Hiding Outdoor Speakers

The strategies used to hide outdoor speakers depend largely on the outdoor space that you’re looking to blend your music with the scenery. Speakers can be strategically built into decking, patios, trellises or pergolas in a way that blends nicely with a structure, but hiding speakers in more open areas requires a bit more strategic planning.

Did you know speakers can be built right into outdoor landscaping objects like rocks and large planters? Advances in speaker technology and sound design have resulted in some exceptional and truly unique methods for bringing music to an outdoor area.

Blending Speakers into an Outdoor Environment

There are two general approaches to incorporating sound into an outdoor environment: adding speakers directly to a structure or incorporating stand-alone speakers disguised as an outdoor feature. If you have structures in the immediate vicinity, like a house, shed or deck, speakers can be attached directly to the structure or possibly built into the structure with minor cosmetic work. Although it is easier to incorporate built-in speakers during original construction, speakers can be added at any time.

If your goal is to bring music to an area away from existing structures, like a swimming pool, it may be easier and more cost effective to develop an acoustic system using landscape speakers. Rocks and planters are some of the more commonly used disguises. Every outdoor acoustic project takes careful planning to ensure that the highest quality outdoor sound is created without disrupting the visual appeal of a landscaped area.

Who Makes The Best Outdoor Speakers?

Rockustics is developing some of the most attractive and innovative outdoor speakers on the market. Nearly all their speakers are designed to blend into an outdoor environment. And for those people with beach houses – check out the “CocoNutz” speaker, a 2-way hanging speaker system made out of replica coconuts, perfect for anyone with a beach property or tropical themed restaurant.

For those interested in building speakers into a patio, deck or other structure, the outdoor speakers from Niles Audio and PSB Speakers come in several colors, and can be seamlessly incorporated to match the design of an outdoor structure, because after all, a good outdoor speaker should be heard, not seen.

Designing a Great Outdoor Sound System

Whether your goal is to have music out by the pool, on the back deck, or create a fun outdoor environment at a restaurant or vacation property –  consider hiring a professional to ensure you get a system that provides the sound quality your environment demands. Someone out in a quiet country setting, like Goochland, is going to have very different acoustic needs than someone in a house off Monument Avenue or in the Fan, where noise from traffic and neighbors never ceases. When it comes to outdoor speaker systems always chose quality over quantity, because a few high quality speakers will last longer and provide much better sound quality than twice as many cheap ones.

Insist that the professional you hire takes into account your specific budget, unique surroundings and overall acoustic goals. Moseley Electronics is Richmond’s premiere outdoor technology expert. Contact us online or at 804-379-1348 if you’d like help installing hidden outdoor speakers or have questions related to designing a high quality sound system for an outdoor environment, and by all means, let the music play!