Musical Backyard Experience

We spend a ton of time outdoors in our backyard during the warmer months. Recently I decided to invest in some outdoor speakers so that we could enjoy music while out there. After looking into a few options I decided on:

Polk Audio Atrium 45 All-Weather Speaker, Black Finish

Product Features

* 4.5-inch long-throw polymer cone driver with butyl rubber suspension
* Built-in bracket allows multiple mounting options and full 90-degree rotation
* Handles up to 80 watts per channel
* Gold plated 5-way binding post speaker-level inputs
* Measures 6.25 x 9.5 x 7.6 inches (W x H x D)

Technical Details

* Bi-wirable: No
* Directionality: Monopole
* Enclosure materials: Stainless steel, brass, and aluminum
* Finish: Black
* In the box: Pair, Atrium 45 speakers (black), mounting brackets, manual, 5-year parts and labor warranty
* Powered: No
* Removable speaker grilles: Yes
* Speaker drivers: Mineral-filled polymer driver with butyl rubber suspension
* Speaker enclosure type: Sealed
* Speaker terminals: Gold-plated five-way binding posts
* Speaker type: Bookshelf
* Transducer type: Cone
* Wall-mountable: Yes (90-degree swivel bracket included)
* Weather-resistant: Yes
* THX-certified: No
* Frequency response (+/- 3 dB): 75 to 20,000 Hz, – 3 dB
* Maximum recommended power (average): 80 watts per channel
* Minimum recommended power (average): 10 watts per channel
* Tweeter (diameter): .75-inch soft dome
* Video-shielded: No
* Woofer (diameter): 4.5 inches
* Item width: 6.25 inches
* Item height: 9.5 inches
* Item depth: 7.6 inches
* Item weight: 12 pounds
* Warranty: 2-year parts and labor

These are great little speakers and they put out a lot of sound for their size. The backyard in a city residential area is not the place to listen to the dynamic range in symphonies or operas, but popular music comes across extremely well. Despite the small woofer, there’s a good deal of bass reproduction here. For more bass, Polk makes some larger outdoor speakers but the 45′s are less obtrusive than larger speakers would be for my application.

I have the speakers mounted under the shelter of the porch roof so I can’t comment on how weather-proof they are for the long run. They have survived one summer of record high temperatures, some below-freezing temperatures and a lot of extreme humidity without a problem. I highly recommend these speakers if you have an outdoor-living space where you would like to listen to music.