Outdoor Speakers

Horn speakers for voice and paging

A horn speaker throws the voice a long way and cuts through wind and traffic, which is why it is the usual choice for announcements across a car park, a school yard, a sports ground or a loading bay. Our horns come in round and rectangular forms, with a bracket that tilts the horn towards the area it needs to reach. They are tuned for speech, so they carry a message clearly even where music would sound thin. A horn focuses sound where it points, so two horns aimed across a yard cover it more evenly than one turned up loud.

For a site with several zones, horns on 100V line let one amplifier drive a string of them over long cable runs, with a power tap on each horn to set how loud it plays.

Cabinet and background speakers for music

Where the job is music rather than announcements, a cabinet speaker gives a fuller sound. Our weatherproof cabinet speakers suit a patio, a terrace, a beer garden or a shop front, and the background speaker pairs work indoors and outdoors alike, so the same model can run from a bar into its garden. They come in black and in white to sit against a dark or a pale wall. They are compact enough to sit on a wall beside a door or a window, and the white finish sits quietly against render or painted brick.

Keep them under an overhang where you can. A speaker rated for outdoor use copes with rain, but shelter from the worst of the weather keeps it looking good for longer.

100V line or 8 ohm?

Two ways of wiring are used outside, and the speaker has to match the amplifier. A 100V line system suits large sites: many speakers share one amplifier over long runs of cable, and each speaker has taps to choose its share of the power. An 8 ohm system suits a few speakers close to the amplifier, as in a garden or a small courtyard.

Many of our outdoor speakers are 100V line models, and a good number are 8 ohm. The product page says which, and our PA amplifiers include 100V line models to drive them. Mixing the two on one amplifier output does not work, so choose one approach for each zone of the site.

What the IP ratings mean outside

An IP rating is a two-digit code for how well a speaker keeps out dust and water. The first digit covers solids and the second covers water. IP44 protects against splashing from any direction, which suits a sheltered spot under a canopy. IP54 adds a good level of dust protection. IP66 is dust-tight and holds out powerful jets of water, the choice for exposed walls and open ground.

Our outdoor speakers carry their rating in the IP filter, so you can narrow the range to the protection your site needs. Whatever the rating, mount the speaker the way up the manufacturer shows, so its seals and drain holes face the right way.

Sound projectors for canopies and walkways

A sound projector sends sound forward and down from a ceiling or a canopy, so it suits covered walkways, entrances, porches and forecourts where there is a roof but no wall to mount on. Our weatherproof sound projectors come in black and white and cover music and announcements alike.

Space them evenly along a walkway rather than grouping them, so the sound stays level as people move under them. They also work indoors in open-fronted spaces, such as a market hall or a station concourse, where sound needs to spread under a high roof.

Placing speakers outside

Point speakers down towards the area you want to cover, not out into the open, and they will sound louder where it matters with less noise carrying to the neighbours. Mount them high enough to clear heads and low enough to reach people, and angle horns to where they stand or walk. Run the cable so water drips off it before it reaches the speaker, and mount everything as the manufacturer instructs.

For a larger site, plan the zones first: a car park, an entrance and a garden often want different levels, and a 100V line amplifier with zone outputs keeps them separate. Test the system at the level it will run at, from where people will stand, before you fix the final cable runs.