# Front door speaker enclosures....



## Mason Dixon (Oct 24, 2011)

I'm in the process of putting some basic 6.5" front door speakers in a civic. 

The stock speakers came with a thin little clear plastic enclosure behind them. 

I've heard that its important to separate the front and rear wave. 

I've seen some mount the door speakers and seal all the gaps in the door with dynamat and then I've seen some put tupperware enclosure's behind the speakers and fill with polyfill. 

Which method produces the best sound typically?


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## nick650 (Feb 7, 2011)

cover the holes not the speaker.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

The one that best suits the speaker you are installing.....


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

depends greatly on the driver you use too. 

some 6.5" perform much better in an IB setup, meaning they use the door as the enclosure. you still want to seperate the front from the rear, but that has more to do with sealing the door than putting the driver in an enclosure.

some will perform better in a small enclosure. some people that do the tupperware thing is just as a rain shield to keep water off the speaker. if you put a speaker that was not designed for an enclosure into one, it will not sound good. loss of bass and power handling are two things that pop to mind.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

That's the reason for my statement.... no specific driver was stated beyond it being "basic". What is basic?  Asking the question of which is better could lead to something improper without knowing what it is that you are dealing with & what you are trying to achieve. How about a brand & model #


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

Bayboy said:


> *That's the reason for my statemen*t.... no specific driver was stated beyond it being "basic". What is basic?  Asking the question of which is better could lead to something improper without knowing what it is that you are dealing with & what you are trying to achieve. How about a brand & model #


you just beat me out...........typing at the same time


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## Mason Dixon (Oct 24, 2011)

Sorry, the speakers are Infinity Reference 6032cf 6.5-Inch 180-Watt. 

I guess I'll put a plastic shield over the top of the speakers so water doesn't drip down on them and then seal the doors really well.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Nothing too basic about those.... Minbari, take it away..... I'm about to go fishing for a bit. :laugh:


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

Bayboy said:


> Nothing too basic about those.... Minbari, take it away..... I'm about to go fishing for a bit. :laugh:


lol, good luck with that.

defintely dont put those in an enclosure. just mount to the door and let the door be the enclosure.


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## jhsellers (Jan 7, 2012)

minbari said:


> defintely dont put those in an enclosure. just mount to the door and let the door be the enclosure.


Defined as IB - infinite baffle, right? 

*How much air space (or relative "baffle" area) is required to constitute Infinite Baffle? *

For most in-door speakers (aimed at IB installation), the door air space will be much larger (relatively) than volume of an enclosure that would usually be the target if the same driver were to be put in a sealed installation. But, I've also seen woofers installed into baffles behind rear seats that are designated as IB. Comparatively, woofer installations like this cover a much larger portion of the "baffle", and the enclosure volume might be also a "smaller percentage" (relatively) of the - cone volume? This analogy from smaller driver to larger one, and of the surface/volume relationship, might be flawed, but it serves to ask the question: 

Is there a rule-of-thumb? How much space/volume is needed to constitute an IB installation? If you have some small air "leaks" - like would be normal for the door panel plane, with protruding lock/actuator cables/rods, etc. - can these air leaks be ignored when compared to the large amount of volume behind the baffle? 

Where is the trade off point, such that I'll attain most of the low frequency response available from the drivers, without worring about small air leaks in the "baffles"? 

I'm wondering how much detail I'll need to seal up hole in my doors? Can I use some CCF to "gasket" the holes where lock rods penetrate? Will the holes for door card attachment splines be okay, since they won't be sealed? 

Thanks for advice,
John


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

There's several ways to approach IB depending upon manipulation & response. It would be best to search within the forums for answers rather than start a fire fight unless you have plenty popcorn to watch it with. LOL

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## jhsellers (Jan 7, 2012)

Bayboy said:


> There's several ways to approach IB depending upon manipulation & response. It would be best to search within the forums for answers rather than start a fire fight unless you have plenty popcorn to watch it with. LOL


Well, I didn't know that IB was such a controversial subject. 

And, although I've got lots of popcorn, I'll apologize to Mason Dixon for partially derailing his thread. Although, I thought I was continuing along the same line of discussion, since most door installations are considered IB. 

Searching, especially on internet forums, doesn't always get expected results. Most people aren't that diligent about getting their subject titles appropriate... Plus, there are always those "Internet Electricians" too... 

Thanks,
John


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Basically it boils down to whether you plan to manipulate the response or go with its natural curve. Most who run low Qts drivers tend to boost a little while others that run a higher Qts like the added bump around the driver's resonance. It's still not so cut & dry as there's more aspects to consider.

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