The Rock Solids are an inoffensive-sounding speaker, which is a great accomplishment for what they are, and I like them. However, from an audiophile perspective, I would relegate them to the patio etc. as you suggest. There are many small, relatively inexpensive conventional monitors that will sound better than the Solids if wall- or ceiling-mounting, or all-weather capabilities, are not of importance in your application. But if we're talking strictly background music in a secondary system like an office or something, and the appearance and price are paramount, they will not suck. Depends on what you're after, but don't expect miracles (FWIW, I used to sell a ton of these back when I did retail audio...).