Your garden is an extension of your home, and no home audio setup is fully complete without music that extends into the yard. It’s a great way to entice spending more time outdoors and with the right speakers, can provide years of entertainment. There are several outdoor speaker options but in this article, I’ll focus specifically on those intended to be installed permanently in your garden – on the lawn, amongst the plants, and the shrubbery.
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Your Options: Types of Garden Speakers & What They’re Best For
When you decide to install speakers in your garden, there are effectively three approaches you can take. You can opt for in-ground speakers, camouflaged fake rock speakers, or stake speakers that you can plant anywhere in the soil or on the lawn. Each of these three options has its pros and cons. here’s a quick rundown with my recommended speaker in each category
In-Ground Speakers
Most in-ground speakers are installed under the ground while some can also be installed on the surface. These speakers stand out for their omnidirectional sound, which provides broad coverage. Typically installed in groups to cover most of the garden. They can be a little challenging to install, but in return offer high-quality, broad sound. They are typically passive and will require an amp.
The Best In-Ground Speaker
Rock Speakers
Rock speakers are a discreet solution that can be purchased in various colors to match your garden’s landscaping. Although some models do offer native Bluetooth support and even feature internal batteries for a wireless installation, the best performance is found on those being powered by an external amplifier. A series of rock speakers can cover a substantial portion of your garden.
The Best Outdoor Rock Speaker
Stake Speakers
These are another popular style of outdoor speaker and usually feature a stake at the bottom with a speaker towards the top. Staked speakers are available in affordable styles which offer mediocre quality, to high-end options that cost thousands of dollars. They will often feature wireless multi-speaker pairing to connect, while others may connect with wires. Again, models that run into an amp will typically give you better performance.
Best Stake Speakers
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Beware of cheap, novelty garden speakers with low quality sound. While they may have a place during Halloween and kids’ parties, they aren’t well suited for those seeking quality sound.
Garden Speaker Installation & Placement
The amount of time and money you’ll spend on garden speaker installation will depend on the type of speaker you buy, with active speakers usually being a lot easier to install than passive speakers.
Active speakers have built-in amps and are very easy to install, but they often have mediocre performance and limited volume. They are best suited for casual listening in a small area.
Passive speakers need a separate amplifier to power them, meaning you’ll need to run wires (often underground). Although they require more work to install, they usually sound better, get louder, and have more connection options.
Cable Runs & Protection
- Run cables through a durable conduit to prevent pest, water, and impact damage.
- Aim for a burial depth of between 12 and 18 inches for the best protection.
- Even active speakers may need a power outlet. For a clean installation, use either a weatherproof extension cable or outdoor power outlet, along with a protective conduit.
- Check the spec sheet of your speakers to make sure your wires are the correct gauge.
Speaker Wire Connectors
The way you configure your connectors and the types of connectors you use is just as important as your wiring. Opt for marine-grade connectors that won’t rust. Using heat-shrink tubing or silicone sealant will also give you additional weather protection.
Don’t Ignore Your Ground Conditions
When planning your cable and speaker installation, give thought to the type of soil in your garden.
- Sandy soil drains well but may need deeper anchoring.
- Rocky soil types are difficult to dig and may need a rotary hammer drill.
- Clay holds moisture, increasing the risk of cable corrosion and speaker damage. When installing into clay, you should give additional attention to drainage.
Drainage for In-Ground Speakers
To reduce the risk of water damage, consider adding gravel around the outside of your conduit. If you notice that a particular area around your installation is prone to pooling water during rain events, consider adding drainage.
Securing Stake Speakers For Any Weather
Stake speakers all have slightly different stake lengths and thicknesses, meaning some hold their position better than others. If your stake speaker is moving around during strong wind, consider using an auger or earth anchors for additional support. Guy wires are an option, but create a potential hazard for people and animals.
Camouflaging Your Rock Speakers
Be mindful of your placement when installing rock speakers. They should ideally blend in with your landscaping, while also being placed in areas that give them additional protection from the elements. Placing them under small bushes that give them some cover can help extend how long they last and prevent sun damage. Just keep in mind that foliage that blocks your speaker can impact its sound quality.
Sound Quality & Acoustics Considerations For Outdoor Garden Speakers
Sound Reflection and Absorption
Sound is impacted by its surroundings, with speakers close to a wall producing more reflections and enhancing the projection. Inversely, speakers that are installed in an open area of your garden, or around a lot of foliage can mean less projection. Here are some tips on sound your speaker placement and the impact on reflection and projection:
- Installing outdoor subwoofers near the corner of two walls and help to produce more low-end.
- Placed at the right distance from a wall, the highs and mids can be enhanced. Placing them too close, however, can result in reduced clarity from excess reflections.
