Installing 3-way comps with minimal fabrication?

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Kind of a threadjack, but maybe not.

Is the reason some are suggesting putting the midrange and the tweeter in the kicks is due to the midrange being a cone. If it were a dome would you feel differently? My understanding is the dome provides wider dispersion and would be okay in the door.

I had all 3 in the door when I had the SLCs. The stage was definitely lower than it should be. I was wondering if this was due to characteristics of a midrange or the type of midrange it is.

Here are some pics and I DO NOT reccomend this type of install with that particular midrange:

Also, how well does stiffening up the q-form actually help. They look a lot better than anything I could make. How thick should the clay/ deadener be.

 

[kowboy 10+ year member]

Kind of a threadjack, but maybe not.
Is the reason some are suggesting putting the midrange and the tweeter in the kicks is due to the midrange being a cone. If it were a dome would you feel differently? My understanding is the dome provides wider dispersion and would be okay in the door.

I had all 3 in the door when I had the SLCs. The stage was definitely lower than it should be. I was wondering if this was due to characteristics of a midrange or the type of midrange it is.

Here are some pics and I DO NOT reccomend this type of install with that particular midrange:

Also, how well does stiffening up the q-form actually help. They look a lot better than anything I could make. How thick should the clay/ deadener be.

looks good. thx for the pics. still trying to figure this one out.

 

[kowboy 10+ year member]

what ever you do, don't mount your mids like the picture above...you never want to mount any midrange inverted

Hey HH...glad u made your way over here. I really respect your opinions. It's obvious you've done this before, lol! How would you suggest I install these things?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Kind of a threadjack, but maybe not.
Is the reason some are suggesting putting the midrange and the tweeter in the kicks is due to the midrange being a cone. If it were a dome would you feel differently? My understanding is the dome provides wider dispersion and would be okay in the door.

The "dispersion" isn't the primary reason for not having door mounted mids.

The "dispersion" will affect the aiming of the speaker. And yes, some domes (but not necessarily all) have better dispersion characteristics than cones which allows them to require less "aiming" of the speaker itself.

But the reason for kickpanels as opposed to door-mounted mids is due to pathlength differences. The midrange frequencies are sensitive to both speaker aiming (intensity differences) and time arrival (pathlength) differences.

Additional note; Midbass frequencies are rather insensitive to aiming but are sensitive to pathlength [time arrival] differences and "tweeter" frequencies are sensitive to intensity differences but rather insensitive to time arrival differences.

The only way to "fix" time arrival differences are to either equalize the pathlengths or use time alignment....and time alignment will typically narrow the stage as compared to optimized pathlengths. Also, typically kicks will allow you to more optimally aim the speakers as opposed to doors where some oddly-angled drivers sticking out of the door may disrupt comfort while sitting in the vehicle or may look hideous aesthetically.

Also, how well does stiffening up the q-form actually help.

The main downfall of qlogics is that the aiming may not be optimal for your particular speakers.

However, if you the imaging from the aim is good with the speakers you are using....solidifying them shouldn't pose any issues at all and should be just as good as "custom built" kicks of the same aiming/size/shape.

How thick should the clay/ deadener be.

As much as it takes to eliminate pod resonances and sturdying up the mounting surface.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

what ever you do, don't mount your mids like the picture above...you never want to mount any midrange inverted

Holy crap good catch!

I didn't even notice the inverted mids down in the kicks.

That's hilarious //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[theothermike 10+ year member]

i believe that isnt a midrange, it the kicker crossover iirc, and ur referring to the door pod on the 1st page with blue speakers.

also, my q forms, have no resonance, and have about 1.5 - 2 layers of raammat in them in terms of thickness

Mike-

 

[kowboy 10+ year member]

i believe that isnt a midrange, it the kicker crossover iirc, and ur referring to the door pod on the 1st page with blue speakers.
also, my q forms, have no resonance, and have about 1.5 - 2 layers of raammat in them in terms of thickness

Mike-

Yeah, but aren't the tweeters aiming at the underside of the dash?( http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212713 ) PIcs?

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Continuing with my threadjack, but I am also trying to contribute. If you weren't exactly sure the aiming is "perfect" would you choose a dome or cone mid. As for OP, it looks like if they make a Q-logic then go with it. I know I am, I just got to choose between dome or cone.

 

[kowboy 10+ year member]

decisions ****.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

decisions ****.

Worse than decisions is selling for a loss. Maybe explain a little more as I have actually owned this set. I can try to help. My only real advice is to think about "If there were no prices, what would I buy" and then slowly go for it, knabbing cheap items while you can.

It took a lot of wasted money but I have that in my head now and I think it takes a lot of money wasted to get there.

I think the SLCs are a great entry level set but if you feel like you will want to upgrade in 6 months wait and buy what you want until you think there is no point in buying anything better, I am too dumb to know the difference. That is what I did with my mids/tweets.

Does you door look anything like mine??? It is an S-10. Here is what I am wanting to do:

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

If you weren't exactly sure the aiming is "perfect" would you choose a dome or cone mid.

I would choose a mid based on it's performance in relation to my goals. Tonal quality, ability to play between the necessary xover points, budget, distortion performance, build quality, etc etc.

I wouldn't make a decision based primarily off of "cone or dome", IMHO

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

Holy crap good catch!
I didn't even notice the inverted mids down in the kicks.

That's hilarious //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

As theothermike said, those look to be crossovers. Why would anyone have 3 mids per side.

To the OP, Qforms are all different. Look at how the ones made for YOUR vehicle are aimed. I know s10 Qforms are aimed a little better than the ones in the picture you posted.

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Those are definately the Kicker SS xovers... and then it looks like the SSMB6 and the SS65 component set. Looks sexy to me.

 

[kowboy 10+ year member]

As theothermike said, those look to be crossovers. Why would anyone have 3 mids per side.
To the OP, QFORMS ARE ALL DIFFERENT. Look at how the ones made for YOUR vehicle are aimed. I know s10 Qforms are aimed a little better than the ones in the picture you posted.

Oh yeah...That makes sense. Well the ones for my truck look all messed up. I dunno.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

Yeah, I would just look into getting some custom kicks made. Look around and compare shops to get a better price, or find out if there is a forum member in your area who is able and willing to do the work, and you should be able to bring them in for a reasonable price.