When it comes to planning your outdoor space, audio and video can turn your backyard into a true oasis.

When designing a new house or renovating an existing structure, many of us focus on the interior features. We put money into automating our homes and into amenities for the kitchen, master bedroom, living and dining rooms, theater and computer and phone network. However, when it comes to the outdoors--which in many cases is the largest area of all--we tend to forget an important detail: the audio. It's easy to spend money on a swimming pool, a hot tub, landscaping or a dramatic fountain, but what do you do once these amenities are in place? Without a doubt, you'll want to turn on a little Mozart or Santana. Many home audio manufacturers have been hip to this luxury for years, but it seems many more are starting to join the fray, offering great products to help us enjoy the great outdoors like never before.

Sounds Great

Great sound is an obvious addition to any leisure area. However, you can't simply plunk your extra KEF towers from the 1970s into the planter next to the pool. You need specialty waterproof speakers that will resist the elements and provide great sound for years. When it comes to outdoor speakers, there are two flavors: plastic-molded speakers and those that look like rocks or planters (designed to blend in with the landscaping).

The rock look-alike speakers provide covert placement. Usually available in either brown or gray, they blend in perfectly with other landscaping landmarks. Look for rock speakers such as Sonance's CRK20, Rockustics' Rocky Jr., M&S Systems' Rock AG, Jamo's Rock 6.3A, OWI's L.A. Rocker, and Stereostone's Omni Planter speaker. All provide excellent performance and should weather virtually any storm.

If you have high growth in your planters and can nicely hide the speakers anyway, save some money and go with the plastic-molded variety. They sound just as good as their rock counter parts but don't cost as much because they skip the expensive facade. However, because you're competing with the sounds of nature (and possibly nearby air and road traffic), absolute fidelity in outdoor speakers is not critical to most people.

Many outdoor speakers come with brackets to mount the speaker onto an outside wall or pole. If you are tucking speakers up under the eaves of your house or in a area where they will not get pounded by the weather, a weather-resistant speaker will do fine. Check out Boston Acoustics' Voyager Series, Definitive Technology's AW-100, Bose's Environmental series, Elan's OM650, Polk Audio's Atrium series, and Klipsch's SA series, as all of these should satisfy anybody but the most critical listener.

If you are looking for a speaker to hold up to all that nature has to offer, you'll need a speaker that is weatherproof, not just weather-resistant. Look for weatherproof speakers such as Russound's OB series, SpeakerCraft's WS series, Terra Loudspeakers' AC series, B&W's WM series, Sonance's Mariners, Jamo's I/O series, Pinnacle's Atlantis series, RHB Sound's AWS-6, and in place of those KEF towers you'll want KEF's Ci 500 All Weather speakers.

For the truly hardcore music fanatics or those who wish to emulate the resort lifestyle in their own backyard, underwater speakers are the answer. The only game in town is really products by the famed Lubell Labs, which is responsible for the speakers you hear at most resorts and water parks throughout the country. The company also provides speakers for Olympic-sized pools that host competitive swim meets, presumably to let the athletes hear what is going on during the race. Contrary to what many people think, sound travels wonderfully through water, and with the right speakers, excellent sound can be achieved. Underwater sound also makes the aquatic experience much more fun, and in climates such as southern California or Florida, where people spend a lot of time in their swimming pools, it's not a bad idea. Penny Morgan, a southern California resident and an experienced sun worshipper, recently added speakers from Lubell Labs to her pool and found that they match her lifestyle perfectly. "Between tanning and lounging, it's nice not to miss a note when taking a dip," she says. "These speakers sound so great that I prefer listening in the pool. It's especially relaxing when I'm swimming laps; it makes the time go by so quickly, and I find it extremely soothing."

Video Mobility

What outdoor entertainment system would be complete without video? Whether it's a poolside TV for the big sporting event or a TV in an outdoor bar in the backyard, there are many options available, depending on your lifestyle. If you're so inclined, you can even have a plasma TV pop up next to the hot tub, as long it is protected properly.

