# water proofing speakers?



## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

very soon Im about to install some home speakers in the doors of my car

will most likely build some sort of weathershield to protect the back of the speakers.



however out of curiosity, has anyone tried water proofing the speaker cones?
Im not planning on doing this, but thought id ask seeming many on here run home audio drivers in the car.


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## freemind (Sep 11, 2008)

Try some of these with an oblong hole under the driver, http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=260-788

There are plenty of people here that home type mids in their cars.

I do not know if it is such a good idea to water-proof the cones due to adding mass to the cone.


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

yeah i wouldnt want to mess with doing that to the cone, was just curious if anyone else had tried it 

Im also wondering if there is any type of speaker grills that could be used to stop/limit rain from hitting the speaker, or if anyone has any innovative idea's on this, as my speakers are now sitting flush with the door cards, no longer behind the factory grills


with those foam baffles, do holes or an area need to be cut in them to allow the speaker to use the door enclosure?


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## freemind (Sep 11, 2008)

That's why I said to cut an oblong hole in them under the driver(think magnet)so they will vent.

If you search around the Parts Express link, you will find grills, raw drivers, cable, etc.

What kind of earths are you running for your system?


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

Earths?


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## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

Phonocar 4/927 Rain Stop Moisture Guard not sure if there's a US distributor for these.

The waterproofing speakers has been covered in a thread by Candisa-search "outdoor speakers"-some 3M stuff was recommended but unsure whether anyone has tried it.


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

Interesting, Cheers


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## freemind (Sep 11, 2008)

s4turn said:


> Earths?


Aussie?

Grounds=Earths


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

what has got to do with waterproofing speakers? if you dont mind me asking?


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## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

BTW tested the Phonocar stuff as a "grill" and it is accoustically transparent, myself and my engineer could hear no attenuation, so it could be used for a grill too


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## freemind (Sep 11, 2008)

It is off subject, But i was curious.

What is your set up?


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## freemind (Sep 11, 2008)

I miss Candisa


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

hah np, I have all my amps grounded to a common point at the boot, an additional 2ga ground to the battery.
Running 2ga Power wire

I need to create a sig
running 
w505 + h701
Boston GT42 running mids and tweeters
Boston GT40 bridged running midbass
Boston GT24 running G5 sub - sealed enclosure

have got 18w 8531's? going into the doors very soon replacing XXX re mids V1
about to change my pillars around, which were running Fountek FR88ex's and SB29 tweeters

currently got scanspeak Illum d2004's and 10f's to go in..
however now I want 12m's paired up with the illum tweets

boot is now completed
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p184/s4turn/IMG_1197.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p184/s4turn/IMG_1202.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p184/s4turn/IMG_1208.jpg


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## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

freemind said:


> I miss Candisa


Ha, me too-wondered where she was the other day and mailed her-she's no broadband at her new place, but back online soon!


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## freemind (Sep 11, 2008)

s4turn said:


> hah np, I have all my amps grounded to a common point at the boot, an additional 2ga ground to the battery.
> Running 2ga Power wire
> 
> I need to create a sig
> ...


Sweet!


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

cheers

quite like that Pic I took, managed to get the street lighting reflected off the rear bumper
a good friend redone the boot install for me 

I would of had all Boston gear, but went down the DIY route, and got rid of my Z6's
cant wait to hear all the scans fired up


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## Christiene (Nov 6, 2010)

why to install water shield , cant get the logic behind it ???


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## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

Because home speakers won't have any moisture protection on them and your car doors aren't water tight!


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

would I be better getting the 6.5" or 8" XTC foam Baffle? 
just worried the 6.5" wont cover the back fo the speaker properly 

its for a 18w SS rev


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## SpeedEuphoria (Sep 15, 2010)

scotch guard or similar should work


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## Swankmotee (Oct 9, 2010)

I'm confused! I want to weatherize the backs of my exposed 6.5 Focal's but do I want to completely "cover up" the back of the speaker with a foam cup?! That doesn't seem like it would do the speaker any good as far as allowing free air movement when it's working or would adversely affect the sound quality as well making it sound flat and lifeless. I thought about just putting an above mounted, flat shield to keep water from dripping down onto the back of the speaker that should suffice in keeping it dry. The water will leak down and through the door anyway so might as well protect it from that but still allow the full size,open door chamber for the speaker to work in. Any thoughts on this from you the wise,sages of professional installs?


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## tinctorus (Oct 5, 2009)

Schotchgaurd!!! :laugh::laugh:


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## SpeedEuphoria (Sep 15, 2010)

Personally I would just cover the top half with some kinda shield


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## passtim (Sep 30, 2009)

Swankmotee said:


> I'm confused! I want to weatherize the backs of my exposed 6.5 Focal's but do I want to completely "cover up" the back of the speaker with a foam cup?! That doesn't seem like it would do the speaker any good as far as allowing free air movement when it's working or would adversely affect the sound quality as well making it sound flat and lifeless. I thought about just putting an above mounted, flat shield to keep water from dripping down onto the back of the speaker that should suffice in keeping it dry. The water will leak down and through the door anyway so might as well protect it from that but still allow the full size,open door chamber for the speaker to work in. Any thoughts on this from you the wise,sages of professional installs?


Cut out the bottom half of the baffle. This will let them breath. Back in the day, when I used to use them, I would stuff them with polyfill also.


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## nineball (Jan 17, 2008)




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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

a piece of rubber mud-flap or welcome mat, 4 inches by half the circumference of the driver....instant rain sheild. 
why rubber? it does not resonate and wont interfere with the window movement
ambient humidity wont damage a speaker cone quickly or significantly. various home drivers have been used successfully in car doors for years.


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## Swankmotee (Oct 9, 2010)

Thanx Nineball!!! A picture is worth a thousand words!


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

yes cheers for the pics!

I have just ordered the XTC Foam Baffles 8" shallow version

I wasn't sure if the 6.5" would be sufficient for the 18w's


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## Christiene (Nov 6, 2010)

The Baron Groog said:


> Because home speakers won't have any moisture protection on them and your car doors aren't water tight!


never thought about it


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## circa40 (Jan 20, 2008)

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...-stop-mb-water-damage-*under-$25*-no-56k.html


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## SVOEO (Nov 2, 2009)

Yes- I've done this before with home speakers- 25 years ago! You can spray woofers with Scotchgaurd or coat with map waterproofer (Nik) but added mass is too much for tweeters or mids- don't do it.



nineball said:


>


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