HI folks -

I'm down to the wire in pulling together my outdoor theater. The last item(s) to pick are the outdoor speakers which will be permanently positioned for ease and efficiency.

The two sets I am considering are the Prodigy P500wh (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=203974432&loc=111&adid=17662) and the Circuit City Specials (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Dual-Outdoor-Speakers-LU43PB/sem/rpsm/oid/128222/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) .

I have plenty of space, so neighbors are not an issue. I have gone with the 144" inflatable screen, an old but very competent receiver, new DVD player, and Panasonic AVX100U display.

Does anyone have experience or thoughts with either of these sets ? I will likely get three sets each, for a total of six speakers.

Appreciate your thoughts!

I've listened to most of the available outdoor speakers. One thing that will make a considerable improvement is if you go to speakers with larger drivers. Yamaha, for example, makes 5" and 6.5" outdoor speakers. The 6.5" version has far better range, including much lower frequency response than the 5" ones. You might do OK with the speakers you linked to if you add a good subwoofer.

Thanks for the response.

After reading all the positive reviews associated with the Yamaha NS-AW350s for outdoor use, I pulled the trigger on two sets. This will cover my front left, center, and right speakers. (leaving one leftover ?) For less than $100/pair shipped, these seem to be a great deal.

I'll round out the setup with a pair of the cheapo CC speakers for the back left and right.

In and outdoor setting, with no walls to bounce against, will a subwoofer be effective (and worth the money?)

Thanks again !

I'd suggest planting the sub in the middle of the audience. No matter how much it doesn't make the floor vibrate like it might indoors, it'll still produce the audible Low frequencies that you audience won't get from the smaller speakers. I don't know if a $500 sub would be worth it, but a 10" or better you can find under $200 would certainly be.

Those Yamahas are what I have, except mine are white. My last set are Hometech 6.5" with 1" tweeter from BB, and sound almost as good as the Yamahas for a bit less.

Thanks 4D -

Do you have a recommendation on the sub at the $200 price point ?

You can probably find a 10" powered Polk Audio for around $200. There are some cheaper 8" subs out there but none go very low. I have two old radioshack passive 12" subs in use and simply feed the left/right fronts through them to let the sub filter out the highs to then send out to the left/right speakers. Works if your amp will let you declare the left/right to be "large" speakers to get the low frequencies. Those subs were $99 each at the time, but hard to find any more.

Look at the specs for any sub you are considering. The polk 10" goes down to 35Hz. Humans can hear as low as 20Hz. You may not miss it, but if you can find a sub that will go all the way down (or closer) to 20Hz you will appreciate it.

Those would be good. And with CC's specials you will do alright in pricing... :)

If you're crafty, BestBuy has a sub kit on sale right now. Comes with an amp and two 12" drivers. It should include some guidelines on how big a box and how big of a porthole to make to get the best sound from the drivers. $179+tax but be sure you can make the box or it's worthless. I couldn't tell from the ad how good the drivers were, but for an outdoor theater if you get them to work at all they should be good enough.