Closed: Is it worth another $18 for foam speaker baffles from Crutchfield?

[deadken]

I recently got my daughter a 1998 Ford Contour (4 door, 4 Cyl) from a buddy. The car was his father-in-laws and it had less than 8k on the odometer when I bought it.

There are a few things I want to address before she takes it to college (to VA, from NY). One of the things that is most annoying is that the front speakers cut out. If you open and close the door, they work again for a little while. I figure it is most certainly the speakers.

So, while looking at Crutchfield, they have a set of Pioneer 6x8 speakers (http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130TSA874M/Pioneer-TS-A874M.html) on sale for $50 a pair (need a pair for the front and the same size pair for the rear). As a bonus, Crutchfield is giving a pair of wiring adapters, but not the foam baffles (http://www.crutchfield.com/g_762/Foam-Speaker-Baffles.html?tp=2809) that they also suggest. The thing is, I'm tight with money (right after the holidays) and I'm still going to be using the stock head unit for a while (might change that out when the Summer comes).

So, my question is: Should I spend the extra $18 for 2 pair of foam baffles?

I've installed plenty of aftermarket speakers and have been happy with how they have sounded. But, I don't want to be penny wise and pound foolish with my daughters car. Lastly, I have some foil backed butyl that I can stick to the door (the exterior metal skin) to cut down on vibration.

 

[Jimzz]

For those kind of speakers in that kind of car with I am guessing the factory system, no you don't need them.

 

[fralexandr]

wouldn't that probably be a speaker wire or connection issue?

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Use Cool Whip containers. I did and it worked fine.

 

[deadken]

For those kind of speakers in that kind of car with I am guessing the factory system, no you don't need them.

I figured that I don't need them. It's one of those things where I'm wondering if they'd make a difference. And, if they'd make a difference, would it be worth the money? Or should I just spend the money on more expensive speakers. IOW: I was hoping to hear from someone who installed speakers without them, and then put them in. What difference did it make and was it significant? BTW: Right under the product name & size the first line reads "Protect your speakers", so, I'm guessing that they have little to do with sound quality and more to do with protecting your speakers from whatever hazards lurk inside your door panels rather than improving audio quality. Which is why I'm thinking I'm gonna pass on them.

wouldn't that probably be a speaker wire or connection issue?

Not from what I'm gathering with the frequency of when it happens and how long it lasts. Typically, wire / connection problem are longer term problems.

Use Cool Whip containers. I did and it worked fine.

Now, this is the whole reason I mentioned about the Aluminum backed vinyl (think Fatmat or Dynamat). I've read where putting a piece of 12" x 12" on the door metal possibly covered with a piece 8" x 8" will improve bass. Doing that is supposed to reduce any resonance from the metal skin of the exterior door panel. I've also read where having a separation between the airspace of the front of the speaker and the back of the speaker makes a big difference in sound quality. Now, figuring that the door panel / door already separates the air that is on the front of the speaker and the air that is on the back of the speaker, so I figured that the foam baffles aren't going to improve sound quality that much if at all. But, I'm hoping to hear from someone who knows more than I do.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Dude, it's a 15 year old Ford Contour, don't go to crazy town over thinking it 🙂

 

[deadken]

Dude, it's a 15 year old Ford Contour, don't go to crazy town over thinking it 🙂

Good point. I already ordered just the speakers and came back here to update the thread.

I had been hoping someone with some knowledge / first-hand experience would chime in before I ordered. But, in the end, I simply figured that those speakers would sound better than the stock ones foam baffles or not. And, like you said, it's not worth getting too deep into.

BTW: I had asked my daughter if she wanted to chip in on a Bluetooth enabled stereo (she's been using a cassette adapter in the stock radio). Crutchfield was offering %25 off Pioneer speakers (like the ones I ordered) if you bought certain Pioneer stereos. I found one for $130 w/BT and I figured I'd save $25 on the speakers if I bought it. So I offered to pay half of the remaining $100 if my daughter would chip in. She wasn't interested.. So, I realized that she just doesn't care about these things the way a guy might. Case closed. Ordered the speakers and I'll install them before she goes back to VA in late January.

 

[phucheneh]

1) Acquire butyl/aluminum sound deading material.
2) Stick it to the inside of the door skin behind the speaker. A couple square feet of good material will do a lot.
3) Cover as many holes in the door frame as possible. The part that the speaker and door panel mount to. Your goal is to create a barrier between the inside of the door (with more substance than just the stock vapor barrier) and the front of the speaker cone. You want the rear wave of the speaker to stay in the door, and not cause rattles while the sound bounces around in there. It is not so much an 'enclosure;' just a seperation of the sound the speaker cone makes when it moves forward versus when it moves backwards. The door is big enough (and not totally sealed) so that your drivers will still have 'free air' behavior. Actual enclosures for midbass drivers don't usually work so good.

 

[BUTCH1]

OP, I would order the speakers but keep them in the original box unopened, remove the door cover and check for a loose connection, it's all together possible that the connector has some surface rust that is causing the intermittent condition, leaving the new speakers in the original box might make it easier to return them for full credit if in fact a loose connector is causing the trouble.