6 x 9 speaker mounting in door

[Poodlehead]

I had an older Marantz radio in my 77 Silverado years ago and I was very pleased with the setup until it crapped out. It had 6x9 speakers in the rear of each door and 4.5" in the kick panels.

The door speakers were mounted behind the metal so the lower door panel cover didn't need cutting.

I replaced it with a stock Delco pushbutton radio that was ok for years. Now I'm in the process of getting it refreshed/repaired and wanted to update all 4 8 ohm speakers as well.

My question is concerning mounting the 6x9 in the door. Would it be better to cut the door panels more so the speakers stick out or keep them behind the metal as shown? I really don't want to cut up the lower door panel cover either so leaving them as shown would be better, but is that negatively affecting speaker performance?

Thanks in advance! Pat

 

[SquareRoot]

Wow, that has to be the worst location possible for speakers. Not only do they take a beating from being on the outside swing off the door, they have to fire thru that so called vent straight into the floor of the cab.

 

[Poodlehead]

Yes, but if you are outside and want to listen to music, all you have to do is open the doors. I agree, the rest of the time, a horrible location to blast music right into the side of your seat

 

[Catbox]

If you thought it was good enough, run them there.

Personally, they would provide far better performance in the front of the lower door.
At least then they would be firing right into your feet instead of the seat hump.

 

[Turbo4whl]

Another thing to consider, when you block the lower vent, you loose the flow through ventilation these trucks were designed to have.

So you know, newer trucks still have flow through ventilation. The GMT 800's have the vents in the back of the cab.

 

[Finkaire]

Stock location for rear speakers are in the corners with the fronts in the dash. Im not sure about the kick panel application for the front but I think the 6x9’s might work best in the corners. Also if the door panels aren’t already butchered, to leave them alone IMHO
PS. A subwoofer under the seat fills in the low frequencies

 

[Poodlehead]

Stock location for rear speakers are in the corners

I was not aware that the stock speaker location is in the rear cab corners. That appears to be an excellent location. However, I read about the corner mount speakers and they don't work if your seatbelt retractor is mounted in that area. Unfortunately, my retractors mount in this location (I guess because my truck came with factory bucket seats) so that's not going to work for me. Plus it would cover up my fire ant killer stash.

I still wish I had my buckets, but back in the good old days of being young, dumb, and full of 'it', I needed a bench seat... I will probably stuff some sound deadening material behind the speakers and just call it good where they've been for the past 45 plus years...

Thank you all for the input and suggestions.

 

[WFO]

My 6"x9" speakers are mounted in a homemade wood box behind the seat pointing up, and slightly tilted to aim towards the Dome Light.

 

[Poodlehead]

My 6"x9" speakers are mounted in a homemade wood box behind the seat pointing up, and slightly tilted to aim towards the Dome Light.

I like that idea and I bet they sound good with the speakers pointing up to get the sound out from behind the seat.

I've never built enclosures and may be able to find some already built. Thanks!

 

[WFO]

I like that idea and I bet they sound good with the speakers pointing up to get the sound out from behind the seat.

I've never built enclosures and may be able to find some already built. Thanks!

I've also got 6x9s low in my doors, with tapered spacer rings to point them up a little.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007TJDI4/

 

[Poodlehead]

I've also got 6x9s low in my doors, with tapered spacer rings to point them up a little.

Another great idea, thanks!

Since I want to run new speaker wire I'll probably abandon the door speakers and go with enclosures behind the seat. It will be much easier to run the wire through the sill plate than the rubber tunnel between the door and cab. If I do my wires long enough I can place the speakers outside if I want when parked someplace.

Thanks again!

 

[CalSgt]

I like that idea and I bet they sound good with the speakers pointing up to get the sound out from behind the seat.

I've never built enclosures and may be able to find some already built. Thanks!

The pre made 6x9 enclosures are decent, there are several different shapes too. I was able to tuck mine into the cab corner with the speaker grill aimed between the seat and door frame and they sounded okay. You might not be able to with your seatbelts as already mentioned.

I think I had these ones standing on their side with the narrow end tucked into the cab corner

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTJ88ZD1/