One thing to mention, outdoor speakers are built to withstand rain, snow, etc. However, if you live in the Midwest or other areas of the country with cold winters, it makes sense to bring them in for the winter. They will last much longer. My Paradigms are on brackets that have a release mechanism and are connected via gold plated banana plugs. It takes five minutes tops to connect or disconnect them.
need help with outdoor system
hi. my wife and I just bought a hot tub, and I'm wondering what solutions other audiogon'rs have found for outdoor music systems. we want music out there and I'd like to control it from my iPad, I have a water resistant cover for it. one of my friends has suggested I just buy an iPod dock and be done with it, but I'm looking for a more sophisticated solution. I have a denon AVR that will run two zones, but I'm reluctant to punch holes in my wall to run wire outside. I've also heard that outdoor speakers don't last, but I think def tech has sine decent offerings. thanks in advance.
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I have only seen these in the store, but they are an interesting option. We have stereo speakers by out hot tube, run from the main system indoors. But we actually run a mono signal to them because it is hard to get them to "image" correctly for everyone in the hot tube. This Brookstone unit is omni directional which is nice outdoors. It is not sophisticated sound, but seems like an interesting option. Just plug in your iPad to its dock and go. It can run on AC power or batteries. And it is very portable, so you move it to the deck when not in the hot tube or wherever else you might want to use it. It is wireless which is good, but also means you may get occasional static, but it seems like a very simple and versatile solution. Brookstone Wireless Speaker and Dock |
I was in precisely the same boat last year, so I'll share my experience. Sonos is a great solution (I have 10 zones in my home), but it doesn't necessarily address your issue. Sonos doesn't make an outdoor product - I wish they did! You could install a zone player in a protected area near the tub and attach the outdoor speakers of your choice - if you have a suitable protected area with AC power near the hot tub. Or, you could carry one of the integrated (built-in speakers) zone players out with you like a boom box. Either way, you run zone 2 of the AVR into a Sonos zone player or bridge and let Sonos relay the signal wirelessly to the outdoor Sonos unit. If you have a music library on a hard drive on your home wifi, you can control the selection of music from your iPad (via the Sonos app) as you desire. Another solution is Soundcast - a portable wireless system made for outdoor use. This large speaker has much better bass than any integrated Sonos unit, but it isn't designed to live outdoors year round, so you gotta schlep it like a boom box. I ended up building a box with AC outlet to house a Sonos Zone player and added a pair of Niles outdoor speakers. It's an expensive route because of the build/electrical requirements, but it is the most elegant solution I could find. Good Luck. Marty |
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