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Proper Car Audio Speaker Installation and Mounting Adapters

February 17, 2021 By Dave MacKinnon

Speaker Mounting

As we’ve said many times, there are two camps when it comes to upgrading the audio system in a car or truck: amateurs and professionals. Interestingly, those designations aren’t directly associated with whether or not the work is done by a company or in someone’s driveway by a hobbyist. In this article, we are going to take a short but poignant look at the importance of proper door speaker installation.

Upgrade Those Doors with New Speakers

Almost every car on the road has locations in the doors for speakers. With lots of surface area, there’s often room for a 6.5-inch or 6×9-inch driver. These speakers’ relatively large size delivers good efficiency and bass extension when the audio system doesn’t include a subwoofer.

Speaker Mounting
Rockford Fosgate’s Power Series component speakers are available in 5.25, 6, 6.5 and 6.75 inches to suit a variety of applications.
Speaker Mounting
ARC Audio’s ARC602 6.5-inch coaxial speakers feature Rohacell/glass fiber woofer cones and a silk-dome tweeter for impressive clarity.

In most cases, having a new set of speakers installed rewards the purchaser with smoother frequency response, more output capability and better clarity. These speakers are typically deeper than what came with the car. This extra depth requires that the installer create mounting adapters to space the speaker away from the window in the door. Other criteria that might need a speaker adapter would be when the mounting holes for the original speaker don’t match a new speaker’s bolt pattern.

Speaker Mounting
Adrenaline Autosound near Raleigh, North Carolina, built this set of cast acrylic adapters for a 2014 Porsche Cayenne.
Speaker Mounting
Extreme Audio near Richmond, Virginia, created these adapters to mount a set of 6.5-inch component speakers in the doors of a C5 Chevrolet Corvette.

Speaker Mounting Adapter Materials

When it comes to creating mounting adapters or spacers, there are several material options. For decades, installers have used wood to make these parts because it’s easy to work with and is inexpensive. Unfortunately, the interior of a car or truck door gets wet. Even when sealed with paint or undercoating, wood adapters will eventually get wet and start to swell. The expansion of the spacers can bend stamped-basket speakers or break cast drivers. We’ve also seen dozens of cases where the prolonged exposure to damp conditions resulted in mold and mildew.

Speaker Mounting
Our friend Chris Bulla ran into this set of MDF speaker adapters while working on a vehicle.
Speaker Mounting
Scott Junior came across a set of Focal speakers that broke because they were mounted to wooden rings with the wrong screws.

Professionals use various materials to create adapters and spacers that are impervious to water damage and mold. ABS, HDPE (high-density polyethylene), expanded PVC, cast acrylic and DuPont Corian are popular options. Each material has benefits and drawbacks in terms of its ability to be machined or layered. As such, technicians invest in proper training and research to know what’s best for each application.

Speaker Mounting
Chris created new adapters for the project he was working on from expanded PVC.
Speaker Mounting
Dave MacKinnon, Editor-in-Chief at BestCarAudio.com, and his friend Andrew Davison created these Corian adapters for the door speakers in his 2013 Subaru WRX STI.
Speaker Mounting
Jesse Levi Kelley from Phantom Audio in Decatur, Indiana, 3D prints many of their adapters in-house to ensure perfect alignment and spacing.
Speaker Mounting
Josh Hamlin at Stereo West Autotoys in Omaha, Nebraska, cut these acrylic adapters for a Porsche Cayenne on their CNC laser.

Make Sure Your Speakers Are Installed Properly

When you’re shopping for speaker upgrades for your car or truck, make sure the specialty mobile enhancement retailer you’re working with will be using plastics for speaker mounting adapters and spacers. These might cost a little more than wood, but they’ll ensure that your audio system will function reliably for years to come.

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Filed Under: ARTICLES, Car Audio, Resource Library Tagged With: ABS, DuPont Corian, HDPE, PVC, Speaker Adapters, Speakers

About Dave MacKinnon

Dave has worked in the mobile electronics industry since 1988 in almost every capacity, including roles as a Retail Salesperson, Installer, Sales Representative, Technical Trainer, and Product Development Manager for some of the largest car audio companies in the world. Dave started his writing career in 2000 as the Technical Editor of a Toronto-based car audio magazine and has reviewed more than 450 products. Formally trained as an Electronics Technician, Dave is considered an industry expert when it comes to explaining how mobile audio components work and has crafted thousands of articles to share that knowledge. He’s currently the Head Writer for 1sixty8 media and the Editor-in-Chief at BestCarAudio.com

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