How tight should I screw in speakers?

[HatchSpeeD]

This is sorta of a dumb question & I didn't have time to finish testing it out 2nite for it is pretty late. I was wondering, say for your front speakers in the doors or any speakers for that matter when screwing them in, should they be as tight as they can be or should they be sorta half-tight to allow the speakers to reverberate. My friend likes to leave them slightly loose to reverberate.

This is assuming the speakers are installed with baffles, so their not touching directly to the door frame & has a cushion. (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4...7XT65) It seems like perhaps at higher volumes, the woofer/cone won't distort as easy & has more room to move & at lower volumes when the screws are all the way tight, the sound is tighter but may distort a tad more at higher volume (but it could be vibration from something else). Anyway I couldn't really experiment yet but wanted to get some perspective on what the audio guys do or whats "right" or "wrong".

 

[HatchSpeeD]

stupid wireless connection...sorry mods it posted twice.

 

[TommyTheCat]

Tight. I can see where you'd get the idea to keep them slightly loose - perhaps the door starts rattling too much. The main purpose is to make sure the rear wave doesn't reach the front very quickly (at all is preferable - but a door usually has all kinds of holes). I would also think you'd start hearing air noise coming from under the speaker basket.

OTOH, If we're talking leaving them like an 1/8th or a 1/4 of a turn loose maybe it wont make a difference. I'm not fond of discussing audio on the web because it leads to absolutes - extremes that people preach but dont think about. So in your case, leaving them a bit loose could transfer less vibrations and still maintain a good seal around the speaker.

Best idea is to just try everything out - especially when it doesn't cost you any money and maybe a little time.

 

[jimboburgess]

use some Foam Speaker Baffles at Crutchfield.com, tighten the speaker down over the foam. This will keep from sound waves from the back of the speaker from interferring (as mentioned above) and will act as a gasket prevent spekaers from ratteling loose over time as they naturally shake.

 

[HatchSpeeD]

Yea Jimbo I actually am using them but I did have to poke 4 holes in them to run the wires through. Tommycat, your right & in my friends defense, we're talking backing off the screw a few turns from as tight as it can be so it does maintain the seal as you say but cuts down on vibration.