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Outdoor Seasonal Speakers
First off, I know that this project is foolish at best. I should just buy a pair of 8 inch outdoor speakers and be done with it. But I’m aiming for a 89-90 dB sensitive system with an added GRS high excursion 12 inch sealed sub.
We have a pool and my youngest asked me to build a set of speakers for this summer and he wants them to be 3-way monkey coffins like the ones I’m working on now (possum coffins?). What weatherproofing I do is going to be with the cabinet design and some cheap outdoor furniture covers and not drivers, thinking these are disposable and hoping to get 2-3 seasons out of them. They’ll be located under an elevated deck and 25 feet from the pool.
On hand I already have a pair of Faital Pro 10FE200 and SC10N-8 Visaton tweeters. Inspired by a JR build I ordered GRS 5SBM-8s for the mids and some cheap grille covers for the woofers and tweeters + outdoor burial rated wire. also have some dried pressure treated plywood laying around. Thinking sealed with serious caulking and a rubberized coating can do the trick. Maybe even an angled top with a drip edge per cabinet.
A couple questions. Is it better for these to be active or passive? Are passive crossover components the weaker point for longevity or that won’t matter? I’m thinking passive will be simpler. IIRC @ScottS built a set of speakers and used them on his deck and they’ve survived. Can speakers survive a torrential downpour at least once? Advice?
Comments
Passives will be fine. Bose uses those things in several of their outdoor speakers, in ported enclosures.
Exterior grade plywood is a good start as it can withstand moisture for a while without the glue giving up and delaminating. Treated stuff is not necessary. It is really only for resisting bugs and rot after the cabinet has already been badly compromised. It does nothing to it's weather resistance. But if you already have it, it is dry and flat it should be fine to use. Then encapsulate the wood fibers as much as possible: Make a very thin mix of oil based polyurethane and paint thinner/mineral spirits. You want it so thin that it soaks into the wood as deep as possible before it cures. But this will require many applications as it is mostly thinner that will evaporate. Often folks will lncrease the percentage of polyurethane as coats are applied until straight poly for the final coat/s. Then topcoat with whatever you think is best for first line of weather defense and uv resistance. But I find many coatings people try to use like truck bed liner will crack due to the wood expansion so do your research. Many diy camper trailer builders have found this out the hard way.
I'd suggest put the cabinets on feet to lift them a few inches off the ground. That way they can't sit in standing water and have some airflow to dry out any moisture that does get under there.
Most drivers are not built for exterior use. The cones/diaphragms typically have no protection from UV. The coatings on soft dome tweeter diaphragms can harden and fall apart in short order from direct sunlight. Cone driver formers can rust, but IDK how much of a problem this is. If paper cone, a coated cone is likely more resistant to a bit of rain. I bet alot of PA drivers have some resistance built into them for exterior use. No matter what I'd highly suggest they be uncovered for the minimum amount of time required. With the added listening distance it might not be a bad idea to look into compression drivers/horns anyway to focus the dispersion.
I would avoid putting any powered electronics outside. Passive crossovers are likely to be one of the most resilient parts of the build.
If you must go ported use some aluminum window screen to keep critters out. It might seem funny when the nest of hornets gets a rude awakening.. but not so funny when junk gets sucked into the coil gap.
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Thanks - appreciate the advice on finishing b/c I wouldn't have done it correctly. Good thinking on raising them up off the ground; if any of the ply has voids or is bowed I can use them for simple stands. I should have specified that I plan for the amps and bluetooth to be indoors in an unfinished basement and go through a wall. It might take some experimentation for how to keep them out of direct sunlight as much as possible, esp. since they'll face west. The positives that I have going for me is that no one lives behind me for about a half mile and that is on the other side of a ridge, so it can as loud as we want.
I am using Duratex right now for the first time. I bet Duratex on the inside and outside would make the cabinets pretty weather proof.
You might look into spar varnish. It's specifically designed for outdoor use. We used it on our walnut front door and it hasn't been touched in 25 years. The door has a storm door and is under a breezeway so it's not directly exposed to the weather.
Ron
Good call…I forgot that I used mcloskey’s spar varnish on a couple portable bars I built 8 years ago with my kids. I hear the original one is still going strong and the other took more than 4 years unprotected in the elements to start rotting despite the flat part being Mdf (6 coats helped). Here’s the original driveway bar made out of prefabbed workbench that Home Depot used to carry plus some fence pickets.
Circling back…these are fun and we’ll see how long they last in the outdoors. Not sure if they’re steam punk, Empire Strikes Back or something else. They can get loud. Having the GRS high excursion 12 sealed to back them really helps. The sealed back mid is darn surprising especially for the price. My son and his hip hop loving middle school friends love them.
Total awesomeness! The answer to why we all DIY. Thanks for the update.
Thanks! I did get some restocked outdoor Dayton 8s as a stopgap. One of them had a bum woofer so we A/B’ed them in mono with one speaker each. Not a fair fight at all. Daytons went back permanently. Looking forward to outdoor movie nights when it gets cooler.
Looking forward to outdoor movie nights when it gets cooler.
As are the neighbors… 😁
Where did the grills for the mid and tweeter come from?
Tweeter grill is current PE buyout https://www.parts-express.com/4-Speaker-Grill-Gold-Trim-269-2110?quantity=1
Mid comes with the grill - only $7 - very linear response too https://www.parts-express.com/GRS-5SBM-8-5-Sealed-Back-Midrange-292-432?quantity=1
Thinking about outdoor speakers as well. Saw these. Got me wondering if they'd be worth a try for $500 a pair. 10" woofer +1-3/8" Ti compression driver.
https://www.harmanaudio.com/jbl/TOWERXMARINEMT10HLW.html
I wouldn't. Those are typically made to be very directional and be loud like a PA top. Outdoor speakers made for under eaves would be a better option in my opinion.
