Until very recently, owning outdoor speakers was a possibility I'd never really considered. Despite my confirmed status as a rabid music fan, outdoor speakers just never made sense for a perpetual renter like myself. But my outlook changed last fall when, after a protracted search, I finally bought a house.

One of the key selling points of my house is a great screened-in back porch with a flagstone floor. It's not only perfect for private weekend and evening hangout time during the warmer months of the year, but it's also roomy enough (about 15' x 18') to host parties and get-togethers with plenty of friends. All of a sudden, the idea of outdoor speakers became very appealing. Being the polar opposite of a "do-it-yourselfer," however, I dreaded the reality of installing such speakers.

I installed a pair of white Atrium 45s, but these speakers are also available in black.

So when I was given the opportunity to install Polk Audio's Atrium 45 speakers on my back porch and review them for Crutchfield, I must admit I accepted the assignment with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

Starting out

When I opened the box containing my new speakers, I found two compact speakers, two mounting brackets, and an instruction booklet. The sturdy, weather-proof construction of the Atrium 45s was immediately apparent. From the rust-proof aluminum grilles and brackets to the stainless steel and brass used for the rest of the hardware, these speakers are truly built to withstand the elements.

The cables I needed to connect the speakers to my receiver inside were not included. I'd picked up cable beforehand, though, since it's very much the norm for speakers not to include cables. I was a bit surprised that no mounting screws were supplied in the box. Although I was able to purchase the necessary screws for less than a dollar, having to make a trip to the hardware store for them was a small annoyance.

Wall-mounting

Happily, the actual mounting of the Atriums on the back wall of my house ended up taking me less time than that trip to Lowe's. The process was remarkably simple — I just held the brackets in place where I wanted to install the speakers, marked the points on the wall where the mounting screws would hold the brackets in place, and then drilled four holes. I decided to place my Atriums about eight inches below the ceiling of my porch to give them two nearby reflecting surfaces (the other being the wall on which they're mounted). This positioning is generally recommended to enhance a speaker's bass response.

From there, it was a very simple process of using the four mounting screws to affix the brackets firmly to the wall. The speakers attached to the brackets very easily with two large knobs that screwed into the speaker's sides top and bottom (which actually appear to be the sides of the speaker, as I opted for a horizontal speaker positioning — more on this later). The entire process of wall-mounting my speakers was accomplished in only 20 minutes.

Once I'd run the cables necessary to connect my new outdoor speakers to the indoor receiver that would power them, I was ready to try them out.