How important is it to seal the airspace around a midrange speaker?

I mounted my 6.5 in the stock front door 5x8 location so there is a big gap below the 6.5. I'm wondering if I would notice a significant performance increase if I cut out a piece of wood to cover the 5x8 hole and mounted the 6.5 in the wood so that air could not pass through.

Thanks!

 

Try it out and tell us how it works.

 

I think you'll notice some sound improvements.. you'll separate the air in front of the speaker from the air behind the speaker. In essence you'll create baffle... much like a free-air sub application.

What you mentioned is exactly what I did.. just cut out some wood to fit the 5x8 hole and have your speaker fit in the wood adapter.

 

It is very important to isolate the front of the speaker from the back. You will notice a big improvement in sound once you seal the hole up. Also use some sound deadening material between the wood and the speaker frame. This will cut down on rattles and other undesirable noises.