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I am installing a set of Focal ES130K components for rear fill/surround sound in my C6 Grand Sport, but there’s not a lot of room behind the speaker brackets. I know that I can just mount them free air but I assume some type of sealed enclosure would be best for directing the sound towards the cabin and enhancing bass response. Crutchfield suggests using XTC medium foam baffles but from what I can read those baffles significantly diminish bass response, so I’m hesitant to do that. I’ve also considered mounting the 5.25” woofers in 4” PVC end caps - they fit perfectly into the end caps and the caps are super rigid but there is not a lot of remaining air space. I suppose I could add polyfill and drill/insert a small port but that would seem to defeat the purpose. Has anyone tried to fabricate a larger, sealed enclosure behind the rear brackets?
**Edit: I’ve already heard the arguments against using rear fill speakers so there’s no need to repeat them here.**
Last edited by Caspase-9; Apr 4, 2020 at 10:41 PM.
So if you truly want a baffled speaker back there, I would just make one out of CCF or HMF. You may have to get creative on how you construct it, but my thoughts are to get some foam (1" thick and layer it) and some adhesive. Mark where the speaker sits and glue the foam to the body (metal behind the panel). Then glue layers of foam on top of each other until they are touching the trim panel. Once there, break out the razor blade and cut the baffles shape and depth out of the foam. Easiest way to do it IMO.
So if you truly want a baffled speaker back there, I would just make one out of CCF or HMF. You may have to get creative on how you construct it, but my thoughts are to get some foam (1" thick and layer it) and some adhesive. Mark where the speaker sits and glue the foam to the body (metal behind the panel). Then glue layers of foam on top of each other until they are touching the trim panel. Once there, break out the razor blade and cut the baffles shape and depth out of the foam. Easiest way to do it IMO.
Yeah unfortunately that would annihilate the bass response. Otherwise, I would just use a set of XTC foam baffles. I’ve already got a layer of RAAMmat, ensolite, and MLV behind the bracket, against car panel, but I was hoping to figure out a way to fab a rigid, sealed enclosure to improve the bass response while focusing the sound towards the cabin. I have thinking about trying to use some foam baffles as a mold and then lining the inside with fiberglass. I think that might work pretty well but the overall volume of the enclosure would likely not be optimal.
I have the XTC baffles. I honestly just cut the back out of them. The area the rear speakers are in are pretty adequate as they sit. While tuning mine, they required very little EQing to make them scream. I can't imagine the C5 being that different.
Seal the front waves from the rear with closed cell foam and call it a day. Basically seal from the mount flange to the interior panel. You prob cant make an enclosure big enough in the space behind there. Just going off limited knowledge of the speaker parameters. They are at home in doors and they are not completely sealed.
You dont want to put them in a tube or a cap. The cone needs room the breathe in all directions and a cap will choke the hell out of it.
example of sealing front wave from the rear 😁 They would need 4cf each I put them in an enclosure.
C6 rear speaker enclosures/baffles
