I'm mounting my tweeters on door latch brackets like this:



And I need to know if I need to do anything other than mounting them there.

My tweeters come with various mounting option brackets including flush mount base, straight surface mount cup, angled surface mount cup.

For the bracket above I am using the surface mount "cups" that the tweeter sits on. The thing is, it doesn't have a back to it (since it normally would get attached to a flat surface) and the custom bracket I made like in the image above doesn't cover the entire back of the surface mount tweeter cup.

For best sound, do I need to glue a backing panel to the cup, or build a more substantial pod/enclosure to put on the bracket? I can't imagine I would need anything larger than the supplied cups, but the main thing is I need to know if they need to be enclosed.

Any advice?

 

I dont have the time right now....ill post in detail later tonight.....but..

Tweeters arent like subwoofers, which require an enclosed airspace of somekind to produce sound. Tweeters, for optimal sound, need to BOUNCE off something for optimal sound.

If you notice, many luxury cars, with luxury radios (Infinity, Bose, Boston, etc) have tweeters that are mounted on the dash facing the windshield. This allows them to bounce off the glass, and radiate the sound. I have done MANY controlled experiments in my s2k vs an RSX (which has that setup) and the difference is clear.

So in short, I would not recommend that mouting position, and mount it on the A pillar. They are not expensive, so if you need to return to stock, buy another set, or get a 10 dollar pair of tweeters.

 

Ahhh...but you have no idea how stubborn I am.

Thanks, I do appreciate the advice (which is what I asked for...) and thanks for taking the time to reply while your busy.

I'm actually quite determined to mount them in that location for a few reasons:

--it's closer to the door mids (closer than the A-pillars and the upper dash area)
--it's a perfect, unused "pocket" of space when the door is closed
--it is flexible and unobstructed (it shoots anywhere in the cabin you want, and shoots over the thigh-level so it is not blocked by driver or passenger)

and.....

--I have already made the brackets

Many owners have flush-mounted their tweeters in that location. But one of my install constraints is "no holes".

If I really do need to have the tweeters basically "up against a wall" it would actually be very easy to place a contoured but flat-faced surface on that bracket, then mount the tweeter on that surface.

I guess I'm saying I could make a mount surface in that location at least as flat as the A-pillar (which isn't actually very flat) if it is required. I can also make a bondo tweeter enclosure that custom-fits that location, but is still attached to that bracket.

My question is, do I need to do that? Extra work is extra time, but I'll do it if the speakers require it.

It seems like I have seen "horn" type tweeters on high-end home audio speakers that are essentially points in space (no back wall to them), but they do have a rear enclosure to some small extent.

 

I think it's a great location for a tweeter - specially for this car. You don't need an enclosure for it.

 

mas, are those your pictures on s2000.org? If so, thanks for putting together such a helpful image gallery.

I can't find the original thread that described this though...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by LATEOTT
mas, are those your pictures on s2000.org?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mas

 

Just so you know.......you dont really want the tweeter right near the mid. You want it about 15" away for optimal sound.

 

umm... boy, Dave and i are going to disagree here.

actually a tweeter (like most speakers) does need an enclosure. whether YOUR tweeters need a rear enclosure or not is the question. however, 99.9% of the time, the enclosure required for the tweeter is part of the tweeter itself. this is because the tweeter's enclosed volume is generally miniscule in quantity.

most tweeters are also designed to be listened to 'on axis', which is a direct listening position. now, 'bouncing' a tweeter's output is a commonly used method to diffuse the sound and create a broader soundstage. this is very often used in bipolar speaker setups.
and yes, Bose uses this technique a lot... they use it to hide their crap sound quality behind a wall of 'it sounds so full and spatial. wow.'

and actually - for phasing purposes, you generally want your midrange mounted as close to your tweeter as possible.
just check out high end home audio speakers... almost always you will find tweeters mounted in very close proximity to the midrange driver, and sometimes in the midst of the midrange drivers.


imo, this is a great location for a tweeter with two exceptions:
1. you'll have some issues w/ the stereo feel of the system. b/c each seating position will get an overwhelming ratio of the signal of one tweeter.

2. it will potentially be quite bright. you'll probably need to tune down the tweeters in the crossovers for the components.

what components are you putting in here?

 

Hmmmmmmm.....Phil, Im right, and you are wrong, so just admit it.

Actually....I didnt really finish explaining my end of it, as I was in a rush.


I didnt mean the tweeter needs NO enclouse, it does.... I was just stressing the importance of proper "aiming" and sound dissipation.

Tweeters, when blasted, if you are to close to them, sound like one big continuous hiss....doesnt sound like music very much. You need to let the sound "separate", thus allowing you to hear music, rather than noise. THis is why many of the glass boucing techniques are used....it can dissipate faster in a tight airspace (car)....not necessary at home, because you have all that room for dissipation.

Again, I agree with you on home audio, however, It has always been my knowledge, as well as most of the instruction manuals of most component speakers, that they recommend you mount the tweeter about 10-15 inches away from the woofer, for optimal sound.

However, like many things, I could be wrong, and misinformed. Lets do research I guess, and see what we can come up with.