YAMAHA NS-AW350B All-Weather Indoor/Outdoor 2-Way Speakers - Black (Pair)

Simply put, these speakers are amazing. I wanted new outdoor speakers for my 30x18 patio and BBQ station area (last summer scrapped my gas grill for a kettle charcoal grill and love grilling outdoors more than ever). I was replacing a pair of workhorse Infinity Outrigger Jr. speakers that served me well for 18 years, and still sound as good as the day I first installed them. But I wanted something with more detail at low volumes, and more bass punch, which could also handle larger wattage when the situation demands it. The search was on.An old JVC 5.1 receiver (120 watts RMS) in the basement powers a set of JBL speakers in the basement, and my outdoor speakers on the patio (A/B outputs on receiver). I love keeping old equipment in use if it performs well. We can rock out to my old LP records in the basement or the patio. I also have an old laptop (Windows Vista circa '2005) I use as my digital music workstation. It has all my mp3 files and streams Internet radio with ease. It's the perfect use for a laptop that can't do most other laptop activities in today's world. If you have an old laptop collecting dust, make it a media player for an old stereo/home theater system and you'll be shocked how nice it works.I compared Yamaha, Polk, Pyle, Klipsch, Insignia, Boston Acoustic, and Bose. The clear winner, when price is factored in, was the Yamaha NS-AW350.The Bose 151 Environmental sound was good, and it may be the favorite of people who like their signature sound. Certainly a classic outdoor speaker.Klipsch was very good, but also very pricey, at several times the price of the Yamahas, with comparable sound quality.The Boston Acoustics speakers sounded nice, while lacking some bass, but the compact cube would be useful for hiding them away in corners. The Yamaha, though, is as good or better, at half the price of the Boston Acoustics, with superior sound quality.I would stay away from Pyle, unless price is your ultimate consideration. They definitely sounded OK for the money. Not sure how the build quality is, though.The Insignias were nothing special, either, and well behind the Yamahas for about equal cost.The smaller Yamaha NS-AW150 was quite decent for a little brother version, but for an extra twenty bucks, you get so much more depth of sound with the NS-AW350. I would not hesitate to buy the NS-AW150 if a smaller speaker is required for an outdoor space. The NS-AW350 is on the larger side (which also greatly helps the bass response). There's no hiding these speakers. Fortunately, I have no desire to hide these wonderful speakers.They sound excellent at low volume, when chilling to NPR or relaxing music, but they really shine when pushed. The treble is crisp, but not grating. The midrange is well balanced. The bass response defies logic. The volume these can put out will quickly bring the authorities, or at least an angry neighbor. These speakers can easily drown out a gathering of 50+ people. For versatility and cost, these speakers cannot be beat. Yamaha should double the price, and they would still be the best speakers going at their price point.The only negative is the mounting brackets. They do not allow much movement, and only support one plane of movement. My old Infinity's allow me to install the mounts for tall or wide aspects, and tilt a good amount, so you can direct the sound where you need it. The Yamaha brackets provide only a small amount of tilt movement. I may fabricate an angled device to provide more slant for the speakers when mounted. Hardly a negative that would put me off these speakers.

Running 8 of these in an outdoor theater off a Yamaha Aventage receiver. I was honestly very impressed with how they sound on music without the subwoofers installed. I'll try to update this after I get the full theater going and watch a couple blu rays but I have a feeling I'm going to be very happy with them. The mounting bracket/angle adjustment is a little cheesy but honestly that's a minor thing. I'm more worried about sound and how they'll hold up to the elements. If you just want music on your patio 4-6 of these things will rock your face off.

I really love these things. Crisp highs, excellent mids and and even some good bass (you do still want a subwoofer for some *real* low bass of course). Not only do they sound 100% better than my 3 other sets of 'outdoor speakers' they have some excellent volume - . No distortion and clear at both high and low volumes. One of the *other* sets are also Yamaha - same size, but not as well rounded tone or loudness and clearness. The other two are a set of JBL and Yamaha but both are a bout 2/3 the size of these and so really shouldn't be compared.Because they are a bit larger that any of the others I've mounted so.. you may want to check the measurements.Also check the weight. They are NOT light. I would NOT mount them directly to a sheetrock wall without some way to distribute the weight.These are outstanding for a back patio/backyard/pool area. They can really deliver - in all types of weather and heat.They are also amazingly clear and LOUD for a front yard "Halloween" display for music/Thunder. Of course I also have a subwoofer to get the REALLY deep bass for the thunder. After all, these only go down to 40Hz. . But the crisp clear crack of the lightning AND the music just make everything *pop*! SO happy not to have to use my nice (pretty expensive) home stereo speakers placed in open windows (which then get rained on grr..).Mounting was VERY easy. Note: these have a back plate you can attach to allow them to also stand on a shelf etc.

What a pleasant surprise!When I got the speakers, they were well packed, and much larger than I expected. This is one beefy looking unit with a nice weight to it. I pulled off the old speakers the previous owner put up there, and put the new Yamaha's up.They were easy to hookup, and look great. Design is curved and stylish. I installed mine vertically so I can aim them down. The only flaw is there is limited horizontal travel, so if you need to aim them really low, you can't. I'm thinking you can pad the back with a 2x4 or something to gain additional travel, but that could have been alleviated with a deeper bracket.I was powering mine with a 2x50W Emotiva. Source is an Airport Express streaming music. The sound is quite impressive. Bass hits hard, and that can be tough being outdoors, and the highs are nice and clean. Speakers sound a little bright, but again this is a product of being outdoors.I was so impressed I bought a 2nd pair for another part of the outside.Only negative..The grilles fall off after a few months. This is consistent on other reviews here, and in all 4 of mine. I super glued them back on and they have been on for 2 years now.I'd recommend anybody buying them to put a few drops of super glue in a few spots around the grille right away. When they fall off, the grilles can bend slightly and require work to get them back in perfectly, so better to just avoid the problem.In my review, I'm keeping in mind that these are $100 speakers, so I'm more forgiving about these grille and vertical travel issues. I will say the sound quality, look, and feel really are above and beyond their price point.I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these. At the price they are, they are a steal!