Enhance Your Outdoor Living Area With Music

Now that summer is in full swing, many of us will be spending more time outside on our decks and patios. As we move out of our family and living rooms to enjoy the summer breezes, many want to bring along some music to add to the experience.

For sure, the tried and true method of running speaker wire through the walls and in the attic to make these connections is an option. This method can be time consuming and messy. Also, with a wired system the location of the outdoor speakers is fixed, i.e. everyplace you want a speaker must have a wired connection. In my case I have had a set of Bose weather resistant speakers installed on our deck for many years. It has worked well. If, however, we want to move the speakers to another location in the back yard, it will require more wire.

There is a solution that might be a good option for those who may not want to hassle with wiring and time consuming installation. There are several wireless speakers that can be purchased that have great sound quality, run on batteries and can be located as much as 300 feet from the music source. And, since they are wireless you can move them to wherever you want. You can use several pairs of speakers in various locations to play the same music. So if you are having a party on the deck and some of your guests are in the pool or congregating indoors in the family room, all of the speakers can be playing the same audio. If the people move, the music can move with them.

There are several types of wireless systems but all use some sort of low power wireless radio transmission. There is a base station to which you connect the music source, i.e. a radio, traditional stereo unit, mp3 player or iPod. That base station serves as a personal radio station that broadcasts to a limited area. Each of the wireless speakers receives the same signal.

For those who want music in the garden there are even speakers that are in cases disguised as rocks or tree stumps. For those who may have a pond or water feature, you can get speakers that look like a frog. Why? I have no idea.

Some of these systems use Bluetooth technology but these do not provide a wide coverage. Be sure to read the description of how far the signal will travel and purchase accordingly.

Wireless speaker systems can be purchased at most any electronic retailers or on line. My research shows models beginning at about $50 a pair and going up to several hundreds of dollars. In most cases, the more expensive the system the more efficient battery life and sound quality.

Installing a few speakers in the back yard can be a perfect way to make your home retreat even more inviting.