I didn't purchase this item from Amazon, I bought it at a local electronics store. I have been looking for something that would allow me to play my vinyl in the house, but allow me to listen while in the pool, or grilling, or just having company over. As I am renting I don't have the ability to run wired speakers, nor do I have any electrical outlets on my patio, so the battery operation was key.
First things first Sound Quality- This speaker is okay, but good enough for outside. The dull highs may also be because of the fact that this uses RF to transmit. If you listen to MP3's through your IPod, or a boom box you probably won't be too disappointed, the highs are lacking, and so it can sound a bit muffled, but the Bass response is surprisingly decent for a speaker in a plastic container, and for a 5W amp, this thing puts out some good volume. in fact I only use it at about half volume even when I am washing my car.
The portability of this unit is key, the planter on top is removable, so if you had it in the garden and wanted to move it to the pool you can just take the planter off the top set it aside, and bring the speaker wherever you want. The reception is EXCELLENT, better than even I expected. My stereo is in the basement, and this thing reaches with crystal clear reception upstairs and to the other side of the property line!
Also, don't worry about watering the plant, there are drain holes under it that channel the water away from the unit.
The 3.5MM plug on the transmitter allows you to plug this unit into anything, the headphone jack of your MP3 player, speaker output of your PC, or the headphone jack of your stereo system. I have a headphone out on my computer speakers, so I hooked it up to there, since I have my turntable, and a CD player, and all my MP3's on my PC so the one output takes care of everything.
I would recommend rechargeable batteries because this thing takes 6 of them, however battery life on an 85 degree day with constant use was impressive. I had 6 half charged batts in there and they lasted about 7 hours, so with a full charge I am sure they would be good for a weekend worth of entertaining. This unit will also run off of AC power with the supplied AC adapter.
This product is not WATERPROOF, just water resistant, so if it's going to rain, or you aren't using it for a while, take the plant off and store the speaker in your garage until the next time.
For the price of other units, this thing is a great buy, of you want better sound, you are looking in the $400 range, and for that money I could buy a lot of new records for my turntable and listen on my Klipsch Towers indoors!
This is a great outdoor product and worth the money. Audiovox Acoustic Research AW828 Rock Pot Outdoor Wireless Speaker with Built-In Planter (TerraCotta Color)
Set up was fairly easy with two types of cables from a radio store. I used a second zone on my reciever so that I could play music outside and watch TV inside. The sound was a little lower than I would have liked for outside. Then it stopped working entirely after a few days and I cannot get it to work again.'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
