Should I box my rear 6x9s?

[Umbra]

I recently picked up two pairs of 6x9s to replace the shot OEM speakers in this minivan. Before I pried open any panels I had envisioned just dropping them into the stock spots. I'd treat the doors a bit, run new wire to them, and amp them. I'm still going to do that in the front because there's not much room to work with, the stock location is reasonably high, and the door has some substance to it, so treating it isn't going to be a massive undertaking. However, then I took a look at the back:



The doors (there's one on each side) are mostly air, there's virtually no bracing, the speaker location is at ankle level, and the doors don't have that power closing function - they need to be slammed (which I can't imagine is good for speakers).

Realistically I can treat the hell out of it and maybe even move the location higher so it's actually heard, but I wonder if I wouldn't be better off sticking them in boxes facing upwards, or at an angle towards the rear passengers. I could move them around to any row on whim with long enough wire, even outside the car, and I could pull them temporarily if I absolutely needed to maximize space (though in the door that's a moot point). I could make it either sealed or ported (though I've never put a 6x9 in either). I bought them used, but I found the original grilles on eBay so I don't have to worry about them getting accidentally kicked in. Aside from acoustics, the only real issue is a slight decrease in foot space.

Really the biggest thing, and probably what I should've lead with, is how would they sound boxed? The fronts are going to be in treated doors and I'm going to have a sub in the center console for low end (probably one ported 8", but possibly a pair of 10"s), so I don't need to force sub bass out of these. If I could use them for midbass and up that'd be great. The only true way to figure out which method is best (door, sealed box, ported box) would be to construct all of them and test them, but I don't have the time, money, or desire to do that right now.

TLDR: Should I box (either sealed or ported) a pair of 6x9s probably originally intended for a parcel shelf instead of sticking them into a crappy door, or should I treat the hell out of the door and put them there because that's what they were intended for?

Thanks for any insight and opinions you're able to provide.

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[Umbra]

Going to give this another bump because it's gorgeous out and I've got some time to work on it.

I think if I end up putting them in the door I'll make a baffle out of MDF, wrap it in aluminum tape, and move it up and towards the rear so the sound is no longer at ankle level.

However, I think boxes would be easier, I'm just not sure if it will sound like ***.

On a related note: the speakers are rated 80W RMS. I have amps that can do 50W or 100W. Would I be better off running the safer 50W (I'll the the gains with an O-Scope), or should I try the 100W? The LPF will be set no lower than 50Hz for the 6x9s in question.

 

[motochrome]

I think your doors are a "bass reflex design" //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif A sealed enclosure for 6x9's always looks incredibly ghetto to me, but I'm sure they do wonders for improving the accuracy of the sound. Just make sure they're secured/bolted down or something, so they're not all over the place. I wouldn't worry about it if they'll utilize a HPF and not be trying to reproduce lows. If you have subs, just slap 'em in the doors and forget about 'em.

 

[Umbra]

I think your doors are a "bass reflex design" //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif A sealed enclosure for 6x9's always looks incredibly ghetto to me, but I'm sure they do wonders for improving the accuracy of the sound. Just make sure they're secured/bolted down or something, so they're not all over the place. I wouldn't worry about it if they'll utilize a HPF and not be trying to reproduce lows. If you have subs, just slap 'em in the doors and forget about 'em.

Thanks. I can make them look fairly nice if I end up going that route, but it's not like I'm putting them in a Mercedes with leather upholstery; ghetto's fine. I bought a big sheet of MDF and I think I'll just have to put together a box and see (or hear) for myself or I'll never know. I''ll compare the boxed one to the two in the front once I treat the doors a bit and install them. I think you're right. 100 cleans watts should be fine, it's not like I'm playing sine waves through them and I'll set it so there's zero clipping to worry about.