Outdoor audiophile gear?

I don't know Tarsando, I think the ones that look like tree stumps, or better yet, the ones that look like dirt clods, sound much better than the rock speakers! (Aesthetically, I agree with you that rocks do look better than stumps or clods though!)

:-)

Speakers sound better outdoors anyway so I wouldnt spend a bunch, you would be surprised at how good a $300 pair of JBL outdoor speakers sound, these are to be used outside so dont over think it. If you are having a get together the only person they will impress is you.

Speakercraft makes several resonably priced and good quality models. Outdoor listening is not critical listening, but good speakers do sound better than bad ones. I wouldn't go crazy, though. I replaced the cheap Sony TV speakers with the Speakercraft ones (~$150) at my poolhouse and it made a noticeable difference, commented on by several friends. Happy Listening

i'd second the don't overspend idea. hi end outdoor spkrs for 'outdoor' use are probably a waste of $$ for what the listeners are after. polk, jbl, nht etc will be fine. if you really want to impress your buddies find a big bassy subwoofer and put it in a sweet spot. and yes , anything shaped like a terd or clod i would avoid at all costs on principle. what if a worker or cleaner accidentally kicks your clod or limes your terd? and do you really want to hang a terd from a tiki torch...gross.

I enthusiastically agree with Chadnliz--just about anything I've ever run outdoors sounds surprisingly good. Used to have a pair of Niles OM-5s that were excellent, and lately, I've been carrying a pair of B&W DM303s into the yard on outdoor days while I'm waiting for delivery of a pair of "off brand" outdoor speakers from an online shop. I'd spend conservatively. . .just getting rid of all those walls makes the extraordinary difference. But beyond that, you're competing with ambient noise, and you're probably not glued to the "sweet spot" so it seems there's a rapid accelleration of the diminishing returns principle.