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High End Outdoor Speakers

post #1 of 23
1/28/05 at 4:49pm
Thread Starter 
I want to purchase a pair of high end outdoor speakers. They will be mounted on a house for next to a pool and yard area. They have to be able to take the elements (rain, snow, etc.).

Any suggestions for top of the line outdoor speakers?
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post #2 of 23
1/28/05 at 4:53pm
I have a set of the Rocket Outdoor speakers. Excellent sound and build quality. These are the best outdoor speakers that I've heard (AFAIK there are no $5k high-end outdoor speakers).
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post #3 of 23
1/28/05 at 7:19pm
The fella who wired my house recommends outdoor speakers by Rockustics. They are noted for making speakers and subs that look like rocks and other things you might find in a garden, pool or patio area. They do make the kind that are designed to be mounted under the eave of your house. They are further designed such that they can mounted in a "stack array" in the event their largest does not put out enough sound. I suspect they're made well because they carry a limited lifetime warranty.

I must add that I've never heard them, but my installer deals primarily in high end audio gear (Meridian, Bryston, etc.), so my sense of things is that they are decent speakers.
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post #4 of 23
1/28/05 at 8:04pm
I don't know what you consider high end, but you might want to check out these BA's .
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post #5 of 23
1/29/05 at 7:57am
How about some of these:
http://www.provide.net/~djcarlst/JPHorn.htm
They run off just 1 watt.
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post #6 of 23
1/29/05 at 11:05am
I use these, the Stylus 250s for outdoors:

http://www.paradigm.ca/Website/SiteP...lusseries.html

Even though they're made for outdoors, I keep them inside during the winter months. They're very easy to remove from the brackets.
I like them a lot. They give a lot of sound out by my pool.
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post #7 of 23
1/29/05 at 11:17am
Aaron, Now that's an outdoor speaker!
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post #8 of 23
1/29/05 at 4:41pm
I used 2 pairs of Niles OS-20's in my last house and they sounded SWEET!!!!! They were the sweetest outdoor speakers I have ever heard. I tired B/A and rockustic before that. Good luck with your decision. BTW I powered them with a Carver TFM-35.
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post #9 of 23
1/31/05 at 7:22pm
This chart is somewhat dated, but many of these speakers may still be sold by their respective companies.

Chart.
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post #10 of 23
2/1/05 at 4:39am
I have had a pair of boston accoustic "voyagers" for about 4yrs now and they are good as gold.They are outside on my patio and have gone thru all the elements here in florida.And they sound great still.
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post #11 of 23
2/1/05 at 5:39am
Elements ? You guys in Florida don't know what Elements are !

Here in N.S. Canada we have Elements. I just recently purchased a pair of the Energy Tempests for our new house/backyard. I haven't had much of a chance to listen to them before winter set in and I took them in since I wouldn't be listening to them until Spring. They have a 5 year warranty which is impressive and I know someone that has had theirs for a few years and they've held up great. I can't wait till Spring so I can get out there and enjoy them.
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post #12 of 23
2/1/05 at 10:25am
Ken, the elements that reach FL can take the speakers and push it your way man!
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post #13 of 23
2/5/05 at 10:42am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all of the information. The supplied chart from JimMIT was excellent. I especially liked the John Pesci's Outdoor Horn System (but I don't think my wife would be that understanding).

I couldn't find anyone locally that carried the Rocket or Rockustic brands. I won't purchase speakers I can't hear first.

I went and auditioned the BOSE, Niles, BAs, and Klipsch. I thought the best sounding was the Klipsch SA-3. I think the 8" drivers give them the added bass and volume that I was looking for. These speakers are no longer current product for Klipsch, but I stumbled into a dealer with several left. It is really too bad as they sound far better than the Klipsch current product. The BAs were second best for my taste.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.
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post #14 of 23
2/6/05 at 9:15am
Quote:
I couldn't find anyone locally that carried the Rocket or Rockustic brands. I won't purchase speakers I can't hear first.
I don't know about Rockustic, but AV123.com will give you a 30 day trial on their Rocket outdoor speakers. You would only be out about $25 in shipping if you didn't like them.
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post #15 of 23
2/6/05 at 1:15pm
Robert,

One more suggestion for you is NHT OutdoorOne. I have a pair hooked up, as does a good buddy of mine, who chose them over some Klipsch (FWIW). I really like the NHTs as they are a sealed design, keeping elements and bugs out. Also, from a sound perspective, that same sealed design gives you nice, tight bass response down to about 55 Hz on them. The mids and highs sound great as well. I like them a lot as I have them mounted underneath my deck, so they can be heard without blasting them for parties and BBQs. Yet, they can still sound great loud when I'm out in the yard working. Hope this helps.

-Jon
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post #16 of 23
2/7/05 at 8:27am
You have to try NEAR, they have excellent outdoor speakers!

Dean
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post #17 of 23
2/7/05 at 4:00pm
Thread Starter 
I found a local dealer with NHT, Niles, and Klipsch. He said that he has never sold a NHT outdoor speaker and didn't apparently ever want to. For cost reasons he sells Niles (mainly the OS-10) and for high end he uses Klipsch.

He has also used the rocks before and said they were a waste of money for subwoofers.

I looked at the NEAR specs and they were interesting. They don't have much of a high end as it falls off quickly at higher frequencies (-10dB, normally people quote -3dB).

I found some SA-3 on the web for $485 / pair, new and delivered. Seems reasonable compared to what I have seen and heard to date.
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post #18 of 23
2/7/05 at 8:21pm
Yeah, those cost reasons are probably because he has a better margin on Niles or something. Your local dealer is about to put a burr under my saddle with comments like that. I believe the NHTs could run with the Klipsch any day of the week. I'm sure the Klipsch are good, but the NHTs are very good as well.
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post #19 of 23
4/4/05 at 4:44pm
I have 2 Paradigm Stylus 350s under the eaves over my deck, and the sound is phenominal. Rich, sweet, full of bass, loads of power while still being precise. I didn't think outdoor could sound so good.
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post #20 of 23
4/5/05 at 11:05am
Hey Jon, could you post a pic, or give a better description of how/where you have your speakers mounted? I'm looking for a decent place to mount them with an acceptable WAF.

Thanks!

Chris
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post #21 of 23
4/6/05 at 7:42am
I have a friend who has a set of Energy Tempests. They are outstanding for use in his back yard. Huge yard and huge sound. I was so impressed I almost bought some for the house inside.
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post #22 of 23
4/6/05 at 8:26am
Horn aplenty?
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post #23 of 23
4/6/05 at 11:24am
I hooked up my Energy Tempests a couple of weeks ago on my back deck and I am impressed ! Not sure the neighbours are as thrilled as I am

They also have a toggle switch that you can select indoors or outdoors. So I bet they would sound even better indoors. They'd be tough as hell if someone had kids/pets or is just rough on their equipment.
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