Outdoor Speaker Setup

C

conny8412

Audiophyte
Hey All,

Newby here. I have a question that i need help with rather quickly.

I just had an outdoor patio gable roof built with the standard "A-frame" cathedral ceilings. Since this is going to be an outdoor socializing area, one of my wishes was to have a speaker/stereo system.

The tongue and groove ceiling is not installed yet but the electric and wires are going in within the next few days and i need to make up my mind rather quickly. The roof itself is around 18'x18'. I was thinking 4 in ceiling speakers, does that sound right? I am struggling finding outdoor exterior in ceiling speakers. I have read that sound quality is not the greatest in an outdoor setting so im not looking to go too crazy with these. Do you guys suggest the in-ceilings or the larger mounted out door speakers in each of the 4 corners?

Next question is, do you have any suggestions for a good receiver to run these speakers? Should the receiver be stationed inside the house? I really wanted a bluetooth/wifi enabled receiver to stream through my phone - any suggestions? Just as an fyi, in addition to the 4 speakers on the roof, i may add 2 more in another part of the back area that isnt under cover.

Any other suggestions are welcome. Especially since all the wiring is going in now. The only other idea i had was to have some type of volume knob outside where i can control it if need be...
 
C

conny8412

Audiophyte
Anyone? I did Some research and saw the AirPlay express will allow me to stream through my iPhone which is all I really want. Then I just an amp I'm assuming?
 
rojo

rojo

Audioholic Samurai
Sorry conny, I guess there aren't many around here who have much experience with outdoor systems. If I were in your position, I'd probably plan to try a pair of outdoor bipolar speakers (MB Quart balcony series?) and a pair of in-ceiling subwoofers (Beale Street). I'm not a fan of in-ceiling speakers because sound sounds as though it were coming from the ceiling. The less directional frequencies of a subwoofer wouldn't be so bad, though. To power the system, an inexpensive Denon AVR from Accessories 4 Less would let you control its DLNA / UPnP and net radio client from a smartphone or tablet over WiFi, or you could stream directly to it over AirPlay or add a $20 Bluetooth Apt-X receiver from Amazon. Then just add a subwoofer amp.

I think I would give my guests the opportunity to get farther away from the speakers by not having speakers in all four corners. Besides, front 2.1 sounds better than stereo played through front and rear. By all means, wire up the rear in case you want to add true native surround sound and a projector for outdoor movies later though. :)

Sent from my LG-VS980 using Forum Fiend v1.3.1.
 
Last edited:
Hookedonc4

Hookedonc4

Audioholic
If you want to do it one time I would say James Loudspeaker.

They make one of the best outdoor systems/Marine speakers on the market.

This all depends on what your budget is...
 
C

conny8412

Audiophyte
How much do those run? Are they in ceiling? Seems like most people prefer the speakers that aren't mounted In ceiling, maybe I'll go that route instead
 
Hookedonc4

Hookedonc4

Audioholic
Check out the website and see what style you would want.

They have All styles you would need.

I would say the price range could be 3K to 15k.

Price would depend on what style you want.

But that is a guess...
 
J

Jake Layer

Audiophyte
In kind of in the same situation. We just renovated are patio area (covered), and pool is going in a couple of weeks. Wife and I both want sound around both areas.

I'm no expert in audio but I know some to be a little comfortable. However, this outdoor audio has me overwhelmed. I've spent the last 2 weeks trying to read everything to learn and I'm just not getting it, until today (I think).

I've been one the phone with polk and sonos now asking millions of questions and finally came up with a a way forward. My area is pretty large. I figured I would have to have a minimum of 4 speakers plus a sub. I also have a rock speaker from our old house to incorporate as well. The system has to be wireless/Bluetooth capable. Here's the setup I'm going with. It's a little over budget but it gets me what I think I need.

4 - Definitive technology aw 6500's that will run into a Crown xls100. Rock speaker as well.
1 - Polk Atrium 10 subwoofer run into another Crown xls100.
Those will run into a Dennon Heos Link which will give me the wireless/Bluetooth capability.

Both polk and sonos agreed that this would rock the house down. All equipment adds up to $1800 and change on Amazon. I didn't include wiring/etc.

Hope that helps you out a little. Also looking for opinions on this setup. I'm still worried about pulling the trigger though. It confuses me on how to run everything.
 
Last edited:
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top