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Outdoor Speakers
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RobL
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I have some aw6500’s on my deck. They sound pretty decent but the mount only allows adjustment in one direction.
I also have PSB CS1000, which sound a little better imo, and have a mount that allows adjustable pan and tilt of the speakers.
In my shop I have some JBL Control 30’s, which are huge, but the PSB’s top them as well sound-wise.
I also have PSB CS1000, which sound a little better imo, and have a mount that allows adjustable pan and tilt of the speakers.
In my shop I have some JBL Control 30’s, which are huge, but the PSB’s top them as well sound-wise.
Amrim has measured a few, i'd start by reading through those...
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I'm looking for smaller speakers as I am installing them by the soffit. Thanks for the info as I would like the speakers to be adjustable. What type of amp or receiver do you use? Most people I've spoken too have recommended the Sonos amp but I have also spoke to a few people who have bought a $50 amp from Amazon and they said it works just fine with their setup.
RobL
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I have a crown CTS4200 for my deck speakers….I had the 2 def techs and bought the psbs and I needed a 4 channel amp I could adjust the channel gain on, because the speakers have quite different sensitivity.
At my cottage I have another single pair running off a $50 amazon amp w/ bluetooth. Works great.
I really should not give my opinon here since many of you are looking for High Fidelity outside. I don't bother that much really since I really care more about how it lasts with the elements outside.
For about 16 years, my KLH speakers have been working like a champ till I did this really neat trick by giving them WAY to much power. But until then? They worked amazing. I had to paint them black again after they faded a bit. But that was after 10 years of being outside in the elements.
I sprayed them with the hose all the time to clean the dust of them. No problems.
When one of them died? I took it apart. It was just a cap and cone driver and Piezo tweeter. I noticed that Both the tweeters were shot. (Blown) The only crappy thing was the Brackets and the screws to them. Easy fix however.
I have this Advent one I really liked but it is WAY out of production. Really nice sound and bass too.
More of a Hifi offering if you ask me.
I have been meaning to try out the DUALs for a while as they have a pair of outdoor speakers that go on sale often. I But I would rather get some Small speakers I can just Burry in the ground like the old green mushrooms. I wanted to do something that would have great low bass, and a very boosted top end so that they would work really well for things like adding sounds such as running water, Birds, etc.
Come to think about it? I don't know if anyone has done a study on the quality of High voltage audio at 70V.
I use to install them, but never really thought much of it. It sounded okay for what it was.
I have yet to try out some of the speakers with the flame lights in them. For the most part? I tried out one of them. And it was okay. For the price, it was okay.
I'm not really sure how you would judge outdoor speakers as Coverage would be more important than anything. If there was ever a place for Omnidirectional speakers? Outdoor speakers seem to be it.
Years ago I tried out my Maggies outside. Boy, they really sounded best outside. No kidding. Surprised that Magnepan does not make outdoor speakers. Seems like the perfect application of them.
For about 16 years, my KLH speakers have been working like a champ till I did this really neat trick by giving them WAY to much power. But until then? They worked amazing. I had to paint them black again after they faded a bit. But that was after 10 years of being outside in the elements.
I sprayed them with the hose all the time to clean the dust of them. No problems.
When one of them died? I took it apart. It was just a cap and cone driver and Piezo tweeter. I noticed that Both the tweeters were shot. (Blown) The only crappy thing was the Brackets and the screws to them. Easy fix however.
I have this Advent one I really liked but it is WAY out of production. Really nice sound and bass too.
More of a Hifi offering if you ask me.
I have been meaning to try out the DUALs for a while as they have a pair of outdoor speakers that go on sale often. I But I would rather get some Small speakers I can just Burry in the ground like the old green mushrooms. I wanted to do something that would have great low bass, and a very boosted top end so that they would work really well for things like adding sounds such as running water, Birds, etc.
Come to think about it? I don't know if anyone has done a study on the quality of High voltage audio at 70V.
I use to install them, but never really thought much of it. It sounded okay for what it was.
I have yet to try out some of the speakers with the flame lights in them. For the most part? I tried out one of them. And it was okay. For the price, it was okay.
I'm not really sure how you would judge outdoor speakers as Coverage would be more important than anything. If there was ever a place for Omnidirectional speakers? Outdoor speakers seem to be it.
Years ago I tried out my Maggies outside. Boy, they really sounded best outside. No kidding. Surprised that Magnepan does not make outdoor speakers. Seems like the perfect application of them.
cavedriver
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Also curious on this topic. What about "mushroom" shaped outdoor speakers that are omnidirectional and are meant to blend into a garden or whatever? I would think with all the audiophile omnidirectional tweeter oddities over the year someone would have found the perfect solution for this scenario??
The ones from TIC were... Ahem. right up their with a Public school in the big city for S.Q. Nothing to write home about. They were muddy even before they were muddy. I often give products a LARGE leeway. If I don't care for them? Imagine how bad they really sound to anyone with a trained ear or standards.
They sound OKAY if elevated, E.Q'ed, and at listening height from a distance or you were laying on the grass. But not much else.
JBL has a nice omni speaker. But its not really... It just works as one. Its the waveguide I think that does the magic. $450 bucks, but it's going to stand the test of time. Look for them used as plenty of shops have closed and they should be tons on the used market as they get ripped from existing installations and can be picked up for less than $100 a pair/
The JBL Control series is not built like cheap plastic outdoor speakers where they feel every bit as plasticky as they sound.
