NY_Ken Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 WOW, now I feel really CHEAP! My $5.00(used no less) plastic computer speakers and $3.00 (also used) walkman stereo feed by my whole house FM transmitter attached my XMP3 reciever playing the "SPA" channel should sound pretty bad. No it's not like my Bose in the living room, but I don't worry about it getting ruined or stolen, and it sounds great as it's placed above the tub. What would my friends say if they knew I was so cheap! Oh well, I will just have to smoke my Montecristo while I soak and listen to my cheap "SPA" music. Cheap Kenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
north_of_boston Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 WOW, now I feel really CHEAP! My $5.00(used no less) plastic computer speakers and $3.00 (also used) walkman stereo feed by my whole house FM transmitter attached my XMP3 reciever playing the "SPA" channel should sound pretty bad. No it's not like my Bose in the living room, but I don't worry about it getting ruined or stolen, and it sounds great as it's placed above the tub. What would my friends say if they knew I was so cheap! Oh well, I will just have to smoke my Montecristo while I soak and listen to my cheap "SPA" music. Cheap Kenny The Montechristo cigar is probably worth more than the speakers. Especially if it's a Cuban, and not the Domincan one. But I digress. I have two Cambridge Soundworks speakers up on my two fenceposts. To keep the wiring down, I will probably put an old car radio in a waterproof box out by the tub, and either power it with a 13.8 v cheapo power supply from within the house - OR - some type of rechargeable battery. Also - my computer is inside the house -- they have these little things you can use to have the output of your computer speakers transmit a flea-power signal on FM -- I can use that old car radio to receive my internet (my favorite stations are BBC radio 2, and CBC radio 2, which you cannot get "off the air" here in Massachusetts)... so, that may be the way I'm going... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_s Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 I have the Infinity Outriggers. They are connected to my Sonos system which in turn connects to Spotify. It's great to be able to sit outside and control the music directly from the iPad. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/529937-REG/Infinity_IF70017_IF70017_OUTRIGGER_2_Way_Indoor_Outdoor.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjames710 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 I love Infinity's. I have replaced all of my car speakers with Infinity Kappas. I can't even understand why people think Bose are better, they are horrid. They came standard in my GMC Acadia, and within two weeks of having the car, I had them all removed and replaced. Outside, I have some cheap Dynex speakers. They sound decent enough for the tub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Check out the outdoor speakers at Monoprice (google them). For the little bit of money they charge they are amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spawn Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Lots of opinions of outdoor sound systems. I'll be honest and say that I have not listened to many different systems or investigated the equipment that I was hearing, but like others, I admit to some biases. I am not a Bose fan - but some people are - and I have not heard their outdoor systems, so my prejudice may be unfounded, but I would probably look elsewhere. My main contirbution to the thread is the following. Although we have come to love stereo and even multi-channel sound, a mono system seems to make a lot of sense outdoors. With stereo and multichannel there is a relatively small sweet spot to benefit from the imaging qualities that seem to make the speakers disappear and the sound float from a soundstage. Maybe you call pull it off if the listening area is small - such as while in the tub - and speakers are properly placed, but often a person will primarily hear the speaker he / she is nearest. With music distributed over two, or more speakers, some info is lost. That doesn't happen with mono. Mono can have excellent sound - it is not inherently inferior to stereo. With mono, you can have any number of speakers distributed outdoors - odd numbers if you want. If you have space, maybe you have sound at the tub, maybe at an apre-spa lounging area maybe at the grill, maybe at the eating area, etc. - it all works well with mono. One other thought is that some frequecies carry better than others, so if you can distribute the speakers so that you can be fairly close to them it will help the sound. It will also allow you to keep the volume lower, requiring less power from your electronics and sparing you the ire of your neighbors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DustyBill54 Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 After reading this thread, I realised that I know nothing about sound systems but I love music and sometimes I do like to listen when I am lounging in the tub. I never gave much thought to the quality of the sound as long at it wasn't loaded with static. I have to laugh at myself because last weekend I was working in the garden and was really digging (no pun intended) the music and was thinking how good it sounded. This is my elaborate system......in my work shop that sits on one side of my back yard, I have an old stereo system. I'm talking it's been out there for over 20 years and FM is all it will do anymore. In the middle is my patio and there I have two computer speakers that I bought off ebay for $15 and have been hanging under the eve for at least 10 years. They are wired into my home theater system. My pride and joy though is the little clock radio sitting by the hot tub that one of my sons left behind on his second time to leave home. If I can get it positioned just right, it does a great job of picking up the local FM classic rock station. Sometimes, I have to make a second trip around to get the volumes balanced just right but I have a rocking back yard as well as a happy productive garden. LOL. Now I did have a complaint one day from the neighbor that lives behind me. I decided that I wanted to listen to some Country music one Saturday. After about 30 minutes and between songs they hollered through the trees to put it back on rock-n-roll. I have to admit , my favorite thing to listen to while in the hot tub is to get in a little before daylight, with no jets running and listen to all the birds as they wake and greet the new day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
north_of_boston Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 UPDATE - Hooked up my Cambridge Soundworks speakers -- I had an old stereo amp/tuner, then figured out a way to run the speaker wires into the house. Did that. Good enough sound and they're weatherproof. As far as alternate input sources - we have an iPad now, and we generally listen to different radio stations, from all around the web. Oddly enough, one of the best is a local FM station = WXRV-FM "The River". If you're in the Boston area, or southern NH, southeastern Maine - 92.5. They are on the web. Others we listen to - Highland Radio, BBC Radio Berkshire, probably others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lips Malloy Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 This thread has been so helpful! I was talked out of getting an onboard spa stereo system, and was going to go with an outdoor setup, but wanted wireless too. I love Sirius/XM, but I'm not sure I could get reception here in Mammoth Lakes with the big mountains all around. And here, besides having the "dark sky" rules (the stars ARE amazing here), it is SO quiet in my neighborhood that I fear I would be shot or my house torched if I played a stereo outside. All I hear here are birds, wind chimes, and the wind through the trees. And the occasional howling of the sled dogs. At least I think they are sled dogs. And maybe that's enough, either sitting in the spa alone or if you have a bunch of friends over, the convo is certainly enough. If I did a sound system, I think it would be small, just a little background music played softly. Granted, I would LOVE to blast music, but it just seems rude and inappropriate here. I think the only way to do that is to have a live performance on the deck and invite the whole neighborhood. I do have all the musicians. I guess an outdoor system is just one less thing (and expense) for me to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjames710 Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Sirius/XM are satellite radios, which means as long as the antenna can see the sky, you'll have service. Used to have it in all of our cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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