Door and Dash Speaker Baffles

[usaf-lt-g]

Hey guys,

I purchased replacement speakers for My boxster s a while ago, and haven't had the time to make the necessary custom baffles needed to install the speakers. I was wondering if anyone out there has the capability of making a couple for my install, or if there's some pre-built ones I can purchase somewhere out there.

I have the JL Audio Evolution ZR-650csi that I was planning on putting in the doors which come with tweeters but I don't know if I'm going to use them or not.

And also the MB Quart PVI210 that I was planning for the Dash.

I'd make the baffles myself, but I just haven't had the time, and I don't necessarily trust taking the car and leaving it at the audio shops around here for an extended period of time.

Any suggestions?

[kbrandsma]

You've got a PM

Hey guys,

I purchased replacement speakers for My boxster s a while ago, and haven't had the time to make the necessary custom baffles needed to install the speakers. I was wondering if anyone out there has the capability of making a couple for my install, or if there's some pre-built ones I can purchase somewhere out there.

I have the JL Audio Evolution ZR-650csi that I was planning on putting in the doors which come with tweeters but I don't know if I'm going to use them or not.

And also the MB Quart PVI210 that I was planning for the Dash.

I'd make the baffles myself, but I just haven't had the time, and I don't necessarily trust taking the car and leaving it at the audio shops around here for an extended period of time.

Any suggestions?

[usaf-lt-g]

I PM'd you back.... I'm still curious if anyone has baffles for the dash? I saw a post a while back from someone making them... although i've been unable to reach that person, and haven't heard anything else on the subject.

[geoff]

When I met with vfxbox a few years ago, I think he had some baffles for the dash speakers. Haven't heard from him for a while. I know he bought some items from Crutchfield, and looking on their site they have baffles listed for sale, starting under $10. crutchfield.com

[usaf-lt-g]

When I met with vfxbox a few years ago, I think he had some baffles for the dash speakers. Haven't heard from him for a while. I know he bought some items from Crutchfield, and looking on their site they have baffles listed for sale, starting under $10. crutchfield.com

I think "Baffle" is the wrong word ;) I meant "Bracket" or Speaker Adapter to actually fit and house the speakers. I've been looking at crutchfield and can't find anything that works.

[juniinc]

I think if U need a baffle for the dash,u got the wrong speakers,,,

be creative, a little dap of 2 parts epoxy worked great for me

[usaf-lt-g]

I think if U need a baffle for the dash,u got the wrong speakers,,,

be creative, a little dap of 2 parts epoxy worked great for me

Yea... that's what I was looking at.... epoxying it together. Probably a silicon based product. The speakers should fit just fine though... the one's I got anyways...

[Cassiebox]

most people cut the old speaker out of the "basket" and ring. Then they either epoxy, hot glue, or even velcro the new driver into the basket ring and reattach. It's the easiest and cheapest way plus it's not like you'll ever want to put the stock speakers back in.... you'll see what I mean once you pull them and see the crappy paper cone and how small the magnet is ;) If you put really high end speakers in, then yes, you may want to put a less expensive pair in when you sell the car but having a decent sound system (especially when it still looks stock) will only help when you re-sell. Good luck :)

[geoff]

If you want the stock look for your dash, here's what I did for brackets, with the option for reverting back to the stock ones. Still no complaints from me with this approach

[usaf-lt-g]

If you want the stock look for your dash, here's what I did for brackets, with the option for reverting back to the stock ones. Still no complaints from me with this approach

How exactly do those brackets work? There just the speaker template with a removeable plastic piece? It sounded like you took them to a shop after you got the template and had them cut the plastic piece to your speaker. Is that what you did? Also is that part # you reference 996-645-049-02-01C both the Grille AND the Blank Template insert?

Edited August 28, 2008 by usaf-lt-g

[geoff]

If you want the stock look for your dash, here's what I did for brackets, with the option for reverting back to the stock ones. Still no complaints from me with this approach

How exactly do those brackets work? There just the speaker template with a removeable plastic piece? It sounded like you took them to a shop after you got the template and had them cut the plastic piece to your speaker. Is that what you did? Also is that part # you reference 996-645-049-02-01C both the Grille AND the Blank Template insert?

