Ok, quick to the point question.

If I have my doors sound deadened, I get more midbass, better sound in general, less road noise correct?

Now if all the access holes in the door are also sealed up, with say mdf, or aluminium sheeting, then also SD, how much better will this be?

Question is purely from bang for buck from the SQ point of view.

Is the extra time and money (say in this case for $200 extra to seal up doors) worth it. Or would that $200 be better spent on something else, such as part of a new set of speakers/amp????

Keeping in the back of your head that new speakers will probably go in eventually anyway. (after thought that bit)

Thanks!

i have no idea why it will cost u $200 extra to have the doors sealed up, on top of the sd price, all it is, is some mdf over the service holes.

but to answer u question, yes it is definitely worth it to have the doors SD'd AND sealed (service holes covered with mdf)
this provides an 'enclosure' for the speaker, improving sound

someone else like shiny will be able to get more techincal, and probably more convincing...but answer will be the same (or u can have one of my legs)

sealing the doors (ie: covering the service holes) should actually improve midbass more than just the sound deadening, and arguably a better option between the 2. the SDing will reduce resonance/rattles, but improve midbass to a lesser degree.

but i agree that you should have both done at the same time as it's usually not a big deal to seal them. you can even do without the mdf and simply apply a piece of SDer over the hole which will be ok. mdf underneath or separately will provide a more solid covering though.

it can be a DIY project to keep costs down.

Its an older car so mdf probably wouldnt be the best option due to potential water seapage, hence aluminium (which also doenst rust...)

And DIY also isnt really an option, lack of time mostly, I can make more money than Im going to save by doing it myself. Also its a rearish import, if Im more likely to stuff something than a pro, if its stuffed, ie door skin, good luck to me to find a replacement one!

If someone could get a little bit more technical as to why it would increase midbass tho, I understand that less road noise will get thru so sealing will help that, but as to midbass etc, Im still unsure.

As I said above I have done a search, really helped, but not with what Im after.

http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.com/temp...dios/faq.asp#27

That should answer nearly every question you have/will have.

bass, like with subs, depends on a decent 'enclosure' for the speaker. if it's leaky you'll lose all the bass. sealing over the holes helps create a far better 'sealed' enclosure.

the sound deadener itself does nothing to seal the door really, unless it's placed over the holes (as i suggested, it's one way of doing it). with mdf, you'll need to moisture-proof it by painting it with undercoat.

as above.

haha - you need to SD the doors cos the mids will be rattling them!!

Anyway, back to the question. Sorry if I wasnt too clear.

Is it worth the extra $200, or would my money be better spent going towards getting a bigger/better front driver?

Yes its a decision only I can make, however if someones done both set ups in the same car with the same speaker and can say 'if it was my money, Id spend the $200' or 'Id never waste money like that again'.

Thanks.

$300 speakers installed properly with $200 worth of deadener and mdf to seal and deaden doors SHOULD (read will) sound better than $500 speakers slapped in willy-nilly; If that's what you're asking

Not as such. Im saying the doors will be deadened regardless. Sealing them properly is extra, as it involves extra product, and labour.

So say doors deadened (as in properly, just not sealed up acces holes) deadened on the door skin as well, and some foam stuff behind the speakers themselfs. Now after doing that would I notice a significant difference spending the money to have the access holes sealed up as well.

i expect there's an 'inbetween' option. or see what they offer if you won't DIY.

as i eluded to earlier, one way of sealing the holes is to slap SDer straight over them. sure, it won't be as rigid as an mdf/aluminium panel, but it'll be pretty good. far better than open holes, and far cheaper than $200. in fact, it may take no extra SDing material cos they just won't have to cut the holes out which they would otherwise do i expect.

i think that would definitely be worth it. otherwise, make the time and do it yourself and save $200.

you're getting charged $200 to seal the holes in your doors?

By my calculations thats about FOUR HOURS of work at industry rates.
It does not take two hours to seal one door if you know what you're doing.

Me-thinks you should find another shop to go to who aren't trying to rip you off.

