Speaker mounting and crossover placement

[DBz Hertz 10+ year member]

I'm about to purchase a set of components and coaxials and I have a couple questions regarding mounting requirements and crossover placement.

Q1) I'll be installing one set in the front however, I want the crossover to be part of my display in the rear of the vehicle. Is it a bad idea to mount the crossover in the rear while running wiring to the front doors. Any legitimate signal loss? They will be driven by a 4 channel at 125w/ch.

Q2) Are car speakers, coaxials/components, meant to be mounted in free air or is an enclosure recommended? The speakers will be mounted in my rear deck. I can either run them in free air or build a small enclosure around them. Which way will sound best?

Thank you.

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[goingdef 10+ year member]

well to answer #1 no there is no real problem running them from the rear to the front and for #2 are you running a sub? if so then no rear fill is needed if your not running a sub then mounted to the rear dash is fine there is no real need to enclose them thats what the trunk is doing just like the door itself is the box that's why you seal and deaden it so well.

 

[DBz Hertz 10+ year member]

well to answer #1 no there is no real problem running them from the rear to the front and for #2 are you running a sub? if so then no rear fill is needed if your not running a sub then mounted to the rear dash is fine there is no real need to enclose them thats what the trunk is doing just like the door itself is the box that's why you seal and deaden it so well.

Great, I'll run my crossovers in the back. As far as rear fill, It's something I struggle with a lot. It seems people just have to fill their doors with speakers. I've heard that rear fill isn't necessary and, if not properly set up, can do more harm than good. I will be running 2 10" L7's with a set of QS comps running at 125w. If rear fill isn't necessary then, I will wait on back speakers. I wan't the best SQ possible and least amount of complication.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

The last setup I had was a RF T2 15" and all it did was destroy the rear speakers anyways that and all the bass was distorting any sound you did hear from them now there just open holes to let the sub breath into the car and I have never thought about replacing them there is no need it sounds great. I guess another way of thinking about it would be how many times have you went to a concert and stood with your back to the band?

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

nice responses so far - right on point.

to elaborate - the only downside to mounting crossovers in the rear is you have to buy twice as much speaker wire. size the speaker wire for power and distance, and route as well as possible, securing it well. for good instructions on wire installation - refer to IASCA. MECA, and USACi installations rules. Even if you're not competing - all the recommendations are valid for a safe system install.

speaker mounting is VERY IMPORTANT. the enclosure is VERY IMPORTANT. your enemy is phase interference - mostly from the back wave mixing with the front. you must ensure a good seal between the front and back of the speaker. in a car door - that means making a good seal against the door and a good seal against the door panel (factory grill). this usually requires a custom wood mounting baffle of correct thickness, and weatherstripping closed cell foam.

you don't want to build a "small enclosure" for a speaker. you need a large enough volume to have midbass performance - and the enclosure volume varies for each speaker. car speakers are typically designed for IB installs like doors and the rear deck. note however, that doors aren't IB. there are a lot of reflections, resonances, etc. for proper SQ speaker installation i recommend good sound deadening, foams, deflex pad (behind speaker), and a MDF baffle sealed in resin. the most expensive part of all that is the sound deadening - everything else is cheap.

"rear fill" is rarely done right. but some people like speakers all around them. i don't recommend rear deck speakers with a sub simply because of the damage others experience. rear doors are ok, if want rear passengers to benefit. no one really likes rear deck speakers when you have subs anyway. besides - they also block the bass. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif