TIC AMP10 Exterior Receiver Amplifier (Black Finish)

I bought this because it was outdoor and could withstand the elements. Which I think it probably can... except the power block. The unit used DC power so you need an AC to DC converter (which it does come with) but that block is not allowed to get wet. This posed a problem for the install. I ended up routing it through a window which is not what I wanted to do in the first place. So that already was not good.Next I hooked up the TIC out door speakers (I already forget the model number but the black ones that stick into the ground and have a hemisphere looking top) to the receiver and they sounded ok at first. I noticed if I put a song on with a lot of bass the speakers would drop in volume and stay there even though I hadn't touched the volume, which basically has to be set on max. I then just put on some rock with less bass and they sounded better. After a few songs though the same thing happened and wouldn't get louder until I turned the unit off then on again.This was getting very annoying. All of this was from the provided 3.5mm headphone jack to 3.5mm headphone jack cable that came with the unit hooked up to my iPhone. After just accepting that that might happen I tried turning on the FM radio. Wow this only got better... not really, it could barely pick up a station. I had correctly connected the FM antenna and only when I held to at an akward position that could not be permanent would it barely get a station. Lots of static no matter what. I tried making my own antenna from a higher gauge wire and making it longer. It helped a bit but still sounded awful. This was going to be a surprise gift for my Dad for this father's day. I guess it still will be but after father's day I will be returning the unit and purchasing just an amplifier to hide outside.this unit has 4 outputs but could barely push 2 low wattage speakers.Also I didn't realize but the rear speaker connections are actually rca connections. The unit comes with 4 rca connectors that have been clipped and stripped at the ends to attach other speaker wire to if you are running speakers that are farther away than like 3 feet.The one good thing about the unit is it came with lots of connections.

Let's start by setting the right expectations - you're spending under $100, so you know right off the bat this is not a high-end full featured auditorium quality unit. It has limitations as you would expect - no equalizer so you won't be adjusting the tone quality. No balance control, so you have to achieve balance with speaker placement. You will need to go to the TIC website and search to find anything close to detailed instructions for things like setting the pre-set radio stations.All that being said, I bought this unit because I wanted decent sounding music on my back patio when entertaining, doing a barbecue, things like that. It's PERFECT!!! I can leave it on top of my outside fridge under the gazebo and it won't be destroyed by moisture. Although you can't fine-tune the response with an equalizer, it's not too shabby - nice and crisp, the bass comes through. Not a ton of volume, but I don't need a ton of volume - I just want some music in the back because I spend so much time on the back patio. It's paired with a set of Hifi Works 'rock' speakers that sound great.A couple of cautions - some of the other reviews spoke of bad or decaying sound quality. I suspect that this is the result of mis-matched speakers (use 8 ohm speakers), old speakers or bad wiring. Make sure the gauge of your speaker wires is correct for the distance of the wire runs. Other than that, if you are only interested in putting a sound-track to your outside activities, this is a great little unit!

The good- they brought it in a cheap price point- It's weather resistant.- It has no shortage of inputs (3 separate stereo in's aside from radio)- It has enough power to make the rock speakers in your backyard noticable to your neighbors (not that that's a plus). Just saying it has enough power output for patio speakers.- It remembers 20 or 30 channels, I forget how many because... (see "the bad")- LARGE SELLING POINT: You are to a large degree more protected from shocks & possible electrocution due to this running on 12V from a 110V adapter which you can shield / protect / encase / hide (choose your method). Your mileage may vary - you have to use some intelligence about protecting the transformer when setting it up.The bad- The sound quality is LOW FI at best. If you'd like some clear treble or clarity in general - look elsewhere. It feels like everything is rolled off over 4 or 6Khz. Possibly due to inexpensive op amps. When listening you're always longing for some ..less..mush I guess. Yeah you can acclimatize to it but it's not satisfying.- The manual is terse to the point of being pitiful because..- You'll go insane trying to store the FM presets with the manual they give you.- TIP: You GOTTA find their website and buried on the site is a * slightly * improved manual which will give you a fighting chance to correctly program the radio presets.So...it's sort of a stopgap measure - I'm keeping it but I'm not exactly thrilled with it. My wish for this company is they would charge another 40 dollars for this and upgrade the sound quality to say Teac level - presentable / decent commercial mid-fi. Either that or would Teac or Sherwood, etc get on board and do this themselves? Probably not as it's such a niche market. Maybe some of the boat marinas sell upscale weatherized (grundig??) systems. Didn't have time to look for that. I think weatherized stereo receivers are hard to find.

I purchased this item for my outdoor deck in order to connect my two outdoor bose speakers.The size is perfect and I stored the unit in an outdoor plastic storage bin on my deck. The FM radio had poor reception and lots of feedback noise through the speakers.by week 2 the RCA jacks on the back (input jacks for CD and MP3) stopped working. I was only able to use the mic input but that port has some strange reverb so the music from my iphone sounded like karaoke.I ordered a replacement from Amazon and I am willing to give it a second chance - solely because I haven't found an alternative to an outdoor solution.next steps will be running hard wire from my reciever in the house 30 feet away if this fails.

Opened package - receiver sounded like something was loose inside. Feels really cheap. Going to return it - not worth the money.