Audio Around Pool

[Rigwald]

Hello!

I am looking to add audio to our pool area. I don't have a whole house audio system, so this will be a stand alone system. (picture of area found here: http://techtalk.parts-express.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=17474&d=1313444355)

I received a quote from one place, that was well over $3000, which is way over our possible budget.

I really don't know what is needed to make it happen. The quote suggested 4 speakers around the pool and 2 on the deck. They suggested Bose 251's. After doing some research, I found people like the Yamaha NS-AW390's at about 1/2 the cost.

I guess I am looking for advise as to what I really need. I don't understand amplifiers and how they go together with speakers. (For example, how many channels needed, etc....). If need be, the pool speakers can suffice for listening on the deck. Budget is around $1000. I've attached a picture of a diagram showing the area affected.

I have been learning as I have posted on several forums looking for advice, but I am still not sure of a lot of things. Is it possible to simply get a 7.1 receiver to power the speakers (say 4 around the pool) in a stereo fashion (not surround sound)? If so, is there something special I need to look at in terms of the receiver in order to do that?

I like the specs of the Yamaha's but they are an odd 6 ohm. The PylePro PDWR63's also have good specs, but have a higher wattage requirement.

One person suggested rock speakers, but I am afraid that they won't provide the sound that I am looking for.

Does anybody here have any suggestions, advice, setup recommendations, etc... that might help me make this little project a reality?

Thanks!

 

[Rigwald]

After a lot of web searching and product reading, I think I got something that can work! (If not, please let me know. )

Onkyo TX-NR609 Network Receiver
Onkyo UWF-1 Wireless Adapter (USB for access to network)

This gives me the opportunity for 7 channels of 100 watts at 8 Ohms (and it will handle 6 ohms if I understand the manual correctly):

You can connect speakers with an impedance of between 6 and
16 ohms. If you use speakers with a lower impedance,
and use the amplifier at high volume levels for a long
period of time, the built-in amp protection circuit may be
activated.

Now the question of speakers. I don't know if this is too powerful for the Yamaha speakers. They are max 130 watt and 40 watt nominal. Is this a problem or am I misunderstanding something?

 

[Regk]

What I Use for My pool setup is actually a set of Rocketfish Wireless Speakers. I picked these units up off ebay for around 100$ for a pair, and I connect them to any media source in my house. they wirelessly sync into stereo mode and are even remote controlled. They can be used with an AC adapter or run under rechargeable bettery power. the sound is pretty good for what they are, totally portable/ adaptable to my changing needs, and are weatherproof!

If I had it my way, I would love to do a much more elaborate setup, but first I need Land with no neighbours to tick off with a booming system outdoors!

 

[olds]

I bought a pair of outdoor speakers and hooked them up to a Sony 900 ES receiver that I wasn't using. I play the radio or XM satellite (that I already had).
Total cost was about $200.
I had parts laying around but even building something from scratch would likely cost less than $1k.