my stats, since 13 March 2015, I’ve listened for 209 days, 20 hours, and saved:
-9 days 1 hour by skipping forward 30sec (Tivo-like past commercials)
-88 days, 8 hours via variable speed
-13 days, 18 hours by removing slience
-1 day 2 hours by skipping intros
Darrick
In my shop I used the Sony xb40 blue tooth speaker set up.. Amazing sound quality and over 10hrs of music.. The speakers light up which always draws alot of attention
Joe
Two DeWalt tough system radios cranked up in the shop….same at work framing… gotta have tunes…no earbuds or headphones allowed at work,too dangerous……. Metallica,Disturbed,Stain,Three Doors Down,, Linkin Park..etc….
Doesn’t moisture ,dust in a shop or garage destroy conventional speakers?
JoeM
You’d think so, but some speakers are sealed well enough that just the simplest stock dust covers over the cones is enough to protect them from damage.
Not all speakers are like this, but many of the home theater speakers that are wood, with a plastic overlay of some sort, and a thin screen to cover the fronts, can often survive a common shop environment. If you work with a waterjet cutter, or sand blaster, or paint sprayer, chances are good you need to keep speakers far away. But just a normal assembly, carpentry, automotive, wood or metal shop? Lots of speakers are fine with the environment. But, with all things tool related, it really is about getting the right ones for the job.
glenn
JoeM… I too, at near 60yo suffer from similar issues, but overshare comes to mind. Being open about it is all good…. but this blog is probably not the best place. To Joe, your comment does not help or contribute in any way at all. The guy is being open about a way more prevalent issue than you may think. Some compassion would be more useful mate.
glenn
Oops, double post.
JoeM
Yeah, see, I didn’t share any really specific details. Just enough to note that it happened, and that “What I Listen To in the Shop” changed because of it.
Just so happens, like the other like-minded individuals talking about specific speakers, or specific music, I happen to not be the only one with mental health struggles that influence what we do listen to in the shop. And, since I feel no actual shame from my condition, it just naturally made all of us feel open about having our own struggles. With them being taken no more personally than the guys talking music. As it should be. Open and without stigma. Like it doesn’t take away from what we do in the shop, or how everyone sees us. That’s all.
As to Joe’s comment (which I admit makes me uncomfortable, but only because we’re sharing a common name that makes me have to concentrate a little harder on what I’m reading. A couple times I’ve seen him post on the site, and not remembered MYSELF posting it, only to squint a little and see it was him and not me.) it was a valid comment, and one that many mental health sufferers have to face at times. So, yeah, I might’ve overshared and made him uncomfortable, and I apologize for that. But, really, this is a real factor to the main question, as is the singing anecdotes that got thrown in. Often it does come down to doing something that makes you feel good, even if it risks embarrassing yourself, in order to move forward with your mental health treatment. Joe had a point, and I’m glad he made it. And I mean HIM, not me. The NOT ME Joe.
Adam
I just purchased the 2-pack of 3.0 batteries & chose the new Ryboi radio as my “free” tool. I wanted to try the vacuum, but it was sold out, along with the batteries after I bought the last set in the 8 stores the employee checked. For ~$45, I will probably retire my M12 radio if it gets better reception.
I would like to stick to the M12 size, but no BT or or USB charging. I have figured I could add a USB port my self. It would be the first time doing a modification like that w/o a tutorial, but it’s just a USB plug & it is already 12v.
Adam
Opened the Ryobi, used for less than 5min and reboxed. Sound quality in not good, especially for its size. Everything is slightly muffled it seems, bass/treble adjustment didn’t help. And I can say the reception was poorer than my little M12.
Hopefully HD will get some of the vacuums in, so I can swap for that
Nathan
wow – wished I had seen this one earlier. Good question.
I do audio as a hobby – always have – and am/was a musician. So I have what I will admit are finicky requirements. To be fair that covers nearly everything I do but I digress.
