Outdoor setup for large patio/pool? Have a way forward, critique it.

[Jake Layer]

We just finished a renovation on our patio and a pool is being installed in a couple of weeks. Wife and I both agreed that our charge 2 isn't going to cut it anymore so on to bigger ideas.

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 xls1000. Rock speaker as well.
1 - Polk Atrium 10 subwoofer run into another Crown xls1000.
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.

Does anyone have opinions on this setup. Too much? Not enough? Easy to install? I want to pull the trigger but hesitant still because I'm worried this won't work.

 

[lovinthehd]

Why the one 2ch amp for the four speakers? Why dual stereo or is this a mono setup? Didn't see an impedance spec at the DT site (big surprise since their specs are always somewhat suspect) altho the Crown should be fine even at 2ohm. If they're really 92dB sensitive then the amp requirements should be minimal in any case.

 

[Jake Layer]

In trying to go mono but if it makes sense to do something easier I will go for it. That's why I was posting. So the separate amp for the 4 DT's is too much? I decided to take out the rock speaker. It seemed to make it more complicated to keep it in.

I have an old onkyo avr not being used. I think it's a 630 watt avr. Would that be enough to power the 4 speakers? Here's the link to it's specs.
//www.crutchfield.com/S-rCG04LLmnqn/p_580TXS603B/Onkyo-TX-SR603X-Black.html

Thanks for the reply

 

[lovinthehd]

Mono for four speakers would probably be better. Don't know how the impedance load would work, but it probably would be okay. The avr could work in mono but may not be as capable with a low impedance load.

 

[KEW]

I would definitely give the AVR a shot before anything else. Since it is designed to run 7 speakers, it has a good chance of doing a fine job with four.
Being outside, you will probably run the speakers pretty hard (no room gain), but a lot depends on the speaker efficiency. Just do some up front listening and see if you can attain the volume you'd like to with out hearing any problems (distortion/clipping) from the speakers.

 

[-Jim-]

I'd certainly try the Onkyo AVR before shelling out cash unnecessarily. You can easily make it Bluetooth capable with an inexpensive kit. Monoprice has one here:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=120&cp_id=10827&cs_id=1082711&p_id=10248&seq=1&format=2

Or save a few $ Here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DIGAO22/?tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=xm2&ascsubtag=AgEAAAAAAAAAAHckAAAAAHVNPMcAAAAAWVHtLw

Here's a positive review for the AW6500s.

http://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/speaker/bookshelf/definitive-technology-aw-6500-outdoor-speakers/

They should match the Onkyo AVR quite well. I'd run the AW6500s in Stereo Pairs, especially if there's quite a distance between the pairs. Run one pair from the Front Speaker connections, and the second from Zone 2.

As for the Sub, I'd be tempted to try to use two self powered subs, one with each stereo pair (preferably in the middle). I'd at least go for a 12 inch unit as the bass will be far less evident outdoors. I know there are wireless Sub kits out there, as I have one from Best Buy in the basement. I bought it but never hooked it up, as I always seem to hard wire them. You'd need two different kits or wireless Subs that operate on different frequencies to go wireless.

There are also wireless subs coming on strong, but few are of the outdoor variety. You may want to consider indoor versions, and be prepared to pull them inside. Alternately, you can go with High Level Inputs to each Sub, and then connect to AW6500s in Stereo Pairs. (One downside is there's a lot of disconnecting to bring the Subs inside.)

Do you have a sketch of the layout, or photo we can see for proper Speaker placement?

Just my two bits.