So how does the outcast compare to the boombox method of outdoor music? While the Outcast may look a little like a trash can, it certainly doesn’t sound like one. I found it got loud enough to carry throughout an average-sized yard, and sound quite good as well. There’s a surprising amount of detail and bass for outside speakers. As expected, detail drops off as you step away from it because there are no walls to contain the sound, but for most backyards, the sound range will be just find. I placed it on my deck and listened from a bench about 20 feet away and found the details deminished, but not terribly so, and still loud enough. If you’re got a very large area to fill you can add a second OutCast without an additional transmitter. I was happily piping The Girl from Iponema to the speaker until a neighbor poked over the fence and asked me to turn it down.
I especially liked the fact that the SoundCast includes a rechargeable battery, so If I wanted to move it closer to my bench, I didn’t have pull out an extension cord. Having the iPod safely indoors near my audio system while listening to it outside is also nice, because when a rain shower came by, I knew the iPod was safe. The OutCast, being weather-proof, also didn’t suffer from the brief violent downpour.
If you’re comparing this to a portable radio or most other iPod speakers, $699 seems extreme. But considering all the OutCast’s features and the fact that it can be part of a whole house (when combined with indoor SpeakerCast or AudioCast modules) and out-of-house audio system, the price seems a lot more reasonable.
SoundCast OutCast System
$699
www.soundcastsystems.com
What do you think about this system? Talk about it in the E-Gear forums.
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