Front Speakers - Seal them up?

[peter325i]

When installing front speakers, should you seal up the cavity behind the driver or leave it open?

I'm confused because some people say that it's better to have more volume inside the enclosure and others say to seal everything...

The drivers side kick panel has a small plastic tray that sits above the central locking relay, should this be removed to free up more air?

Thanks!
Peter

[peter325i]

anybody know?

[Richy325iTouring]

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... echice.htm

[peter325i]

Thanks, I've read that article and it makes sense but others have said to seal the speaker enclosure, that's why I'm confused. I want to know what sounds better.

I've seen a product called "bass booster" that is designed to mount behind the speaker... The thing is shaped like a cup and it creates a sealed enclosure behind the speaker. Has anyone tried these?

[peter325i]

bump

[lenny-d]

i bought a set of jl audio components and fitted them in as standard replacements and they sounded pants. A mate who judges sound offs told me to make a pod for them and make it a sealed enclosure. tried this and couldn't believe how muck of a difference it makes. Well worth the extra time

[peter325i]

Interesting, thanks for your thoughts... Do you have any pics of your pod install?
I was considering Boston Acoustics Pro50 components... From what I hear, these speakers sound amazing.

[lenny-d]

I don't know 2 much about brands I was told by the guy who sold me my system that for my budget this would be the best system for quality. I'm runnin JL VR525-CSi components of a JL e2150 amp and a JL 10W3v2 of a e1200 amp kenwood 6x9s and an alpine head unit and it sounds the dogs. All the JL gear cost around 800 inc wiring highly recomend it. As for pics 'll see wot i can do quite new 2 this whole computer thingy. will try and get e few pics but my pods r a bit of a pain in the ar$e.

1. I had 2 make up a whole new bonnet release system
2. My pods are angled out for better sound so the one in the driver kick well is nearly touchin the throttle pedal and not many other people who have driven it like that

[lenny-d]

got the camera out and have pics on computer but i'll be damned if i cand figure out how 2 post them on the site sorry mate, have u any clue???

[lenny-d]

have a look in the photo album

http://jherron64.bebo.com

[placey]

lenny and peter

you have both discovered the two real problems with front speakers in the e30 - how to get them on-axis without flid-foot driving skills and how to give them the air they need to breathe.

really the only answer as to whether to try and seal the space behind a speaker or not or whether to try and port it comes down to trial and error. some speakers sound better sealed, some ported. it depends on the designers brief and how the manufactured components work together once they're made and assembled. ideally an installer would make one set of each type of enclosure and try them and pick their favourite sounding solution. in the real world we have to decide what we are willing to live with on a longer term basis in terms of cabin intrusion/metal cutting/time allocated to making and fitting stuff/budget and make a solution that fits. it's a bit of an experiment basically.

anton sounds like he goes for accurate soundstaging/imaging with his installs. fair play - when done well they'll sound fantastic. i tend to go for a bit more volume/spl with mine whilst trying to retain some soundstaging (rather than making soundstaging my top priority) - hence some of the words chosen in the ice guide on here. different priorities will again influence a chosen solution.

my experience is that jl audio speakers work well in sealed (or nearly sealed) enclosures. they're not so forgiving of off-axis installs - so lenny's experience seems to bear this out.

as for peter's question about bass boosting with 'cups' - if it's cheap enough i'd suggest trying them - but why do we not hear about them all the time if they're any good? if i was you peter i'd remove the plastic tray below the factory locations, squirt plenty of waxoyl down there and when dry get some dynamat and some wadding in there to help matters out a bit. if the wadding muddies the sound it's easily removed and replaced in the missus cushions!

hth - paul

[miniblob]

Wadding might be worth a try!!!! Never thought of that for front speakers before!!!

Watching & learning

[peter325i]

Thanks placey, does the waxoyl provide any sort of acoustic benefit, or is it simply for rust prevention?
I applied 2 layers of eDead v1se2 to the kick panel metal and it made a huge improvement to the mid bass response, however the sound stage didn't seem to benefit.

I suppose I'm trying to get the best sound quality possible without having to use speaker pods, fiberglass, etc.
I'll try the wadding and let you guys know if it makes any improvement.

[placey]

waxoyl is 99% for rust prevention and 1% for sound deadening. tbh the sill panels are so small and tightly bent that they aren'y really going to flex in time with speaker drivers to any real extent. sound proofing is most effective across large flat (hence vibrational like drum skin) panels and where there's a surfeit of road noise.

wadding will fool the driver into thinking that the space behind it is larger than it really is as sound waves take longer to bounce off wadding as they do a 'straighter' panel.

paul

[incarsolutions]

rip up an old sofa cushion (making sure the missus dont see.....then blame it on the dog) and put some foam in behind the speaker that will seal the area and believe it or not will actually increase the volume the speaker works in. as stated above

[peter325i]

LOL, I think I'll leave my cushions alone... I know a place to buy that wadding stuff pretty cheap.

I will try to upload some pics of my install next week. So far, I have done the following:

1. custom amp rack in boot for JL 500/1 & JL 300/4 (similar to ian332isport's install)
2. cut out ski hatch and installed new rear seat with armrest
3. Nak cd400
4. 4x boston acoustics 130cm coaxial
5. 40 sq.ft of eDead v1se2 (kick panels, pass. door, rear shelf, tire well, rear of trunk, rear firewall, rear quarter panels)
6. 1 JL 10w3 sub (being over powered by 500/1)

TODO:
1. front components
2. build a box for a new JL 10w6 or 10w7 and mount it to the ski hatch opening. This will effectively seal the cabin from the trunk.
3. more deadening (floor, roof?)
4. noise filters (second skin Overkill or something) - doors, floor.


1.

[Royalratch]

Useful thread guys. Am getting round to changing my fronts and reinforcing my parcel shelf too.

A question with the sound deadening like Dynamat etc.

When sticking it down in the front speaker wells, where do you actually stick it?

Directly to the metal wall behind/opposite the speaker or over the speaker hole and the cut a hole to push the speaker through?

Or just all around inside the cavity?

[pictonroad]

Dynamat should go firstly on the metal behind the speaker, then, if there's any left start to reinforce the plastic around the speaker.

Clean the metal with thinners first, and at this time of year, use an hairdryer on the dynamat to get it really soft and tacky..

[peter325i]

I recommend a butyl based deadener like Dynamat Extreme or eDead V1se2. It will adhere better and you don't need a hair dryer to soften it.