How To Choose Outdoor Speakers?
Who doesn’t love to annoy the neighbours sometimes. Well, a nice set of outdoor speakers might make that a whole lot easier. Not that that’s our aim of course, all we really want is for you to enjoy wonderful sound in the great outdoors.
Here at Audio Trends we have a host of outdoor speaker options to suit your needs.
For most people, an outdoor sound system starts with a simple setup: a pair of wired speakers mounted on the side of the house or under the eaves, powered by an amplifier inside the house. It’s a tried-and-true approach that delivers great sound for decks, patios, and smaller backyards. If you’ve got a bigger space - say a pool area or a large garden - you might need longer cable runs to reach free-standing landscape speakers that can fill every corner with sound.
Wired Outdoor Speakers
Passive stereo speakers - the normal type that get both power and signal from your amplifier - remain the number one go to if you want to enjoy great sound on a deck or porch, or in a small backyard. They’re much like your favourite indoor hi-fi speakers, but they do have a couple of smart outdoor twists.
- Built to Endure: Outdoor speakers are designed to handle whatever nature throws their way - rain, salty air, sun and the cold. Some are fully weatherproof while others are weather-resistant and need a bit of cover.
- Made to Mount: Each pair of speakers normally come with brackets or hardware that make it easy to mount them securely to the outside of your house.
Most outdoor systems use two speakers - left and right - to get stereo sound. But not every space calls for a full pair of speakers. For a small nook, courtyard, or breakfast patio, a single stereo speaker is a clever solution. It connects to both left and right channels and uses twin tweeters to keep the stereo effect intact - all from a single, neat enclosure. At the other end of the scale, larger areas might need three or more speakers to maintain even coverage, ensuring everyone enjoys the same clear, balanced sound.
Landscape Speakers
When you want your music to follow you into the garden, landscape speakers are the answer. Rather than blasting sound from the side of the house, these speakers bring the sound to where you actually are - around the pool, under the trees, or beside the fire pit. They’re designed to disappear into your surroundings while spreading smooth, even sound throughout the space.
Here are some of the most popular styles:
- Rock Speakers: Exactly as the name suggests these speakers are disguised as rocks. Speakers like the Paradigm Rock Monitor 80-SM deliver rich, full sound while blending seamlessly into the landscape.
- Bollard Speakers: Sleek, durable, and sonically high performance, bollard speakers look as good as they sound. Models like the Episode Radiance Outdoor Bollard Speaker can be mounted almost anywhere and can even be specified with a 360 degree light module.
- Stake-Mount Speakers: Compact and easy to conceal, these compact speakers sit on stakes driven into the ground. They’re great for tucking into garden beds or along pathways, and when paired with a subwoofer - as in the Definitive Technology Dymension Outdoor LS 6.1 Speaker System - they can deliver surprisingly full-bodied sound.
When to Choose Landscape Speakers
If your goal is to blanket a large outdoor area with beautiful, even sound, landscape speakers are your best friend. With several speakers placed strategically around your backyard, you can enjoy your music at comfortable levels everywhere — no dead zones, no blaring hotspots, just smooth, effortless sound that makes your whole outdoor space come alive.
Outdoor Subwoofers
Just because you're listening outdoors, doesn't mean you have to do without great bass. An outdoor subwoofer can be the making of a backyard system and because they are designed to be partly buried they don’t stand out the way indoor subwoofers do. Subwoofers like the Klipsch PRO-10SW-LS Outdoor Subwoofer will bring rich, deep bass to your all-weather outdoor system and look rather stylish while doing it.
Portable Bluetooth Speakers
Of course, if all this installation sounds like way too much hard work, then maybe a portable Bluetooth speaker could do the trick. You can use one outdoors wherever it’s convenient for as long as the battery lasts. Models like the Sonos Move 2 Portable Wireless Speaker sounds great outside and can even link in with your indoor Sonos setup as long as the Wi-Fi stretches far enough. Be aware that not all portable speakers are weather-resistant, and none are designed to be left outdoors permanently. Be careful to read the specifications on our website to work out whether your speaker is water or weather-resistant and definitely bring them inside when not in use.
Please contact us if you need help selecting an outdoor sound system. We have a number of Outdoor Systems already configured on our web site but we can design one specifically for your requirements no matter the budget. And our qualified installation team can deliver and install an outdoor system anywhere in metropolitan Melbourne.