# Foam speaker baffles from PE?



## Xander (Mar 20, 2007)

I saw these and wondered if they are worth getting. Has anyone used them or a similar product? I was considering them to protect my speakers from water in the door. Or is that not necessary? Do they screw up the midbass or increase cone breakup?

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&CATID=35&ObjectGroup_ID=740

I am just trying to figure out everything that I need to prepare my doors. I'm planning on buying a 6.5" 2-way component set. I have a 94 Achieva, so the stocks were 4x6. I have an el-cheap pair of aftermarket 4x6 in their right now. I will be building my own MDF baffles for the midbass and will also be attempting to sound deaden and seal my doors before buying my components. I've never done any complex car audio, but I'm very excited about this.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

^ Bump, cause I need something like this too. I noticed oxidation on my terminals a couple weeks ago.


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## DaveRulz (Jun 22, 2006)

Worthless...well, maybe not worthless, but hard to implement correctly. Since they are soft, and sealed, if you put them over the back of the speaker, you're essentially putting a speaker built for IB into a soft enclosure. How do you think that's gonna sound? yuck! 

If all you're looking for is something to keep the rain off of the back of your speakers that won't effect the sound, you could use the METRA Installerworks 81-4300
Universal Speaker Baffles, and cut a portion of them out so that there is adequate airflow from behind the back of the speaker. I used them in my car, I simply cut them in half to shield the mid in my door from any water that might fall down from the window. I did cover the outside in dampening just in case the might vibrate. This basically mimiced what my car already had for water protection on the stock 6x8's.


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## bassfromspace (Jun 28, 2016)

I wouldn't say they're worthless. I'd definately use a pair to prevent water leakage, but I'd cut the bottom portion of the baffle that would face downward when mounted. This would prevent the baffle from acting as an enclosure yet still offering the moisture protection.

Good Luck


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## durwood (Mar 7, 2007)

Use heat shrink over your terminals if you are worried about oxidation on them.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

durwood said:


> Use heat shrink over your terminals if you are worried about oxidation on them.


LMAO. Between you and Shimano I'm going to make sure that my heat shrink is used. I keep forgetting about having that stuff.


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## ///MJay (Aug 22, 2006)

DaveRulz said:


> Worthless...well, maybe not worthless, but hard to implement correctly. Since they are soft, and sealed, if you put them over the back of the speaker, you're essentially putting a speaker built for IB into a soft enclosure. How do you think that's gonna sound? yuck!
> 
> If all you're looking for is something to keep the rain off of the back of your speakers that won't effect the sound, you could use the METRA Installerworks 81-4300
> Universal Speaker Baffles, and cut a portion of them out so that there is adequate airflow from behind the back of the speaker. I used them in my car, I simply cut them in half to shield the mid in my door from any water that might fall down from the window. I did cover the outside in dampening just in case the might vibrate. This basically mimiced what my car already had for water protection on the stock 6x8's.


That is exactly what I had to do in my last install. I got them for the moisture protection put every thing in and it sounded like garbage. I was getting really upset that my $700.00 component (before I came across diy) sounded like they were worth $20.00. I cut the bottom out of the baffle and was like WOW that is what these are supposed to sound like.  
Any way I don't know that the were worth using.


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## Xander (Mar 20, 2007)

Thanks for your input everyone. Yeah, I forgot to mention that I would be cutting the bottoms out if I bought them anyway. I've read that everyone does that, it's a great idea. And I figure the $10 per pair takes care of water damage and gives a nice foam seal between the speaker and the actual baffle (going to be MDF in my case).

I think I would also cut the "back" off, the vertical face that is closest to the outside of the car. This would let all of the rear sound waves to go past it and deflect off my treated eggcrate foam on the door skin instead.


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## jeffrey (Jan 3, 2007)

Chopping them up and using them as a rain guard works well.


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## MIAaron (May 10, 2005)

Cutting up some throwaway tupperware works as well...


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## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

XTC baffles are acoustically transparent. They shouldn't affect the sound quality at all.


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## evan (Dec 2, 2006)

MIAaron said:


> Cutting up some throwaway tupperware works as well...


I still haven't figured out how anybody has managed to attach them using this method.


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## DaveRulz (Jun 22, 2006)

npdang said:


> XTC baffles are acoustically transparent. They shouldn't affect the sound quality at all.


Really? Even if the're sealed and moving sympathetically with the woofer cone? I just don't see how that could be.


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## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

You can measure the impedance with, and without the the baffle attached. It doesn't make a lick of difference. If it was sealed you'd definitely see an impact. Now that's not to say that the foam doesn't absorb some higher end frequencies coming from the back of the speaker, much as a piece of foam behind the driver does... but I see that more as a benefit than not.


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## DaveRulz (Jun 22, 2006)

Interesting, very interesting. I've tried them before, and thought for sure it sounded much better without them, maybe it was a posiblo effect.


