speaker mounting in door with spacers

[hari-bhari]

can someone explain the speaker spacer concept to me? i have been told that i need to install a spacer behind my speaker so that it presses up against the grill of the door panel, in order to get better sound. is this true, and does anyone have any pics or explanations of what i can do?

[theprodigy79]

The spacers aren't to produce better sound... Whoever tells you that they will are full of crap. The only real usages of spacers are to:

#1 Space speakers with larger than factory magnets out further so that the windows have clearance when they are put down (otherwise they may hit or rub against the magnets). I had to use spacers up front cuz my speakers have huge magnets and my window woulda hit...

#2 Space speakers to make them fit properly into a factory location.

#3 Angle the speaker to produce the best centering and sound staging (takes a lot of work to do properly).

#4 Adapt one speaker size to another. For example, I used my spacers to convert all four of the Gen 2 factory 6x9s into 6.5"s so that I could use the speakers of my choice...

There are a few other usages as well, but the above are the most common / practical usages...

Also, you DO NOT want your speaker pressed against the front grille, as it may cause your speaker to rub against it during excursion, which may cause distortion, vibration, premature ware, or flat out breaking it the cone / tweeter...

[Adum-Bom]

here is a .5" spacer i did on a civic. Make the ring, bolt the ring to the door, then the speaker to the mount. the stock speaker/mount came to around 1.5" tall, so there was plenty of room to add this spacer. Like prodigy said, make sure you know for sure if there is room, if not you will rub your speaker against the pannels. I havent replaced my jbls yet so i couldnt tell you how thick they stick out.

[theprodigy79]

Here's a shot of my spacer as well. I used 1/4" MDF in the rear to convert the space for a 6x9 into 6.5" round, and also to clear the magnet from the metal bars going across the trunk...

[Adum-Bom]

looking good, the things we have to do to get some sound

[theprodigy79]

Thanks dude, the Civic is clean as well Seriously, I know what you mean... good installs take FOREVER! I had to retire my car for a full weekend soon after I first got it and rent a car in order to do mine

Couple more shots:



What it looks like from outside the trunk:


You can kinda see the 6.5" in the door (Gen 2 comes with 6x9s up front as well):

[hari-bhari]

well i mean ive had my bostons in there, and htey fit fine in the factory location, but they just sound hollow when they hit. Like I see them hit and u can hear it, but its as though its not pushing any air. Did anyone take the spacer off their stock speaker and adapt it to their aftermarkets?

[theprodigy79]

If you want them to hit better you can do a couple things...

You can build small sealed boxes to house each speaker, or if you don't want to do that, you can Dynamat over the entire interior of your doors (including holes in the bracing and structure) to create a large chamber and also direct the energy / focus of the speakers more efficiently... I chose to do the latter and my Boston Z6s sound FANTASTIC...