Outdoor speakers

[Barony]

After doing a little remodeling last summer, we ran wiring from our entry way for outdoor speakers to be mounted on the side of the house facing our deck (hooked to a stereo in the house). Any suggestions as to brand? We entertain a lot during the summer, so decent quality speakers is pretty important.

[PerchJerker]

We have Klipsch outdoor speakers on our deck. Go with bigger, more powerful speakers than you think you need - the sound breaks up a lot outside.

[ice_it_06]

Bose outdoor 151 or 251 are great choices. You see many outdoor set ups with them from commercial , retail, or private...

Even the "marine" model for boats are ok for just simple good sound.

[Gadgetman]

I second the Bose. Have had several pairs outside now for 5 years and still go strong. Look at the Albertville outlet mall for some good deals on re-mfg models with new warranty

[Whoaru99]

Polk, Klipsch, Infinity, Boston Acoustics, Mirage, AR, et al, all make decent outdoor speakers.

Well, here goes something sure to make friends....

Personally, I avoid Bose speakers. They have great brand recognition and status among consumers, but one can do better sound-wise for less, often much less, $$.

[PerchJerker]

I tend to agree with Whoaru - we had a couple sets of Bose speakers and some Klipschs, took all the Bose back and exchanged them all for Kliphschs. In my mind, no comparison in the sound. We also have a couple sets of Bouston Acoustics mounted in our ceilings and they sound really good too. Good luck.

[WalleyeWarrior]

I have a question along these same lines. We have a speaker mounted in our sauna. The one that we currently use is an industrial speaker that looks like a bullhorn. The sound is poor to say the least. Do you know if these outdoor speakers would be able to withstand the heat in a sauna? I don't need a ton of output as the sauna is probably 8x10. Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

[Gadgetman]

Mount them lower in the sauna and I cant believe that it would be a problem. If you put them in the ceiling you may have trouble

[walleyewizard]

Klipsch here. Very crisp, clean sound, even with the volume up.

[WalleyeWarrior]

Thanks, Gadget. Right now it is mounted about a foot to 18 inches from the ceiling. If I went lower, as in under a bench, it definitely would be out of the high heat zone. I'm assuming that since these are outdoor speakers they would be able to withstand the occasional dousing my spilled water. Am I correct? Thanks again.

[PerchJerker]

I would think outdoor speakers would work fine in a sauna, and like you say you shouldn't need much for that small of an area

[Gadgetman]

One thing that sold me on the Bose is they had a display in the store with the speaker playing in a tank of water...I also own some Klipsch speakers but they are in my house. as for volume and good sound, when I crank up the two pairs of

bose 151 that are mounted under the eaves of my house I get good sound in the yard and even out on the lake in front of my house. Nice when down at the beach. Incidentally I would also suggest that you use some monster cable to your speakers as I am sure you will have some long wire runs and signal quality will deteriorate with typical lampcord type speaker wire.

[Whoaru99]

Quote:

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...Incidentally I would also suggest that you use some monster cable to your speakers as I am sure you will have some long wire runs and signal quality will deteriorate with typical lampcord type speaker wire.

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Wire brand makes no difference, IMO, as long as the gauge is large enough for the distance.

Low voltage landscape lighting wire makes GREAT speaker wire. One can normally get 100ft of 12ga wire for about $20.

[Gadgetman]

I guess when mentioning "monster cable" I was thinking more generically. Any larger diameter cable will be better than the typical speaker wire-I prefer monster

[Whoaru99]

Ahhh... I see.

Hey what ever floats your boat on the wire.

I just try to inform others that they don't have to buy specific brands of wire or cables under the guise of making your system sound better.