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## Xander (Mar 20, 2007)

Yeah, I see the foam baffle much easier to attach than a piece of tupperware. I like the convenience of the foam gasket as well. And I'm only a 20 year old college student, so I don't exactly have old tupperware lying around.

Acoustically transparent...I'm not so sure about that. If air doesn't freely pass through it, then I don't think it can qualify as acoustically transparent. And as far as I know, air does not freely pass through closed cell foam. I don't have experience with them, but I would assume that they would restrict air flow and create a "half-sealed" enclosure, if you will.


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## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

Everyone is assuming that it does... when in fact if you measure it, you willl find it does not. You are right though it does absorb some of the rear wave energy, but only at higher frequencies. At lower frequencies, especially in the bass region the sound will pass through it.


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## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

I bought some foam baffles from Crutchfield some years back for the 6x9s in the liftgate of my Grand Voyager (during the dark, pre subwoofer days ) and personally, hated the result. I didn't need moisture protection so I chunked them....just my experience....

Jeremy


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

if these are truly sealed then wouldn't they be great for using low Q DIY drivers in your car?


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## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

nubz69 said:


> if these are truly sealed then wouldn't they be great for using low Q DIY drivers in your car?


Wishful thinking  It's only a very thin piece of closed cell foam. Low frequency signals will pass through it like it didn't even exist.


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

nubz69 said:


> if these are truly sealed then wouldn't they be great for using low Q DIY drivers in your car?


I coated mine with a FG resin/bondo mix and it worked great.


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## releasedtruth (Feb 1, 2009)

I just dug this thread up because I heard npdang vouched for their transparency. I will be testing it tomorrow on ID OEMs crossed at 2.5khz. I'll listen with and without, subjectively, of course.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

I used to use them all the time for protection and also to tune the driver. They kind of work aperiodic, or the ones I had did they were from crutchfield. I think they compress when the cone moves back, sort of like a half box. Anyway, I just cut holes in the bottom until I had enough bass/midbass. They were great for lower power drivers that didn't handle bass well, it would tighten them right up and was adjustable.

Don't finish putting your doors together until you have tuned them.


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## releasedtruth (Feb 1, 2009)

I got them for the express purpose of a leaky car door, but man are they tight around the IDs. Should have some report soon. Got one working.


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

I am curious to see how this turns out.


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## releasedtruth (Feb 1, 2009)

Okay, I don't have a 1:1 comparison just yet as I only have one in the door. So far it's alright, but will have more to report in a few days. Low end is definitely there, doesn't sound bad by any stretch. The installed one is cut to form just a top and bottom shelf. The magnet really didn't fit otherwise.


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## Ziggy (Nov 29, 2007)

I am ditto wit dis...


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## releasedtruth (Feb 1, 2009)

I can't speak for the transparency, but the speakers I have using them now even with most of the foam cut away sound hollow, like being in a tunnel or listening with the hall effect on. Could then be the culprit?


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

The speakers I used them on once I had maybe 1/4 of it cut out (bottom 1/4 behind/under basket, they had no effect anymore. I suppose at high excursion you might need to cut more.


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## mcsoul (Jul 23, 2008)

Is the XTC foam stiff or spongy and easy to shape?


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## releasedtruth (Feb 1, 2009)

The foam is thin and very flexible. Doesn't seem like it would impede sound waves much. Big bodied speakers are a tight fit though. The ID magnets barely fit


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## mcsoul (Jul 23, 2008)

MIAaron said:


> Cutting up some throwaway tupperware works as well...


Bump to ask about this tupperware thing. Doesn't the plastic resonate and
flap around in the door making awful sounds? I'm about to put Morel woofers in my door from Madisound and I'm realizing the home audio versions have exposed voice coils. Tupperware may be a solution, or a band-aid.


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## releasedtruth (Feb 1, 2009)

As I experience further, I don't notice any difference with the XTC baffles. They are tight, but with the entire back and sides cut out, it offers some protection without much acoustic impact.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

mcsoul said:


> Bump to ask about this tupperware thing. Doesn't the plastic resonate and
> flap around in the door making awful sounds? I'm about to put Morel woofers in my door from Madisound and I'm realizing the home audio versions have exposed voice coils. Tupperware may be a solution, or a band-aid.


Mine don't and work great. They're "stuck" to the back of the baffle with NHMC, though so they're well damped from the surface.

IMO if you want understand what sound waves and foam do to each other, just put some in front of the speaker and listen. We could go on and on about how lightweight foam is just basically ignored by the majority of the sound spectrum we hear, but that's not really how people are going to learn.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

Tupperware-
A dome shape is pretty strong, depending on the shape it may not move and thus act like a box if it is sealed. And of course how much power you lay into it.