If you look at my first picture in the referenced topic, you can see the top and bottom side by side (I took 2 and placed them next to one another, with the white mesh behind). The part is basically a "dummy" dash speaker cover, with the foam behind the grill and then solid plastic on the bottom. The stereo shop took a dremel and cut out the area for the main speaker grill, then mounted the coax speaker using 2 screws directly on the bottom of the dummy cover, as you can see when you click on the last picture. The whole dummy cover is one piece (actually a top and bottom glued together, but I couldn't get it apart with a heat gun, so essentially one solid piece). I think the covers are used to cover the speaker holes for cars without any dash speakers. The part they cut out has the round green part number sticker on it in the first picture and is about 4" diameter. You can also see the stereo shop cut part of the metal speaker frame to get it to fit

I did not have to use any other mounting brackets. The reason I went with this approach instead of buying a speaker and cutting it up was because the dummy covers were pretty cheap (about $28 at the time). The mounting brackets that vfxbox had would have probably made it easier and I would not have bothered to use the stereo shop for anything except selling me some speakers. But I was too lazy to try mounting the speakers myself

Note that if you are looking at separate tweeters instead of a coax speaker, the covers have a left and right side orientation so the tweeter is aimed toward the passenger compartment.

Hope this helps. If I didn't explain right, let me know and I'll try to clarify.

[usaf-lt-g]

If you want the stock look for your dash, here's what I did for brackets, with the option for reverting back to the stock ones. Still no complaints from me with this approach

How exactly do those brackets work? There just the speaker template with a removeable plastic piece? It sounded like you took them to a shop after you got the template and had them cut the plastic piece to your speaker. Is that what you did? Also is that part # you reference 996-645-049-02-01C both the Grille AND the Blank Template insert?

If you look at my first picture in the referenced topic, you can see the top and bottom side by side (I took 2 and placed them next to one another, with the white mesh behind). The part is basically a "dummy" dash speaker cover, with the foam behind the grill and then solid plastic on the bottom. The stereo shop took a dremel and cut out the area for the main speaker grill, then mounted the coax speaker using 2 screws directly on the bottom of the dummy cover, as you can see when you click on the last picture. The whole dummy cover is one piece (actually a top and bottom glued together, but I couldn't get it apart with a heat gun, so essentially one solid piece). I think the covers are used to cover the speaker holes for cars without any dash speakers. The part they cut out has the round green part number sticker on it in the first picture and is about 4" diameter. You can also see the stereo shop cut part of the metal speaker frame to get it to fit

I did not have to use any other mounting brackets. The reason I went with this approach instead of buying a speaker and cutting it up was because the dummy covers were pretty cheap (about $28 at the time). The mounting brackets that vfxbox had would have probably made it easier and I would not have bothered to use the stereo shop for anything except selling me some speakers. But I was too lazy to try mounting the speakers myself

Note that if you are looking at separate tweeters instead of a coax speaker, the covers have a left and right side orientation so the tweeter is aimed toward the passenger compartment.

Hope this helps. If I didn't explain right, let me know and I'll try to clarify.

Thnks for the clarification... I've been trying to get a hold of vfxbox for a while now to no avail. I think he's dropped off. I was hoping to just get his kit and go with it. But that doesn't look like it's gonna happen :( oh well.

[Bristol]

I'm working on making my own brackets. Mostly finished one last night and will work on the other this weekend. I'm using MDF to make a baffle that will fit in the stock speaker location. I'll then cover it in black vinyl to get a nice aesthetic match.

I had to go this route because the 4" speaker I'm using has a MUCH larger magnet than stock and it would NOT fit with a modified stock bracket or modified dummy bracket. I'm top mounting it on the MDF baffle just to give it enough mounting clearance underneath. I'm also top mounting the tweeter as it can be aimed directionally, so having it top mounted will help me to aim it where I want.

I would take one of your dash speaker pods out first and just drop in the new speaker that you have to see how the mounting depth is. You'd hate to start modifying the stock bracket or buy one of these dummy brackets just to find out the speaker won't fit, like mine! Geoff's look pretty big too, I don't know how he got those to fit! :P

Kirk

[geoff]

I'm working on making my own brackets. Mostly finished one last night and will work on the other this weekend. I'm using MDF to make a baffle that will fit in the stock speaker location. I'll then cover it in black vinyl to get a nice aesthetic match.

I had to go this route because the 4" speaker I'm using has a MUCH larger magnet than stock and it would NOT fit with a modified stock bracket or modified dummy bracket. I'm top mounting it on the MDF baffle just to give it enough mounting clearance underneath. I'm also top mounting the tweeter as it can be aimed directionally, so having it top mounted will help me to aim it where I want.

I would take one of your dash speaker pods out first and just drop in the new speaker that you have to see how the mounting depth is. You'd hate to start modifying the stock bracket or buy one of these dummy brackets just to find out the speaker won't fit, like mine! Geoff's look pretty big too, I don't know how he got those to fit! :P

Kirk

Kirk - if your speaker brackets are as good as your rear lower stress bars they should be fantastic!

