What are the best sounding outdoor speakers?

I sell both JBL and Niles Audio. I like the Niles because it has a higher SPL level which is important for an outdoor speaker and it is not ported which is also important for outdoor speakers. Insects just love ported speakers.

I like my B&W's WP-1's. But, they are outside under a covered patio and are not directly subjected to the elements so I can't comment on weather durability, only sound and they sound terrific. I believe they were $ 500.00 for the pair.

Hi, thanks for the recommendations; I had a chance to hear the B&W WM4 (medium size) and WM6 (larger) outdoor speakers today. It was in a retail show room, so it's hard to know just what they would sound like outdoors, but in the show room, both were very good. The WM6 is only $50 more ($250 vs $200), but it clearly had more low end. For loud party rock n roll, it's probably the way to fly (I think it's good for other types of music as well). On the other hand, the low end almost got in the way of the midrange and the WM4 sounded very sweet if you mostly wanted vocals or didn't need/like the extra low end extension. Either way, both of these are speakers worth considering.

I haven't had a chance to find a way to audition the others recommended brands yet, but thanks in advance for posting any further suggestions or comments.

I recommended a friend check out NEAR speakers about a year or two ago. He liked them so much he bought a pair for indoors and outdoors both.

I've heard them both too. They are truly audiophile level speakers. The sound he got outdoors was just so real. Vocals made me feel like I was inside in the sweet spot, and I was out on the lawn with a beer!!!

Definitely worth the effort to track down,
Bob

I'm normally not a big fan of BOSE speakers, but my wife's folks bought me some BOSE 251 speakers for a gift about a year ago, and they sound awesome! These are much better than the boston's and altec lansing's that I have heard in comparison. One of the most impressive points is that they are mounted about 30 feet apart around a corner from one another, and yet still deliver huge detail and dynamic sound when sitting under just 1 of the speakers.