Garden Speakers

[The Medway Handyman]

Looking to get some speakers for the decking, so we can have a little music outside.

I've seen wireless ones which transmit from the hi-fi, but they need plugging in to the mains, which rather defeats the object - no power on the deck.

They don't have to look like rocks or anything.

SWMBO has some wireless headphone which plug into the 'phones' socket on the hi-fi (Sony).

So, question is; Can I just use a speaker extension lead of say 10 metres which will plug into the 'phones' socket and connect the other end to some outdoor speakers? Like these?

I could build a box for them out of deck boards

Would I lose anything over the cable length, what ohms do I need & how would I connect the cable to the speakers - bearing in mind I am to electronics what Colonel Custer is to Indian fighting.

[NT]

in most cases no, as most hifis have resistors on the 'phones output. You'd probably need to connect to the speaker conns at the back, and have a switch to turn them on or off.

ould build a box for

over 10m the power loss is trivial

most hifis use 8 ohm speakers. BUT any time you're running 2 sets of speakers at once you'd need to change the impedance you use. Simplest optin is to use a switch to switch between indoor or outdoor speakers, then 8 ohms will be fine.

If you look on the back of the hifi, it might say 4 ohm or 6ohm. If so, 8 ohms is still fine but 4 or 6 would give you maximum available power output.

amp L+ to speaker L+ amp R+ to speaker R+ amp L- to speaker L- amp R- to speaker R- hard to go wrong - just get both speakers connected the same way round or you lose bass.

And dont point them in opposite directions or ditto - or if you do want to, reverse the wires on one of them.

A 6" 1 way driver with random cabinet isnt gong to equal well designed hifi speakers in sound quality, but hopefully they'll do. Can't say I've even seen hifi quality waterproof speakers.

NT

[Dave Osborne]

Not really. The phones socket usually has resistors connected to limit the power delivered to the headphones.

If your hifi doesn't have terminals at the back for a second pair of speakers, then you should consider getting a speaker switch box.

e.g.

box allows you to switch both pairs of speakers on at once. This might cause a problem for your amp, but probably won't unless you turn your hi-fi up to max.

Your existing speakers will most likely be eight ohms and your new speakers should be likewise.

These would be fine.

Not really anything to worry about as long as you use reasonably thick cable. At least 0.75mm2 (6Amp) 2-core mains flex.

If you buy speaker flex, you can run it under the carpet. 42-strand would be OK.

No N20AP

what ohms do I need

see above

& how would

You might need to solder the cables to the speakers or you might need to crimp on a Lucar spade or the speakers might have screw terminals or clamp terminals

[Steve Firth]

Let's hope that your neighbours take umbrage and come round and stuff the speakers where they belong.

[David in Normandy]

I hope you don't have any near neighbours. At one place we lived back in England the neighbours regularly inflicted their music on everyone else who were relaxing outdoors. Quick way to fall out with the neighbours.

[Owain]

Not exactly hifi but Technomad seem to be able to take some abuse.

The Rockustics Rockolyth probably sounds pretty good but then at that price tag...

Owain

[Lino expert]

Now *they* sound like they go up to eleven.

[tony sayer]

Indeed and as much as I like music and hi-fi I also like silence from time to time so I keep the sounds inside or in the car or if I want to go outside then use phones.

Mind you at the moment there are a number of those "rats of the air" AKA pigeons with the most boring birdsong invented;!...

[David in Normandy]

I've heard them chattering too; I think they may be terrorists planning to take over the government because I kept overhearing them talking about a "Coo".

[martin_pentreath]

Hi Dave, have you seen these wireless ones? They're rechargeable, so they don't need mains, just need taking in to recharge every now and then:

that stockist is currently sold out.

Cheers!

Martin

[geoff]

I got

"Can you turn that music back on please, we were listening to that"

the other week

[NT]

I think bell wire would be better. 0.5mm^2 bell wire has a Vdrop of

88mV/m/A. At 8w rms (8v 1A) thats 1% of the speaker voltage, or a 2% power reduction at the speaker. 1.5mm^2 is rated to 21A with 70C insulation, so again bell wire would be more than capable.

I would not use stranded wire (speaker wire) outdoors unless really needed, as its vastly more vulnerable to corrosion.

NT

[John Rumm]

You can only really use the phones socket to drive small loads like a set of phones, or another amplifier which could in turn drive the speakers. A feed from the main speaker terminals would be best (better still of the amp directly supports two outputs - some do.

The speakers you link to claim to be "twin cone" - which suggests a construction not unlike some car speakers with a tweeter mounted in the throat of the woofer - so a simple box is all they need really - they probably don't need a separate tweeter and crossover.

You would need to make a proper enclosure for them. Since this is for use outside an fully enclosed "infinite baffle" box would be best (i.e. no reflex ports etc). Perhaps a WBP ply box that you could clad with deck boards to make it blend in better. Seal all the joins with silicone, and stuff it with some wadding.

I would use some flat T&E so you can dress it neatly where you want it.

1.5mm^2 ought to be adequate.

[Andrew Mawson]

neighbours.

Garden hose usually sorts out that sort of pollution

AWEM

[Dave Osborne]

I was going to say that, but then realised that as they are fully sealed, any enclosure you put them in isn't going to affect the air pressure on the rear of the cones, so sealing the enclosure and adding wadding ain't gonna make a blind bit of difference ;-(

[The Medway Handyman]

Sorry, should have said, they will live indoors & be taken outside only as & when needed.

[geoff]

How important is this all gong to be if you're listening to the birdy song with the wind whistling through the decking ?

[Dave Liquorice]

TMH says cable length is 10m so you have 10 * 88mV loss for your notional 1A current or 10%. And it's not as simple as power transfer you have a mass attached to a coil moving in a magnetic field. If the impedance of the source is high the mass will tend to keep moving when the signal is removed rather than be damped. This probably isn't an problem in this low power, Lo-Fi, application but reducing the resistance (ie fitting more copper) made a noticeable difference to my Hi-Fi, much more controlled bass.

1.5mm twin core mains flex has enough copper and is nicely flexable for installation and is fairly robust.

[John Rumm]

I did not think they were fully sealed. Shame if they are - it would suggest they are going to sound pretty poor.

Have a look at the data sheet:

side view suggests the rear of the main driver is open, which would require a proper box construction (and also mean that getting a decent bass response from them ought to be possible)

[John Rumm]

In which case there is no need to splash out (!) on water proof speaker drivers. Any ordinary set would be fine.