As an example, if you went to my preferred NSW store, in 2 hours you would have the doors completely sealed and sound deadened. Both doors, that is. At worst it might be three hours. What extra product? It's some duct tape over the hole, then the piece of mdf, then more tape. Maybe $10 in timber + tape?

I wasnt after knocking the shop.

As stated above its an older car, water can and or will get in the doors. I have seen painted mdf after about 30mins in water (ie bit of rain), paint dont work. So as also stated above it would be done properly once, using aluminium (which wont rust) sikaflex to seal it/stick it, and also rivits. $200 was also just a figure, including product.

sounds like it's worth doing, otherwise your door trims will be in trouble from the water. :|

but seriously, i think you'll get better 'instant' results by spending an extra $200 on the splits themselves. but ultimately, to get the best from them, you'll want the doors SDed and sealed up. just a matter of $$ and when. so sort out the equipment first, then work on the doors as a future upgrade. also ensure the woofers are ok in moisture-prone doors. i've heard about some speakers like focal kevlar cone ones can warp from excessive moisture.

Buy some aluminium tape and cover the access holes and then cover with SD.. nice and easy

This got way to confusing

What got confusing?

All we are saying is that sound deadening and covering access holes can be dead cheaply and effectively within the $200 budget with money to spare.

Covering holes will create a psyedo enclosure that makes the speaker work better providing better output from the speaker. Only problem is then the doors vibrate due speaker performing better. So you then need to sound deaden.

So by doing both procedures at the same time, you save on time and cost later.
Material can be varied with a straight covering of the access holes with the SD material (assuming its a sheet) and/or other materials like MDF. You just have to varnish the mdf or make it waterproof to ensure that the mdf doesn't soak in water and start to lose composition in your door..

I just suggest aluminium tape as a resilient material that can conform to many different sized access holes in doors (incl the dreaded pulsar..) and something that is resilient to water and something that you can stick your SD to..

Using materials such as aluminium panel would be good, but the majority of inner door panels isn't flat and you'd have to ensure that the panel is securely attached (maybe not welded though, what happens when you break a window??)

MDF is cheap and so is aluminium tape.. see.. easy

how much is sound deadening material anyway. I want bang for the buck sound deadner, none of this 300% more for 1 poofteenth of a % better quality. Im not talking labour, I will do it all myself, im just curious as to the cost of material. Seems like an expensive excersise to me when you cant move it when you change cars

$130 for Dynamat Extreme to cover 2 doors. (iirc) There is cheaper options but thats one of the more top line SD's.
Worth the money for the difference it makes IMO

I'm sorry but I too have become really confused. Why will the MDF get wet in the first place? I agree with shiny_car that you would be wasting your money if you spend $200 to seal the holes, a layer of sound deadening does just as well.

http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/content.p...hp?contentID=19

Have a look through that. The MDF is painted, and SEALED with tape on either side. Even the wettest door shouldn't be able to get through that.

Quick and rather painless.

At most it'll cost you $100, may as well get it done. Or if you aren't fussed about it, then sure, a layer of sound deadening is fine. realise however that moisture makes sound deadening detach too.

okay - i see where the whole confusion thing came from now..

Um - your doors will not be submersed in water for long periods of time..
the amount of water that would go through your door wouldn't be that much in reality..

and use aluminium tape.. that is not going to decompose in a door like MDF if you are so worried.. maybe some varnish then.. and seal with silicon..

SILVR6 - Dynamat Extreme is the top of the line stuff.. you dont' get anything better than that in the car audio world.. shame it costs so much - check out B-Quiet Ultimate for a near comparison.. competes well with DX and is far cheaper..
http://www.b-quiet.com/brownbread.html

Why yes it is the old school brown bread, but better..

Zoiks - i don't know what is available in Australia, but i'm sure if you do some searching around the forum, someone would have mentioned a cheaper alternative.. i've heard G-Spot? or sound off form that australian company is quite good.. don't know where to source it from though.. anyone got a link?

G-Spot is $150/roll (which is 1.3 sq. m. and just covers two doors)

If you want cheaper then hit up Jaycar...