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## thematrimix (May 22, 2009)

Hello All,

I was searching around for some info on speaker baffles and found this thread.
I have been wondering about these

Metra 81-6900 Universal 6 X 9 Speaker Baffle (PAIR) - eBay (item 190330523688 end time Aug-30-09 20:12:07 PDT)

and they are the same idea as the Tupperware bowl idea in this thread. except they are designed to be used as a speaker baffle. So, any thoughts on them. I plan to use then for the rear speakers to try and isolate them from the sub. So, then are not blown.

Here is an idea I had to stiffen them up too. Let me know what you think or any other ideas.

Idea: Simply get some heavy tape, heavier then duck tape, and use it like MLV wrapping it around several times. This will add mass and then inside the baffle stuff it with some polyfill and drill X number of holes at the bottom. The holes at the bottom I have read help. I would try no holes first though or one small how for wire then seal it back up.

Well let me know what you guys think. I know this thread has been dead for awhile, but hopefully I can get some feed back. Thanks


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

If you drill holes you will not isolate from the subs (VBA!). You can stuff them it might help a little not sure, I would test and see where they cut them off with midbass tones and depends how low you want to run them. Those look rigid, the ones I used were heavy foam. When you cut holes it is like aperiodic, works great to match power handling with bass response. May not work as well with over 100w or so I think that starts to deform the foam ones.


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## thematrimix (May 22, 2009)

sqshoestring said:


> If you drill holes you will not isolate from the subs (VBA!). You can stuff them it might help a little not sure, I would test and see where they cut them off with midbass tones and depends how low you want to run them. Those look rigid, the ones I used were heavy foam. When you cut holes it is like aperiodic, works great to match power handling with bass response. May not work as well with over 100w or so I think that starts to deform the foam ones.


Hey a post and a helpful one. I was skeptical about this thread as it has been dead a good while.

Anyway, ya drilling holes would defeat the purpose. I plan on not drilling holes and stuffing it some to see what that does. I have a sub so I am not looking for them to play below 80 hz may try 60 hz and see what it does. It really depends on where I cross over the sub. Plan to start at 80 hz. I am running a SQ sub so it should handle 80 hz fine. O the speakers will be powered by an ARC KS300.4 which is 90x4. So right at the limit of 100 watts you were talking about. Plus, these are pretty cheap I will try them and if they suck will report back and probably try the foam ones. XTCs probably.

What did you think of my idea for trying to make them more ridged. Can you think of better ideas. I would love hear some.


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## Jim85IROC (Jun 8, 2005)

I use those foam baffles on all of my door installs. A while back I siezed up a pair of CDT midwoofers because of corrosion in the voice coils. Apparently water was wicking into the voice coils, and eventually they seized. I didn't realize what caused this until my 2nd pair of speakers went in... this time a set of RE components. With those, the midbass wouldn't play every time it was below 32* outside until about 30 minutes later. I realized that after 30 minutes in the car with the heat on, the ice that was siezing the voice coil up was melting. 

Now I use these baffles when I install speakers in the doors. I usually cut away a significant portion of the back of the baffle, but I've never heard a difference in sound. Even if there was a difference, it beats having frozen woofers.


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## jimjam (Oct 5, 2009)

I hate to see such a much-revived thread just die if, I have something to say about it. I thought I'd throw in for my experience with the xtc foamies. I haven't noticed any problems with past installs but the Ushers would not tolerate these baffles. I had them in between the baffle and sheet metal on the door. The entire backside of the baffle had been cut out leaving a circular side a little deeper than my magnets. 

I chased a number of false leads before I discovered the baffles were being murdered by the powerful low end. Even though there was a fair amount of airspace between the baffle and magnet( the mag. is the ultimate chokepoint in the free flow of air), a fingers width, maybe less. Ultimately, I couldn't remove enough material to alleviate the flapping baffle. The entire bottom was removed, leaving just a shade over the speaker, still there. I finally had to just cut it all away. The nasty sound was gone.

So, recently when I was in my door, I formed a shield (it's all about protecting the home speakers from water after all), out of Dynamat. I won't go into it but, I'll replace them in the near future with something more permanent. I'm not sure what though.

In all, I would just be sure you have plenty of breathing room between these baffles and anything they might flap against. Also, if you can't find that nasty vibration, check your baffle/rain shield.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

Big xmax can be a problem. I have gone to walmart in the housewares and looked for a bowl/dish/etc plastic container that is the size I want, and rigid enough.


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## jimjam (Oct 5, 2009)

Actually, I found a smallish plastic pail at hdepot. Cut in half, scoop out the center plus, the sides on the bucket slant outward from the center which, should help get the sides away instead of closing in like the foamies. If I could just find and adhesive. I have sanded the thing thoroughly and tested attaching a piece to my washing machine. So far, a nice collection of strange smudges on the washing machine but the plastic won't stick. Sheet metal screws aren't so great because it's right under my spkr mount baffle, inconvenient.

....


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