Photo Credit: Azchael
Are you one of those people that believe in futuristic homes that playing music in your back garden is a dark and mysterious art?
And it can be! but the truth is, anyone (and I mean anyone) can set up outdoor speakers and indeed a waterproof TV in their back garden.
Outdoor speakers, flat-screen TV’s and indeed an automated lighting system can all help to increase comfort levels of outside areas such as your patio, front or back gardens.
In a recent survey conducted by Smart Homes School, a number of respondents indicated that they were interested in extending these entertainment services to outdoor areas.
Although there is a clear aspiration for outdoor music, you do need to do your research first prior to embarking on an installation project that involves outdoor speakers.
In this article, I will share some tips for choosing and installing outdoor garden speakers.
Two of the most popular products designed for outdoor weather conditions include outdoor weatherproof TVs and speakers.
WHAT’S AN OUTSIDE SPEAKER?
As the name implies and these speakers operate outside your house where they get bombarded on a daily basis with various flavors of weather conditions.
Here in Ireland, we can often experience the four seasons in one day – so for outdoor speaker manufactures reading this post, take note, Ireland is an ideal testbed if you wanted to fully explore the rainproof characteristics of your products. 🙂
Okay, down to the serious stuff! Outdoor speakers are built differently to standard indoor speakers because the environment in which they operate is dramatically different.
Here are some notable outdoor characteristics:
- Designed to withstand heavy rain, sun, and snowy in your back garden.
- The form factor will provide protection against various flavors of creepy crawlies getting into the speaker.
- Delivers reasonably good quality sound in an open space without walls and ceilings to reflect music towards listeners.
- Produces music that attempts to overcome the soundtrack that naturally exists in your garden in the form of dogs barking, wind, and lawnmowers cutting the grass.
In order to ensure that you install an outdoor speaker that meets your family’s requirements, I have compiled five tips that are designed to help you out:
#1: IDENTIFY AN OUTDOOR SPEAKER THAT DOES NOT STICK OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB IN YOUR BACK GARDEN
There is a myriad of outdoor speaker options designed to meet the needs of businesses and residential users. Outdoor speakers come in various shapes and colors in order to blend in with the landscape. Speakers that look like and are shaped like rocks and vases are quite a popular option for buyers who want the speaker to blend in with the outdoor space.
Adding an outdoor area to a music system involves the creation of an extra zone that includes speakers and a control keypad for adjusting volume control.
#2: CHOOSE WIRED SPEAKERS IF BUILDING A NEW HOUSE OR RENOVATING…
It’s ‘hard to beat’ (That’s Cork language!) running a physical cable between the AV receiver or amplifier and shiny new outdoor speakers. In general, the sound quality of wired speakers tends to be higher than wireless outdoor speakers. The big gotcha with wired weatherproof speakers is that most people do not have the luxury of punching holes into the exterior of their houses and trenching speaker cable down to the back of their gardens.
#3: CHOOSE OUTDOOR SPEAKERS WITH A HIGH WATTAGE CAPABILITY
Higher wattage garden speakers produce better sound. Not only will your songs sound sharper but the music will travel further through the air.
For instance, 40-watt rock speakers will provide reasonable coverage of approximately 100 square feet, whereas 80 to 100-watt speakers will cover up to 400 square foot garden.
Please also be cognizant that the above coverage figures will vary because every garden or outdoor area is different. The presence of trees, walls, and foliage all impact on how your outdoor speakers sound.
#4: PURCHASE WIRELESS OUTDOOR SPEAKERS IF IT’S TOO MUCH HASSLE TO RUN CABLE
Wireless outdoor speakers are popular in homes and businesses around the world for their convenience primarily.
As the name suggests, these speakers can transmit music without the use of wires.
One of the greatest things about outdoor speaker systems is their simplicity of installation, they can be installed virtually anywhere.
Outdoor wireless speakers come in all shapes, sizes, and price ranges.
Although wireless outdoor speakers allow you to enjoy music in the backyard or patio without having to run cables or wires, there is one main drawback – Interference.
You do need to bear in mind that transmitting music over the air can on some occasions present problems in the form of noise interference.
From my own experience, interference issues will have a limited impact on high-quality wireless speakers such as the Soundcast Outcast Junior Speaker System.
#5: LOCATE YOUR OUTDOOR SPEAKERS AT LEAST 5 METERS APART
Yes, I used metric Meters! For readers in the USA, we were brought up with feet in inches here in Ireland back in the seventies and eighties. 🙂
So the guidance here is really to experiment on an optimum location for your speakers.
Approx 5 meters apart works in our back garden, it is very likely that a variant of this will work better for your installation.
FINAL WRAP-UP
Outdoor music entertainment is becoming increasingly popular, and many people do not yet realize that there speakers available exclusively for outdoor use.
Make sure you plan and by following my tips above, you’ll be able to listen to your favorite tunes in the fresh air!
P.S: If one of your friends, relatives, or neighbors might be interested in installing some outdoor speakers, please share this post with them – I’d really appreciate it.