Dedicated Outdoor Speakers and Home Integration
If you are going this route, good planning is paramount. As
discussed, well positioned speakers sound a lot better, and poorly installed
speakers can spiral into a renovation making you wish you’d never thought of
music outside.
It’s an attractive idea to add some outdoor speakers to your
existing system. Many receivers have an A and B set of speakers, or multiple
“zones”, so you can listen to speakers in multiple spaces. When connecting
outdoor speakers to a receiver / source that’s located indoors, use speaker
wire that is designed for in-wall (CL2 or CL3) applications. Lead the wires in
from the outside and seal the drill holes shut with some silicon. If you’re not
handy with a drill however, there are some simpler solutions
Wireless technology has become very cost effective, thus
wireless speakers have become more popular. Keeping in mind that wireless
speakers still have to be plugged into a power outlet, they make setup easier.
Integrating with your music library or internet radio via a wireless router,
you can hide a small amplifier inside your home close to where your outdoor
speaker are mounted, minimizing unsightly wires.
Sonos is one of the companies that offers a solution that is
hard to beat in terms of sound quality, affordability, ease of setup (with a 1
button setup), and allows you stream music from just about any source you can
name - from music stored on your home network to internet radio to the tunes on
your smart phone. While Sonos does not offer an outdoor speaker, its Connect:
AMP is ideal for powering and streaming music to a pair of good quality outdoor
speakers. The Sonos can be set up in a multi-room configuration and allows you
to control playback from your smart phone / tablet thanks to a very slick app.
Sonos is one of
the companies that offers a solution that is hard to beat in terms of sound
quality, affordability, ease of setup (with a 1 button setup), and allows you
stream music from just about any source you can name
If you’re planning to get a pair of great sounding outdoor
speakers, a Canadian company called Blue Sound has similar ease of setup and
stream-ability as Sonos, but is “designed by audiophiles”. They offer an amp
called the Powernode that connects with your router wirelessly that would be
excellent to power any good pair of outdoor speakers. The Powernode is
powerful, plays hi res files in their native formats, and can be controlled
with Windows, iOS, and Andriod devices.
Choosing your
favorite outdoor speaker is done best by listening to them, and if that is not
possible, going with a brand you already have confidence in is recommended
Choosing your favorite outdoor speaker is done best by
listening to them, and if that is not possible, going with a brand you already
have confidence in is recommended. Most popular brands offer outdoor speakers,
and of course we have a few options to get you started. Monitor Audio has been
winning hifi speaker awards for the past decade and we just reviewed their
Climate Series outdoor speakers – how timely. Paradigm is a great Canadian
company that offers a range of fantastic outdoor speakers. JBL has almost
certainly provided sound at outdoor concerts you’ve attended, so not
surprisingly they make a good outdoor speaker. For those who prefer feng shui
designs over mounted speakers, there are companies who make camouflaged outdoor
speakers that blend into the outdoor landscape. One company that makes good
quality speakers is StereoStone, offering a selection of planters with speakers
discreetly built-in, rock-shaped speakers with options for colour, size, and
the type of speaker you’d prefer – they even offer subwoofers. There are some
attractive options for planters that allow the sound to disperse 360 degrees
from their bases. Since most of these options are not wireless, you will have
to run cables underground and it is best if they’re encased in a PVC pipe.
Now that you have some ideas of how to bring your music with
you, get outside and enjoy the summer while it lasts!
