Barn/shop sound system. Wireless speakers? What works and what doesn't

[Dadnatron]

I will be putting in a 'sound system' in a couple barns over the next few years.

What have you found that works and doesn't?

What is worth the money and worth the time?

What I would really like would be a few wireless speakers mounted around the barn, hooked up to a system which runs off the internet and maybe a regular old radio. I'd like to be able to flip on my phone, punch up iTunes, and begin hearing it in the barn. I'd like all control to be via my phone, if possible. (I know that might limit the radio aspect, so the radio is secondary.) I will be adding cameras for horse stalls and internet for the office.

But what I need right now are thoughts on this system both now, ie I'd like to get speakers and hang them up soon, with the ability to add all the other gear down the road.

What have you found that will work in a dusty hay and horse type environment?

I'm hoping to put in something that will have some longevity. Nothing cheap for the moment, but I do want to get what I'm paying for...

 

[rustyshakelford]

We use a Harmon kardan onxy 2 I think it is. It's just a Bluetooth speaker. Smaller size but sounds good and has some bump

Brett

 

[sw99]

I just bring out the bluetooth sound bar and it works pretty good. I also have an old Denon tuner and some speakers for the regular radio.

 

[ssandersjr]

I have Amazon.com: Miccus Home RTX - LONG RANGE Bluetooth Transmitter or Receiver 2-in-1. Perfect for adding wireless audio into your home, Use with Speakers, Stereos, TV, Phone, iPad, Laptop and more - 3.5mm/RCA: Electronics connecting to an old receiver, which then allows you to connect Bluetooth devices. I have both wired and Bluetooth speakers. Then connect phone or laptop over Bluetooth to access audio library

 

[tractorroadie]

If you use an iPhone, my favorite solution is the old apple express routers using airplay. You can purchase them rather inexpensively on eBay and they offer a ⅛" audio output (headphone jack) on them that you can use to get audio signal output.

I have used the apple express effectively as a wireless router, especially in a low traffic area such as my barn. Since you mentioned internet in the barn, by getting your ISP into the express, you can now connect to the internet for streaming audio or music. By connecting to the wireless network created by apple express on your phone, it gives you the airplay option to stream to your apple express.

From there, the least expensive option is to find a old receiver amplifier that has a radio tuner in it. You can plug an ⅛" to RCA cable from apple express into receiver. By selecting the input you have apple express plugged into you can access any audio output from your phone. You can also tune in FM.

Speakers are all preference and budget. If you want high end, you'll pay for it. If you want background music, I would use the old speakers that probably came with the old receiver. Anything will work and multiple options could be fine. The environment will deteriorate them all. Specialized speakers may last longer, but budget will also increase. Mount them where you prefer. Higher and from opposite ends for good coverage. Lower and from same end if you care about stereo imaging and referencing. I prefer the higher option as you get good coverage everywhere at lower volumes. Since the speaker runs will most likely be rather long, use larger wire for better performance. At least 14 gauge and preferably higher to 12 or 10. While not necessary, it will translate to better audio over all.

This can seem extensive, but will always be there and easy to access from your pocket. My favorite perk, is without waking up my phone, I can use volume buttons to change volume when someone comes in I can turn it down easily.

The other option is there are quite a few Bluetooth rigs that have tuners built in. Downside is using cellular data to stream, and it seems to break up as you move outside its 30' useable zone. Option is to leave phone by speaker, but it's all preference.

 

[Dadnatron]

I知 bringing this up again, 3 years later as I have built the barn and want your thoughts with options of 2020.

10 stall horse barn. Has an office and tack room.

This is mostly for my wife as she listens to 然EAL radio while she works in the barn. She is almost tech illiterate. She has an iPhone and will likely play through it, although I could put a AM/FM receiver in the barn and I致e thought of doing that for her. But I壇 rather not run cables all over the barn if not necessary. I can without a lot of problem, and that might be what t I end up doing. But I thought wireless would be easiest.

I have electricity all over the place so splicing in for electric wouldn稚 be an issue. We will also have internet, although not great, I think they predict about 50mb. I知 going to be putting in a camera system.

How would you go about it?

 

[Carl_NH]

I would look at Dayton Audio Dayton Audio AERO Wi-Fi Bluetooth Speaker with IR Remote Control Black - they have many low cost WIFI options.

Or if you are looking for a more whole barn/house/av system Sonos is great but pricey. We did a combination of Dayton Audio outdoor speakers with Sonos amps/speakers in the house and Dayton outdoor speakers along with the Boost system to control the AV and all the devices.

 

[tomplum]

Really a portable blue tooth speaker and a Pandora account on your phone is all you need to listen to music. Simple. What you want to listen to, where you want it at the volume you want.

 

[GSVette]

I’m using a couple of inexpensive Bluetooth speakers and streaming Sirius through my iPhone at the moment. It is adequate. Eventually I plan to get my Klipschhorns out of the basement and up in the trusses. I’ll hookup my old stereo equipment and go back to playing CDs or stream from my iPhone.

 

[jwstewar]

We stuck an Amazon Echo Dot in our milk room with a set of 1/8" computer speakers - could also have done bluetooth, but bang for the buck got more power from these speakers with 1/8" jack. Plan on doing the same in the garage in the next couple of weeks. I'll let you know if I end up with the same setup for speakers.