Outdoor speakers with solid bass


A buddy asked me to research speakers for use outdoors. He does have a nice system in the living room, so knows the difference between good and bad sound. His concerns are getting adequate bass and the speakers being able to withstand the elements. It's California, so the latter is mostly just rain, wind and sun.

I've looked at what is available via the Internet and wanted to get you input, too.

Budget is in the neighborhood of $600 give or take a hundred or two.
fpeel
I'll second the Sonance. At their price point, I have heard nothing that compares (to my ears) to the Mariner 300's.

CD
The Sonance Mariners are the way to go. They were tested for weeks on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The only thing that they needed at the end of the test was a hosing down. Other than that, they were still AMAZING!!!
Niles OS25's are what I have. There mounted under the soffit in two corners and the bass is VERY good for outdoor speakers.

I personally haven't heard an outdoor to match'em.
I would suggest getting a pair of Bic DV52SI moddified by Ed Frias. They have great bass for such a small speaker. Email Ed a efespkrs@aol.com and he will give you the specs. I think they are about $150.
Without the reinforcement of the listening room, the bass often seems to disappear outside. Just take any pair of speakers outside and you'll see what I mean. Mounting on the house, using the eaves as a kind of corner load can help quite a bit.
Sonance Mariner line- can find them used all over Ebay. Very listenable sound, good bass, good mounting system and good durability. I installed tons of them and I know damn well a lot of them were abused, but they just keep going.