Improving sound from speakers inside car??? ?

Question

I dont really know how to explain this but do you know how when you put a speaker in an enclosure they sound better? Well my cars side panels are just holes so when you put a speaker in there it sounds the same as if its not in a box? Is there anything to put inside the speaker holes that will improve a speakers sound quality? Same with the door speakers? I have subs in my car and they sound great cuz they are in a ported box. But i just need mid's. The speaker holes are 7 inches round. Thanks!

Answer 1

I know a guy who had 2 jl10w6's molded into the side panels of his silverado. The guy who installed them used fiberglass to build an enclosure. I'm sure you could do the same with some 6x9's or 6.5's.

Sounded good but was expensive, messy, and took 4ever to dry

Answer 2

yep they sure do. you dont need 3/4 MDF wood though for mids. they make these little plastic cuplike things that are designed to keep the water that leeks down inside your door from getting your speakers all wet. go to your local electronics store and ask about em

Answer 3

Subwoofers commonly need enclosures because the trapped air inside the box helps keep the cone movement under control, which results in less distortion and improved power handling.  Smaller car speakers, however, are designed to work "free-air"; they use a stiffer suspension and don't require a trapped air space.  If you do put speakers like these in a small, airtight enclosure, you'll reduce the bass response.

You don't need an enclosure for your interior speakers.  However, they do need a "baffle".  A baffle just means that the surface the speaker is installed into needs to completely seal the front of the speaker from the rear.

If your speaker mount is just a hole, that's fine, as long as it's the only hole in the panel.  If there are other holes or gaps in the panel that allow the sound produced by the rear of the speaker to mix with the front soundwave, then you'll have cancellation which will affect the sound.  You should seal any such gaps.  Deadening material like Dynamat also works well to seal holes and gaps in mounting surfaces.

There are some vehicles that have speakers mounted so that the rear of the speaker is wide open.  Examples are front dash speakers in Jeep Wranglers, or rear side panel speakers in many convertibles.  In this case you can try foam baffles meant to be installed behind the speaker, and line them with damping material.