Underwater Speakers

[crashkg]

I am trying to find good quality underwater speakers for my pool. Does anyone know of a good resource to research underwater speakers or a manufacturer who makes them. Thanks

 

[zumbo]

I don't mean to offend, but why do you need underwater speakers? Can you hold your breath that long?

 

[mike c]

zumbo, who's to say he doesn't have dolphins or whales in his pool?

kidding aside, perhaps he hates the fact that when swimming, there's music when he comes up for air, and then none underwater ... (maybe it's a lap pool) it kinda sucks to hear music every few seconds.

crash, i've seen bose put some speakers in an aquarium to demonstrate that they are "water resistant" (for boats, outdoor applications) but I don't know if they WILL work underwater.

 

[Sheep]

not to make you all sound like fools , but speakers need AIR to make sound.

Unless you are talking about subwoofers, its pretty well useless to put a speaker under water.

I suggest some nice outdoor speakers instead. Besides, you spend more time out of water then under.

SheepStar

 

[jaxvon]

Uh...there ARE underwater speakers Sheep. Speakers don't need air, they just need a medium to propogate (as in the vacuum of space won't work). As far as good ones go, I have no clue. I've never had to research the subject nor do I have any experience with them personally.

http://www.lubell.com/

Still, judging by the freqency response and the manufacturer's own intended purpose, I think you'd do better to just install weather-proof speakers around the perimeter of the pool. It would be cheaper, easier, and less dangerous (speakers in the pool can generate very high SPLs, capable of causing deafness).

 

[MacManNM]

Uh...there ARE underwater speakers Sheep. Speakers don't need air, they just need a medium to propogate (as in the vacuum of space won't work). As far as good ones go, I have no clue. I've never had to research the subject nor do I have any experience with them personally.

http://www.lubell.com/

Still, judging by the freqency response and the manufacturer's own intended purpose, I think you'd do better to just install weather-proof speakers around the perimeter of the pool. It would be cheaper, easier, and less dangerous (speakers in the pool can generate very high SPLs, capable of causing deafness).

Good post, and all true. Sound waves can actually have gain in a medium like water. The Sofa channel in the ocean is an example of this.

Parts express sells some underwater speakers.

 

[crashkg]

Thank you for your input. FYI I have a excercise pool that I wanted to put speakers into so that I can listen to music while I swim. So far the only real underwater speaker manufacturers I've found are Lubell Labs and Clark Synthesis. I haven't been able to find much independent information about them however. They both claim to be installed in the same resorts and both in the show "O" in vegas. I tried the underwater housing for the ipod but it's a pain.

 

[Mr. Lamb Fries]

I had some Bose 501's (i think) that claimed to be able to play underwater. You just had to silicone the connection (or so i was told by the installer from best buy). I had four of them installed on the back of my old boat. They didnt sound all that good but I could spray a hose right on them while they were playing and it didnt seem to effect the sound. Check with marine supply stores.

heres a link to Boaters world waterproof speakers. Dont think youll get good sound out of them but may be worth giving a try.

http://www.boatersworld.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchView?storeId=10051&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&keyword=waterproof+speakers&x=0&y=0

 

[crashkg]

Speakers need to be made for underwater use to be able to transmit good sound underwater. If you could just use any speaker underwater you could talk and understand each other underwater. Some manufacturers use a piezo-electric motor to create sounds underwater.

 

[crashkg]

Fyi

Just for future reference.
"Waterborne vibrations have less effect on the ear drum than do airbornevibrations. As a result, there is a muted quality to underwater sound. This is why ordinary underwater loudspeakers don’t win many awards for fidelity. However, if waterborne vibrations are strong enough, they also are conductedthrough the bones near our ears. This process - known as bone conduction sends tactile sound vibrations directly to the inner ear, where they are translatedinto electrical signals for the brain (i.e., sound). Clark Synthesis’ patented Aquasonic

 

[bigpapa]

Underwater speakers are a pain in the ***. Connectivity, serviceability, and cost, relative to the amount of use... is it worth it?

If you're in the pool swimming, you won't hear much anyway, unless you're underwater and moving around. If you're doing laps, your splashing will drown out the music. Your own breathing will overpower the sound, unless it's blasted... which could be a problem if your kid likes turning it up and getting his head close to the speaker.

This is totally doable, but is it worth it time and money? I'd focus more on rock speakers and backyard sound, so it sounds sweet after my laps, whilst cooking meat over fire with cup of wine in hand.

Let us know how it turns out.