My question is, why do you want to do this instead of connecting to the inside system? That would help answer your question.

I do know that one inconvenience of connecting to an inside system is the inability to control the volume from outside. This can be addressed by installing an "L-Pad" that controls the level to the speakers.

Other than that, yes, you should definitely store the receiver in a cabinet of some sort to protect it from the elements. I don't know of a specific one, but I would look for one designed for outdoor use that has weather-proofing. Or, build your own.

We replaced our receiver and indoor equipment last fall and are planning on using our older equipment to power our outdoor speakers. We are putting it in one of the cabinets you can see below and we ran speaker wire to install some outdoor speakers (2 inside the cabana and 2 on the outside facing the pool). I hope to some day build a removable movie screen to hang on the pool side of the building and use the outdoor system and a projector to show movies. We shall see.

Wow Boogerhead, the car stereo idea is just what I need, I think. How do you hook it up to regular power outlet? I'm sure I can Google it, but if you have any advice, please let me know. I'm going to look into it.

shaggydawg: Good questions-why do we want to have a stand-alone system outside? I came up with the idea so we would avoid having to drill through the outside wall into the media cabinet, and also so we did not have to figure out how to simultaneously watch TV inside while listening to XM outside. We would have to hire somebody who knows what they are doing in order to accomplish this. Tweeter did our inside system (it was my hubby's 40th birthday gift to himself :-) so whatever is in that media center is a complete mystery to me and probably my husband, and he does not want to deal with trying to figure it out

stonesmama: That is a nice looking cabana! Our outdoor space isn't quite that custom yet, but you are giving me some ideas. The movie projector would be fabulous - if I had more than my current postage stamp size yard I would totally get one. I saw one (o.k. it's a little pricey) at Frontgate.

I found the car stereo with water/weatherproof case at this site. I think they only recommend four speakers max though
http://www.outdooraudio.com/dt_details.htm

I will get a bid on getting the speakers hooked up to our existing system and then compare it to just buying a receiver for outside. Unfortunately construction/installation projects in SoCal seems to be 30% more than in other parts of the country so we could be looking into spending more money than we want to. Decisions, decisions and there is not even any water in the pool yet!

Thanks for all your input!

You will need a 12v power supply capable of providing enough current to run the stereo...this will be several amps so the average plug-directly-into-the-wall power supply will not work. I am using a 12v ATX power supply from a computer. The reason I used this is that they are ultra reliable, provide lots of 12v power, cheap, and best of all -I can remotely control it using a very low voltage, low power line. You could do the same using X-10 remote control and a standard 12v power supply.

I looked at the web site that you listed and they should have an appropriate supply. While I think that their stuff is overpriced, it does appear to be well researched and complete.

Good luck with your project, I know that you will enjoy the music!!!!

A boat stereo is something that I've heard people mention using poolside as well. It's designed for a wet environment and some of them come with remotes. You can get a 12v wall-wart transformer for powering a car or boat stereo off of household power.

If you live in a very humid climate - like we do in Houston - keeping the stereo dry is only half the battle.

I am planning on getting a Sonos system to hook up. They are nice albeit a bit pricey. Check it out...

Here is a link that might be useful: Sonos

I am in So Cal as well (Riverside). I have all of my equipment built into the island. First set of double doors below the large clock on the wall (see pic)

I have satelite TV with surround sound as well as Stereo,CD, MP3 and Sirius radio.

It's a must for the outdoors in my opinion.

I would love to have a sonos system as well but until they drop in price I'm staying away.

Jdegid

Here is a link that might be useful: MY backyard PIcs

I think the marine/boat stereo is a great idea!

Also, I would like to hear some follow up or reviews from those who have the OSD (Outdoor Speaker Depot) speakers.

I have the Bose outdoor speakers from Sams Club. We have 4 speakers all together. The receiver is my old NAD from the 1980's. It sits on top of our towel storage cabinet. I plug in my iPod, put it on shuffle, and I'm ready to go.

I have a Yamaha receiver that drives my out door system and its in its 4th year now. I also have an LCD TV that is the same age that is fine as well. They sit on a shelf in the roof and are subjected to all kinds of high humidity here in South Florida. They even went through a hurricane up there (of course I covered them). My tiki hut has a thatched roof too. I think a marine stereo is over kill and you'd have to step down the current to 12vDC.

I think I might use an old receiver we have laying around. Certainly don't need state of the art 7.1 surround for the pool area! I just need to find some speakers that are good quality and reasonably priced. I need a pair for under the eve and some for out by the pool. I was looking at the TIC omni speakers, but would like to hear some reviews on them since there's nowhere to actually listen to them. The rock speakers don't really do it for me.

I have Polk Audio, B&W, Klipsch and Bose speakers. I also have some rocks in the garden. If I had to rank them I would so as follows:

1) B&W = These were very expensive and bought about 10 years ago. They still sound great and can handle lots of power and cover all the ranges very well including lows. I don't even know if B&W still makes them or not. If they do and you don't mind spending some bucks, these are by far the best I have ever heard. These are in my Tiki hut.

2)Polk - I don't know the model other then its the top one for outdoor. They were not cheap. They sound great. They are good on the lows, but definitely can benefit from a subwoofer. These are in my outdoor kitchen.

3) Klipsch - I used these for the sub woofers outdoors and in the summer kitchen. They have held up well so far and really add to the sound quality out doors. The sub makes all the differnce in the world.

4) Rock - If your speakers are going in the yard, these are the best choice that I know of. Although, the TIC's look like they are very weather proof as well. Mine are 13yrs old now and still sound good. They have been through four hurricanes, sat in water, been peed on by my dog and God knows what else and they keep working.

5) Bose - These are also in my summer kitchen. They are the weakest of all of my speakers and definitely need a sub woofer to sound good. They are the middle of the road model but when I bought them, I don't think they were much worse then the top Bose outdoor speakers.

The key I have found to good quality sound outdoors is to have the speakers face the house at an angle. This also seems to prevent a lot of the bleed over to your neighbors house as well. I don't know much about the TIC's to tell you one way or the other. One thing other thing I would recommend is a receiver that has zones or at least an A,B,A+B speaker option. This way you can turn on or off the sets you don't want on.

Kitchenshock, thanks for the information and review. Any additional information on model #'s etc. would certainly help. What brand rock speakers do you have? One of my concerns with the TIC's is the omni mode, which makes it hard to keep from going towards the neighbors.

just a heads up, I went with a marine stereo and two rocks and two Bose speakers, I have a wired remote in the tiki bar and a wireless waterproof one for the hot tub. it works great. But you will not get the current required from a wall wart.... non that IÂve ever seen anyways. I use an inverter from radio shack, (yea yea I know) I was thinking of doing a power supply from a PC but alas.... IÂm lazy, After all Laziness is the mother of invention.... "thereÂs' got to be an easer way"....