[Patrick Bateman]

I'm pretty curious about making enclosures in the door (or well I guess just the idea of enclosures for mids in general).

#1 What is a good general size for the enclosure? I imagine that (obviously) it's going to vary from speaker to speaker, but are we talking like .3 - .5 being the range or upwards of a cube?

#2 I know that the benefit of putting them in an enclosure is mid bass, but is this at a cost of volume? I know with our board each speaker is in its own enclosure that if I had to take a guess I'd say is around .3 or so (totally guessing here). The mid bass response is good, but the woofer is moving so far that they can't really get cranked up super loud.

I could keep elaborating on my questions, but I think if you can answer the question then you already get the question. Thanks!!!!

Travis

In a nutshell, I find that you get excellent results when you use extremely small sealed boxes. It's the same thing that a lot of us do with our subs - we get a ten or a twelve and put it in a box that's barely big enough to contain the basket. You can do the same thing with your midbasses.

The reason why it's so effective is that it's trivial to make bass in a car due to cabin gain, but it's hell trying to generate good midbass.

Basically, you get some serious "bang for the buck" when you seal up those midbasses, because it's in the midbass where we need all the help that we can get.

As for enclosure size, I could write a whole article on that, and I think I will. I'll need some time to put it together. Basically you have to follow a different criteria when you're selecting a sealed midbass, focusing on power handling and small enclosure size. A lot of car audio midbasses won't work very well because the QTS is too high.

But if you choose your drivers carefully, you'll enjoy a big bump in midbass power handling, and you'll get much deeper bass (because those damn doors leak too much.)

 

[kelrog]

11 pages and I didn't see any mention of Duct Seal Non Hardening Clay from GB or Ideal Link

 

[tuing2]

good informative thread ,,,

 

[tuing2]

i dont know if this has been mentioned, but to seal my doors i used aluminum screening hot glued to the door, then covered in a layer of second skin.

let me know if you guys would like a write-up.

can you post some picture from your work ?
do you mind ?

thanks ,

 

[Rudeboy]

I generally avoid voicing my opinion on sound deadening, since I know a lot of people swear by it, and this forum is practically financed by it. (And you own a sound deadening company, no?)

Yes. Don't be coy. I doubt anyone will object to whatever it is you're trying to say.

 

[ashjm]

This is one of the all-time best threads on the forum. Here's my small contribution; didn't see much mention of these particular products, so here goes:
For making baffles, I prefer HDPE cutting board material over MDF. Strong, rigid, more durable, and still somewhat easy to cut/shape. You can get 1/2" thick stuff from usplastics (sorry, I'm not allowed to post links yet), or just buy a cutting board from the local boxmart.
For killing rattles, automotive Goop (or any other similar product) is it! I dab some on every plastic connector/panel clip/harness inside the door. It's still pliable when it dries and is removable with a little work if necessary.

Gonna tear my doors apart again soon and re-apply some of the tips I've gleaned from this thread. Thanks to all who have contributed!

 

[Jprice2708]

Was at the hardware store and found a great source of CCF - there is a soft cushion underlay/insulation foam sold to lay under panel flooring, and only costs $22 for 11m2. That's at Bunnings here in Australia, but I'm sure you could find a similar product in the USA.

Edit: Got the CCF in my doors today, and the difference is huge compared to just having MLV, no more buzzing at high bass volumes, and a minor, but noticable lowering in overall noise coming through - decoupling that MLV is worth doing IME

 

[Mikcuz]

Thanks. Thumbs Up.

 

[brett]

wow, i just checked this thread out and read the first page..... early 2005! and i saw a reference to ECA. man, that brings back some memories. even good ol' minitruck was around then.

anyway, im in the process of doing all of this as well. i will definitely do the dampening and ccf/mlv solution. however, not sure how to treat the door as an enclosure. i have morel h8.1's that i had in the doors of my caddy and it sounded incredible. all i did was make a baffle and throw em' in there.

 

[dsauce16]

11 pages and I didn't see any mention of Duct Seal Non Hardening Clay from GB or Ideal

thats what i used to seal my doors. Duct seal from home depot was $2 for 1 lb and i ended up using 2. also before starting this project i had no idea what i was getting myself into. that outer doorskin and sealing the big access holes are a bitch. also, after completion my drivers side front door lock decided to get jammed!!! talk about frustrating. anyway a couple of firm punches to the lock seem to do the trick if anyone runs into that problem and doesnt want to tear about their newly dampened and sealed doors

 

[Miguel.Gto]

what size (thickness) on the egg carton foam ?? does it make a difference from using the thin to thick ??

