Installation of car speakers is not an easy task. Incorrectly mounted speakers will negate the advantage of sounding an expensive system. On the contrary, installing speakers on acoustic podiums will allow the full spectrum of sound frequencies to appear.
Why do you need a podium
Many motorists who install speakers in regular places do not suspect how much the sound quality suffers. The car has several places for installing speakers: in the casing of the front doors, on the shelves of the luggage compartment, inside the dashboard.
However, these places are not suitable. The fact is that the speakers work well when they are fixed rigidly. In this case, the membranes operate with full amplitude. That is why the speakers of home speakers are made of solid materials. In cars, the plastic is soft and thin enough to provide complete immobility of the speaker. In addition, the movement of the car creates a vibration of the skin, and the speakers are subjected to additional shaking. Acoustic podiums are designed to minimize unwanted vibrations.
Another reason for installing podiums is to extend the speakers into the open space of the cabin. If they are flush with the door trim, then the sound partially goes under the trim.
Podium Location
In order for the acoustic podium to fulfill its function, it must be made of dense material on which the column case will not vibrate. Most commonly used plywood. This is the cheapest and easiest to process material. Although not the best. Hard varieties of plastic, such as textolite, caprolon, polyamide will give the best result, but manufacturing will cost more.
When determining the shape and size, they take into account the diameter of the speakers, and the place where they will be installed. Podiums located in the doors should not interfere with the operation of door locks and windows.
Mount correctly not on the skin, but on a metal base. Then the heavy podium will not come off the plastic during the movement, and the speaker membrane will work with full amplitude.
Inner podium
To install the speaker in the door, two options are provided: internal and external. Each of them has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of the internal installation (under the door trim) include the following:
- The speaker is installed inside, so the appearance of the podium does not matter.
- The interior of the car does not change its appearance
Cons of a similar installation:
- It is not possible to change the speaker angle relative to the door. In order for the driver’s ear to perceive the entire spectrum of frequencies, the speaker located at the bottom of the door should be angled and look at the gear shift knob.
- Difficulty installing large speakers. In this case, it becomes necessary to cut the door frame, which causes placement problems.
Outdoor podium
This variety is installed more often due to the fact that you can install large speakers. This is achieved by the fact that the speakers are carried outside the door frame. They can also be placed with the membrane up so that the sound is directed towards the driver’s head. In addition, this option allows you to give the stereo system a unique design.
The main disadvantage of this installation method is the difficulty of manufacturing an acoustic podium. After all, it should not only improve the sound, but also in harmony with the interior of the car.
Materials and Tools
For independent manufacturing, certain materials and tools will be required:
- Plywood. The thicker the better. Minimum - 10 mm. If the thickness is insufficient, then it will be possible to increase it by gluing sheets.
- PVA glue or epoxy.
- Polyester putty with fiberglass filler. This variety allows you to fill large voids.
- Faux leather or Carpet.
- Self-tapping screws, bolts with nuts.
- Jigsaw, drill, stationery knife.
- Sandpaper.
- Polyurethane foam.
How to make a do-it-yourself acoustic podium for a VAZ
For different models, the manufacturing principle will be the same. Let us examine as an example the creation of acoustic catwalks on the VAZ 2114. As mentioned earlier, there are two options: install a speaker under the door trim or outside. The outer podium is made of a plastic pocket, which is mounted on three screws at the bottom of the casing.
The work is performed in the following order:
- It is necessary to determine the size of the screen on which the column will be fixed. To do this, take the speaker, measure the diameter of the mounting frame. The size of the screen opening should be slightly smaller. Given that the rear of the speaker was free, but the hardware itself rested on plywood.
- Cut the ring with a jigsaw. The more massive it is, the better the sound. Therefore, the outer diameter is limited only by the width of the plastic pocket.
- Through wooden or plywood blocks, the screen is fixed on the front of the pocket. Fasteners are made using self-tapping screws. You don’t need to take large ones, because the main fixation will be due to the mounting foam. The bars must be selected so that the axis of the speaker is directed at an angle to the horizon and looks at the speed handle.
- Foaming space between the screen and the casing. Foam is best used with a low expansion coefficient. It has a higher density after solidification, which will better affect the sound.
- Frozen foam needs to be cut off at the edges of the plywood ring, as well as a hole for the speaker. For these purposes, a clerical knife is used.
- The resulting podiums are not perfect. In this state, they should not be covered with dermatin. Therefore, all irregularities must be eliminated with putty. It is applied with a soft rubber spatula, repeating the contour. After solidification, it is sanded with sandpaper with a grain size of P60 - P80. If irregularities have not been eliminated the first time, then puttying must be repeated.
- Tug of acoustic podiums 2114. For these purposes, dermatine is well suited, which stretches, for example, vinyl leather. A thin layer of glue is applied to the plastic pocket, and dermatin is pulled on top. Next, a hole is cut out for the speaker, and the edges of the vinyl leather are tucked inward.
The last thing to do is install the speaker, cut holes for the power window control buttons and install the control unit.
Then mount a pocket with an acoustic podium. It is installed on the casing as standard, that is, with the help of three screws.