To that end – job site style speakers setups all sound like crap to me and are pointless. Other than run on tool battery set – still pointless. Now when on of them partners with a real audio company and they make something that takes up the necessary space I might pay attention.
So to that end – in the garage I have a 2 channel amp that I got at a garage sale and it runs 2 JBL speakers I repaired also from garage sale. THe speakers are on shelves I put up and in to the corners of my 24 x 29 ft garage wires run to amp which has a remote trigger but is also mounted up higher (out of the way more than anything). Player device – headphone jack-rca cables down to workbench corner where I keep my phone. But I could plug anything to it. I’ve thought about moving to BT but my mobile still has a jack. and it sounds awesome for what it does – LG V20.
spotify is awesome in general – and I play anything from Rock of the 70’s – 00’s to classical, to whatever. I think the only thing I actually avoid is hard rap. I do pause it when I run something heavy (table saw etc) and have hearing protection on.
Main reason I listen to music – it turns off the other part of my brain. I’ve done this since I was a kid doing homework. I was often more focused on task when I had tunes running.. Same now when I work on something – especially working on a car – it’s a big help there.
MT_Noob
“speakers that are too large for my space. ”
No such thing.
Just kidding. Recently I started playing around with google’s audio streaming device. I like it since it allows me to hook it up to any old device that has “audio in” and that is connected to an older set of speakers. Plus you can group devices so I can steam the same stuff to the basement and garage at the same time. I like being able to go from one place to another seamlessly. Best of all it runs on wifi instead of bluetooth so it is far more reliable than any bluetooth speaker I have tried so far.
Tom
My music taste runs pretty eclectic. If the quality of the sound is that important, I’ll sit in my living room and listen to my music system. When I’m in my shop, I don’t care what it sounds like. I have a $15 Bluetooth speaker I use via my iPhone. I like using earbuds on when I’m working in the yard with a blower or Weedwhacker etc. Put the buds on and put a set of earmuffs over those.
I’m of the opinion that if a neighbor can tell what I’m listening to, then it’s too loud
Nathan
I agree to that – in the garage while fairly loud – it can’t be heard in the house unless against the garage door.
and It can’t be hear across the street.
bob
Listen to talk radio on a cheap Panasonic AM/FM. No head set of any kind, stations I like are very weak… may have to go move an extra computer in so I can get stations clear.
Brett
I got a $10 wave radio clone at a thrift shop. It doesn’t sound *good* but it sounds all right and is loud enough to be clearly audible through and just outside the garage.
What I listen to is podcasts or the local classic rock type radio station. I don’t ordinarily prefer that sort of music but it just feels right in a shop. Podcasts are great but sometimes I have trouble thinking/planning and also processing podcast content.
I also want to mention I bought some hearing protection made for shooting/hunting some time ago that have audio transparency with a fast cutout at 8x dB and they’re surprisingly good. Keep the radio on in the background and just have the hearing protection on the whole time. It cuts out when the tools get loud.
Ryan Baiad
I just use my Ridgid jobsite radio when I’m in the shop. It’s paired to my phone and it’s easy to grab and go when I want to use it elsewhere. I had a Ryobi Bluetooth speaker and radio that came with a set of tools I purchased, but it didn’t get very loud and you couldn’t plug it into AC power so that’s why I bought the Ridgid. I still use the Ryobi speaker in the house, especially when I wake up in the morning and getting ready for the day.
maxwasatch
I use either my tablet to watch Netflix or an old AM/FM radio that was my gramps’ garage radio. Not sure how old it is, but I am guessing it is probably from the 50s or 60s.
Eventually I may get a Roku TV out there to replace the tablet, but I need to clean a lot of stuff out before I will have somewhere to put it.
Robert Pennington
Use the big and wonderful Dewalt DCR025 radio. Bluetooth it to my phone and Smartwatch so I can pause, turn up volume, change songs from my wrist. It gets super loud without sounding fuzzy like my old Dewalt DCR018 and it will last more than 4 hours on a 1.3 ah, which is pretty impressive.