Ok this is a questions that has been bothering me for a while. Why do people suggest kick panel enclosures for the best imaging for your front speakers. I mean they are basically at your feet. I dunno about you but I don't want to hear my music coming from the floor of the car. Wouldnt the best imaging be either the upper door or along the A-pillar with the tweet and the woofer a bit lower like the lower door. Crutchfield does sell Q-Form kick panels for my Ranger but I am trying to figure out why that would be better than just installing in the door.
cuz it's BALLIN!!!!!! no contribution to this thread lol sorry but I'm just really bored right now haha
im worried about kicking the damn speakers by mistake when i get in or out of the truck with them sitting pretty much next to the floorboard.
just get some speaker grills....thats what pretty much everyone gets...who doesn't want to kick their speakers lol PartsExpress has some
Here is the premise behind it. In order for optimal imaging and stereo effect, you need to create a distance from ears that is equal from the right and left ear. Basically the more centered you are between the 2 stereo speakers, the more accurate the image is, now, when you sit on the left of the car, you are closer to the left speaker, this typically creates a left biased soundstage due to the fact that the ear percieves the left speaker as louder, AND the left speakers signal arrives a few milliseconds before the rights!!!! This is called psycho acoustics, nice term eh? By putting both stereo speakers FARTHER from you, and on axis, you create a more equal path to the ears, not perfect, but a touch better. This helps solve the time alignemnt issues and volume issues. To a point....It aint perfect, but you are fairly limited i the mobile enviorment. i have done several sytems like this, with varying results. Not all cars are suited for this method either, lack of foot room, lack of mounting speace...... One of the better sounding was in my own personal car, old dodge, sounded kick ass really in the imaging dept. Preformed kick panels are a joke in my opinion, I have never installed a set that sounded good to me, they look ok, but thats about it.
The problem with kick panels is that they are made of cheap plastic. What I do is cut an MDF ring that goes behind the mount ring of the kick panel. The ring is glued on then fiberglass is added to the back side to stiffen the kick panel. Add a small amount of glass at a time, because as glass cures it shrinks slightly. Adding to much at a time will warp the kick panel. Speakers must be mounted to a solid surface in order to perform like they are supposed to
