Reddit reviews Polk Audio Atrium 4, Outdoor Speakers with Powerful Bass (Pair, White) | All-Weather Durability | Broad Sound Coverage | Speed-Lock Mounting System

Thanks. I don't have a link but I'll try to explain step by step.

1. In the past I had various audio inputs fed to my receiver and video inputs fed to my TV. The problem was keeping things in sync when you changed inputs. I knew that the DVD player was Input 1 on the TV and Aux 2 on the receiver but no one else in the family could ever remember the combinations.
   
   
2. With HDMI carrying both audio and video the obvious answer was to feed it all to the TV and then take one digital audio output from there to the receiver. This worked great. When you switch sources on the TV you don't need to switch anything on the receiver. Everybody was happy.
   
   
3. But now I wanted to listen to Pandora (or iTunes, or the hockey game, ...) outside on my deck and driveway. My receiver can handle my 5.1 surround in the family room but does not have another set of speaker outputs. Even if it did how could I control the volumes separately? I found that my receiver does have an analog audio output that can be fed to a recording device BUT this output does not work when the input to the receiver is digital. This is true for most receivers on the market unless you spend $$$$ to get a high-end one with multiple zone capability.
   
   
4. I eventually realized I would have to get the signal for the outdoor speakers AHEAD of my receiver. My TV, like most on the market today, does not have multiple sets of audio outputs. The only choice for me was to take the digital fiber optic one I was already sending to the receiver and split it. I read a lot of reviews and decided to go for a powered splitter that actually recreates the signal. Passive ones that split the light signal using a mirror/prism are cheaper but can be unreliable. I bought this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B1UWSR6/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and it works perfectly.
   
   
5. So now I have an SPDIF out from that device into my receiver and another one to use for my outdoor audio. These amps however do not have an SPDIF input as they do not contain a digital-to-analog converter. So I had to convert from SPDIF to RCA analog. I went with this converter: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EPW7O0/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   
6. But now I have a single set of RCA ouputs and two amps that need inputs. RCA is easy to split so I bought these cheap cables to do it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I94FAE/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   
7. From there the RCA is fed into two of the amps that OP shows above. From there it goes into 100' of high grade speaker cable: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023902&p_id=2820&seq=1&format=2 and then into these Polk speakers (one set for the deck and another for the driveway): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00378KMEG/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   So the setup is: TV inputs --> TV --> digital splitter --> D to A converter --> RCA splitter cables --> these two amps --> Polk speakers. It sounds surprisingly good with strong bass and crisp highs. I can control all three volumes independently (family room receiver and each of these amps). I just used it for a big party we had Saturday night (80+ people). I had a playlist in iTunes on my computer served up by my Plex server. This was then picked up by my Roku 3 attached to the TV. It worked flawlessly.

If they will be wired in all the time, why is the built in CCA so important? I have re purposed all kinds of speakers with CCA's.


Master Bedroom - Using a free Bose Wave Radio that was given to me.

Girls Room - I bought these Logitechs for $3.50 at Goodwill

Other Girls Room - Got this Yamaha on Craigslist for $25. Hooked it up with a $15 T-Amp off Amazon.

Living Room - CCA hooked up to a $70 Craigslist Onkyo receiver and some $70/pair Polk Atrium 4's. And a $20 Yamaha Subwoofer. Wall mounted the outdoor Polk's in a room that gets some rough housing so not worried about them breaking.

Kitchen - Google Home for $110 when it was new.

Office - Google Home for $75 deal at Walmart.


All works perfectly with multiroom and didn't spend more than $25 on any of the CCA's. So total cost for all six rooms was ~$540 total including all speakers and CCA's. Cheapest room was $23 with $20 CCA and $3 goodwill speakers. Most expensive was living room at $185 (reciever, polk speakers, subwoofer, CCA). The other benefit of not having it build in, is when the speaker dies you just swap it out.

T-amps are very small and have plenty of power to make some bookshelf speakers sound awesome. T-amps have a great sound in general:

https://www.parts-express.com/Search.aspx?keyword=T-amp&sitesearch=true

As for speakers, these sound really nice for the price:

Polk Audio Atrium 4 Outdoor Speakers (Pair, White) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00378KMEG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_qYVMzbFACWBP4

They're advertised as outdoor but are great in or out.

Edit: Another option is a USE Boom or a JBL Charge, both of which are waterproof. I think the JBL Charge 3 even has a USB out which you could use to power the CC, but don't quote me on that.

the plan so far is to get a few wall-mounts and hook them up to a receiver using long speaker wires.

i narrowed down my selection to polk audios or yamahas. the source will be airport express so we can all stream music from our machines.

When building this i focused on weather proofing modularity and cost.

Materials

• 75x2 watt amp
  
• Polk Atrium 4 speakers
  
• Seahorse SE-520
  
• Chromecast Audio
  
• Powercube w/ USB
  
• Banana plug wall plate
  
• Silicone adhesive
  
  I disassembled the Powercube and drilled a hole in the wall of the case then reassembled the cube with the cord running through the wall. The banana plug wall plate was attached similarly by cutting a whole in the side and sealing/attaching with the silicone liquid nails.
  
  The amp is not perfect by a long shot but should my father ever decide to upgrade there is ample room to do so, as nothing is permanently attached to the case aside from the plate and Powercube.
  

Ok, so here's an update:

Here's a very VERY crude drawing of my house and what I'm trying to accomplish: http://imgur.com/a/nQnMa

1. The Outdoor Speakers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00378KMEG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T2_OlAuzb3V0BJK8
   
   2,3,4,5) Audio devices I currently own that I need to hook up to the new receiver:
   
   
2. Audio Technica Turntable: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00378KMEG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T2_OlAuzb3V0BJK8
   
   
3. Blu-ray Player (buying this week): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BTTHXZU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T2_uoAuzbYZXJBTF
   
   
4. Apple TV
   
   
5. XFinity X1 receiver
   
   Just need a receiver that can accommodate all of my devices, and be a 2 zone receiver so I can disable the outdoor speakers when needed. Hope that helps. I am also going to update this in the OP.