Groovin' Poolside

July 27, 2011 12:13 PM

Please recommend some decent outdoor speakers for under $200!

My parents are wanting some outdoor speakers. This is the criteria my mom gave me:

"Best quality/fidelity/for outdoors/don’t need to be waterproof/at least 2 speakers/not too tiny/preferably closer to $100 than $200.

We need something large enough for patio area that we can hear if we’re as far away as pool. "

The patio is right off the house. Down a few steps is the pool--I'd say where the pool starts is about 25 feet away from the house.

I have no idea how outdoor speakers work, so I'm at a loss as far as what other details to provide. If you can answer this but need more info, let me know and I will do my best to figure it out! :)

posted by lovableiago to Technology (2 answers total)

I have a pair of Polk Atrium outdoor speakers, though mine are the older model (Atrium 45, no longer sold. ) They get pretty loud and sound great; my neighbors, probably 25 yards away, can also appreciate the music when they're cranked up. I'd buy another pair today if I needed outdoor speakers.

You have to run speaker wire from your amplifier to these; but not power. They need to be mounted on something, ideally, something wooden you can drill mounting screws into.

There are wireless speakers that can be had, but they require power. There are also speakers that look like rocks, and sit on the ground; these come in both wired, non-powered and wireless, powered versions.
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Sockpuppetry at 12:34 PM on July 27, 2011

Best Buy has a pretty good selection of outdoor speakers in a range of prices.
Brands that offer good value for the money include:
Boston Acoustics
Polk
Definitive Technology

If you decide to increase your budget to $300, take a look at Aperion Audio's Intimus Outdoor speakers.
One nice thing about Aperion is they offer a 30 day trial and free shipping both ways (if you decided to send them back).
posted by nickthetourist at 1:10 PM on July 27, 2011