SUMMER SOUNDS
Today your music collection is mobile: with the increase in technology you can take your collection wherever you go! This is great – it means on those summer days (which we seem to be getting a lot of at the time of writing this) you can sit in the park or garden and enjoy your favourite tracks. This said sound that comes from a phone or portable device is very often inadequate and lack lustre: due to the size of the device etc speakers capable of doing anything of merit cannot be fitted – this is where our range of portable speakers come in. We also offer a wide range of permanent outdoor speakers for those who want the absolute best for their gardens and other outdoor spaces.
Outdoor speakers can be seen as a lifestyle product, you want them to look good – after all they are on show. That said, you will want them to sound great as well: some cheaper offerings can look great but sound pretty bad, we cherry pick our products to ensure quality throughout, lets have a look at some of the fantastic offerings we are pleased to be able to bring to you:
Starting with portable players:
PURE Jongo S3 Wireless Speaker with Bluetooth
The Pure Jongo S3 is an all in one solution: portable and sounds fantastic! It offers you the ability to travel with you music and enjoy it in the finest quality. Small in size it is easily transported in a bag and will stream via Bluetooth or Wifi – ideal for those sunny afternoons in the park! With up 10 hours of playback ample enjoyment can be obtained from one charge, no Walkman meltdown!
We were really surprised when we got the chance to hook one of these up, for such a small package sound is detailed, smooth and airy: just have a look at this review:For: Large sound that belies its size; detailed; good balance; well designed…great sound, affordable multi-room smarts and easy portability make this a real gem’ (What Hi-Fi magazine)
Geneva Model XS DAB+
If style and aesthetics are key, lets face it who doesn’t want their Hi-Fi to look good then check out the Geneva, subtle lines and minimalist finishing make the XS a real winner. Its not all about the looks though this unit sounds great as well, being fold-up it is well protected from any knocks or bumps it may encounter on the move – which is a great feature sometimes over looked by other manufactures. (iPhone not included)
Braven 600 Portable Bluetooth Wireless Speaker
The Braven 600 is a all in one solution for your portable music needs, be that in the park, at a festival or relaxing in the garden. With industrial looks and build quality it is going to be around for a long time. Featuring two full range HD drivers sound quality is not sacrificed – albeit small! We currently have these available in red aluminium and grey aluminium, at the fab price of £99.95!
So we have covered portable players for your summer sounds but what if you are looking for something more substantial? You may be considering installing speakers in your garden – this is a great option, there are a wide variety of speakers out there and helping you choose the correct option will be covered in this part of the blog:
System One
You may already have an existing system in place in the home and would like to augment this with some outdoor speakers: lets have a look how:
If your amplifier has the ability to run two pairs of speakers then you can directly wire into the outdoor speakers – the Yamaha above has the option to run either both pairs or either pair independently, this can been seen as the easiest and most simple way of creating an out door audio system!
The speakers chosen for the outdoor system above are the Acoustic Energy Extreme 5:
Comprising of a high quality woofer and tweeter full range playback quality is a given. Being completely weather proof the formidable British weather is not going to phase them in the slightest, they also come complete with the mounting bracket (as pictured) making them easily mountable anywhere!
System 2
If you do not have a current system in place but would like to enjoy outdoor music then this is not a problem, you will need an amplifier (as above) and outdoor speakers, in this diagram we will have two pairs of outdoor speakers – this will mean you get the most from your experience!
In this system we have again used the Yamaha amplifier but upgraded to the larger Acoustic Energy Extreme 8 loudspeaker, they are similar to the above 5 model but slightly larger and will fill a larger space with better bass extension – ideal for larger outdoor spaces!
Speaker cable
This is an absolute essential, we offer a wide range of speaker cables capable of being used in both of these systems but one I would recommend personally would be Chord Campana
I recommend this as the price versus overall performance is excellent (£2.00 per metre,) it also physical small and robust making it easy to install and covert in appearance!
Choosing A Source
Once you have you system set up you need to get a source to the amplifier – this will more than likely give you multiple options, there are standard sources such CD players, maybe even a record deck! One source we see out customers increasingly requiring is a portable device – be that iPhone, iPad or other mobile player. There is a couple of ways of doing this:
Wired option
Usually iDevices/ phones etc will have a 3.5mm output jack, the amplifier will have phono inputs, to bridge the connection you will need a jack to phono cable. We offer a wide variety of these:
Budget Level
Offering better than “traditional” out the box performance the Profile J2P does exactly what it should, just plug it in and forget about it!
Intermediate Level
The QED Performance J2P offers the same ease of use as above but with higher levels of performance, offering greater detail retrieval and dynamics!
Reference Level
The ultimate expression of jack to phono cables, Chord quality and sublime sounds – use this cable if you require the absolute best from your portable device!
If you have an apple device then you can choose to use a dock instead:
Going Wireless
If wires are not your cup of tea then you can get around this, there are wireless systems available to you – the key thing to remember is: a wired option will always be better (maybe this will change, I doubt it!) but for ease of use and aesthetics great results can be gained wirelessly.
Wireless System Utilising Sonos
Connect you Sonos Connect (ZP90) to your existing amplifier and wireless router and off you go. All you need to do is install the app (which will be used as the control) and you are good to start sending music over. You can access music on NAS (Network Attached Storage) shared music from the network (computers, laptops etc) and programs such as Spotify, all with the Sonos app – available for most popular devices! You can also make your Sonos ZP90 client wireless with the inclusion of the Sonos Bridge:
This device plugs directly into your router making the Sonos Bridge (ZP90) wireless, the benefits are clear: with out this you would need to keep your ZP90 by the router or run longer Ethernet cables – this makes the ZP90 wireless meaning it can be placed next your main outdoor amplifier– which in turn can be placed nearer the outside speakers, a convenient and smart way of doing things!
You could also go for the dedicated Sonos amplifier the ZP120:
In doing so you would not the Sonos ZP90 and Yamaha amplifier as above – in real terms though the above system should offer better results but again for aesthetic and convenience reason this is a smart little system!
Finally, if you are looking for an all in one outdoor solution consider this:
The Soundcast Outcast Wireless Outdoor System, put it in place connect to it wirelessly and of you go! Weatherproof with multidirectional stereo sound, guaranteed to augment your summer enjoyment!
Conclusion
Well there you have it, while the weather is nice lets take advantage – who wants to be stuck inside with a valve amplifier heating the room – although I adore valve amplifiers! As we have discussed there is a wide range of options out there for to cater for any need you may have, one not give one of our friendly audio experts a call, we are here to help and as always happy listening!