Outdoor performances always seem to me to fall short of indoor ones, and there are plenty of reasons why this should be so, but there is something attractive about a horn installation in a garden...it ought really to be made of rock, of course, failing that you can now have one of these:

I mean for all intended purpose horns has restricted radiation pattern and usually larger size then direct radiators. I do not see any needs to use horns for private outdoor installation. In our house we have a lot of outdoorsy live and I did think about some kind out acoustic system outside. Eventually the issues was “magically” resolved by Amy’s introducing me to Bose SoundDock. I have mentioned it before:

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?postID=18831

I would like to note that sound that the Bose SoundDock produce is nowhere near anything that might be respected, in fact it is horrendously interesting as it make music in the way non-recognizable.  Still, the comfort that a portable little radio has that you might take anywhere, the has very long battery, unlimited playlist including all FM stations, and ability to play loud without overload I find truly wonderful.

In addition if you have some kind of all whether system connected to your mine playback then you need to run your main playback when you are in the garden. Do you really want to do it? It is much easier in my view to flip the selector on your local devise and to turn it to the direction where you would like music to go. I am under no circumstances promote the Bose SoundDock devise. There are plenty of the alternative units that might be better. Bu I do feel that the presence of such devises with their ability to access internet and to be managed locally does illuminates (in my view and for me) to have a permanently installed acoustic system outside.

decoud wrote:

The idea is that just as you might have a seat in your garden that captures a particularly attractive perspective on it, so you have a point where such a view can be combined with audio playback.  That gardens are rarely silent and often dynamic (trees moving in the wind etc) might actually make it more interesting, a kind of buffer strangely akin to the effect your 0A2's have in the Melquiades...