HiFi Garage: Setting Up Your System

"With all the man-cave, she-shed, and person-space things that have been written, many of us find refuge in our garage, whether working on four- or two-wheeled transportation, gardening, or maybe even brewing beer. Whatever your non-work pursuit, it's always easier to do it with music.” 

Choosing the Right Garage Speakers

Though you may not be able to place speakers in your garage system as you do in your home or listening room, there are always options, depending on what you have to work with. Pro tip: don't rule out a pair of in-wall speakers and/or subwoofers in your garage. Consider a great pair of bookshelf or mini monitors for garage duty unless you have a large garage with enough room for floor-standing speakers. 

If you put your speakers on a shelf, rack, or toolbox, put sealed enclosures or ported speakers with a front port as first choices because a rear-ported speaker will not deliver the best bass response when backed up close to the wall. Take a peek at the TMR listings; they will tell you what kind of speaker you are investigating. Images of speakers with the front panel removed will quickly tell you where the port (if any) is located.

If you can rock out in your garage without your neighbors complaining, a subwoofer will always add to the fun. We'll have a good selection for you in a future article. Make sure that whatever amplification source you use has subwoofer outputs to connect. If it doesn't, or you have a vintage receiver in the garage, all is not lost. Just make sure to find a subwoofer that offers speaker-level inputs so you can run the speaker outputs to the subwoofer and then off to your main speakers.

Here’s a few that I love for garage duty:

1. Dynaudio Evoke 30 Floorstanding Speakers

If you’ve got one of those cleaner, more “man cave” types of garages, go for a nice pair of floorstanders. These Dynaudio Evoke 30s will play loud enough to get you in trouble with the neighbors, and look great doing so.

2. KEF LS50 Meta Bookshelf Speakers

In case you don’t have room for a large pair of speakers, the KEF LS50 Metas are a great choice because they deliver a lot of sound quality with a minimum footprint. If you can’t even make space for an amplifier, the powered versions of these show up occasionally. Keep checking back at the TMR site.

3. Zu Audio DWX Superfly Bookshelf Speaker

The Zu Audio DWX Superfly bookshelf speaker is a great full-range garage speaker with a front port, so you can place these very close to the wall, up on a shelf. And they are very efficient, so a nice vintage 20 watt per channel receiver or tube amp is a perfect match. Be careful though - these are so much fun, you might just want a 2nd pair for in the house!

4. JL Audio e112 12" Powered Subwoofer

And don’t forget a sub. It’s rare if ever that you can put a subwoofer where it really needs to go for perfect sound and integration in a garage. JL Audio subwoofers are the perfect solution because they’ve got DSP room correction to level it out. Consider the E112, 12” model. Black ash should go with your decor (I’m pulling your leg - it’s a garage) and once you run the room correction software, you’ll be amazed at the results

Things to consider with your amplifier 

As with your home system, you can make this as simple or complicated as you'd like. Again, considering that garage space is usually limited, consider an integrated amplifier with built-in DAC and streaming. This will simplify getting high-quality music to your system while keeping the box and cable count to a minimum.

The same amount of choices apply to the garage as your in-house system. And how crazy you feel like getting is all up to you, your wallet, and how much time you spend in the garage. One other thing to consider is temperature extremes. If you live in a warmer climate, you may not want class A amplification, and if it’s really cold, you might not want tubes. But other than that, anything goes.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Linn Majik DSM/1 Streaming Integrated Amplifier

You can’t go wrong with the Linn Majik DSM/1. This is a perfect garage piece, it’s got a few nicks that might disqualify it for living room duty, but take the savings and run to the garage. The DSM/1 also features built-in room correction (which works incredibly well) to serve up great garage sound. It also features a built in DAC and streamer.

2. McIntosh MA5200 Stereo Integrated Amplifier

If you’ve got American Muscle (2 or 4 wheel) in your garage, you can’t go wrong with McIntosh. The MA5200 has an on-board DAC, 100 watts per channel, and of course, a pair of big, blue, power meters on the front panel. Want to see more McIntosh? Browse all the certified pre-owned McIntosh here.

3. PrimaLuna ProLogue Two Stereo Tube Integrated Amplifier

Want to go really old school in the garage? Nothing beats the glow of tubes to keep you company when you’re rocking out. The PrimaLuna ProLogue Two stereo amplifier features compact, yet robust packaging, and delivers fantastic sound. I’ve had my ProLogue One since it came out 20+ years ago with zero issues. This one’s a great value.

