Outdoor Speakers

The affect of weather on bookshelf speakers outside depends on the weather. Seriously, if you live in a very humid environment (SE or coastal areas) I could see issues. Cabinet veneers coming off, rusting fastener, etc. If you have a set of bookcase speakers and you don't mind if they get trashed, go for it. For wire, I'm using in wall speaker wire - Carol brand? Once the deck and deck cover (not 100% weatherproof) are installed, I'll paint what ever outdoor speaker I get and the wire to blend in. I spoke to the folks at Partexpress. They thought the Carol in wall speaker wire would be fine outside for little section that is actually exposed. I figured a coat of paint would help protect the wire covering. My speaker wire run through the walls to get to the outside. Hence the reason for the in wall rating.

I have to use the wire outside the wall and so the regular speaker wire will not work because of the hot weather during summer . Do you kow what kind of a speaker you will be using for the patio ?

I'm thinking about the Rockets. Their headqtr's is about 30 mins from my house. I'll call them and see if I can go listen. For $100 a pair, it will be hard to say no. They would have to sound REALLY bad.

Outside, I use 12 gauge low voltage in ground wire from Home Depot. Its heavy, flexible and seems to stand up well to the elements. And cheap.

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Isn't the LV wire solid strands? Does that affect the sound quality or is the stranded vs. solid just another snake oil theory?

this set up is exactly what we did. i bought a pair of good Mirage bookshelfs on closeout for $150/pair. they are wrapped in vinyl veneer and the drivers are polypropolene with rubber surrounds. i hung them under the eaves to protect them from direct rain and they sound fantastic. they have been through a few winters with no ill effects (that i can see or hear).

dedicated outdoor speakers of this quality start at $400/pair. i figure if i get 5 years out of them, i'll be ahead of the game.

give it a try.

best,

eric

I've read that outdoor speakers are (or can be) designed to take in account that there is no wall or ceiling (i.e., boundary) near the speaker.

I doubt you can tell the difference in sound between stranded and solid 12 gauge wire with any outdoor speakers. The low voltage wire I have is multiple strands, not a sold wire. I have short runs (a foot or two) of indoor wire outside and it has been fine for 4 years. But for the longer runs I use the low voltage wire.

PAW


Could you please update me once you test the speakers at their Shop .

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Certainly. Though it may be a while.