Take the First Steps to Set Up Your Outdoor Sound System
From sound coverage, to speaker selection, to a control system — here’s how to get started with outdoor audio
Fresh air and sunshine boost your mood and improve your physical and mental health. If the air inside your home is starting to feel stale, escape outside to take a few deep breaths. Listening to music in your backyard can be a great way to clear your mind, relax and enjoy some time in the open air.
Creating an audio setup for your backyard is entirely doable, but it does take careful planning and consideration. Keep reading to learn 3 of the first big decisions you’ll need to make when you’re ready to install an outdoor sound system in your Lafayette, LA, home.
SEE ALSO: What Makes Coastal Source the Best in Outdoor Sound Systems
Step 1: Determining a Coverage Range
First, you’ll need to decide what kind of sound coverage you want outside. Are you only interested in listening to music on the patio or pool deck? Or do you want to play music throughout your entire backyard? Knowing your range will help you determine what type of speakers you need and how many.
For example, a large open area requires several uniformly distributed speakers to maintain even sound coverage throughout the entire space. Our partner Coastal Source has speakers to meet every need, including bullet speakers and rock speakers that can blend in with your foliage and landscape. Their outdoor speakers have built-in drivers that deliver powerful sound to cut through environmental noise from traffic and wildlife.
Step 2: Selecting the Music
Next, think about what kind of music you want available in your outdoor space. If you want to listen to streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, you may need to add wireless access points in your backyard — it’s unlikely your home’s Wi-Fi will stretch across your entire outdoor space.
If you want to choose music from a wide variety of sources, we recommend setting up an outdoor system with permanently installed backyard speakers wired to an indoor audio receiver. The problem with using simple Bluetooth speakers outside is that you’re limited to the music sources on your smartphone or tablet. With permanent speakers and a powerful receiver, you can listen to streaming services, CDs, digital music files, the radio, and even vinyl records. At Electronics Professionals, our techs can wire and install permanent speakers in your space.
Step 3: Choosing a Control Platform
Finally, you’ll want to consider the best way to control your outdoor sound. You may want to have a dedicated remote that you can use to change songs and adjust the volume.
Home automation makes controlling your sound system easy. The techs at Electronics Professionals can integrate an outdoor sound system as another zone in your whole-home audio setup. That way, you can listen to the same music both inside and outside or listen to different types of music in different zones. You’ll be able to control outdoor sound using the same smartphone or tablet app that you use for indoor sound. All your music will be accessible to you no matter where you are.
And why stop with just outdoor sound? With a scalable home automation platform, you can add outdoor lighting and an outdoor video display to the same system. When you want to enjoy a glass of wine on the patio after dinner, use your smartphone app or tablet to turn on the landscape lights and cue up your playlist at the same time.
The final setup step you need to take is contacting Electronics Professionals. We can help you navigate all the decisions above and will install the right outdoor solution for your Lafayette, LA, home. Call us at 337-268-9753 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a consultation.
