Outdoor speaker placements

HI nchaurdia

Nice patio(s) design 🆒

You can wire as many as 4 speakers to a Connect: AMP as long as the impedance is no more than 8 Ohms. Here's a link:

https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/269/kw/connect%20amp/session/L3RpbWUvMTUyMTEyMzU2Mi9zaWQvZlV1ME9GSVVJQ1RzRFdaczlvbE5DZ3duZFA5YmIzblVaOEZ6eldIa1hKNWclN0VUUUFkWk5uYURsb1BMcCU3RXh3eWFjaktiM3gyRHZod0t3b0lUREN4NE9fdG4yVDg5Q2VCTzElN0VBeXJYcTFJJTdFNk9aM2ZZNnZ1MDNvMlElMjElMjE=#4_speakers

Your biggest challenge is going to be running the wire to the furthest point of your patio(s). You'll also want to be able to control the volume of each speaker (or pair) with an attenuator. There are wall mount and poll mount varieties. My suggested placement is shown in the diagram with the arrow indicating the speaker firing direction. Others may have a different perspective. You'll have to play around with positioning before making a final decision. Can't offer any advice pro or con about the speaker selection. Use a good grade of outdoor speaker wire. You might consider running the wire through buried PVC pipe.:? Good luck. Cheers!

PS
If the speakers are Omni directional you might consider the placement as shown in GREEN.

Thank you AjTrek1. That does make sense. I did not think of doing any volume control because I thought that can be handled via the Sonos app. Why would I need an attenuator? Will this allow me to turn off the music on the patios and only listen on the deck or vice versa?

Thank you AjTrek1. That does make sense. I did not think of doing any volume control because I thought that can be handled via the Sonos app. Why would I need an attenuator? Will this allow me to turn off the music on the patios and only listen on the deck or vice versa?

When using the Connect: Amp the Sonos App with show it with a single volume control for all speakers. The attenuator will allow you to be selective an adjust volume for each speaker depending upon where it needs to heard or not. Also, if you didn't notice... I've updated my diagram to show another speaker option/placement.

Cheers!

What is the square footage of your patio area? That's going to be a factor in how many speakers you need. Also, do you have nearby neighbors? You'll want to make sure that sound doesn't travel and bother neighbors.

Typically, it's wise to mount speakers under the eaves of your house. This cuts down on the wiring you need and is typically a good location for sound. However, since you have a 2 stories, you don't want the speakers that far away from the listening areas, so they would need to be lower. That means the eaves provide very little protection. As well, the sound is directed out away from your house, directed at the neighbors yard.

My yard is very wide, and not very deep, so it made a lot of sense for me to have the speakers along the fence line pointing in. I got 4 speakers (2 pairs) altogether the area, evenly spaced out. I don't think I have an natural sitting areas like you do, so that worked best for me. I had long runs of wire, so got 12 gauge. I did use conduit and that was a smart decision. It's cheap and easy to use, and I'm not worried about cutting the line if I'm doing some gardening. Instead of using speakers that sit on the ground, I mounted speakers on fence posts. Not on the fence itself, but posts I bought separately, the kind that can be directly buried without concrete. I already had a speaker selector without volume controls, so I used that. Again, my yard is pretty even, so I didn't need to any actuators and Ajtek suggests.

For you, again, it's hard to say without square footage, but I would guess 4 speakers would do it. Assuming you are going to use your wood deck, I would not want speakers on the house, blasting to the other sitting areas. I probably would put a pair on the left and right side of the yard then (as opposed to front and back). You may want an actuator so that you naturally have lower volume at the fire pit area. It might be best to get a speaker selector with volume control. The other speakers would cover the bigger part of patio plus the wood deck. I wouldn't get speakers in ground though, but that's personal preference.

I did notice. However, that part of the landscaping is going to go away. We might do it in the future, but not now. I'm going to have to run these wires myself so that will be fun. I still can't decide if I want the omni directional speakers or just regular rock speakers for the patio.

That's a good point for the attenuator. Hmm. Now I have to find one that is reasonable and where I would put it. lol

melvimbe, sq footage will be around 300 + 150 sq feet. The deck is around 250 sq ft. Also, we do have neighbors close to us on both sides (hence that design with the three small trees).

...I still can't decide if I want the omni directional speakers...

The Omni directional speakers allow for a simpler placement that is listener focused without having to worry about speaker placement angles. In my diagram you could place a wood baffle behind each speaker (left/right) in the direction of your neighbors; if that is a concern. You would not want to use metal because the idea is to absorb the sound but still project to the listening area. Hope this helps :8

Cheers!

If you're speakers that sit on the ground, then you have the opportunity to experiment a bit and see what you feel works best. If you get a speaker selector with volume control, or even a actuator(s) for individual speakers, then they can sit inside near your connect:amp. The idea is to find the right balance and then leave it alone.

I do kinda like ajtreck's speaker placement, particularly with Omni directional speakers. But you can do this lots of ways. It'll turn out fine.

And don't worry about running the wires. I was concerned about using conduit too, but it was much easier then a thought. As well, it doesn't need to be perfect, as you certainly can expose the wire to the ground directly. I skipped a couple turns and such myself just to make the job a little easier. The conduit is mostly to protect from damage caused by you, not by the elements.

How would I end up managing the left and rights? Is it better to get another connect amp for the deck itself or just a speaker selector?

From what I read, it's best to either go mono (not an option for the Connect:amp as I understand it) or to alternate left and rights. Since all 4 of mine were essentially along the fence line, alternating made sense for me. I don't really know for if you follow Ajtrek layout. Perhaps he has a good answer.

As far as your next question, and speaker selector should have impedence matching, My selector has 4 pair of speakers for it, so that is possible. Obviously, the more speakers you have, the less power available. I said before I had 2 pair connected to mine. I actually have a 3rd pair for speakers in the garage that I use from time to time. I haven't noticed a lack of power. But I'm not pushing it too hard. Sonos would recommend not to do this.

I would say try out with one amp and 4 pair speaker selector. Try 4 speakers at first. If that works, then leave it alone. If not add two more. if that works leave it alone. If it's not enough power, then maybe get a second amp. You don't have to do this all in one shot.

I feel like I'm not giving you definitive answers, but the reality is there's lot of options available.