Outdoor speakers are outdoor speakers right? Well, at this price, I’m expecting a bit more than just the ability to grow a couple of flowers in them. Luckily, the PlanterSpeakers Terra Cotta 8.20 gave me a listening experience beyond what I was expecting. I was hoping for a bit more bass, but the imaging and soundstage was quite nice.

CD: Rives Test CD 2
For $20 Rives has given many of us the ability to quickly get an idea of the output of our speakers. It would be nice if they provided a test tone for each frequency (rather than 1/3 octave) but honestly, that is just too much for many of us. We are trying to get a rough idea so that we can identify problem areas. And with the radio shack SPL corrected tones that is as easy as possible. For me, I’m constantly looking for the bottom range of a speaker. In this case the Terra Cotta 8.20 is rated down to 42 Hz. In my set up, outside and against a wall (the first works against bass, the second should increase it) I found that I didn’t really get meaningful output until around 63 Hz and substantial output started around 100 Hz. This was quite a bit higher than I expected and was hoping for. While not an egregious error, it certainly meant that you’re going to have to look into an all-weather sub if you want to get the full range of your music (don't worry, M>adison Fielding Inc sells those too).

CD: Blue Man Group Demo CD
I’ve never been one to expect much from outdoor speakers. I’ve heard them, enjoyed them for what they were, and went on with my little life. Sticking in this demo CD from the Blue Man Group I thought was an unfair test. I couldn’t really expect outdoor speakers to stand up to this music, could I? Well, apparently I could. Not only did the Terra Cotta 8.20’s handle the dynamics well, but they imaged spectacularly! Well, spectacularly for outdoor speakers with a 360 dispersion pattern. I was amazed at how good they sounded. The drums were tight and the cymbals crisp. The vocals sounded very lifelike and were well anchored between the two speakers. As long as I was between the two speakers (which was pretty much anywhere on the deck) I experienced very decent imaging. That’s a pretty big area!

I live on a 150’ by 150’ lot, about a third of which is behind the house. I walked all over my backyard and always had a decent amount of volume. Of course it decreased as I moved away (more so if there was an obstacle between me and the speakers) but that is to be expected. Essentially, these speakers could easily fill my entire backyard with pleasant background music without a problem. That’s a big sound from a fairly small package. There were loud enough that I could set up a small dance area near them but I’d want a few more if I wanted to have one of those rockin’ Columbian parties that Gene is always talking about. These speakers were loud enough to make me feel what bass they could produce in the deck.

CD: Yello – the eye
Track 5 "Junior B" is my standby for testing bass in loudspeakers. I usually use it to get an idea of how even the bass response is of a given speaker or to test the differences before and after implementing a subwoofer management system. Well, in this case, the bass run in question was completely missing. Not tapered off, not attenuated… gone. This supports my initial impression with the Rives CD that the bass response on these speakers is a little anemic. You’re definitely going to want to boost your low end for a more full range sound. Other than that, I was again struck by how good the dynamics were and the solidity of the imaging. Overall, a very pleasing experience. If I hadn’t known that I was missing some low bass, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

Recommendations

It isn’t hard to guess my recommendations here – more bass. But other than that, I’m hard pressed to find any major faults with these speakers. Kudos to PlanterSpeakers!

Conclusion

I cannot stress enough that the Terra Cotta 8.20 doesn’t just look like a planter, it is a planter. That means you can plant an actual plant in there. A real live one. Not some fake plastic thing, but a real live plant. Soil, water, everything. It works just like any other planter you’d buy at the store (except you have to run speaker wire to it and it makes noise). This is a feature that I’m afraid too many people are going to overlook. It is one thing to buy a speaker that looks like rock. It is another to buy a speaker that is a rock. While rocks have limited uses, planters do not. My parents are really into plants (thanks HGTV for sucking up my meager inheritance though Japanese Maples) and I don’t think I’ve been to their house twice and seen the same plant in a planter. They are constantly switching them out. If you told my mom that she could have two extra planters out there instead of outdoor speakers, she’d jump at it.

The PlanterSpeakers Terra Cotta 8.20 fulfill a need you probably didn’t know you had – outdoor speakers that absolutely blend into almost any outdoor environment. Planters are something that everyone is used to seeing, so much so that they are often overlooked. I’ve seen people spend hundreds of dollars on designer planters just to have them covered by a large plant or simply ignored because people don’t look at them. Well, what better place to hide a speaker? They produce a big sound that easily fills a medium sized backyard, they image surprisingly well for outdoor speakers, and they have a 360 degree dispersion so that they can be placed most anywhere. Not to mention that they can ACTULLY BE USED AS PLANTERS! Pricey? Oh yeah. Worth it? Well, that’s up to you. But if I were looking for outdoor speakers, these would definitely make my short list.