The outdoors can be a great place to get creative by integrating your equipment into your lifestyle (and your budget). If you frequently entertain outdoors during the day, and you like to watch sports, why not customize your environment? Install a pop-up plasma next to the pool and include a motorized swivel. Products from companies like Inca and Lift-Tech will do the trick. Have your contractor weatherproof the mechanism and the TV, and you should enjoy many years of service. Be sure to look at a weatherproof enclosure for your monitor, no matter where you live, as the elements are not forgiving toward any electronics. This addition is sure to make your party pad the place to be, and is guaranteed to make you the most popular resident in your neighborhood.

If permanence is not your thing, consider portable TV models, such as the latest from Sharp and Sony. Both companies are offering wireless monitors, which work in the Wi-Fi domain. This means that they have a wireless transmitter that works the same way as surfing the Internet on your laptop. The best part is, you don't need long cords to give you a great picture and excellent sound. In fact, you don't need any cords at all to achieve audio/video bliss. Sharp's Wireless AQUOS LC-15L1U-S 15-inch LCD has a built-in rechargeable battery and is less than 3 inchs deep.

Cool Control

Having audio and video in the backyard is great, but how do you control it without toweling off and wiping your feet before the long trek back indoors to your equipment rack? It's easy: Just press a touchscreen from a company like Crestron, Elan or AMX, and you'll be in audio/video heaven in no time. Choose between the radio, satellite music, digital music, CDs or a music server, and you'll never run out of music or entertainment. By using a device like ReQuest Mulitmedia's fantastic AudioReQuest hard drive music server, you can change artists, genres or any custom playlist within seconds. You can make a pool party playlist and have hours and hours of uninterrupted music. Other great products include Crestron's XM Radio module, the C2N-TXM satellite radio tuner. This device allows the user to scroll through XM Radio's 100 channels for their favorite music and offers pristine sound at the same time.

The most important thing to remember when placing equipment outdoors is to make sure the equipment will survive the elements. Some products, such as an outdoor touchscreen, will require some level of weatherproofing (Crestron and others offer weatherproof membranes that cover the touchscreen), but placing these devices permanently inside a custom-built enclosure is an even better solution that also will protect the equipment from the glare of the sun.

If Crestron or AMX touchscreens are beyond the limits of your budget, look to Russound, HAI or Niles Audio for the solution. Products from these companys are more suited for the budget conscious, and while they offer less control, they still provide lots of value for the money.

Extend Your Network

These days, many of us are completely attached to our emails and our quest to find the right products to buy on eBay. We're relentless, and we obsess even in our downtime. However, obsessing in the outdoors has never been easier. Simply extend your home's wireless network outside, and you'll be web surfing by the pool in no time. Excellent products from Cisco or Apple (like the Airport Extreme) will have you unchained from your desk and can turn your entire property into a wireless zone for your whole family. Have your computer or network installer run antennas throughout the house in strategic locations to extend your wireless access, and the days of being chained to your desk will be a thing of the past. Instead, you'll be sipping margaritas and digging life poolside.

Whatever products you feel are right for your lifestyle, there is no question that these technologies can add tremendous benefit to a major part of your property and make the time you spend there much more enjoyable.

Jeff Cherun is a custom home audio/video designer who has systems in some of the most prestigious homes in southern California.

---

Prewire for Success

When you are ready to integrate technology into your outdoor space, you should think about the audio, video and wireless networking. Prewiring for this is simple: Just add the necessary speaker, video, control and network cables. Your custom installer will be able to do this for you. He can also prewire for the future, so you can simply add wire to the common areas outdoors with great ease. If you are going to add outdoor speakers, you should wire for more speakers rather than fewer (your neighbors will surely thank you). With more speakers strategically positioned, you can lower the volume of the system but have a nice, balanced level of sound coming from the speakers, which will sound great from any position.

Top Of Page