Streaming Options

Streaming in a second environment is a great way to go, and if space is minimal, consider one of the BluSound NODE components. Some have amplification built right in and only require linking up to your wireless network and plugging speakers in the back. Besides a pair of powered speakers with onboard DAC/streaming capability, this is a delightful way to roll without breaking the bank. 

NODE also offers models that merely stream, with a built-in DAC and line-level output. These are outstanding when integrated into a vintage system. Ask your TMR consultant for a suggestion on how to solve this issue to your liking.

If by some chance your neighborhood still has a great FM station, maybe even a vintage receiver to anchor your garage audio? Another option to consider is recycling an old laptop. As they age, laptops always lose their ability to hold a charge for the same amount of time as they did when new. Plugged into the wall in your garage—no problem! Rather than throwing out that old laptop, re-use it in your garage to use whatever streaming service you enjoy. You can go USB out straight into a DAC or use it wirelessly via your network or even Bluetooth to connect.

We're not going to talk about spinning vinyl here because the messy hands usually in a garage system don't go well with the delicate grooves of vinyl records. However, if your garage is merely a hangout space, maybe...

Check these out:

1. Auralic Aries G1 Music Server & Streamer; 4TB

Auralic components are well known for great sound, functionality, and physical robustness. This G1 Streamer has 4TG of internal storage to boot. A fantastic combination to never run out of music in your garage environment.

2. Cambridge Audio Evo 150 All-In-One Player

Here’s another streamer that also has an amplifier, the Cambridge Audio Evo 150. It’s compatible with all streaming products (and ROON ready!) and features a lovely, large, easy to read display on the front panel, so you can see what’s going on from across the room. Check out all of Cambridge Audio’s products here.

3. Marantz NA-11S1 Network Audio Player & DAC

This Marantz NA-11S1 network audio player is another way to save a few extra bucks, thanks to some minor scuffs. Again, perfect for garage duty, and you don’t have to feel guilty if it gets a few more. It’s a great DAC and network player. Thanks to network and wireless capability, it’s easy to get your music in, and with an optical input, you can even connect up that old CD player that’s been in your garage forever for even better sound.

Don’t Forget Cables

We can’t do it all without cables to connect it up, right? Having a garage system is the perfect justification for upgrading the cables in your main system—now you can move the old ones out to the garage!

Or, if that’s not the direction you want to take, TMR has a lot of great entry-level cables that make perfect sense in a garage system. If you can, keep the source components (if you have more than one) closer together and run longer speaker cables. Here’s a few of my suggestions:

1. Cardas Crosslink Interconnect Cables

Cardas Crosslink is what I use in my vintage and garage systems. It’s well made, sounds great, and the smaller RCA plugs that Cardas uses will fit into vintage components easily!

Want to learn more about Cardas cables? Read the full review on Cardas cables here.

2. Tributaries Series 4 3.5mm Stereo Aux Cable

Tributaries Series 4 cable is another great budget interconnect, and you can use these with 3.5mm stereo ends, in case you’re plugging in an older iPad or phone to use as a music source. Remember, in the garage system, it’s often about making things work to serve up some music!

If you are on a tight budget in the garage, or really need to run those speaker cables a long way, one of the best solutions is a long 12 gauge extension cord from Home Depot. For about $75, you can cut a 30 foot cord in half, cut off the plugs and you’re rocking. It’s fairly high density copper and doesn’t sound half bad. You won’t win a best sound at show award, but it gets the job done till you upgrade further.

3. Elac Sensible Speaker Wire

If you’ve got a few more bucks to spend, try the ELAC Sensible Speaker Wire. It starts at $99.98 a pair, and has bananas on both ends. Great sound, great quality, and a modest sized form factor, so easy to string around in the garage.

Parting thoughts

A garage or workshop system is a great way to repurpose some of your other audiophile treasures that you no longer use. This is the perfect place for extra cables and such. If you are building your garage system from scratch, an excellent way to save a few dollars is to move further toward the "scratch and dent" side of the spreadsheet.

Plenty of components on the secondary market sound fantastic (and remember, The Music Room gives everything a thorough checkup before it heads to you). Sometimes, things get treated a little rougher than we'd like, and not everyone is equally careful with their possessions. This is the perfect place to put an amp with a scratch or two on the front panel or a pair of speakers with cabinets that have seen better days. Best of all, these components are usually more heavily discounted. A plus for the bargain shopper.

You'll have just as much setting another system up, and when done, it will make time spent in the garage a lot more fun.

Written by Jeff Dorgay from Tone Audio Magazine.