INGO Audiophiles - Outdoor Speaker Setup

[aclark]

Looking to add some speakers to our back patio this summer. The patio is 28x15 so not a huge space to fill with sound. I've been looking for budget options that can hold their own. I've come up with the following simple setup.

Yahmaha NS-AW350W Speakers
and drive those speakers with this simple amp. Don't really want to add a whole receiver setup
Lepai LP7498E Bluetooth amp

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with these? Any suggestions of other products to look at?

 

[churchmouse]

I am curious as well.
Building a covered deck and want some tunes out there.
Sound quality is important.

 

[Hohn]

Looking to add some speakers to our back patio this summer. The patio is 28x15 so not a huge space to fill with sound. I've been looking for budget options that can hold their own. I've come up with the following simple setup.

Yahmaha NS-AW350W Speakers
and drive those speakers with this simple amp. Don't really want to add a whole receiver setup
Lepai LP7498E Bluetooth amp

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with these? Any suggestions of other products to look at?

Just so you know, using the word "audiophile" automatically rules out using the words "outdoors", "budget" and "simple".

Real audiophiles argue about whether the $1500 silver-braided Klotz speaker cable has more "air in the highs" than the $1000 copper cable.

 

[Hohn]

Generally, it is desirable (and likely simpler) to go with powered speakers where the amp is built into each speaker. Some powered speakers are now network-aware and can receive Bluetooth signals, or carry audio over wi-fi like Apple Airplay and similar technologies.

Yamaha's studio monitors are somewhat of an industry standard, so they obviously know how to make good sounding speakers.

Is something like the smallest Mackie SRMs out of your range?

Definitive Technology makes some very good sounding speakers, but they aren't the only ones. I have an old pair of BP2000s that still blow me away.

AW5500 | Definitive Technology®

 

[RugerRog]

I'm not an audiophile, but enjoy audio equipment. Depending on your budget look at All weather speakers from Klipsch, Polk, Boston Acoustics, Def Tech. There are many other good sounding speaker companies that make outdoor speakers google. Check out some local audio shops and see what they carry, they can help get a good sounding system in your budget.

 

[looney2ns]

Polk or JBL outdoors are hard to beat.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Tagging too. If you join direct plus you get 30% off klipsch speakers.

i need something that accepts input and can drive speakers but be outside for the season. ? Custom cabinet?

 

[halfmileharry]

Because of outdoor external noise levels you need something efficient. Preferable 100db 1W/1M or better. More effecient speakers are easier to drive and help rid transient noises which are sound quality killers unless you're just going to blast noise and ignore music quality.
MDF and vinyl covered speakers won't hold up outdoors to the moisture.
Klipsch makes a pretty fair outdoor speaker with a plastic cabinet and waterproof drivers. They're also very efficient. Not real cheap but like in our gun world you get what you pay for.
There are other quality speakers for outdoor use including the cool "rock" speakers.
Much of the newer audio stuff is Chinese (chi-fi) now so there's the RIA factor to them. Get lucky and get a good one.

 

[CZB1962]

Keep in mind that almost no manufacture of less expensive amps wants to tell you the RMS output of their amps. Therefore most of the amps are telling you peak to peak power which is very misleading. An old 35W true RMS (root means squared) amp will outperform most 100w peak to peak.

 

[aclark]

I'm not looking for theater quality, nor am I looking to put on a concert. Really just want something to use for background music. We're usually out with friends drinking, playing games, kids running around, etc. Just want to fill the background.

I've also considered the Yahmaha AW390W speakers, but read a couple reviews that the 350s sound better. The Polk Atrium 4s also come up often in searches. I'm open to other amp suggestions too, but would like to keep it inexpensive. Let's say ~$100-120 for amp and ~$150-200 for speakers. I'd consider powered speakers if the pair can be connected via Bluetooth, although speaker wire is easier to run than electrical.

 

[Brandon]

I have some Yamaha outdoor speakers that have been outside for about 3 years now. I have an Onkyo stereo receiver hooked up to them. They sound pretty good and get loud enough to bug the neighbors

I bought mine at Best Buy - mainly because I wanted them right then.

Yes, I would buy them again.

 

[Hohn]

Keep in mind that almost no manufacture of less expensive amps wants to tell you the RMS output of their amps. Therefore most of the amps are telling you peak to peak power which is very misleading. An old 35W true RMS (root means squared) amp will outperform most 100w peak to peak.

It's worse than that.

They can advertise a receiver's power output as "110W*5" or whatever for surround sound, but that is actually the power output into only one channel driven at a time.

When you run all the channels, the power falls off drastically. The internal power supplies are too cheap and low capacity to keep up. A big input transformer is one of the biggest expense items in a receiver, and the best place to save production costs.

You may be surprised how even modest speaker sound better at the same volume with 1)stand alone amplification that is 2) at least double the rated power handling of the speakers.

Example, a speaker rated at 50w should ideally have 100w-150w pushing it. It's about the transients and slew rate, not about volume. Stand alone amps have more honest power ratings and are often cheaper in $/watt. Heck, find a PA amp at the pawn shop and get it going.

That said, this is an outdoor environment and there's no point in going crazy when a modest system of <50W will do just fine. Heck, you want the music to actually be background, so having it sound good enough to get your attention might be a bad thing.

 

[stony]

I have a set from these guys mounted on my pergola. They are Bluetooth which is nice.
Outdoor Speakers - Patio, Rock, Garden & Wireless Outdoor Speakers