need help with outdoor system

Thanks guys, and to clarify, I am not expecting to get audiophile quality sound on my outdoor deck, I don't think that would be realistic considering my budget for this, which has not been established yet but is probably under $1000. What I really want is the ability to select music from my iPad. I use Jriver and Jremote downstairs in my listening room, running Jplay off of a laptop into my Vlink and DLIII Dac. Schlepping an iPod dock out there is not what I want to do, we're always getting in the hot tub in the middle of a snow storm. That's kind of the Colorado way to do it. Weather resistant speakers would be better...

First, where is the hot tube? Is it just on the deck attached to the house or is it separated from the house? How easy would it be to get wires to it?

Sounds like you just want a pair of speakers by the hot tube with Jremote to control the source. That is pretty straightforward. The most reliable way to do that, imho, is the old fashion way - run wires from zone 2 of your receiver or from a separate amp. There are plenty of outdoor speakers that will work in that setup and you can just use your iPad as a remote to your existing system.

If that is out because you do not want to run wires, then you need a wireless speaker setup, which also means you probably want AC power available to drive the speakers. Battery powered speakers in the snow in winter is probably not a good idea. Your choices of wireless speakers is also more limited.

If you can narrow it down to wired or wireless that will help the decision.

A wired solution will let you easily change speakers over time. The wireless system typically requires you to replace everything if you want to change the system.

I have had an inexpensive pair of outdoor speakers (Cambridge Soundworks) by my hot tube for over ten years with no problem. Def tech or even Bose will stand up pretty well over time. Mine are out all year round in Massachusetts and the only problem I have is if they fill up with snow. I have to take the grill off and remove the snow, otherwise the sound is not all that good :) I use an outdoor volume control, since they went in before wireless control was available. I also have speakers on my deck, so we can listen to the same thing on the deck and at the hot tube, which is pretty well separated from the deck, back in the woods. Honestly, I think that is the simplest long term solution. The wiring is a bit of a pain, but once done, you should never have to worry about it. I ran 12 gauge in ground low voltage wire in PVC out to the hot tube. Depending on where the hot tube is, you can even just mount the speakers on the house and aim them at the hot tube. Yes, you have to punch a hole in the house somewhere, but that is usually not a big deal depending on construction of the house. The bigger problem may be getting the wires from the receiver to the outside wall, again depending on construction. Obviously, I would suggest a wired system.

So, first I think you need to decide if a wired system is possible or not. If so, I think it will be the most reliable. If not, then just say so and see what you get for recommendations on wireless outdoor speakers, driven from your existing inside system.

If you want to go wireless, do you have a weather tight structure nearby with power to house a wireless receiver or is the setup fully exposed? If the weather is cold in the winter, I am not sure you want any significant wireless electronics, like Sonus, in an unheated structure.

Just some things to think about.

Here is another somewhat different solution. Bluetooth speakers have become pretty popular and can be pretty decent these days. You can use Jremote to access your files from inside to play on the iPad, hopefully using your wifi connection, or you can use files stored on the iPad, and send the audio to a bluetooth speaker. That means you have to carry the bluetooth speaker outdoors with you when you go to the hottube, but it really is pretty easy. We use one, for example, with our phone when in the car on long trips, since our phone does not easily connect to our car audio. And it works great in hotel rooms. You can get both battery powered or AC powered speakers.

I am surprised how often I go to people's homes and they have bluetooth speakers and I can just pair my phone to it and play the music on my phone. You can even put a bluetooth USB option on your PC and beam it to your outdoor speaker, depending on distance.

Hey, I am an old guy and even us old folks are doing this :)

Just another option.

Considering the price point, I think wireless speakers are out, i think wired speakers would sound better for the same money. I'm starting to get used to the idea of wired speakers run off of my Denon avr's second zone. There is a penetration next to the avr for the coax cable, we dont have cable, never will. i can run wire through there. This will be a long run, like 50 feet or so.
Now I just need to connect my music library to the Denon. I started out in iTunes, with aif and alc files, which the Denon does not read. They got in bed with Microsoft early on, I think they're doing all formats these days, but not my unit. I need to try it with flac, and I've also started ripping in wav, which I'm sure the Denon sees. The most convenient thing would be to connect my external drive via USB into my Denon, control that with the iPad, and power it with the denon's second zone. I don't think I can use Jremote for this, because I don't want to add my laptop and the Vlink into the chain. Too much stuff to move around. So I need an iPad app...that connects to the Denon... The app has to be able to see apple and PC based music formats, maybe I can get the Denon a software upgrade to enable it to do the same. Sounds like a fantasy, but my wife wants music out there, and she generally gets what she wants.

Is the Denon a DLNA device? If so, it may be possible to connect your JRiver system to it and control it with JRmmote. I would have to think about how to to do that, but it may be possible with Jriver.

Now about a simple PC laptop hooked to the Denon running JRiver and controlled by Jremote. The PC does not need to be fancy, just a simple laptop. You could have it directly access your files or run in client/server (TRemote) to your main JRIver system. You can use the headphone out or get a simple USB converter to to feed the Denon.

It may take a little thought, but I think there are several solutions, especially if the wife insists on it.

You can use 12 gauge wire to run 50 feet, no problem. I am running 100 feet to my hot tube. My wife insisted, and we made it work :)

Good luck. It is very doable.