Lions, Bass Blockers, and Baffles, oh my!

[JBNole423]

Quick question for you audio types out there -
Are the bass blockers and baffles sold on Crutchfield worth the investment? I understand what the baffles do (although I question how great they make the speakers sound), but is it really worth it to get the bass blockers for your speaker sets? I have seen some people on here recommend against them. Thanks.

[theprodigy79]

Baffles, in my humble opinion, are garbage... They work moderately AT BEST on some speakers, however you would be FAR better off using just a touch of sound dampening instead to reduce rattles and such... If you simply dampen around the speaker mounts you will have better results than with those things... The more sound dampening, the better... As for keeping the speakers clean... I've never, personally, had any issues with my speakers getting excessively dirty... Unless your car is flat out NASTY, or your window seals are worn out (time for replacing), you'll be fine.

Regarding bass blockers... if you are running the factory headunit and aftermarket speakers, or an aftermarket headunit with no form of built in crossovers, then they are pretty much a necessary evil... I would highly recommend using an amplifier's built-in crossover, or a headunit with cross-over functions over the usage of bass blockers, however if those are not feasible options then they do the job... Just make sure that if you DO use them you pick up the proper ones (I usually stick with around 80Hz cutoff on 5.25" and up with few exceptions).

If you use bass blockers, and wind up purchasing an amp or headunit with built-in crossover, make sure you remove the bass blockers when you do the upgrade.

-James

[hskrsolara]

Overall, baffles are crap. mine just rattled like crazy and i took them out of my rear deck. for the smaller speakers, they are more useful if they are rigid, but for 6x9's, DON'T GET THEM, especially the light plastic ones!