Where to put tweeters

[The Godfather]

I just ordered a set of Orion Xtreme 6.5 separates. I was wondering if anybody has mounted their tweeters in the triagle plastic piece in the front top corner of the door. Also, being that I have 6.5s I would presume I have to make a mounting plate for them am I right?

 

[Jordan714]

Yes you will have to make a mounting plate for the 6.5's. Never mounted the tweeters there but I would make sure you mount them someone faily close to the door speakers. You dont wanna have too much tweeter sound without mid and bass near it. They would look good in that section you wanna go for or maybe even just on the door panel somewhere.

Good luck!

Jordan

 

[JTang]

I don't know if you have a Fry's Electronics around you, but they sell adapters for your 5x7/6x8 to 6.5 scenario. I think they run about 15 dollars. You could check those out too. Good luck!

 

[dmeis]

I am using a set of Orion Tweeters with MB Quart 6.5 speakers.

I experimented with mounting the tweeters in the doors, on the top corner and just above the window switches. I finally settled on placing them in the dash facing the windsheild as close to the pillars as possible. The sound is much better there and you can not tell that they are coming from a different area than the 6.5's.

I flush mounted the tweeters by using a hole saw to drill the 1 7/8 holes. To do this I had to unbolt the steering column and entire dash.

The MB Quart 6.5's (QM218.02) are wide enough that when mounted in the stock opening I have an 1/8 inch gap. I didn't bother using a mounting plate.

I also have the QM215.02 (both tweeter and 5 1/4 speaker) mounted in the rear using a plate to house the set.

David

 

[pacman]

David,

Your bass output from your 6.5's is going to suffer with a 1/8" gap. All speakers (even "freeair" subs) need to have the front of the speaker isolated from the rear because of the phase cancellation that will occur (try listening to a speaker out of the enclosure then listen to it in the enclosure, big difference with the bass!). I would find a way to fill or close that 1/8" gap to get the best sound from your investment.

Just a thought,
Pacman

 

[dmeis]

Have you seen the amount of holes in the door? I wouldnt bother if it werent for silicone sealant. I don't think that I could tell the difference with the 1/8 crack versus all the other holes in the door.

David

 

[pacman]

Actually, you are probably correct about the gap not being a real problem, but if you want to get all the bass you can from the speakers, you should fill the gap. Of course door do not make the best enclosures for speakers, but most speaker manufacturers take this into consideration when designing the speaker. You always want to isolate the front of the speaker from the rear. When the cone of the speaker moves forward, it pushes the air in front and pulls the air in back. If you do not isolate the front and rear air movement, the speaker will use the same air, which will cancel out the bass of the speaker.

Of course all of this really applies to big speakers moving lots and lots of air, so your 1/8" gap on your 6.5" speaker probably isn't a big deal!

Pacman

 

[The Godfather]

What if I could make a custom made baffle behind the speaker? Kind of like a sealed enclosure but thin enough to fit infront of the window and large enough to hold enough air. I've made one simialar to it when I put 5.25s in my Taurus. I used plexiglass and some foam rubber. This totally separtated the air between the front and rear. When I get my 6.5s in the mail I'll see what I can do with them and post the results.

 

[dmeis]

Look into speaker baffles like the ones available from Crutchfield:
Dead Link Removed

I once considered using them in the rear deck of my car when the trunk was sealed off for the free-air subs. The subs were beating the crap out of the 5.25's.

David

 

[The Godfather]

David- How hard was it to remove the dash, I just took off the front panel to see what I was up against and had no idea where to go from there.

How about mounting them in the headliner by the windshield?

 

[dmeis]

Taking the dash off wasnt that hard because I don't remember how exactly I did it. It was a long time ago.

Seriously though, I had to unbolt the steering column from the dash, remove the dash panel, speedo/gage housing, air ducts?, kick panels, and the obvious bolts at the top by the window. I just took my time and it wasnt that bad to put back together.

You will want to keep your tweeters (other 6.5's for that matter) as equi distant from your ears as possible. I may even have tried placing them in the upper window only to find that I could hear the driver tweeter more than the passenger.

Ripping the dash out was worth it. Just pull it away from the firewall enough to get the drill at 90 degrees.

Here are some pictures that I took to show you the Orions in the dash. Dead Link Removed Dead Link Removed Dead Link Removed

David

 

[The Godfather]

Dave-thanks for the pics they helped out a lot. I will NEVER mount tweeters in the dash again!!! What a pain!

 

[dmeis]

So it sounds like you installed them. Do they sound better there than in the doors?

It wasnt that bad was it?

Dead Link Removed

 

[j greathouse]

all you guys go through too much work for tweeters i admitt they are very important but I mounted mine in the top corners or the front wind shield I used two sided adhesive tape from radio shack. just stick them on hid the wire down the panel which runs down the window and wire them to the cross over about a fifteen minute job any genius can do it and you need no special tools ... easy job and great sound..

 

[Jordan714]

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER

Mount any speakers or Audio Device to the windshield or any type of auto glass. Sound vibration will hurt the sound and can also cause amp distortion. Also, who wants to stick something on their windshield? Looks horrible.

Jordan

 

[j greathouse]

Well I 've delt with car audio for over five years and this is the first time Ive ever heard anything like that!!!! Where do you get your info? I'm running a set of sony mobile es tweeters and Ive never heard better separation .... I'd like to know how auto glass causes amplifier distortion....

 

[ganderso]

Jordan--Never say never! Unless, of course, you have actually heard numerous on-glass speakers with seriously degraded sound. :-]

Also, no speaker can, in and of itself, CAUSE amplifier distortion because of how it's mounted. Over-driving (playing the amp too loud) or hooking it to a load that's too low in resistance can cause distortion and sometimes even burn out the output transistors.

As to "looks horrible," maybe so, maybe not. After all, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder....



[This message has been edited by ganderso (edited 09-20-1999).]

 

[mtxexplorer]

in response to jordan's comment, "I would make sure you mount them someone faily close to the door speakers."
you dont always have to mount them near the door speakers.
i saw a dodge intrepid that won the 1998 IASCA finals and had 7"s in the kicker panels, and the tweeters are on the a pilars.

 

[j greathouse]

THE TWEETERS ARE MOUNTED IN THE FARTHEST SPOT IN EACH UPPER CORNER OF MY FRONT WIND SHEID THEY ARE GREY AND SO IS MY INTERIOR THEY MATCH PERFECT AFTER i HEARD THAT COMMENT ABOUT THE DISTORTION I CALLED UP SONY AND THEY TOO SAID THERE IS NO SUCH THING . BUT I AM PLEASED WITH THEM THEY SOUND GREAT AND THE BEST PART WAS THE JOB TOOK ONLY ABOUT 15 MINUTES!!!!!!

 

[mtxexplorer]

OK