I'm not sure Omni is he way to go for most residential sound applications where you have neighbors, sheds, etc. Directional seems to tbe the way for most home applications and settings. just like a room for speakers makes or breaks them. There is some thought about that in the outdoor senario.
Not sure if there are any books out there about outdoor speaker placement written in the last few years. Amir should publish one. It would be worth reading and not make you fall asleep while doing it. Check out his speakers install he did at the Seattle ferris wheel. He goes over the basics in the article he published for a periodical. And gives some pointers about types of speakers that work best, and placement to a degree.
I forgot the name of the tech, but its also made by JBL, and works on the basis that it does not have a hot spot so to speak.
If you want to do something custom LF wise? I made some subwoofers out of these
Put a fake plant on top, and they blend in anywhere. Most have provisions for holes on the bottom to run the wire to them with some silcone to seal the plug on the bottom. Hide the wire under the rug as shown, or through the deck slats. Use large frame plastic plants so they don't move or vibrate leaves, and your set. All for less then a hundy, you got a good LF source that blends in anywhere. Easy to build, and handles the elements quite well.
Some DML speakers seem to work pretty well. Dayton has some outdoor rated models. Not Omnidirectional really. But you can mount them anywhere and hide or cover them up to blend in with any outdoor decor.
Omnidirectional sounds good on paper, but the application of it is IMO, a bit more troublesome then at first realized.
Say for instance here:
Or here:
The ones you should stay away from are the ones that bounce sound upwards if in a covered patio area. That was from the JBL Contractor / Rep that we spoke with when doing the installs for Comtech.
They sound OKAY if elevated, E.Q'ed, and at listening height from a distance or you were laying on the grass. But not much else.
JBL has a nice omni speaker. But its not really... It just works as one. Its the waveguide I think that does the magic. $450 bucks, but it's going to stand the test of time. Look for them used as plenty of shops have closed and they should be tons on the used market as they get ripped from existing installations and can be picked up for less than $100 a pair/
The JBL Control series is not built like cheap plastic outdoor speakers where they feel every bit as plasticky as they sound.
I'm not sure Omni is he way to go for most residential sound applications where you have neighbors, sheds, etc. Directional seems to tbe the way for most home applications and settings. just like a room for speakers makes or breaks them. There is some thought about that in the outdoor senario.
Not sure if there are any books out there about outdoor speaker placement written in the last few years. Amir should publish one. It would be worth reading and not make you fall asleep while doing it. Check out his speakers install he did at the Seattle ferris wheel. He goes over the basics in the article he published for a periodical. And gives some pointers about types of speakers that work best, and placement to a degree.
I forgot the name of the tech, but its also made by JBL, and works on the basis that it does not have a hot spot so to speak.
If you want to do something custom LF wise? I made some subwoofers out of these
Some DML speakers seem to work pretty well. Dayton has some outdoor rated models. Not Omnidirectional really. But you can mount them anywhere and hide or cover them up to blend in with any outdoor decor.
Omnidirectional sounds good on paper, but the application of it is IMO, a bit more troublesome then at first realized.
Say for instance here:
Or here:
The ones you should stay away from are the ones that bounce sound upwards if in a covered patio area. That was from the JBL Contractor / Rep that we spoke with when doing the installs for Comtech.
cavedriver
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Yeah, I know what I want but not how to get there. We have a large yard with no fences and just the house on one side. There's space for guests to walk around so I want sound to just be "around" you from no particular direction (and not at a very high level of course). The previous owner had speakers under the eaves of the house but I don't want that because you have to walk very close to them when entering the house. I once achieved kind of what I want by accident by parking my old full-size Chevy Blazer in the woods with a pair of 6x9 Sony's in it. The doors and tailgate were open and the vehicle was ex-military so the interior was mostly bare metal. I think it was acting like a horn loaded tweeter and once I was about 30 feet from it the sound seemed to be coming significantly from the forest besides from the truck. I recently experienced something similar by putting my grandfather's old Heathkit Legato speaker in the garage and listening from outside. These are the ones with the Altec Lansing drivers with a giant ~20" horn. So I don't need it to be terribly accurate or hifi, but it can't sound like crap like most of the stuff on places like Amazon.
I'm disappointed to hear the TIC ones sucked. I was afraid they did, especially given their price and "common" applications, but hope is an evil thing. Their website does show models up to ~$200 but I assume they are all "of a flavor". I wonder if an omnidirectional cone is hopeless or if their engineering is just crap.
I'm disappointed to hear the TIC ones sucked. I was afraid they did, especially given their price and "common" applications, but hope is an evil thing. Their website does show models up to ~$200 but I assume they are all "of a flavor". I wonder if an omnidirectional cone is hopeless or if their engineering is just crap.
Omni In-Ground Speakers
TIC's premier GS series in-ground speakers have been used by professional AV installers and sound enthusiasts all across the globe, from world-class resorts and theme parks to luxury residential backyards. Our renowned design provides the best-in-class sound response at a surprisingly affordable...
ticcorp.com
cavedriver
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Apparently the competitor to the JBL speaker is the Bose version. The Free Space 51 may have just been discontinued to be replaced with the 360P. I wonder how these compare to the JBL's.
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