Just thought I would share what I have put together for outdoor entertaining.
We started off with a flagstone patio a few years back. With that we put in lighting, a grill area and speakers for music. This year we added the pool and with that realized we needed more coverage for sound. The new pool deck lounge area was out of reach of the original patio speakers, unless they were cranked to a level that would disturb the neighbors around us.
I decided to another pair of speakers and install independent volume controls for each pair. This serves two purposes. The volume controls will match the impedance of the amplifier to avoid damage to the amp. It also allows me to have independent control over each zone. This came in handy as you will see.
I also decided to add a television to the mix. I had an extra 32" TV that we were not using so I decided to give that a try. I mounted it under the covered porch to keep it out of the elements. I found a great little mount that allows me to swivel the TV to be viewed from multiple locations.
The audio and video sources are conveniently located in the bedroom that is adjacent to the wall where the TV is mounted. All I had to do was get some CL2 rated cables and run them up the wall and through the header. I added a GFIC outlet and ran power from there as well. The audio source used to be an old Pioneer receiver. After a little research, I found that Sherwood makes a great little stereo receiver that supports four pairs of speaker and two switched zones. I also added the best thing since sliced bread, the Apple airport exchange. This little device allows me to stream music from my home PC running iTunes, from my iPhone ipod and from other nice apps like Pandora on my iPhone and iPad. I have complete control with my phone including volume levels. I cannot say how nice this feature is, and the cost was only an additional $100. It is truly amazing.
This is where the independently wired paired speakers came in handy. Since the patio area and the pool lounge area are somewhat isolated sonically, I am able to have a television show running at the patio simultaneously with music at the pool lounge.
Let me know what you think.
Here are some pics:
TV HDMI and Outlet
TV in covered patio:
TV swung out to patio area. You can also see the right speaker there:
Volume controls:
Patio and left speaker:
Pool lounge area speakers under eves:
Pool lounge area:
View of pool area from grill:
We started off with a flagstone patio a few years back. With that we put in lighting, a grill area and speakers for music. This year we added the pool and with that realized we needed more coverage for sound. The new pool deck lounge area was out of reach of the original patio speakers, unless they were cranked to a level that would disturb the neighbors around us.
I decided to another pair of speakers and install independent volume controls for each pair. This serves two purposes. The volume controls will match the impedance of the amplifier to avoid damage to the amp. It also allows me to have independent control over each zone. This came in handy as you will see.
I also decided to add a television to the mix. I had an extra 32" TV that we were not using so I decided to give that a try. I mounted it under the covered porch to keep it out of the elements. I found a great little mount that allows me to swivel the TV to be viewed from multiple locations.
The audio and video sources are conveniently located in the bedroom that is adjacent to the wall where the TV is mounted. All I had to do was get some CL2 rated cables and run them up the wall and through the header. I added a GFIC outlet and ran power from there as well. The audio source used to be an old Pioneer receiver. After a little research, I found that Sherwood makes a great little stereo receiver that supports four pairs of speaker and two switched zones. I also added the best thing since sliced bread, the Apple airport exchange. This little device allows me to stream music from my home PC running iTunes, from my iPhone ipod and from other nice apps like Pandora on my iPhone and iPad. I have complete control with my phone including volume levels. I cannot say how nice this feature is, and the cost was only an additional $100. It is truly amazing.
This is where the independently wired paired speakers came in handy. Since the patio area and the pool lounge area are somewhat isolated sonically, I am able to have a television show running at the patio simultaneously with music at the pool lounge.
Let me know what you think.
Here are some pics:
TV HDMI and Outlet
TV in covered patio:
TV swung out to patio area. You can also see the right speaker there:
Volume controls:
Patio and left speaker:
Pool lounge area speakers under eves:
Pool lounge area:
View of pool area from grill:
That is a nice setup. Very nice, in fact. Great idea with the TV and such. You will have many days/nights of enjoyment out there. Congrats.
