[Scott F.]

Hi All,

Looking for anyone that has had direct experience with any of these, higher end, outdoor speakers.

So, I’ve have a few different types over the years and looking for some great sounding OD speakers. I know all the limitations on OD speakers, no boundary reinforcement for bass, power requirements, etc. so we don’t need to go there. I’m looking for real world experience on what you’ve heard.

I’ll be placing these up in the corner where our overhangs meet the exterior walls to the house. Our overhangs are about 14’ deep and have side beams that are about 12” tall so I’ve got good shielding from the elements plus I get a bit of bass reinforcement. I’m driving these with 1000 watt iNuke Behringer amp. My preamp is a Yamaha Aventage where I use Zone 2 and 3 for our patio and porch speakers.

The speakers I’ve had over the years are Aperion Clearus 2 way. By far the best sounding of the lot.
https://www.aperionaudio.com/collections/in-wall-in-ceiling-speakers/products/aperion-audio-clearus-2-way-6-5-outdoor-indoor-speaker-pair-with-70v-switch

The latest were Definitive Technology AW6500. These thing suck, like a Hoover. They are veiled and have a very ‘thrummy’ base region. I don’t care for them at all.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_735AW6500W/Definitive-Technology-AW6500-White.html

I’m currently running the el cheapo Yamaha NS-AW350W. They aren’t too bad when you take the grills off. For the money they are just OK but I’m looking to upgrade.
https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/speaker_systems/ns-aw350/index.html



These are what I’ve found for high(er) end sound with outdoor speakers. I’m curious if anyone has listened to any of these.

Bowers & Wilkins AM-1. My speakers in my reference rig ate the Nautilus 800 Diamonds. Great sounds but unsure what their OD speakers sound like.
https://www.amazon.com/Bowers-Wilkins-Weatherproof-Outdoor-Speaker/dp/B00SS62BY6/ref=psdc_12097477011_t2_B07M7LJDYZ?th=1

PSB CS1000 – I’ve read tons of good things about these.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_760CS1000W/PSB-CS1000-White.html?tp=188

Focal 100 OD8 – These look interesting
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_091100OD8W/Focal-100-OD8-White.html?tp=188

Revel M80XC – These are interesting too
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-J5O6IImBvZF/p_265M80XCB/Revel-M80XC-Black.html

Airmotiv Vaulta ATL-6.5 – Emotiva makes some decent gear. Not sure about their speakers
https://emotiva.com/products/airmotiv-vaulta-atl-6-5-outdoor-loudspeaker-pair

JBL Stage XD-6 – I’ve heard the JBL product line at the baseball stadium. These are a different model but if the ‘house sound’ is similar, they might work.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_109XD6W/JBL-Stage-XD-6-White.html?tp=188

And finally, the Klipsch AW-650 – These could be a maybe….
https://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-AW-650-Indoor-Outdoor-Speaker/dp/B00096ZRJ4/ref=sr_1_9?c=ts&keywords=Outdoor%2BSpeakers&qid=1685584120&s=aht&sr=1-9&ts_id=12097477011&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.c3015c4a-46bb-44b9-81a4-dc28e6d374b3&th=1


So ultimately, I’m looking for as clean of sound as I can get. I’d like to get the deepest bass as possible out of a small and sometimes, sealed cabinet.

Thoughts? Comments? What are your personal experiences with any of these speakers? Are there any others that I might be overlooking?

TIA!



Moderator – Feel free to move this post if if’s not in the correct Circle, thanks.

[TomS]

These guys, Coastal Source, had an outdoor line source (seriously) at the Florida Audio Expo. Nice stuff.
https://coastalsource.com/line-source/

[Scott F.]

These guys, Coastal Source, had an outdoor line source (seriously) at the Florida Audio Expo. Nice stuff.
https://coastalsource.com/line-source/

Seriously cool stuff 

[Letitroll98]

Oh no, you're absolutely in the correct circle.  That's an impressive list, do I remember you posting some time back about your outdoor setup?  Wish I had something to add but I've never owned a set of outdoor speakers that weren't installed in a car.

[Scott F.]

Oh no, you're absolutely in the correct circle.  That's an impressive list, do I remember you posting some time back about your outdoor setup?  Wish I had something to add but I've never owned a set of outdoor speakers that weren't installed in a car.

I sorta remember posting about an old system I used outside a long time ago. It was a Jolida JD301 and a Boulder Cable modified Squeezebox driving the Aperion outdoor speakers. That was a fun little system. 

[FireGuy]

Axiom's M3 Outdoor is up for consideration.  Almost identical sounding to their in-house M3 V4.  Available with a color match option too.  I've owned their M3 V3 and Ti's for years.  Love them.  I would not overlook these. 

https://www.axiomaudio.com/outdoor-speakers

[Scott F.]

Axiom's M3 Outdoor is up for consideration.  Almost identical sounding to their in-house M3 V4.  Available with a color match option too.  I've owned their M3 V3 and Ti's for years.  Love them.  I would not overlook these. 

https://www.axiomaudio.com/outdoor-speakers

Interesting! I'll add those to the list. I had a pair of the M2s when the first came out, before they changed the tweeters. They had a nice sound as I remember.

Thanks!

[sfraser]

I use a similar set of the Klipsch speakers mentioned above at my hunt camp for the past 5-10 years. The speakers are not exposed to direct moisture. But are exposed to wild swings in humidly, temperature, dust and  wood smoke.  It is a hostile environment (100F down to -40F) and they have held up well. They are powered by a JL audio car amp and a Raspberry Pi with a a HiFIBerry DAC. Do they sound great? No, but they sound ok, and take a lot of environmental and physical (played loud) abuse.

[Kegman21]

Bigger is better if you need to broadcast your sound over a large yard. Klipsch will kill it.