Hi, I'm Jason. A single guy in his 30-somethings and a recent home-buyer in Las Vegas. This is how I got and installed a decent outdoor patio system VERY inexpensively and entirely from Amazon.com.
I closed on my first house! Got my keys, movers brought my stuff in. My first night there... so quiet... too quiet, in fact. Where is the music?? Bring the party! Soon after closing on this house I found out that I was being laid off from my job. Great timing, right?! I still wanted outdoor sound and had to be on a strict budget, so I started researching.
I first researched wireless systems and found that most of them are susceptible to interference with all kinds of other devices and don't sound all that good until you get into the $1K+ systems. So that ruled them out.
After more looking, I finally settled on an entire system; speakers, wire, clips, and amp, bought from Amazon for a total price of $104.72 that I'm very happy with! So without further ado, here it is:
I first researched wireless systems and found that most of them are susceptible to interference with all kinds of other devices and don't sound all that good until you get into the $1K+ systems. So that ruled them out.
After more looking, I finally settled on an entire system; speakers, wire, clips, and amp, bought from Amazon for a total price of $104.72 that I'm very happy with! So without further ado, here it is:
Quick note re: Amazon Prime. A lot of my savings on this system were because of free shipping from Amazon Prime. If you don't know about Prime, here is the short of it. For a once a year fee of $99 you get unlimited free 2 day shipping on most things, a streaming video service that is WAY better than Netflix, streaming music WAY better than Spotify, Kindle book borrowing, and a lot more. I won't sell it anymore here but I save more than twice the cost by subscribing every year, I love the service. You could always get the 30 days free, get your gear with free shipping and then cancel. ;)
The AMP
I had to get familiar with the audiophile terminology again. RMS, Watts per channel, AMPS, etc. I was looking for something midrange ($200-300) and happened to come across good reviews for the Pyle Home PCA4 Mini 2X120 Watt Stereo Power Amplifier at only $50! "There's no way this could be any good for $50" but it had all the features I was looking for and none that I didn't need. It has bass/treble controls, L/R RCA inputs and an LED output level display. (The LED's are VERY bright, and can light up an entire room at night, which could be an upside or a downside, depending on if you like that) The main negative review of the amp is that the power claims are misleading, it claims to be 120 watts at peak, but it is maybe 20 watts/channel without clipping, which is more than enough power for the speakers I chose (keep reading) and 20 watts/ch is enough to get the police called on you in most neighborhoods. My objective was nice, relaxing background music for BBQ and being in the spa, not having an all-out RAVE in my backyard. For this casual use, the Pyle is really nice. Also, the Pyle does not have a tuner built-in, which accounts for its lower price point. That means that you cannot tune in FM/AM radio or play CD's directly on it. But most people nowadays are using an audio source like their smartphone or iPod, and it has a mini-stereo input (2 actually) so a small cable provides that connectivity very easily.
the speakers
The first speakers I found were the Yamaha NSAW350W Durable All Weather Speaker System for around $100. It seemed like the obvious choice, a brand name I trusted, probably reasonable quality. I already had them in my shopping cart and then my eye caught the "users also bought" section of Amazon and I came across Dual LU43PW Indoor/Outdoor Speakers (White and black) for only $30! For $30 my expectations were low but I ordered them based on the good reviews and I knew I could return them pretty hassle-free to Amazon if they were junk. They come in black and white with a mounting bracket and screws and are are actually pretty attractive speakers, obviously copying a JBL design even down to the logo. To my surprise, they ended up sounding REALLY good considering the price point and are still holding up and sounding the same 3 years later.
wire and installation tools
Next was the speaker wire. Since this system is outside, I wanted something that could handle a little rain (although we don't get much here in Vegas) and elements. Based on some advice, Mediabridge 16AWG Speaker Wire (100 Feet) - Spooled Design with Sequential Foot Markings seemed to fit the bill. The 100 feet spool from Amazon was by far the best price for the length. The wire clips I actually bought at Lowes but these are less expensive.
installation notes
Now that I had all my components at my door in practically no time at all (Thanks Prime 2 day shipping!) It was time to install. First, I mounted the speaker brackets about 15' apart on the patio ceiling supports. Next I ran the wire along the ceiling, tapping in wire-clips about every 1.5' to avoid sagging. Since the Pyle amp is not for outdoor use, it had to reside on my kitchen counter right inside the sliding glass door. So to get the speaker wire in, I drilled a small hole through the outside of the house and sealed it with silicone after putting the wires through. After plugging in the amp and attaching the 2 pairs of speaker wires, I was in business. Total install time = 90 minutes, total cost $104.
Keep in mind what I'm recommending here isn't a Bose, JBL, Yamaha, Polk Audio or Klipsch system. It's not high end, but it's over 75% of the quality at 25% of the price of the designer brands. That's a bargain.
the best part: total cost = $104
In case you have more budget to work with, here is my dream system:
I hope this helps you! now get started!
Affiliate disclosure: This is my TRUE story and I recommend these products. If you click these links and purchase on Amazon, you pay no more and I earn a very small affiliate commission from Amazon. If you found this advice helpful I hope you will click on the links and purchase but good luck getting your system going however you choose!