 

[finbar]

In a nutshell, I find that you get excellent results when you use extremely small sealed boxes. It's the same thing that a lot of us do with our subs - we get a ten or a twelve and put it in a box that's barely big enough to contain the basket. You can do the same thing with your midbasses.

The reason why it's so effective is that it's trivial to make bass in a car due to cabin gain, but it's hell trying to generate good midbass.

Basically, you get some serious "bang for the buck" when you seal up those midbasses, because it's in the midbass where we need all the help that we can get.

As for enclosure size, I could write a whole article on that, and I think I will. I'll need some time to put it together. Basically you have to follow a different criteria when you're selecting a sealed midbass, focusing on power handling and small enclosure size. A lot of car audio midbasses won't work very well because the QTS is too high.

But if you choose your drivers carefully, you'll enjoy a big bump in midbass power handling, and you'll get much deeper bass (because those damn doors leak too much.)

I am looking at this
https://www.madisound.com/store/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=121&products_id=8995
driver for a door mid in a box. Is it a good candidate for the application?

 

[Techie]

Great thread, I learned a lot and plan to do some good work on sealing my doors. I had a few questions though. I read through the whole thread and seen some different techniques.

I will be installing a 3/4" mdf ring cause it's needed. How important is it to put some sort of foam between the door/baffle (to reduce vibrations) and baffle/driver (to seal it better). Is it necessary to add foam to both locations, or is this overkill?

 

[todd4198]

Great thread, however after reading through it I didn't seem to see a definitive answer on the clay. The OP hasn't had any melting problems, but it seems most others have. I can get this locally, but others have said the Van Aken is a bad idea, even though this says it melts at 150 degrees. I think my doors would only get that hot only on our hottest days around here...

 

[kelrog]

Great thread, however after reading through it I didn't seem to see a definitive answer on the clay. The OP hasn't had any melting problems, but it seems most others have. I can get this locally, but others have said the Van Aken is a bad idea, even though this says it melts at 150 degrees. I think my doors would only get that hot only on our hottest days around here...

instead of modeling clay use: Duct Seal, Non Hardening Clay from GB or Ideal

here is the link

 

[kelrog]

Great thread, I learned a lot and plan to do some good work on sealing my doors. I had a few questions though. I read through the whole thread and seen some different techniques.

I will be installing a 3/4" mdf ring cause it's needed. How important is it to put some sort of foam between the door/baffle (to reduce vibrations) and baffle/driver (to seal it better). Is it necessary to add foam to both locations, or is this overkill?

Depends on how you are mounting it to your door, if you have uneven surfaces, then yes you will want something to help seal the ring to the door. using foam is ok. but the clay (use Duct Seal/plug) will make the seal more solid, add more mass around the speaker, and with BB's inserted into the clay even more localized mass can be added around the speaker resulting in less vibration to the door. It can also keep water away from the rings, since you are going to be using MDF (make sure you water seal them with FB resin, truck bed liner, etc...)

 

[todd4198]

instead of modeling clay use: Duct Seal, Non Hardening Clay from GB or Ideal

here is the link

Cool thanks that definitely looks like a better option.

 

[kelrog]

yeah it has a way higher melting point, doesn't harden. has good stick to it. you can turn it into a rope and put it on your impact bars in your doors as well. good stuff. cheap and normally you can find it at home stores.

 

[duckymcse]

I had been using this Duct Seal for a little more than a month. So far so good in both hot and cold weather. It does really sealed up the gap quite well and it help stop the vibration. I really like this product. Very good recommendation.
The slight problem is that it does have this faint smell to it when you roll down the windows.

instead of modeling clay use: Duct Seal, Non Hardening Clay from GB or Ideal

here is the link

 

[kelrog]

I had been using this Duct Seal for a little more than a month. So far so good in both hot and cold weather. It does really sealed up the gap quite well and it help stop the vibration. I really like this product. Very good recommendation.
The slight problem is that it does have this faint smell to it when you roll down the windows.

ive used it for the past 3 months. and haven't smelled a thing. and im in FL. go figure.