A couple months ago I set out to find the best American made audio gear available. After weeks of research, what I’ve found has been disheartening.
There just aren’t many options for outdoor speakers made in the USA.
The good news is that there are SOME options, and I’m going to walk through my findings.
What Qualifies as “Made in the USA”?
On my quest to find all the best American made outdoor speakers, my ideal product is one that qualifies for the label “Made in USA.” Now the official definition from the FTC is as follows:
“For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be “all or virtually all” made in the U.S. The term “United States,” as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.“
These qualifications are nearly impossible to find in the world of audio, and when you do find U.S. made products, they are often very expensive and difficult to buy.
So I’ve expanded my definition to include a few other scenarios:
- Product was assembled OUTSIDE the U.S. with parts that were made OUTSIDE the U.S. but are sold by a company headquartered in America
- Product was assembled INSIDE the U.S. with parts that were made OUTSIDE the U.S. and are sold by a company headquartered in America
- Product was assembled INSIDE the U.S. with some parts being made OUTSIDE and some parts made INSIDE the U.S. and sold by a company headquartered in America.
- Product was assembled INSIDE the U.S. with all parts being made INSIDE the U.S. and sold by a company headquartered in America (These are incredibly difficult to find)
Any speaker that fits one of these scenarios would benefit U.S. based companies that have American workers.
Related Article: Searching for American made soundbars
When I present outdoor speakers, I will do my best to explain which category it falls into so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Companies Selling Products Actually “Made in the USA”
In the weeks I’ve spent seeking out American made sound gear (including outdoor speakers), I have managed to find several companies selling American made products. However, I’ve been disappointed to find that only one large speaker producer in the world sells ANY speakers that are “Made in the USA.”
That company is Klipsch.
They are big enough that their products are affordable, easy to find and buy, and it’s also easy to find reviews of their products online.
However, only a small handful of their speakers are actually designed and assembled in the U.S., and none of these are outdoor speakers.
Every other speaker “Made in the USA” that I found was made by a small “high end audio” company I had previously never heard of. And it’s not easy to find, test or even buy products from most of these companies.
So without further ado, here is a list of American companies that sell at least 1 speaker that was “Made in the USA.”
- Klipsch – Biggest speaker producer that has American made speakers
- Ammo Audio
- Fern and Roby Audio
- Genesis
- Magico Audio
- Rockport Technologies
- Ryan Speakers
- Salk Sound
- Tekton Design
- Vandersteen
- Von Schweikert Audio
- YG Acoustics
Note: You can read a bit more about each of these companies in my American made bluetooth speakers article.
The trouble is that most of these companies only sell state of the art, super expensive sound systems. Let’s take a quick look.
4 American Made Outdoor Speakers
Most of these small American companies that build speakers are in the “high end audio” niche. They make speakers for indoor home theatres, music venues and the like. They just don’t make outdoor speakers.
In fact, I only found one outdoor speaker “Made in the USA,” and it may not meet your requirements (waterproof, etc.).
AmmoCan X
- This outdoor speaker is in fact “Made in the USA”
- Made by American veterans
- Very loud speaker for its size
- Not waterproof, sand proof, etc.
- Connect via bluetooth or 8mm aux cable
The AmmoCan X is technically an outdoor speaker, though it doesn’t have a lot of the specifications you’ll find on other outdoor speakers. When you check the FAQ page, you’ll see that it’s not waterproof, not sand proof and not even built to withstand rain.
However, this speaker has two things going for it:
- It’s truly American made in every aspect of the phrase
- It gets loud
This speaker can reach 110 decibels, which is as loud as the JBL Party Box 1000 (which happens to be 3x the price).
So while you won’t be bringing this speaker out on a rainy day, you’ll be quite pleased with the sound quality and volume. And yeah, this is the only truly American made outdoor speaker I found after a month of searching.
Klipsch AW-650 Indoor/Outdoor Speaker
- Designed in the USA, assembled outside the USA
- Water resistant, can be mounted outside and rained on
- Rustproof chassis
- High quality, loud sound
First things first, this speaker isn’t “Made in the USA.” Remember I only found one of those, The AmmoCan X.
However, in my other articles about American made speakers, you’ll notice that I promote Klipsch products a lot. There are two reasons I do this.
The first is that Klipsch actually sells products that are “Made in the USA,” even though not all their products are. The second is that the products they sell that aren’t American made are all designed in the US. They have a huge number of American workers (more than any other audio company), and I’m happy to support that.
So the Klipsch AW-650 is a more traditional outdoor speaker. They can handle the rain as long as you don’t point the speaker cones up into the air. And they produce loud (95 dB), high quality sound.
An excellent, affordable, outdoor speaker that supports an American company with plenty of American made products.
JBL Charge 4
- Sold by an American company, but not made in the USA
- IPX7 waterproof
- Portable speaker, connect with bluetooth
- Charge lasts 20 hours
Here’s a product that fits just about every category of an outdoor speaker. It’s portable, can play 20 hours on a single charge, and you can connect via bluetooth.
The speaker is IPX7 waterproof which means the “device is waterproof and that it can be fully submerged into 1-meter deep water for up to 30 minutes and still be able to work properly after that.”
While it doesn’t have a rating for sand resistance, it is marketed for use on the beach. This would indicate that there is some resistance to sand as well.
This speaker is smaller and more affordable. It’s intended purpose is for personal use (or small groups) and as such you shouldn’t expect it to be extremely loud.
Another quality outdoor speaker made by an American company. Just keep in mind that all JBL’s speakers are made outside the US.
Bose 251 Environmental Outdoor Speakers
- Sold by an American company, but not made in the USA
- Comes with mounts for outdoor use
- Water resistant, made to endure the rain
- Speakers are wired
Another mountable outdoor speaker made by an American company, the Bose 251 outdoor speakers are a similar product to the Klipsch AW-650’s.
As I’ve mentioned, I typically prefer to shop Klipsch speakers because they actually sell speakers “Made in the USA.” But Bose is an American company, and they employ Americans.
These speakers come with mounting brackets and are intended for outdoor use. They are resistant to water and will withstand rain as long as the speakers aren’t pointing up.
One defining feature is that the speakers are wired. This means they will need to connect to a receiver. If you don’t already have one, then you would have to purchase a receiver in order to use these speakers.
The Bose 251’s provide the same high quality, loud sound that all other Bose speakers provide, and overall these speakers are an excellent value for their price.
Conclusion
The unfortunately reality today is that truly American made outdoor speakers are hard to come by. In fact, I was able to locate only one in my 4 weeks of research.
However, if you expand your search to American companies, then you can find a few dozen high quality outdoor speakers. I’ve listed four of my top picks, all speakers that I would buy myself.
