Tweeter placement question and build log
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 58
Likes: 0
Tweeter placement question and build log I had a question for those that have done stereo upgrades in their vehicles. After a couple didn't-know-any-better attempts at replacing the Moonsoon stereo in my Formula many years ago, I finally got smart and figured out how to do it right. I've ditched the rear speakers and am in the process of installing a 2-way active setup in the front which will be controlled by an Audison BitOne. I managed to fit some nice midbass 6.5s in the existing door locations but was wondering about tweeter location. Has anyone done an active setup using the stock tweeter locations in the kickpanels? How did it turn out in terms of staging? I am debating between mounting them in the stock locations vs using pods and mounting them on-axis off of the a-pillars.
I'm going to add some pics of what I've done so far in following posts in case it helps someone.
I'm going to add some pics of what I've done so far in following posts in case it helps someone.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 58
Likes: 0
My build consists of re-using a single DIN Pioneer deck I already have and adding DSP capabilities.
Deck: Pioneer DEH8700
DSP: Audison BitOne
Amp: Alpine PDF v9 5 channel
Subs: Two older 10s in separate 0.70 ft3 boxes
Mids: Steven's Audio MB6-4
Tweeters: still deciding
Midbass was something I was always lacking in my previous car stereo upgrades so I really wanted to improve on this as best I could. After a lot of research online I started the process by stripping down the door and adding a layer of Hushmat/Dynamat damping to the outer and inner door skins to help with vibrations. I went single layer and used about 8 sqft per door. I filled up the larger opening towards the rear of the door with some dampened sheet metal. and filled as many smaller holes as I could with the Hushmat. After that I trimmed a piece of 1/8" mass loaded vinyl and backed it with some 1/8" closed cell foam. I used Velcro tape to hold the sheet of MLV/CCF on the door as detailed on SoundDeadeningShowdown website. The weight of the MLV was stretching the adhesive over time and causing it to slide off so I added some staples to prevent the shearing.
Deck: Pioneer DEH8700
DSP: Audison BitOne
Amp: Alpine PDF v9 5 channel
Subs: Two older 10s in separate 0.70 ft3 boxes
Mids: Steven's Audio MB6-4
Tweeters: still deciding
Midbass was something I was always lacking in my previous car stereo upgrades so I really wanted to improve on this as best I could. After a lot of research online I started the process by stripping down the door and adding a layer of Hushmat/Dynamat damping to the outer and inner door skins to help with vibrations. I went single layer and used about 8 sqft per door. I filled up the larger opening towards the rear of the door with some dampened sheet metal. and filled as many smaller holes as I could with the Hushmat. After that I trimmed a piece of 1/8" mass loaded vinyl and backed it with some 1/8" closed cell foam. I used Velcro tape to hold the sheet of MLV/CCF on the door as detailed on SoundDeadeningShowdown website. The weight of the MLV was stretching the adhesive over time and causing it to slide off so I added some staples to prevent the shearing.
Last edited by Rocky98; Oct 20, 2017 at 11:24 PM.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 58
Likes: 0
Next up was replacing the plastic factory speaker mounts with MDF ones. I contacted Ian at KeeAudio to see if he might have some left. He did not have any but was really helpful in giving some tips and guidance on how to make my own. A very nice guy and I appreciate his help.
I had some 1/4" plywood kicking around so I figured I would use that to make the mount plate. I traced the plastic mounts onto the plywood and added material where there was room to add it. You will need the extra thickness if you want to attach mdf speaker rings like I was planning to. If I was going to do this again, I would not use 1/4" plywood. The inner layers of plywood separated a bit when using the scroll saw and then fell off along the outer edges. Luckily I had some liquid shim material I was able to use to fill in the gaps.
After cutting out the plate I glued and screwed 5/8" thick mdf rings I had purchased online to fit the midbass I had. I then hit them with some bedliner spray paint to try and give them some water resistance. One thing I noticed about our doors was there seems to be a lot of water ingress from the elements. I wanted to maintain the rain shield feature of the factory mounts so I used some 0.020" aluminum sheet to recreate some rain guards, I think they will do the job.
I had some 1/4" plywood kicking around so I figured I would use that to make the mount plate. I traced the plastic mounts onto the plywood and added material where there was room to add it. You will need the extra thickness if you want to attach mdf speaker rings like I was planning to. If I was going to do this again, I would not use 1/4" plywood. The inner layers of plywood separated a bit when using the scroll saw and then fell off along the outer edges. Luckily I had some liquid shim material I was able to use to fill in the gaps.
After cutting out the plate I glued and screwed 5/8" thick mdf rings I had purchased online to fit the midbass I had. I then hit them with some bedliner spray paint to try and give them some water resistance. One thing I noticed about our doors was there seems to be a lot of water ingress from the elements. I wanted to maintain the rain shield feature of the factory mounts so I used some 0.020" aluminum sheet to recreate some rain guards, I think they will do the job.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 58
Likes: 0
I lined the back of the speaker plate with some foam tape to try and aid in the seal front to back and used the factory mounting screws to attach it to the door.
The diameters of my new speakers with the mdf mount were about .75" larger than my old setup. In order to get the door panel to fit I had to trim as much plastic/cardboard/insulation as I could from the rear side of my door panels. The area that I trimmed was around the recess that goes around the speaker. Getting the door panels back on with the larger speaker and layer of MLV/CCF was NOT easy but eventually I got them on.
My impressions so far driving just the midbass from my amp at 100watts each is really good. Definitely getting a much better bass response in the 80-500 range than I was before. I'm getting a little vibrating from the door panel towards the rear of the door. I may pop off the panel and add some more damper there but I'm debating if it's worth the struggle to get the doors back on lol. All in all, I think it was worth the effort to go damper, ccf, and mlv. Next up is deciding on a tweeter and figuring out where to mount it.
The diameters of my new speakers with the mdf mount were about .75" larger than my old setup. In order to get the door panel to fit I had to trim as much plastic/cardboard/insulation as I could from the rear side of my door panels. The area that I trimmed was around the recess that goes around the speaker. Getting the door panels back on with the larger speaker and layer of MLV/CCF was NOT easy but eventually I got them on.
My impressions so far driving just the midbass from my amp at 100watts each is really good. Definitely getting a much better bass response in the 80-500 range than I was before. I'm getting a little vibrating from the door panel towards the rear of the door. I may pop off the panel and add some more damper there but I'm debating if it's worth the struggle to get the doors back on lol. All in all, I think it was worth the effort to go damper, ccf, and mlv. Next up is deciding on a tweeter and figuring out where to mount it.
I have a Z28, so I don't have the stock tweeter spots in my doors. I did manage to fit a set of .75" tweeters in the rearview mirror trim panel triangles without replacing them with a set of replacement pods and it brought the sound stage up nicely...
