Having a bit of a move around in the garage to try and make a bit more space and i was thinking of replacing the current sound system, a Sharp midi system (twin cassette decks, 5 band graphic equaliser and linear tracking tonearm for playing both sides of a record) connected to a Creative Zen with something that doesn’t take up a whole shelf! I was thinking of maybe some smallish active speakers, possibly with inbuilt wifi (although i could just stick a chromecast in the back) that i could mount on the wall. Trouble is my only experience of active speakers are the ones that used to get given away with PCs so i was wondering if anyone was using something a bit more modern or could suggest an alternative approach. As they’ll be going in the garage don’t want to spend much on them and they need to be fairly robust.

Nicest, most robust, most compact solution I’ve found to date is a Makita job site radio – available if a few different varieties some with DAB, some with Bluetooth, all have a mini jack in and usually USB too. They’re pricy but cheaper than everything similar that I’ve ended up throwing away.

Everthing prior to this has either been rubbish, a tangle of hassle, or perfect in every sense except that it just spontaneously stopped working.

An alternative if you just want self powered speakers is looking at DJ monitors rather than laptop speakers. They’re less portable but if you’re not moving them about then you get better sound from the bulkier form factor

Think yourself lucky. The stereo in my garage was there when i moved in and only the tape player works. The trouble is it wont open and the tape in there is a busted album. The worst part is I still put it on and know all the words and find myself singing along.
I will be getting a sonos play 1 at some point to replace it.

I just got a DAB radio with bluetooth from john lewis. Sits on a shelf out of harms way, its black so doesn’t get oily marks on it, not that I can see anyway 🙂

Makita job site radio

We’ve got one that we bought for site while building the house. Yes, it’s tough, and the battery life with 18V batteries is great but I think the sound is tuned for outdoors. When used inside it’s excessively bass heavy and I find it really tiring to listen to. If you’re using the line in the port is right on the front at the bottom and not really protected.

There are eBay bargains to be had for second hand hifi (I’m guessing people switching to Sonos) but be careful of second hand shops/pawn shops selling battered stuff. Look for private sellers.
I picked up a Teac A-H300 amp and DAB tuner for a bargain price for the office (every now and again someone lists one as an auction and they go for much less that the optimistic buy it now prices) and a little Yamaha CD-DAB receiver for about £40 for the workshop.

If you don’t want radio something like a UE boom bluetooth speaker might be useful elsewhere in the house as well.

Other end of the cost spectrum for my approach, not necessarily the best, but works for me:

Ebay speakers local pickup – £10
Ebay digital amplifier board (TPA3116) – £5
and suitable power supply (old one from a modem) – free / £5 if bought
speaker cable – free / £5 if needed
audio jack for phone/mp3/chromecast – free / £15

It’s in a garage that will be dusty and not moisture free, so I want it to be cheap and replaceable. However it does meet all of my functional needs – music played loud and spotify or BBC radio through iplayer etc.

I’ve got some Logitech laptop speakers with a subwoofer in my shed, the misses texts me to turn it down from the house about 100ft away. Not great if you are moving around though.