Speaker enclosures

Just a question.... I've got some 4" X 6" speakers for my pickup, they'll be going in a box behind the seat where the fuel tank used to be. I've noticed on some of the tube shows that they all use particle board for speaker enclosures..... Is there some reason for this, or will just plain old plywood work as well??????

partical board is a harder material and does not absorb the sound as much.

particle board is a little more flexible if you put big speakers like 12s in it plywood just splits out if you listen to alot of bass

I just asked my Kid because he did this for a living at one time. The reason for particle board is that it is more dense, and won't rattle like plywood. He says you actually want to use MDF particle board, as it is the heaviest. But that info is for systems that are using lots of watts from an amp to drive subwoofers. If you are just building a box to hold some 4 x 6's, the difference won't really be noticable.

Don

Thanks guys, guess I'll have to get a sheet of it then. Figured there must be some good reason for it...

I bought a set of enclosures (particle board and covered with fabric) for a lot less than what I could have made them. They were for 6.5" round spkrs and I put them behind the rear seat in my sedan. Sound improvement wasn't worth the cost or the time to install them.:( Hate like hell to have to pull out the rear custom interior to mount speakers behing the panels, but it has to be better than the enclosures. If not, think I will just sing to myself.:eek: :LOL: :LOL:

Yes from what I know , its used because its the most dense. Another MAJOR thing to take into consideration is to give the proper amount of space for the speakers to work properly. Most people build something that looks "pretty" not really caring about the space needed for the speaker to work right. The box should have the right amount of volume inside the box, this is a key part to a good system. Check with your speaker manufacturer for specs. I got some good info from the rockford fosgate web site.

Particle board has an extremely low resonant frequency which means that
the enclosure will not add it's own "color" to the low frequency sound.
Plywood has a tendency to "boom" or "hum" on some lower bass frequencies.
It should be avoided.
DT

I am going to be locating our speakers to the same location. the guy that had the truck before was a rat rodder so used street signs to make panels for the left and right wall in front of the door (not sure what that spot is called) and has the speakers there. I am going to relocate the deck to the glove box and the speakers behind the seat. My question is this, if I added speakers, for high and mid for instance, could they all go back there or would it effect the sound? should I hide them in the dash or being behind the metal would be just as bad?

Red