Outdoor Speakers

stretchl

I just saw the thread about the in-ceiling speakers and it made me wonder...

Does anyone have any thoughts on outdoor speakers?

Just thinking out loud... so to speak... I mean type.

steveinaz

I have a cheapy set out by the pool, under the overhang that I will replace with Polk's later this year. Love them (convenience wise), as I can just switch to the pool speakers and hear my patio system clearly. My patio sits perpendicular to the pool, so to hear the patio speakers, I had to crank the stereo to "neighbor unfriendly" levels---not good, so I put a dedicated set aimed at the pool.

I'm confident that Polk Atriums will be a HUGE leap over the dogs I've got out there now, but they work "ok."

here's the current speakers: http://www.outdoorspeakerdepot.com/aphidepaspp.html

stretchl

Thanks, Steve! Your scenario is *exactly* what I'm looking at - trying to get some decent sound outside around the pool but not piss off Old Miz Fuzzwart next door.

Call me crazy, but I'm wondering if there are speakers (speakers worth having) that I could put up in a couple/of trees to direct the sound down rather than horizontally and into the neighbors' yard.

steveinaz

Yep. My patio speakers (Energy C-3) shoot directly at my neighbor due to the position of our patio---which is fine when listening ON the patio as levels don't need to be really high; but when we're in the pool, it faces directly back, so we couldn't hardly hear the patio speakers, some 35ft away without cranking them. So I picked up the pair above (OSD AP640)---and really---they're fine for what they are, and for $89/pr they're a pretty good value, but they ARE a $89/pr set of speakers. At their price point, I can recommend them--but you do get typical "cheap" speaker over-done boomy bass, and the tweeters are a tad raspy when compared to the Energy's, which are $600/pr speakers---is really not a fair comparison.

Let's call the OSD's a "utilitarian" speaker that gets the job done--and worth the $89/pr price.

You can certainly place outdoor rated speakers almost anywhere you can get speaker wire to.

stretchl

These look really interesting -

http://www.polkaudio.com/products/atrium8sdi

$250 per speaker, but with the wiring option it would only take one.

Placed in the corner of the lot facing diagonally across the pool toward the house this might be just the ticket.

steveinaz

Polk's outdoor speakers are stellar, no problem there.

codyc1ark

I'm with Steve, even cheep ones can do a steller job outside. I picked up some Bose wave 100's on CL pretty cheep and they have no issues filling up my back yard with clean sound. I can say since I've added them I have spent a whole lot more time outside on the deck and poarch. Friends love changing the stations on my squeezebox app.

stretchl

codyc1ark wrote: »

Friends love changing the stations on my squeezebox app.

That's the ticket!

Estimated delivery for mine is Thursday, but given the weather here in Central IL and my schedule we'll have to wait until next spring to enjoy it outdoors.

vcwatkins

I was running a pair of Atrium 5 or 6 at the corners of the mid-level awning/porch and a pair of cheaper Yamahas down below, all pointing straight out to the ocean. They were spaced too widely and were lacking in bass, so I tended to play those at a level that probably bothered my neighbor when the wind was right.

So I bought another set of 6" Yamahas (Costco deal) and the Polk Atrium sub and split the speakers into three very small (~12'x12') zones - Atriums and sub for the covered porch area, new Yamahas for the uncovered porch rocking chairs, old Yamahas closer in for ping-pong below. This gives me much better sound at a more neighbor-friendly spl. It's pretty amazing how much better everything sounds with the sub running (and resonating through the deck structure), and the new Yamahas have excellent sound, going lower than the Atrium. I'm going to look at those green landscape speakers to go under the boardwalk for volleyball/cornhole/drankin after the sun goes down. We do get rowdy 2 or 3 times a year LOL.

Give the Polk sub a try! And, if you decide to forego the sub, take a look at the Yammies.

stretchl

I had to laugh when I saw the design of that Polk Sub.

No telling how they're going to disguise those things next!

vcwatkins

Mine is well hidden - completely out of sight. LOL I will say I really love sitting in the rocking chair now, controlling the Sonos-fed tunes with a phone. That would be cool from your pool if wireless reaches out there. The used Sonance 12x50watt multizone amp I bought here last year has been ideal and improved the sound quite a bit for not much money. Great value there.

I still want to set up access to a cloud drive at home. I'm completely incompetent with networking stuff and the WD cloud setup isn't the most intuitive, so I've just put it off. One thing I did for the (1-zone) porch at home was hardwire a Niles volume control outside near the tv. The expense of doing this probably exceeded the cost of a new SB Touch. If I did it all over again, I'd probably just get a separate Touch and control with the iphone app.

steveinaz

I've found the easiest route was to buy a very inexpensive used receiver, and put it out on the patio. The Yamaha I have out there now cost me like $25 bucks, and has been outside exclusively for over 6 years. Our patio is covered, and the reciever is on top of my Beer fridge. :cheesygrin: I bought a speaker switch so I could expand on speakers in different areas.

strider

I have Atrium 4's on my covered porch, running off an extra amp and being fed by Squeezebox Duet. Love it, nothing like drinking a beer, listening to my CD collection or browsing internet radio and watching a summer t-storm.

The newer Polk outdoor stuff is a step above, I like the design of the sub. On the other hand, last time I looked at Polk's Ebay store there were a lot of refurb Atriums on there...

steveinaz

I should buy me a second touch, and put it out on my patio....hmmmm. I currently have an old Toshiba DVD player doing movie/cd duty, XM delphi docked, and my directv box plugged into the receiver. I still have an aux input available.

strider

steveinaz wrote: »

I should buy me a second touch, and put it out on my patio....hmmmm. I currently have an old Toshiba DVD player doing movie/cd duty, XM delphi docked, and my directv box plugged into the receiver. I still have an aux input available.

If it's not in a "critical" listening environment and you have a 'Droid or I-phone, you'd be set if you grabbed a Duet receiver and downloaded their free remote control app. I think you could pick one up a bunch cheaper then a Touch.