searched, got nothing. i'm just wondering what people find to work best to create a nice, easy to install baffle for aftermarket speakers in stock locations? my mb quart components up front are mounted directly to the metal door, without the factory baffle, and i really don't have any baffle there at all now. i've heard of using play-doh or silly putty, cuz it's easy to just stuff in to fill up the holes, any other ideas? a thin neoprene ring? something along those lines? thanks for your input!!!

 

I used an adhesive backed foam sheet that is around 1/8" thick. They can be found in the arts and crafts section at Wal-Mart. I stuck it to the door, cut out the speaker opening, then installed the speaker. The foam acts like a gasket to result in an airtight seal around the speakers.

 

I make all of my "baffles", [speaker housings] out of MDF, if the problem is a depth issue with the aftermarket speaker, then a MDF "depth reducing" ring can be made and placed between speaker and the oem speaker housing, for bigger speakers, [over sized 6.5"] I replace the oem plastic speaker housing with a custom MDF speaker housing that mounts and fits the same way as the oem housing. 94

 

fit isn't the issue at all. i'm just figuring that i'd get much better bass response if i had a proper baffle there. i'm thinking kontai's idea should work ok right? i don't want to go to all the trouble of making mdf rings...

thanks for the replies so far

 

There are 3 basic rules for mounting speakers.....

1- An absolutely flat mounting surface for the speaker.
2- An absolutely airtight seal between the front and rear of speaker for at least the diameter of the speaker from it's outside edge in all directions.
3- Mass, the more mass the speaker is mounted to the better it will sound.

And the best thing you can mount a speaker to is wood. 94

 

so the best thing would be to put them in their own little boxes like you did for the rear.... i still want pictures of that by the way...i'm thinking about doing something similar myself. maybe i'll skip the sub and just run an amp to the interior speakers.

 

It's going to be very hard to build a box big enough in the doors and still be able to roll the windows down.

Sorry I have noway of getting the 35mm pix on to my PC, I am going to be doing some body work on the car, so the interior will be "gutted" and I can take some pix with my new Nokia cell phone and then download them on my sisters brand new Dell with all the bells and whistles. 94

 

for the boxes i was referring more to the rear speakers. i would very much appreciate those pics when you get the chance!

 

do you mean something like this?

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-R...avf=N

 

hmm, for a baffle that's great! but i think fcm actually built little sealed mdf boxes for his 6.5s. i think that would REALLY improve bass response!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phateless &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hmm, for a baffle that's great! but i think fcm actually built little sealed mdf boxes for his 6.5s. i think that would REALLY improve bass response!</TD></TR></TABLE> Yes that is correct, I have custom MDF and fiberglass cabinets in the stock rear locations 94

 

and you can tell a huge difference over even those little crutchfield baffles?

 

Hey Josh, why don't you just get some sound deadening material? That's the big reason to put in it the doors. It also helps create a mounting seal. The only reason not to is that it's expensive and kind of heavy.

Dan

 

i guess i just figured i'd wear ear plugs for long trips

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phateless &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and you can tell a huge difference over even those little crutchfield baffles?</TD></TR></TABLE>Do you mean the custom cabinets over the EXT baffles, if so, yes.
The EXT baffles are kind of a small enclosure for the speaker and although we use them to protect a speaker from water, we always cut the bottom out of the back, much better sound. 94

 

so buying those baffles vs. buying some neoprene or something and making my own rings... your opinion?

hey dan, you're pulling ahead of me on that post count there, big guy

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phateless &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i guess i just figured i'd wear ear plugs for long trips</TD></TR></TABLE>
No, I mean as a baffle. That's the main thing it does for car audio in your doors. It doesn't really reduce road noise.

 

oh. you mean one big-*** solid piece covering the whole door with a little hole cut out for the speaker?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phateless &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">oh. you mean one big-*** solid piece covering the whole door with a little hole cut out for the speaker?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yeah, or lots of pieces that make up a baffle, like I did to mine. The wider your baffle the better; mathematically speaking, I believe infinite baffle is considered a radius of 3 speaker diameters or more around the speaker, if that makes sense. Speakers mounted in the trunk deck are considered IB. If your speaker is mounted on a sealed surface but there's a hole 6 inches away, then you don't have much of a baffle at all.

That's why one brand of sound deadening material is called Damplifier. It amplifies your bass response.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phateless &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">oh. you mean one big-*** solid piece covering the whole door with a little hole cut out for the speaker?</TD></TR></TABLE>OK. one more time.....
The best way, [other then replacing the whole door panel] to install speakers in your doors is to replace the oem plastic speaker mounts with custom MDF speaker mounts, [custom made to mount to the door the same place as the oem one] that means the base, [part that makes contact with door] is the same shape as the oem mounts, with mounting holes in the same place as the oem ones, use Dynamat, [or the like] to dampen the door, use a single sheet to replace the plastic vapour barrier, [sealing the door as much as possible].

I have yet to find a better way to install speakers in the oem location and behind the oem grills, [and I have been doing this for a long, long time]. 94

 

ok cool. sorry to ask all these redundant questions, but i'm trying to figure out the best way to accomplish my goals. what i have to do, what i don't. figure out what my options are in terms of effort/result.

 

Not a problem, and certainly nothing to be sorry about, if you don't ask, how will you know, at least you are asking the questions, every month we get a few people into our shop because they are unhappy with the sound they are getting out of the speakers the installed, [or had someone else install] and although there are many reasons for the poor SQ they are getting, number one on the list is improper installation of the speaker, it is also the number one cause of blown speakers.

Although the time and effort that has to be put into a "proper" speaker install, the difference is well worth the effort. 94

 

i read the consumer reviews on those foam baffles. most people didn't have very good things to say. i guess if you cut out the back it would work ok...what about something like neoprene? something easy to work with, but not as compressible as foam...? i'm not sure i want to get into the mdf ring thing.

 

deaden the **** out of your doors as well

 

what about these?

http://www.autotoys.com/x/cust...at=74