Ah. It sounds like 2.5" is the limit if you want to install baffles. With 3/4" spacers installed, my calculation shows that the speaker will stick out about 2.7". I guess I cannot install baffles for HATs then?

 

The depth limit from the sheet metal to the window stop is ~2.4". The baffle will just push in ever so slightly when you lower the window and it won't interfere with the operation. As long as your speaker's top mount depth minus the ring thickness is around 2" there should be no issues with clearance.

 

Right. I forgot to include the spacers in my math. It seems like it will work out just fine. Thanks!

 

Np, let us know how it goes!

 

I don't believe adding a baffle will improve bass response. Those are designed to keep water off the speaker, and just because the manufacturer says "Improves audio performance" in their ad does not necessarily mean their "improvement" is the improvement you are after. In truth, the foam baffles will definitely cut down on external sound transmitted through the speaker cone, so that's an improvement, and their claim is justified. But do you think if the baffles improved bass response that the manufacturer would fail to put that in the ad too?

Speakers that are designed to work well in a car door are made to certain specifications, one of those is the ability to perform well in a LARGE enclosure. Car doors are typically in the 3-5 cubic foot range, which is HUGE for a speaker cabinet. Few 15" woofers require a cabinet that large. So when you take a speaker that works best in a 3 cu ft box and put a .05 cubic foot baffle behind it, it will not perform the same, even if the baffle is flexible. Any restriction to air movement behind the cone is like making the speaker work in a smaller box, which if it's smaller than the design parameters will always reduce bass output.

While I have not tested this type of baffle, I did test the OEM speakers with and without the baffles, quite by accident. I ran frequency response tests in my car and was confused because the right speaker had much better bass response than the left. I re-ran the test and got similar results. So I figured I'd pull the speakers and inspect them, and when I did I found the left door had the OEM baffle and the right side had the same baffle, but cut out so it was just a spacer ring.

I then swapped speakers and the left side again (baffled) had less bass, so my conclusion is that the OEM speakers would sound better without the baffles. These were not tests using my ears, I used both a sound pressure meter and a calibrated microphone feeding a spectrum analyzer so the difference was real.

 

When I ran the speakers with out baffles, the bass did not seem as clear and there was excessive resonance from everything in the door. The bass was much more clear at speed with the top down.

Edit: To clarify, you may be getting a bit more thump from them with the larger air space for the woofers to affect, but I think the audio quality suffers for it. In the end, if you're after powerful bass, get a subwoofer.

 

So you do not recommend the baffles you're selling on your site? Just to make sure, an aftermarket 6.5 door speaker would sound better without any baffles/spacers and so just install them by themselves?

 

He doesn't sell baffles on his site. He sells spacers.

 

this might be helpful for this thread.

Alpine type R components
spacers from car speaker adapters.com
dynamat speaker kit

the dynamat also covers the gaps that the spacers create, and makes a very solid speaker mounting system. these have really good bass for a non amped 6.5 and there is virtually no rattling or vibration in the door. Its not all that loud without an amp but good enough for me.

simple, pretty cheap way to get good sound

 

Not to beat this to death, but I probably should have mentioned that my doors were already sealed and damped. Not much good doing comparison testing of drivers if the speaker cabinet is not in it's final configuration.


If you have more bass because of no baffles (more thump as you say) you will also have more vibration and other noises from the door which can be annoying, and reducing the bass output of the driver (however you do it) can reduce that noise. You may be able to achieve a similar effect by simply turning down the bass. I'd be surprised if anyone could accurately tell the difference in actual driver output between the two at speed with the top down. The only reason I noticed was the meter readings were different; I'm not sure I could tell just by listening and I was in the garage.