An alternative to a boombox would be small, metal radioshack speakers, any ol' receiver or integrated amp and a portable cd player that has a line output, that he could move indoors when the weather was real cold. You could hang the speakers on a nail on the wall. I have this setup in my attic (old Advent Receiver) and it sounds better than a boombox. (better than Bose, too)
Cheap system for garage
A friend of mine asked me to recommend a system to place in his garage. The space is uninsulated and located in the New York metropolitan region. He will be listening to CD's while working in the garage. I thought that what really makes most sense is for him to get a $200 boombox rather than spend any kind of real money on components that may not tolerate temperature swings. Any other ideas? Can anyone recommend a decent boombox?