Battery speaker: making an outdoor evening work

Choose the spot before plugging anything in

In a garden, on a lawn, at the edge of a field, sound spreads in every direction and gets lost. In open space, the level drops by about 6 dB each time the distance doubles: at 8 metres, the speaker sounds clearly quieter than at 4 metres. Moving the speaker closer to your guests is better than raising the volume for those at the back.

A wall or a facade behind the speaker sends the sound back toward the audience. Be careful: if it is a neighbour's facade, it sends the sound toward them too. Point the speaker at your guests and away from neighbouring windows. Keep it upright, never lying on its side, and do not sit on it. On grass, a flat, stable support stops it from tilting.

Do a test in daylight, or at least before the guests arrive: play a track, then walk from the far end of the garden up to the speaker. You will quickly spot the areas where the sound is too weak and those where it gets in the way of conversation. Place the speaker near where people dance and away from the table where they talk: the two uses get in each other's way when they share the same spot.

From Lounge to Dancefloor

The Soundboks app offers three preset sound profiles. Lounge gives balanced listening, suited to drinks and conversation. Stage favours voice and live music. Dancefloor is tuned for the party. Switch from one to the other as the evening goes on rather than pushing everything from the start.

To play music over Bluetooth, the phone must be paired in its own Bluetooth settings: the app on its own only controls the speaker, it does not stream anything. Do this pairing before the guests arrive, not at the moment the conversation dips.

Raise the volume in steps

Start low, let your ears adjust, then go up one notch at a time. The right volume is the one where you can talk next to the speaker without shouting. This setting also helps your neighbours: sound that rises gently is less noticeable than a track launched at full blast at 22:00. And remember that the level drops with distance, so you do not need to cover the whole garden from the table. If the neighbours are close, warn them before the evening and announce a finishing time: it is the best way to avoid tension.

Volume also weighs on the battery. Soundboks states 40 hours of battery life at medium volume, but 6 hours at full volume: the battery drains much faster when the sound is loud. If you are planning a long night, keep some margin and read our article on how to set up sound for an outdoor party with no power outlet.

Night falls, the temperature drops

The components of the Soundboks 4 work from −10 to +40 °C, according to Soundboks. An ordinary evening stays within that range; in a heatwave, keep the speaker in the shade. If the evening runs late, shelter the speaker from dew and damp at the end of the night rather than leaving it outside until morning.

In case of rain, Soundboks states that the surface handles rain, snow and a spilled drink, but advises against use in heavy rain. The speaker must never be immersed. As soon as the shower gets heavier, bring it in or put it under cover: your evening can carry on under the arbour.

Who to trust with the phone

Appoint one person to look after the music, or prepare a long playlist before you start. A phone passed from hand to hand cuts tracks at the wrong moment. Also turn off notification sounds, otherwise they play through the speaker like everything else. That phone is also your remote control: keep it charged. Soundboks does not publish a Bluetooth range: keep the phone close to the speaker rather than wandering off with it.

What the speaker does not do

For a speech or hosting, a Shure SM58 microphone is available as an option and plugs straight into the speaker: €5 per microphone per rental, two at most, XLR cable supplied and microphone stand free of charge. Fox Rider does not rent lighting. The Soundboks 4 is a single speaker: it covers a garden or a terrace, not a festival. For a larger gathering, read our article on sound equipment for a festival or garden party.

Before booking, check that you can come and pick it up in Lyon 3 every day from 9:00 to 20:00, by appointment: there is no delivery. The sound range is gathered on the sound page, and if you have a power outlet nearby, the RCF ART 912-A pair runs on mains power, without Bluetooth.

See speaker rental in Lyon