Outdoor EnthusiastNew speakers take on the acoustic challenges of the wide open.

Never mind the sounds of nature in the summertime: birds singing, bees buzzing, wind softly whistling, couples splashing in the hot tub.

ROCK ON: SpeakerCraft's new Outdoor Elements speaker line provides high-quality sonic performance in the rigorous great outdoors.

Instead, let's get loud: Riverside, Calif.–based Speaker-Craft wants to bring Bruce Springsteen, Beethoven, and Buddy Rich out of the house and poolside.

Outdoor loudspeakers, even those hooked up to the finest audio system, generally make some compromises when it comes to sonics. They're built to look like rocks or trees or plants, so the physical science of the speaker generally goes out the window right there. They need to be water resistant at the very least, so delicate components need not apply when it comes to speakers left out in a thunderstorm.

But SpeakerCraft recently unwrapped a new line of speakers, called Outdoor Elements, designed to add some oomph, not to mention bass and midrange, to an environment that's less than ideal for critical listening.

Open-air applications “require entirely different equalization curves and driver complements to create the same natural response experienced in an enclosed space,” says Jeremy Burkhardt, SpeakerCraft's president. “These loudspeakers provide the sonic performance that homeowners demand.”

The new units, which replace the company's WeatherCraft models, are built with aluminum grilles and a pivoting bracket mount. For those limited spaces in the garden or by the koi pond, SpeakerCraft offers its all-in-one wide coverage Outdoor Elements DT, which plays both left and right channels out of one speaker box.

The Outdoor Elements line comprises six speaker models and two dual tweeter (DT) models. Speakers range from $325 to $625 per pair; DTs, from $275 to $375 each. All are compatible with most conventional home audio amplifiers and receivers. (www.speakercraft.com)