Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions algonquins turned yellow

Good catch Rick, that is interesting. I would assume the outdoor speakers would be using some type of non-rust metal.

Good eye Rick. They would work on my wheelchair, but not so much if attached to scuba gear

Those are going to be my next speakers from Axiom. One of the guys I work with lives in a fly-in community and has a pair of the Algonquins on his back patio which opens up to a rather large area for his huge hanger and paved taxi way out to the airstrip, he says he'll be down in the hanger and the speakers are unbelievably clear and carries a lot of bass ... "Amazing!" he states.

That contrast in colours reminds me of nicotine stains on a white wall. I wonder if a diluted mixture of bleach (with water) applied to the cabinet with a towel would get rid of the discolouration? That might be harmful to the speaker though.


I am curious to what type of weather/outdoor environment is causing this.

Harsh I would think, but then again his user name is indygreg.

My guess is the exposure of UV rays from direct sunlight over time turned the white cabinet yellow.

This indeed looks like sun exposure (note the still white outline as light would have been blocked by the grille plastic).

UV energy is very high intensity. Short of a metal surface (and even that is susceptible in a different way), every material will exhibit some type of change being exposed to UV light on a daily basis.
Such is the function of energy.

Yes indeed it does. I just noticed that all of the pictures on the Algonquin's page show them being used in a shaded environment and I'm betting it's for this reason.

Although it does state on the page that they are "Painted with automotive-tough paint and topped with an extremely resilient clear coating of ultraviolet ray inhibitor that prevents sun damage to the speaker"

You can tell those of us that live in moist salty environments. I noticed that as well and was pretty shocked. Perhaps it is a downside to designing outdoor speakers in Canada, but in coastal regions rust like that is a big red flag.

I use Niles outdoor speakers right now, but need an additional pair and was thinking about the Axioms. But my Niles have been hanging outside now for over 8 years, and there is no rust to be found. Exterior finish is more roughed up than when new (Sun etc), but sound is consistent and no rust to be found. Axiom needs to get this squared away. I don't doubt the sound is up to par.

Stainless machine screws should probably be used in an outdoor environment, due to salt/humidity conditions.