Hey everyone, I have a pair of DX 6 coming my way and I've been trying to picture where on the front doors to place the dynamat. I've tried reading the past threads on installing the DX 6, but still couldn't picture the dynamat part. This is what I come up with by reading the threads.

- there are two areas to place the dynamat. 1. On the plastic covering (sort of flush to the speakers). 2. On the door frame behind the speaker's magnet. Are these correct?

Any other areas that I missed? Also, how much of the dynamat should I put on each of those areas? I'm hoping not to put onto the entire door, but want to make sure to cover areas that will cause rattles. Nothing like stuff rattling to ruin your music. I'm not a very loud music person, probably don't even make past the half way mark of the volume.

Also, I've read about the side view mirrors rattling. Anyway to prevent that?

Sorry for this llloooonnnnggg thread, but I have one more question. Many of you (especially Southbound) mentioned to remove the bottom of the stock basket with a utility knife. When you mention bottom, do you mean just the plastic that is parallel to the speaker's magnet? And not the plastic that surrounds the magnet? Am I confusing you guys?

Sorry, but I'm new with installing speakers, but I guess maybe if any of you have some pictures that you can put up in regards to the dynamat and the basket cutoff, it will probably answer all my questions.

 

Dynamat is expensive...so use some other alternatives sheets if you want to save a few bucks (quite a few). Anyways, it's most effective if you do the whole door...but if you only have a small piece, put it right behind the speaker on against the door's metal. What this does essentially is cut down on the vibrations from the speakers to the door frame. Hope that helps.

 

Thanks randomwalk101. Can you give me some names that are cheaper than dynamat? Do I have to place some on the plastic covering as well (the surrounding area where the speaker mounts)?

 

Here is a picture of what it looks like to do the entire door. Mine was done with Cascade which is more expensive than Dynamat, but I think it sticks better and has no odor.

 

RE the rain basket: cut it down as much as you can. I cut the entire portion around the magnet off (both the part that is parallel and the part that is perpendicular), but left the angled part the the weatherstriping. Some people even cut that off... they said it helps improve bass.

 

Thanks guys for all your help. Now I'm left with one more question.

The dynamat xtreme speaker kit comes with 2 sheets of 1ft x 1ft. They are meant to place around the area where the speaker mounts. Do I need to put some on the door skin (not sure whether that's the correct term to use) which is behind the magnet. I'm not too worried about having a real tight bass. I'm just worried about rattling noise. Like I mention before, I'm not a loud music listener (less than half the volume).

 

No, you don't. It might help a bit (anybody know?) but you really just need to put it around the speaker cutout on the door, where the speaker mounts. That is where rattles are likely to be... the speaker could rattle against the door.

FYI, you'll need to cut the 1x1 ft square to shape before you do the doors. This is especially true on the drivers side front door. You should hold the dyanmat up to the space BEFORE you take off the backing and mark where you want to cut it. You only get one chance to put it on, so you don't want to screw up.

 

Thanks Dordal!! All of you have been a great help

 

aspec,
I found that using one sheet of the dynamat extreme per door works just fine. Pull the stock speaker and speaker basket out and install the 1 sq ft against the metal door frame centered across the speaker hole cutout. Then take a utility knife and cut out the center where the speaker will fit back into. This way you have a sure seal. the speaker basket should be cut back to the point of the gasket on the bottom of it. This will leave you with just a spacer. This is essential for proper response and efficiency. The door hole cutout is already too small, and acoustic back loading will cause noticeable midrange and bass distortion as well as limiting the volume. Make sure that when you position the DX6 speaker inside of the spacer, that none of the speaker's metal cone basket comes in contact with any of the plastic spacer. This could be a potential vibration point. If you cut things back right up to the gasket material on the stock plastic basket you will end up with a nice spacer that the DX6 will fit right into with the screw holes lining up exactly.

So, you will end up with a sheet of dynamat on the metal door frame with a hole cut out of it in the center. (You will also have to cut an inch or two here and there at the corners to avoid placing it over wiring harnesses, etc.) Then the plastic basket , cut down to a spacer will rest on top of the dynamat and the speaker will rest on top of the spacer. I put a piece of 1/2 inch wide peel and stick weather stripping from Home Depot around the mounting frame of the speaker so that it seals against the plastic spacer and this leaves no place for rattles or improper porting of the speaker. Even though you are not looking for booming bass, this amount of damping material with a weather tight seal, and proper speaker clearance around the back side of the speaker will give you much better overall sound quality. Things will be nice and tight and NO RATTLES even at full volume. As far as the sideview mirror rattling. It's not that big of a vibration to worry about. I doubt that it would happen at half volume. In my case, if the mirror is slightly vibrating, then I'm stomping my feet to the music and don't even notice or care about it.

Good luck!
Southbound

 

yes, it would help to put some matting on the outer door skin(behind the magnet) if you crank the volume or have a large mid...6"+ or high output 5.25" demo the speaker before adding this mat if you are running low. if you are completely concerned about rattling though, you may just as well put at the very least a 1x1 foot square behind the magnet area...

 

Thanks again guys for your help. Southbound, sorry, but I'm sort of confuse about the basket again. Maybe it's because I have not yet seen what the basket looks like the TL-S. When you mentioned to cut the basket all the way to the gasket leaving just the spacer, where is the gasket? Right now, I'm guessing that the spacer is basically a circle with some thickness which the speakers mounts on. And I'm guessing that what you are trying to say is to cut out everything after the spacer which will create more room (between the door skin and the door frame) for the movement of air pressure created by the speaker cone.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Oh btw, does anyone have any comment about a sound dampening brand called ***... something. Not sure how to spell it. Can I use this instead of dynamat xtreme. The reason is because I can get a good deal with the other stuff.