Speaker Baffles

Does anyone have any experience w these ? do they help any ? I was thinking of using them for my 6.5's in my front doors and the 6x9's in the rear to make them sound better. Any advice ?

I use them for my front speakers and love them. I had to customize them so the window would not hit them. i had to cut them down the middle and fit one piece inside the other. I then did a resin/bondo mix and coated cothe the inside and outside of the baffle. I also use baffles for my 6" subs mounted in my rear doors with polyfill in them. Nice way for an easy box.

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"People with mullets live 40% longer"   - Ricky Bobby

Can't these actually become a problem for newer door speakers since newer component speakers are designed for more of an open space than what the baffle provides?

Just about any sealed enclosure is better than none. It will make a notable difference in the mids.

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The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.

John | Manteca, CA

Flakman wrote:

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Just about any sealed enclosure is better than none. It will make a notable difference in the mids.

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I thought most modern component sets are designed in a "free air", "infinite baffle" way? If that's the case, wouldn't adding a baffle give worse results since the speakers aren't designed for a sealed inclosure?

I know I read this somewhere at some point because I was considering baffling my JL components in my old car and a guy on a forum was complaining that his sounded like crap. Then someone suggested he remove his baffle and he commented on how it was a night and day difference when he took the baffle off.

A baffle is NOT an enclosure. Even Killer Sonata FG'ed his baffles, then they became an enclosure. If your speakers are in the doors, there is even more need to have an enclosure. All of the energy that is coming from your speakers will be used up in vibrating your doors and door panels instead of producing sound for the listening area. Even if, for some reason, your mids were made for IB, you have to make sure that the rear of the driver is completely sealed from the passenger compartment. Something has to be done somewhere. Foam baffles are not the answer IMO. You will have to seal or enclose your speakers...the best (and easiest IMO) is to create a sealed enclosure in the door.

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The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.

John | Manteca, CA

Flakman wrote:

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A baffle is NOT an enclosure. Even Killer Sonata FG'ed his baffles, then they became an enclosure. If your speakers are in the doors, there is even more need to have an enclosure. All of the energy that is coming from your speakers will be used up in vibrating your doors and door panels instead of producing sound for the listening area. Even if, for some reason, your mids were made for IB, you have to make sure that the rear of the driver is completely sealed from the passenger compartment. Something has to be done somewhere. Foam baffles are not the answer IMO. You will have to seal or enclose your speakers...the best (and easiest IMO) is to create a sealed enclosure in the door.

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So, a baffle doesn't enclose the rear of the speaker once it's installed in the door?

No...it is just a sturdier mounting place for it instead of the crappy thin door skin or the crappy plastic mounts.

I think you have the terms confused, anzboi3644. soultinter is talking about the foam speaker baffles you can get off of crutchfield or partsexpress. here are some links.

https://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=260-788

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-qYF7WpQZK4u/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=baffle&i=237XT65

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"People with mullets live 40% longer"   - Ricky Bobby

and they suck why? its easy to give negative comments but they are only useful when you back them up.

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"People with mullets live 40% longer"   - Ricky Bobby

Oh..well I thought he was talking about a normal baffle board...like the mount.

Never had any experience with those...but they are waterproof...so if sealed around the speaker right they would in effect creat an enclosure correct???

killer sonata wrote:

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and they suck why? its easy to give negative comments but they are only useful when you back them up.

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I think they are ineffective due to the fact that they do not block sound very well. They are best for keeping moisture out. If they cannot block sound very well, all of that energy is lost and your speakers don't sound as well as they should. The softness of the material also plays a factor. Just like with a woofer box, sides that flex are where energy is lost and not able to help produce sound. As before...if they were reinforced with some FG, that would help tremendously. Hope that answers it.

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The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.

John | Manteca, CA

ok that makes more sense. I think they are mostly for blocking moisture, but slapping some resin/bondo mix on there can help it serve a dual purpose.

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"People with mullets live 40% longer"   - Ricky Bobby

This was the thing I read. A few guys are using the baffles for moisture protection, but alter them slightly to allow air to pass through the baffle.

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=382163

Since their speakers aren't meant to be sealed and the baffle will seal them off, they drilled small holes in the back of them to allow air to pass through.

Also, I remember being told by a guy at HiFi Buys that he suggested not using baffle's on newer, more top of the line components as they weren't meant to be sealed but meant to just be installed in the door without anything sealing the area behind it. However, I've learned to not trust everything they say now...   

My opinion on these foam baffles, or "hats":

Use them on the backs of the rear speakers if it's a case where your car doesn't have a factory baffle separating the trunk from the rear parcel shelf...and you are using a sub in the trunk.  The baffle will help to damp the sound pressure and allow the rears to play with less interference from the sub.

In regards to front door use, leave them out of the picture.  If the door fills up with water in bad weather, replace the window seals.  Damp the sheet metal in the door as close to 100% as possible;  the outer door skin as well as the panel.  The panel also gets sealed with tape and caulk as needed.  Mount the speaker to a solid baffle which in turn is mounted to the door panel, and caulk all around it.  The driver's front must be sealed completely from the rear, and the door cavity provides the enclosure.  This will provide greatest midbass response.

This is why door mounted front speakers usually provide greater midbass than custom pods...the size of the door's cavity.  It's the off-axis aiming that causes problems, but that can often be helped by adjusting the axis of the tweeter.

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.