The magic of outdoor listening

Very interesting topic, johnk.  I started thinking about the title before I read the responses.  My first thought was how difficult it would be to put all equipment (turntable, CD player, DAC, preamp, amp, etc.) into a cabinet for protection against wind, moisture, dust, heat, cold and more.  I then opened the responses and read each one.  NO ONE mentioned anything about equipment needing protection from anything.  The gist of the thread is how the listener felt when listening outside and the experience gained from listening outside. Everyone had a simple way to have music outside.  Funny, sad and embarrassing how I thought first about the equipment and secondly about the music.

rayd: so the way i have my set-up is all the gear is inside my back room. i run the speaker wires from the amp to the speakers outside, which are on stands. this allows me to swap out speakers as mood dictates. different speakers for different moods.

@soix  +1 for Sonance Landscape Series. I had a system with (8) LS6T satellite speakers (4L+4R channel) and (1) LS12T in-ground subwoofer running off a Crown CDi 1000 Amp with equalizer. System was controlled by Control4.
We sold the home, but it was an amazing system at both low and high volumes.

there are many factors - the street, the volume, the number of people, but the main content of the music

 

The comments made on this topic were sensible and I'll add a few from my experience with outdoor sound when doing DJ work for parties and functions held outdoors. First, alert those living nearby about the outdoor music and the hours you intend to play it by. If it's a private party maybe the nearby neighbors can be invited or at least given the option to let you know the sound is too loud before they call the police to report it. Second, directional speakers will always perform better outdoors than cone & dome hi fi speakers, think Klipsch, JBL or Altec and put the sound where the party is and not where the neighbors are. Third, bass travels better than high frequencies so keep the bass down. Fourth, sound gets bent up during warm summer days and hugs the ground after dark. I would always advise my client that we need to reduce the volume after dark as the police might show up soon after dark when the neighbors, who couldn't hear much of it during daylight hours, hear it too well after dark. The right set-up and preparation will allow for some great outdoor listening when you want it or need it!