- You’ll need sufficiently loud speakers for open areas, where sound can more easily dissipate.
- Speakers that directly face foliage can have their sound absorbed, meaning less coverage, try angling the speakers in different positions to find your sweet spot.
Distance and Coverage
Garden speakers need more power than those used indoors. That’s because sound dissipates more rapidly in open spaces. To achieve the best sound in your garden, your speakers should offer slight overlap between each other. Although each garden is different, here’s a rough estimate on the amount of speakers you’ll need to cover your space.
How Many Speakers Do You Need?
Is A Subwoofer Mandatory For Good Sound?
While a subwoofer isn’t always necessary, most garden speakers don’t have particular large drivers. Even if they sound clear and get loud, they may lack the deep bass that so many people yearn for. If you’re looking to create high-quality sound in your garden, I’d recommend adding a subwoofer to the mix. It is an extremely effective way of making your garden’s audio sound more full.
Directionality & Omnidirectional Speakers
Many garden speakers have a focus on omnidirectional sound, where audio is sent in all directions. A broad dispersion of sound is great for covering a larger area, but that doesn’t mean they’re the right choice for every garden.
If your goal is to cover a smaller area, such as a swimming pool or seated area – then it may be beneficial to have more directionality available. When a speaker has a narrower dispersion, it tends to result in more volume and clarity for that area.
Volume Limits & Considerations
If you’re covering a large area you’re going to need enough power to do so. The volume a speaker produces varies between models, depending on their impedance, sensitivity, and the amount of power they’re being supplied from the amplifier. Speakers without amps will usually be significantly softer than those being powered by an external amp.
Just keep in mind that sound travels, and your neighbors may not appreciate being kept up with loud music. Carefully directing your speakers towards the locations you want to cover while avoiding sending it directly into the neighbor’s home should be a focus.
Choosing The Right Amplifier
Assuming you’ve opted for a garden speaker that requires an amplifier, your choice of amp should not be understated. The amplifier or receiver does more than just provide power, it is where a lot of features are provided.
For instance, most garden speakers don’t come with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi support. Instead, they rely on the amp to facilitate these connections. So just because the speaker isn’t Bluetooth, doesn’t mean you can’t have a wireless Bluetooth or Wi-Fi setup.
When shopping for an amp, you must ensure:
- The amp is accurately power-matched to the speakers.
- The impedance is also matched with the speakers and your configuration.
- It supports the types of connections you want.
- It can support the amount of speakers you want to install.
Should You Get a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Amplifier?
When choosing an amplifier or receiver, I strongly encourage buying one that supports wireless connectivity, like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Even if you don’t immediately use these features, the future is wireless, and most modern amps come with some form of wireless support that lets you play songs from your phone directly to your outdoor speakers.
Keep in mind that the amplifier will still need to be within range of your phone, so having it installed as close as possible to your outdoor area can ensure a more reliable connection.
Some garden speakers have native Bluetooth support, it’s unlikely you’ll find built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. This is where amps come into play.
Consider Smart Features & Home Integration
Full home integration is becoming more and more popular, and it’s possible to incorporate your garden audio into your smart home network, with some careful planning.
For most smart home setups, it’s the amplifier that’s going to tie your network together, rather than the speaker itself. Although Wi-Fi amps are common, most won’t facilitate smart home integration. As of 2025, the Sonos Amp and Bluesound Powernode are two examples of popular amplifiers that offer this type of connectivity.
Garden Speaker Maintenance & Longevity
Weather Protection
Garden speakers will usually have some form of weather protection, it may be as simple as an IPX rating that protects them from rain and dust. For the most part though, garden speakers will be more robust and may also offer additional rust protection and reduction of corrosion over time.
Protection From Harsh Winters
If you live in an area prone to snow in the winter, you may wish to take additional measures to ensure your speakers last. I’d recommend bringing them in for the winter, which can be easier than you think. With the right connection covers, you won’t need to remove anything other than the main speaker component. Another choice is to simply cover the speakers with a robust material or specialized cover during the harsh winter season.
Pests and Critters
Some rodents and insects can easily chew through cables or nest in enclosures. Using a rodent-resistant cable and applying insect repellent can reduce this risk. Inspect the enclosure regularly to prevent unforeseen damage.
Long-Term Maintenance
I strongly recommend performing basic maintenance on your garden speakers every 6 to 12 months. I personally like to do it after each winter, as the fall can cause a lot of loose leaf matter to gather, while the strong winter winds can cause debris to build up. For more details on long term maintenance, check out my article on the topic.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Let’s look at some of the concerns one may typically have when it comes to outdoor garden speakers. If you have any additional questions about garden speakers, please ask them in the comments below.