I didn't have any problem getting the replacement speakers to fit into the dash when mounted on the dummy covers, even though they are a bit deeper than the stock ones. If I remember correctly, depth of the dummy covers isn't as deep as the original speaker setup, so you automatically gain some mounting depth that way.

If there's a lot of interest, I can pull one of the speakers out of my dash and take a picture from the side so everyone can get an idea of depth

If you have lots of time, patience and manual dexterity, it's might be possible to grind out the backing for the dummy speaker covers and glue it on top of a custom speaker bracket to give a completely stock appearance

[Bristol]

Kirk - if your speaker brackets are as good as your rear lower stress bars they should be fantastic!

:D Thanks man... we'll see. I've got one of the baffles done and bought the vinyl today to cover it. I haven't done vinyl work like this before, so we'll see how it comes out. I'll post some pictures if it's decent. I had to do a custom baffle for what I'm attempting. I've got a much larger 4" driver in there and the tweeter is actually mounted up on a "pod" of sorts that aims it into the cabin rather than up at the windshield.

Still you're absolutely right. You could just cut an MDF ring to lift the dummy bracket up 1/2" to give more space underneath if more mounting depth is required. That would allow you to keep more of a stock look. Better yet though is probably to get a speaker with a smaller (but more powerful) neo magnet so that mounting depth is not even an issue.

Kirk

[Bristol]

Pics.... here are some pictures of my solution to the dash speakers. Now I'm not much of a custom stereo fabricator. The last time I built a box and amp rack was 1996 and I've NEVER done vinyl work before. So consider this a work in process. I'm not sure I like it this way, so I'm open to constructive feedback. My SO says it looks messy where I cut the mounting tabs off the 4" speaker. I need to do something (some kind of trim) around the edge of the 4" speaker to clean it up a bit.

Here are the speakers I installed. The stock OEM speakers are on top and the new speakers are on the bottom. You can readily see why I needed a baffle to give me more clearance under the speakers. The magnet on the 4" speaker is HUGE compared to OEM and I needed a lot more space to make it fit. It fits fine with a 1/2" lift from the baffle and top mounting.

Here are the speakers installed. The Polk tweeter has a base where you can aim it a bit. I built a "pod" for it to sit on so that I could aim it directly into the cabin rather than up at the windshield. I think this looks a little funny, so I may not keep it. I'm trying to go for the best sound though. Please note that this will NOT work for most setups. The driver's side speaker will be too "bright" with it so close to your ear compared to the passenger side speaker. In my system I will be using time delay on the driver's side speaker to compensate and to put it in phase alignment with the passenger side speaker, so I'll be able to get away with this.

Kirk

[GranburyChuck]

Pics.... here are some pictures of my solution to the dash speakers. Now I'm not much of a custom stereo fabricator. The last time I built a box and amp rack was 1996 and I've NEVER done vinyl work before. So consider this a work in process. I'm not sure I like it this way, so I'm open to constructive feedback. My SO says it looks messy where I cut the mounting tabs off the 4" speaker. I need to do something (some kind of trim) around the edge of the 4" speaker to clean it up a bit.

Here are the speakers I installed. The stock OEM speakers are on top and the new speakers are on the bottom. You can readily see why I needed a baffle to give me more clearance under the speakers. The magnet on the 4" speaker is HUGE compared to OEM and I needed a lot more space to make it fit. It fits fine with a 1/2" lift from the baffle and top mounting.

Here are the speakers installed. The Polk tweeter has a base where you can aim it a bit. I built a "pod" for it to sit on so that I could aim it directly into the cabin rather than up at the windshield. I think this looks a little funny, so I may not keep it. I'm trying to go for the best sound though. Please note that this will NOT work for most setups. The driver's side speaker will be too "bright" with it so close to your ear compared to the passenger side speaker. In my system I will be using time delay on the driver's side speaker to compensate and to put it in phase alignment with the passenger side speaker, so I'll be able to get away with this.

Kirk

Hey Kirk, thanks for the pics. I am going to try something similar with a set of 5 1/4 MB Quarts up front. I was going to angle the tweeter like you did but thought it would look odd as you have found out. I am thinking of putting it into the air vent trim closer to the front window. Give me some separation that way. Have you had yours playing? Is the driver tweeter overwhelming?

[usaf-lt-g]

Well, I got the dash speakers installed and mounted, using the epoxy method. There was no need to cut the old baskets and "bob and weave" them in. They fit nice and sound great....

Now I have to upgrade the doors, but again... I don't have the time to make my own "adapters" to fit the door. I have the speaker templates from the speakers I'd be willing to send someone if they could cook me up a pair of "good quality" adapters that will both doors in my 2000 Boxster S 3.2L. Obviously I'd pay for the parts / labor / and shipping.

Any takers?