Outdoor Speaker Installation Tips
You need to decide exactly where you want to enjoy your music
outdoors before you even think about outdoor speaker installation. How many outdoor speakers will you
need to buy to pump decent quality sound to all your prime outside
locations? Many home owners today choose to set up
multiple independent "listening zones" both inside and
outside their house and have complete control over the
listening source (CD, radio, home network, etc.) and the volume that is
being played in each individual area. An extremely popular way to
achieve all of this is by installing a whole house audio system. For a package price, you
typically get an audio distribution amplifier, wall mountable
keypads that allow to control music volume and listening source
from each individual zone, and a system handheld remote control.
Outdoor Speaker Volume Control
At a bare minimum, you
will want to be able to control the volume of your outdoor speakers from
outside. Direct burial / outdoor speaker wire will need to be run from your amplifier to each individual outdoor volume control, then to your speakers.
If you are doing anything more elaborate than just adding a single pair of
8 ohm outdoor speakers to the B channel on your home theater receiver, you will need to invest in an additional power amplifier to drive multiple speakers. |
Choosing the Best Outdoor Speaker
Weatherproof speakers are the
best at handling the harsh outdoor elements and allow you the most flexibility where you
locate them. Consider rock speakers, stone speakers, and landscape speakers. Weather-resistant speakers, on the other hand, should be installed where
they will receive minimal direct exposure to rain, moisture, sunlight, etc. A great place to mount outdoor speakers is under an eave. Looking for garden speakers, or speakers for
listening to your favorite music in the courtyard or backyard? Consider going with patio speakers and planter speakers.
For those who want to hear some DEEP BASS outdoors, consider adding an outdoor subwoofer to go along with each pair of mounted outdoor speakers.
For those who want the maximum flexibility in how and where they listen to their music outside, wireless outdoor speakers might be the best choice, especially if you will have difficulty properly running speaker wire from your amplifier to each of your listening areas. |
