Custom Speaker Enclosure Q. . .

[aircooledtechguy]

I'm going to be assisting a neighbor in making a speaker enclosure for a boat he's building and thought since it's a generic question about sound and I hang here on STF, I'll ask you all.

The background: We've got a nice set of Polk Audio waterproof speakers (6.5" round 3-ways) that need an enclosure in the boat. We want to enclose them in the chain plates on either side of the interior which are basically an open 3-sided area 7"WX7"DX20"L. The depth tapers with the curve of the boat from 7" at it's greatest depth (at the top), to about 1/4" in depth at the bottom. Basically when viewed from the side it's a really long triangle with the point down.

1. Is there some sort of formula whereas you can calculate the correct volume of the box needed for a speaker of a given size so it has enough volume to sound good?? Neither of us are audiophiles, but we know (or think we know) that volume matters as does proper venting of the box for base tones.

2. We were planning to just leave a small gap at the bottom as a vent. Does that sound doable??

3. Do you all recommend any type of interior baffling or sound deadening on the inside??

Thanks for the help!!

[sideshow]

The speakers should of came with a "recommended box side" for a sealed enclosure, you can cheat box volume by ~20% by adding filer. A sealed box is the second simplest.

Not all, but most can run in a vented enclosure and you maybe be given box and port volumes. This require a little more effort, but generally more efficient.

There are dozens of more crazy band-pass, slot loaded, and variations but I would leave them to "boom cars"

Now since you are using a small driver, you are not making big bass, make a rattle free panel to mount them.

[Dangermouse]

When I built an enclosure for an 8" subwoofer I found a very handy guide here -

http://www.bcae1.com/spboxnew2.htm







HTH,
- DM

[67 Type-1]

A 6 1/2" speaker really wouldnt require an enclosure,because it isn't going to be reproducing the low bass of a larger woofer.But to sound good it will require some type of baffle board to seperate the sound waves from the front and rear of the cone,so as to avoid cancellation.The area you describe sounds fine for these speakers,just make a nice baffle out of MDF(1/2" or 3/4"),you can cover it ia any type of finish you like(carpet,vinyal,paint,etc..)fill the area behind the speaker with polly fill (get it at a craft store,like for making pillows)run your wires(make sure to connect the + to the + terminal,and the - to the - terminal. Otherwise you will get cancillation resulting in no bass response and poor sound reproduction)and then install the baffle board,and enjoy.
(o\_|_/o)

[Aynthm]

[Steve Arndt]

Sewer speakers!

[Steve Arndt]

I built a manifold for my Bus gas heater in my Bug with ABS pipe. Looks kind of like the sewer system above Couldn't help it...

[valveadjuster]

HTH,
- DM

This thing is awesome for shows...

[volksbugly]

I would suggest using a sealed box, on a boat your going to have alot of outside ambient noise so sound quality (SQ) is pretty much out the door. Pretty much build the enclosure to help prevent distortion, to do that build the enclosure sealed and fill it with some polyfill. When your on the water and cruising you will tend to crank the audio so the best thing is to naturally limit the low end (bass) distortion with a sealed box. Box volume is better left to subwoofer enclosures, unless your an audiophile and are in a quiet environment.