New Shop Tuneage

Vaughn McMillan

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The old JVC boombox I had in the shop died a couple nights ago, so it was time to get a replacement. (Gotta have the tunes in the shop.) The JVC was a good unit. It had a built-in subwoofer so it had great bass response. I needed something that would fit into a fairly limited space, but that had enough power to be heard over shop noises. I did some quick research on small stereo systems, and man, the market sure has changed in the last 15 years since I bought the JVC. There aren't a lot of decent small stereos at an affordable price. There are "micro hi-fi" systems that sound like a Corn Flakes box with a 2" speaker, and they have the volume of a cell phone. Then there are "mini hi-fi" systems, some of which are decent but out of my price range, and others that aren't worth the plastic they're molded out of.

I ended up with this one.

Sony%20MHC%20EC55.jpg


It sounds pretty decent, and has more than enough power to overcome the shop noises. The bass response isn't quite on par with the JVC, but anything that was comparable was too big and/or too expensive this time around. The metal grilles on the speakers are preferable to fabric, and hopefully the slide-out CD changer will be less prone to dust problems than the top-loading JVC was. It has an Auxiliary input (something the JVC didn't have), so I can add an MP3 player in the future if I want. For now, it'll get my portable XM radio. Also, the CD player can handle MP3s, which is another thing the JVC couldn't do.

All is right again in my world.
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tunes make for a enjoyable day in the shop for sure and they work well when friends come over that are thirsty too:D:thumb: i dont know how much dust you have floating around vaughn but in my case i have the puter in a office area and the door is partially closed , or closed during major dust creation,, and i have still got major dust in the cd R/W in it..really fine stuff.. si dont think other than plastic bag over it youer gonna stop your dust problem
 
Nice unit for less than $100..... just less :D

I use the amp from an old Sony bookcase unit, hooked into 4 big speakers that I rescued from the garbage here. For tunes I use an old Dell Inspiron 2500 (circa 2001) as my LARGE iPod :D

Works good so far,but for $100, I think you got a sweet deal! :thumb:
 
I considered just putting some of my old components together, but really didn't want to expose them to all the dust. (Plus, they don't have a remote.) :p) I could cobble together a pretty decent Kenwood/Bose/JVC system that I'm sure the neighbors could hear. :D
 
I considered just putting some of my old components together, but really didn't want to expose them to all the dust. (Plus, they don't have a remote.) :p) I could cobble together a pretty decent Kenwood/Bose/JVC system that I'm sure the neighbors could hear. :D
I like the remote. :D

I semi-retired my 39 year old Panasonic receiver recently and moved in the small Panasonic shelf system I purchased for my office a few years ago (no office, no need for office stereo :() primarily for the remote and the ability to play CD's. I have 4-8" speakers on the ceiling of the shop so I can keep the volume down but still hear anywhere I stand.

The 39 YO is still working fine. Still looking for a place to use it.:huh:
 
I like the remote. :D

I have 4-8" speakers on the ceiling of the shop so I can keep the volume down but still hear anywhere I stand.


Dang now that is a good idea. And i could have included them at the time of the original build. Rennie you should send that in to "Shop tips" on all the magazines. Whilst it is sensible idea it does not appear in any of the books or magazines that i have looked at for ideas on kitting out a shop.

Funny how this subject came up, i am using a JVC as well Vaughn but mine plays cds on an intermittent basis. So at present I leave it on the radio and hooked up a old mp3 of my sons to the aux input for my music.

During the time last year when Brent was on about cutting the clutter and scanning his mags i ripped all my cd collection over the coarse of a day. Makes life a lot easier nowadays with the mp3.:)

Best of luck with the new sound box.:thumb:
 
I have one those vaughn, just not sure of the brand, but purchased it around a year ago.
I have it up high so the remote is a must, only problem is, I never take off my gloves when Im using poly or paint, the remote is having problems with sticky buttons now.
 
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