June 2019 ertonline.co.uk


Time to rock


For customers with bigger budgets, bigger gardens, and perhaps even their own swimming pools,


there


are plenty of options. Weatherproof custom install options for discrete, yet powerful speakers are designed specifically for placement in the garden, on the deck or on the patio. Many brands of home cinema speakers do outdoor versions, with the likes of KEF, Monitor Audio, Polk, Bose and Q Acoustics all producing outdoor-grade options. “We recently conducted some research that revealed 71 per cent of people now consider their gardens as an extension of their living rooms,” says Jonathan Bennett, Marketing Director at Q Acoustics. “Meanwhile, two thirds of homeowners like to dine ‘al fresco’ more than two evenings a week, with 87 per cent believing that music improves the ambience when eating outside or hosting a barbecue.” That doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone wants to spend big on an outdoor speaker that looks like a rock – as Q Acoustic’s Qi 65 does – but products like these make a great occasional sale. “It can provide the wow factor at any garden party, plus it is the perfect product to up-sell when carrying out projects in homes that are


accompanied by large outdoor areas,” says Bennett.


For a similar ‘rockery’ look there’s also the Klipsch AWR-650 Outdoor Rock Speaker. Other in-garden options include the Polk Audio Atrium Garden Speaker System, which comprises two discrete outdoor loudspeakers and a subwoofer disguised as a Terracotta plant pot, and the more utilitarian Bose FreeSpace 51 landscape speakers. For a more traditional speaker-box look, try Monitor Audio’s Climate range or KEF’s Ventura 5.


Above left: KEF’s Ventura 5. Above middle: Klipsch’s AWR-650 Outdoor Rock Speaker. Above right: The Qi 65 from Q Acoustic’s. Below: The Polk Audio Atrium Garden Speaker System.


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while they are travelling, but stress that any electrical gadget left out in the rain is likely to get ruined unless it’s got a water-resistant, ‘rugged’ design. Portable Bluetooth models shipped 2.9m units in 2018, down slightly on 2017. Products costing the consumer less than £70 accounted for over 60 per cent of sales in 2018 according to Futuresource, and it’s now easy enough for anyone to go online and buy a small Bluetooth speaker for less than £20. Are they any good? Absolutely they’re not, largely because of their small size, but also because Bluetooth itself in its most basic form is not the best way to send wireless all from a phone. That helps explain the move towards Wi-Fi speakers in the home, with Amazon and Google’s own products and Apple and Sonos not far behind. Sales of both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth speakers are driven by streaming music services; 27 per cent of Western European households now have paid-for streaming music subscriptions, 20 per cent up on 2018. Make no mistake; Spotify and Apple Music are destined for the smart garden… but only as far as the extension lead reaches.


Range anxiety There are plenty of upmarket wireless speakers,


though selling them to consumers is about convincing them to splash out on advanced features. However, before you dive into the ins and outs of wireless speakers, find out the scenario they want to use them in. Newer Wi-Fi routers operating on the 2.4 GHz band reach up to 150 feet (46 m) indoors and 300 feet (92 m) outdoors, while older 802.11a routers manage about a third of those distances. However, that’s in an ideal world. If a customer wants to use a wireless speaker on a patio, very close to the house, then try to sell them a Wi-Fi speaker. If they intend to use the product further into the garden, even if it’s less than the 46 m, think about recommending them a good Bluetooth speaker. That goes double if they intend to take that speaker away from the house, including on holiday. “It will be interesting to see how many people will buy beyond Amazon and Google, for a premium audio experience,” says Wetherill. Such brands and products include JBL, Bose, Bowers & Wilkins, Ultimate Ears, Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay P2, and the Loewe Klang M1 speaker (pictured right).


Sony’s outdoor push If there is one brand that always pays attention to the outdoor electronics market, it’s Sony. Every year


it announces a new line-up of huge High Power Audio outdoor speakers designed not for custom install, but for the mass market. Packed with woofers and with plenty of flashing lights, it’s fair to say that the line-up is rather unique on the UK market. “We see most of the demand coming from consumers who listen to EDM (electronic dance music) and R&B music, and who primarily stream music using their smartphones,” comments Claire Poux, Category Head, V&S Marketing, Sony UK & Ireland. “They’re designed for those that want to


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