Installing outdoor speaker

Norm always uses plenty of silicone-based caulk to seal outdoor installations. He recommends filling the hole around the speaker wire, wiggling the wire around to expose any gaps, and then hitting it with a second layer.

He also runs a bead along the top seam of the bracket, to further eliminate any route for moisture to get into the installation. When you run wire from the speaker to the receiver location, leave plenty of slack on either end, so you can adjust as needed.

Here, Norm uses a common tool to strip insulation off of speaker wire without damaging the delicate copper strands inside. Whenever possible, Norm likes to work with the existing structure of the house.

During one recent installation, he found a location where a hole had been cut in drywall to accommodate a previously installed cable modem. He ran his wire alongside it, rather than drill a new hole.

Norm makes it look easy, but we understand you might be reluctant to take on an outdoor speaker installation on your own. Call one of our Advisors at to get some expert advice before you take the plunge. In regard to the question about mounting on vinyl siding, there is actually a simple method to allow for the movement of the siding.

When you drill through the siding, make an slightly oversized hole and make one that is oval shaped in the siding. If you take a look at the siding itself, the holes where the installers nail the siding up is more of a long oval to allow for the movement of the siding.

We are having our home resided with new vinyl siding. While the contractor was here giving me an estimate, he saw that I had outdoor speakers mounted up high on the wall with the existing vinyl siding. He mentioned that vinyl siding is meant to move in place slightly, and recommended that I do not reinstall the speakers on the wall so that the new siding could move as intended.

Do you have any recommendations on how a situation like this by chance? Do the speaker wires have to be equal length so as to not have an imbalance in sound, resistance, etc? They are under an eve, so in theory they will with have limited exposure, but my question is - they need to be tilted down a little toward the yard Or perhaps they are designed to withstand that sort of thing Lance - Thanks for the question.

I reached out to our outdoor speaker guru Norm to get the advantage of his installation expertise, so I'm going to paste his reply here in quotes:. The speaker wiring connections are designed for outdoor use. I have got some outdoor speaker installations mounted on brick at a lake house that are coming up on 2 decades of use that have not been touched since the original installation. Outdoor speakers are designed so when the woofer and tweeter are facing towards the listening area, automatically the wiring connections will be in the correct orientation to allow for water to drain out.

The main idea when doing the wiring connection is for the connections to face down towards the ground or at least tilt down enough so that any rain water, etc. On a side note, you also don't want the woofer facing skyward to collect water like a bird bath does. What kind of care needs to be taken when you connect the speakers? The speakers are all-weather but I would assume the wiring and connection isn't. The speakers will not be under an awning so I want to make sure that the connection doesn't get wet and short anything out.

Thanks in advance! I'm installing 3 x Community Ww8t each speaker is over 40 lbs. I need to pour a small foundation as I plan to position them 10' off the ground where there is currently grass. I know I should get ground contract pressure treated wood but should it be 4x4 or 6x6? How big do I need dig for the foundation? Any other tips? Learn how to choose the right outdoor speakers for your home.

Before you purchase outdoor speakers, you need a good systems plan. How many speakers do you need? How much amplifier power? Where should the speakers go? First, we show you how to build a fairly simple 2- or 3-room audio system using one receiver.

Want sound in more than three rooms? It can get complicated, so you may want to consult an experienced system designer. To give you an idea of what's involved, we'll look at a typical 3-zone, 5-room system.

A comprehensive DIY guide, with videos. Learn how to incorporate Sonos wireless multi-room audio into a hard-wired system that features in-wall, ceiling, and outdoor speakers.

What you need to know before you start shopping for home speakers. Learn how to conceal the wires hanging down from your wall-mounted TV. Hide the wires running to your rear speakers. A behind-the-scenes look at Mark's new construction and whole-home audio system installation to show you how to plan your system before you build. For free personalized advice, call Our Advisors have listened to most of the speakers we carry, and can help you make the best choice for your system.

Close contact box. Call See our hours Our hours Hours 7 days a week. Looking for International Support? Connect ID. What is Connect ID? Call us at Your advisor will be able to share relevant pages and add items to your cart.

Your security and privacy are ensured. Our advisors cannot see anything that is on your computer. They only have the ability to "serve" a page from our site and put items in your cart. All finished with your chat session? Continue chat Close. Why is this required? But installing an outdoor speaker is not an easy thing. You need to consider some facts. Because you should not just put a speaker anywhere outdoor. It has to be in the accurate place in the accurate way.

You need to follow through some instructions and then plan how you are going to set up your speaker. Your type and size of speaker is also important to consider. Read through to know all about it. An outdoor stereo speaker is not different from the indoor speaker. But it has two big differences in its types: Resistance to the elements. Weatherproof, meaning they can resist direct recursions of sun, rain and cold. Others are weather-resistant, so they are not completely safe from things like rain and ice.

Many people may think that installing an outdoor speaker is a big issue. No its not! But you need to know the right process of installing it. There are many factors which you need to consider. On the other hand, setting up an outdoor speaker is not very complex. So, you can do it by yourselves. No need to bother to call an electrician.

Gather all the necessary equipment. Such as indoor receivers, volume control boxes, amplifier etc. To run the speaker to need to connect it with the indoor control equipment. Indoors, the walls will typically naturally amplify speaker sound while keeping out background noise, and thus require less volume and power to sound good. Outdoors, however, there may be no walls to contain sound, and it also has to overcome any outdoor background noise.

In fact, sometimes an extra subwoofer may be a great addition to your outdoor speakers to ensure optimal quality. A decent set of speakers should be at least 8 or so feet apart and 10 or so feet away from the listening area.