I was thinking of building boxes for my door speakers. I was wondering if that might be a good idea, or if anyone 'has' done it. If so, do you have any imput on it. I just decided that it might be an interesting idea this morning while i was sitting in my car.
Very good idea if you have the airspace. Whatever speakers they are, email tech support of the manufacturer either for recommendations or theile small parameters. My Dynaudios are basically in a sealed box (made of fiberglass), and it did take some work to do so, the mid and woofer are in seperate chambers, and it sounds fantastic. You want to totally isolate the rear wave from the front on a component set.
By the way, the only reason I did this with door speakers is because it is a truck (can't do kicks with good results) and b/c the drivers work well sealed. Most components are free air, in this case a sealed box for the doors should be as large or larger than the Vas rating of the woofer. Dynamatting the door is good, but in my case, I dynamatted, but the design of the door leaked air out and I wanted best results, plus I had to extend the door panel to get the drivers to fit, so I went ahead and sealed it off to eliminate the rear wave.
The way my door is built, it is absolutly 'not' sealed... I built a small box for one... just to try it out, and it sounded a million times better... that and i have small speakers (5 1/4") I'm not nessicarily trying to encrease bass... that's what i used my 12"s for... because they have nice SQ and sound good. But i think my componants sound way better when boxed... i'm just wondering 'how' i could put that box in my door, and not interfere with my windows as well... I made the box out of fiber board and not 'glass, but it's still the same result... i'm probably going to build a pair of kick boxes and put them on the floor up front... my friend did this due to limited room. and it looks and sounds great.
In my case, I custom fabricated door panels anyway, so I just made the door panel close backed, the only thing that had a hole was a bolt holes where it attached and I put Dynamat under the screws and on top of the door where the panel mounted. I used fiberglass, but you can use something like thin Marine grade plywood or moisture sealed MDF if your door is flat. I also angled the drivers for best imaging since I was fiberglassing anyway. The airspace for the door is larger than the Vas of the woofer, so the driver performs as if it were infinite baffle, but the rear wave is totally separated from the front and isn't used.