How all does CLD tiles affect SQ in anything but doors with speakers.

[The Camry]

Finished sound deadening my front doors recently. Huge SQ boost from putting on CLD tiles on the outer/inner door skins. So my question is...How exactly do you get a SQ boost from putting CLD tiles on anywhere that doesnt have speakers?

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[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Finished sound deadening my front doors recently. Huge SQ boost from putting on CLD tiles on the outer/inner door skins. So my question is...How exactly do you get a SQ boost from putting CLD tiles on anywhere that doesnt have speakers?

Dampens vibrations on flat surfaces, helps lower road noise therefore less noise interfering with your music = higher SQ. Mass loaded vinyl does a better job IMO. Of course doing both mass loaded vinyl and CLD will help you achieve a very silent car. Just think of how music sounds in a soundproof recording studio, now imagine the same acoustics in your car.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

As Jeff said, we want to reduce the level of distracting sounds. Some cars need more help with this problem than others, and we also can't only rely on one type of treatment. CLD products are usually advertised to do just about everything from lowering vibrations to blocking noise and heat. They're best used to only lower the resonant frequency of panels, be it metal or plastics. That means vibrations still occur, it's just not creating sounds that directly compete with our music so much.

Just think of how music sounds in a soundproof recording studio, now imagine the same acoustics in your car.

Recording studios don't all sound the same, and they don't have windows that leak outside noise. I get your point, but I respectfully disagree that we want a car to have the acoustics of a recording studio. I haven't been in a studio, but I've been in an anechoic chamber, which is often brought up as the optimal listening room when it's the farthest thing from it.

 

[The Camry]

So i asked Don from SDS and this is his response for anyone curious.

That's a pretty normal response - treat one area and it makes it easier

to hear how much noise is left. The two ways people usually go is either

enjoy the fact that it now sounds great or start down the road toward

making the vehicle as quiet as it can be.

In most cases you won't get a huge noise reduction using just vibration

damper like the CLD Tiles I sell. It almost always requires CLD Tiles

and MLV to get the maximum reduction but there is no question that

putting CLD Tiles other places than just near the speakers will make a

big difference to how music sounds. Fact is, CLD Tiles (or any vibration

damper) are no more effective near speakers than any other place.

Every single panel in your vehicle is capable of resonance - they will

vibrate in response to music or any sound, including noise. Each panel

has a natural frequency at which it vibrates, whether it is excited by

your speakers or you hit it with a stick. Think of each section of sheet

metal or plastic trim panel as a speaker that will just play a few

notes, no matter what else is going on. You play your music, you hear

your speakers AND the resonance coming from your panels. CLD Tiles kill

the resonance, getting rid of a lot of the junk you would hear without them.

Another issue you'll run into with subs is rattles and buzzes. Those

high frequency sounds help our ears focus on the source of the bass

notes. That destroys the non-directional way we hear very low frequency

sound which makes it possible to put the sub behind us.