There are easier ways to gain midrange over throwing another midrange speaker at the problem...ya know, like...you could dynamat the doors (not my fav route, but it would work) or have fiberglass speaker pods built or pick up a better set of woofers - any of those three would be less expensive (and require less modification) than a 3-way component set that very likely would STILL be lacking in midrange b/c the doors aren't dynamatted (i.e. dynamat the doors), the speakers are working in an infinite baffle setup (i.e. build fiberglass speaker pods), or the speakers just aren't that great to begin with (i.e. buy better woofers)...

 

Agree with Neutered Sputniks, Dynamat is amazing stuff, i sealed my entire door with dynamat and my CDT comp's alone produce enough midbass to sound like i have a small sub (standing still and not driving with top down of course) Also "premium" factory systems are tuned and designed specific for the vehicle cabin and the designs use differnt ohm loads, factory amps, etc from conventional systems to design and create richer fuller sounding systems.

 

I think my post is a bit misleading, therefore I will attempt to clarify my stance on Dynamat.

While I do agree with the use of dynamat in certain situations (I have tons on my truck doors), I do NOT condone it's use in the S. Dynamat is good at what it does (there are less expensive alternatives, btw), it's weight makes it less than ideal in what is supposed to be a lightweight roadster. In my 6000lb truck, an extra 20-30lbs of dynamat is negligible... In my 2800lb S, I can feel the difference between having a subwoofer in the trunk and not (approx 50lbs). Dynamat would be an added 20-30lbs that cannot be easily removed (unlike the subwoofer enclosure).

 

understood...since I'm adding a turbo that will produce over 500hp a few extra pounds in weight isn't going to make much of a difference in accelleration, however on the twisty's it's something I need to consider.

 

Sorry to bring this back, I was busy for the past few weeks and didn't have time to log on.

when i sound deadened my doors, I had the weight issue in mind as well. The final product was like this... (I changed my exhaust to compensate for the added weight)

1. For outer metal skin, just deaden the areas immediately behind the mid bass driver and the handle area with mat type material

2. For inner door skin, dampen the area around the mid bass driver with mat type material. For the rest of the area, use closed cell foam type material, especially the area right behind the tweeter.

3. Our door panels just rattle way too much I had to use closed cell foam for most of the part, and a little mat on areas that need a bit more reinforcement.

Btw, I used HushMat products for both kinds of material.

And no, one big mis-conception about S's accoustics is wrong.

Accoustics = resonance and reflection, which the S is actually good at when the roof and the windows are down. Tune the system properly with roof/windows down and then just raise up your windows, you'll hear the huge difference in mid/high range due to glass reflection. An open top convertible is actually good, just like home audiophiles prefer raised ceilings for their listening room.

Road noise = blah, all the other nasty things you can hear. And no, you can't cure that no matter what you do in a soft top convertible. Over deadening your floor and doors add nothing but dead weight to the car. The two ways to overcome this problem is either use a really agressive sound stage setup or simply using high power to drown all the noise.