Expand Your Clients’ Home Audio With Outdoor Entertainment
Assembling and Installing Outdoor Audio
Today’s luxury homeowners are all about convenience and experience, and that extends to home audio. Whole-home audio shouldn’t be limited to the indoors only. If you’re an architect, designer, or builder, an outdoor entertainment system may be precisely what your clients are looking for. But how should outdoor audio be arranged and installed? Do you have the knowledge and resources to do so?
As audio video experts in Charlotte, NC, we at The Integrated Home can assist your residential (and commercial) projects with an outdoor entertainment design and installation. You can learn more about outdoor audio and how it works in our guide below.
SEE ALSO: Enjoy Audio Anywhere with Sonos Multi-Room Music
Wiring & Powering Outdoor Audio
To power a system of speakers outdoors, you’ll need a powerful receiver or amp that is wired to the yard. When distributing your outdoor speakers, we bury cable underground in nonmetallic PVC conduits that seal cables away from the elements and rodents. Low-voltage writing will be completely safe from harm, impossible to see, and lead back to a controller that syncs with your indoor audio and displays, too.
Control
Your clients probably won’t want to run inside the house every time they have to raise the volume or change the song from a control box or auxiliary cord. By integrating speakers into a smart system like Control4, outdoor audio can be accessed right from a smartphone, tablet, and voice assistant speaker. In just a few taps, they’ll be able to choose the song for the entire house, select specific speakers, switch the playlist for the patio, raise the volume, and even turn on smart lights, security, or screens from the same app.
Bass Notes
Outdoor loudspeakers are limited in bass because a backyard’s open space won’t interact with sound waves in the same way four walls do. Mounting speakers against a wall can help, but it won’t compare to the high-end sound of indoor speakers. That’s where an outdoor subwoofer comes to play. Weatherproof in-ground subwoofers, like models by Coastal Source, are partially buried below ground to deliver full-bodied bass notes. They’re easily hidden amongst landscaping and have a large driver inside for higher performance and fidelity. So, put on “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads or “Come Together” by the Beatles and feel the bass like it’s live.
Around the Pool, Patio, and Pathways
No matter the size of a yard or listening area, you can create a balanced speaker setup that emits audible music from any angle. Coastal Source’s small bullet speakers are 3” wide and can discreetly peek out under shrubbery or line pathways, resembling a tiny lamp. The larger Ellipse Bollards are full-range speakers, available in 3-way and 2-way models. Rock speakers can blend into nature for clients who want outdoor audio without the sight of technology in nature.
Under Eaves Speakers
If your project includes a roofed patio, cabana, or porch, weatherproof under-eaves speakers can be mounted to stay outdoors all year long. Combine them with satellite speakers and in-ground subwoofer to complete a robust listening environment. Under-eaves speakers by James Loudspeaker are built from aluminum for marine-grade protection from all weather. The speakers are custom-fit and colored to match the wall, so your design won’t have to sacrifice its aesthetic, as the speakers will blend right in.
Ready to add outdoor entertainment to your project? Need a hand? Contact The Integrated Home here or give us a call at (704) 412-4040.
