Okay, a couple months ago I installed a pair of Blau 5X7 speakers in the rear doors. At first they sounded okay. Nothing spectacular but for what I paid I wasn't expecting it. Now, I'm thinking of ripping these things out and starting over! the sound just blows. At moderate levels it's a little better than stock but not much. When I turn it up to about 60 (out of 0-80) I get all kinds of crap, from distortion to door vibrations. Is this just a bad location for speakers due to the door construction or should I get a better pair of speakers? Can I do anything to the door to help?

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Stock Stuff:
Y2K SCab 4X4, Chesnut Metallic, 5.4L, 3.55 Limited Slip, Skid Plates, Factory AM/FM/CD, 40/60 Split Bench, Sliding Rear Window, Towing Package and Keyless Entry.

Extras so far:

• GY 305/70X16 Wrangler ATS Tires
• American Eagle Series 146 Chrome Wheels
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• WMS Velocity Tube
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• PIAA Super White Bulbs
• GTS Hood Deflector
• Catch-All Floor Mats
• Tinted Windows
• Bull Ring Retractable Tie-Downs
• www.f150online.com Sticker (below center brake light)
• University of Georgia Hitch Cover "GO DAWGS!"

Coming Soon:

• No more mods for a while. With the threat of a possible Gore White House I have to stock up on GUNS!

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If you don't have them already, spend $15 for dynamats. They just take a few minutes to install, and will cut down on at least some of the distortion. Cheaper than replacing speakers, and will still be useful if you decide to get new speakers anyway.

I think you're right about the lousy location of the rear speaks - I bet they'd sound better a little higher up in the door.

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2001 Lariat SC 5.4 4x4 LS ORP Class III 17in wheels Captains seats

Sony ES CDX-M650 2 pr. Polk EX572a

Westin nerf bar, ARE Z series cap, Yakima rack, bedrug

 

Goto www.b-quiet.com and buy a nice roll of it and heck use 2 layers and go wild. Stuff works great. I did my whole interior with dynamat but after finding out about this stuff I finished off the rear and 2 layers on the tailgate plus finished off every piece of bare metal.
http://www.streetscenemag.com/ViewOw...?ProfileID=202

 

I've only got 1 rear door but they still sounded like crap.. I pulled the panels and speakers,and sprayed them with rubberized undercoat(the doors not the panels,lol) I then mounted the speakers
with slightly cured silicone....The crappy sound and rattles went away for the most
part...at least by 75% Quite an improvement for about 8 bucks and a little
time.. I will eventually dynamat the doors
and the floor(under the carpet)so it can be
a quieter ride....these noisy tires aren't helping either,haha,,,,,98

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98 F-150 4.6 Litre XLT2wd Ext. cab
Yokahama AVS/ST's
prarie tan/tan int.
K/N gen.II fipk
custom dual exh/gibson rectangle tips/rear exiting.
color matched snuglid
Superchip!!!
Westin nerfs blk .powdercoat
Clear front corners
Euro style tail lights
Cobra 75WXST cb w/weather alert
[b]Kenwood cd w/Radio Shack speakers,don't laugh it sounds pretty good]
Viper 500HF Security system.
On the way/wheels,tires,air dam, etc..etc.......
doin the monochromatic boogie
on the front end.Billet grilles on order Still want to lift it,YESSS!
Come see my new picturesat www.my-f150.com

officialtomwaits.com
reverendhortonheat.com

WOW,what a cool site!

FENDER GUITARS ROCK!!!

 

Well I can tell you how to get rid of 99% of the rattles and increase the quality of your sound but I will warn you it takes some work. As others have written, you will need some sound deadening material. I used Dynamat but the B-quiet stuff looks to be just as good. I took off all of the plastic door panel components and covered the door in dynamat. You will find that this elimiates 80% or better of the rattles. Make sure you get the rear window latch screws tight though. I actually put dynamat over the holes and then pushed the screws through it. I took a thin strip of weather stripping and ran it around the edge of the panel before putting it back on. This knocks out even more noise. Lastly (here comes the tough part) there is a cable that runs up the front pillar of the rear door for the latch. This thing will rattle no matter what you put on the door. So what you need to do is get some of the expanding foam. Spray this stuff up the pillar (you'll need an extension tube) but not too much. It will stop the cable from rattling. I have Kappa 6X9's in my rear doors and they really sound great! Good bass and all. My only complaint is the lovered grilles and front seats really knock down alot of the highs. Maybe some custom grilles for the future.........

 

Everyone here has posted some great ideas but left out the cheapest and easiest way to get way better sound and stop the rattles in your doors. Speaker baffles, which can be ordered from Crutchfield at about $6 or so per pair in any size you want. I swear by these things. They also protect your speakers from water and moisture that gets inside your doors.

I would never install speakers without them!!

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Boss™

Ordered June 29th, 2000; took delivery Nov 28th, 2000: 2001 F-150 Lariat, Oxford White/Silver Supercab 4x4, Styleside, 5.4L, 7700# payload, Class III Tow, 3.73LS, Skids, Leather Captains, 4W disc ABS, shift-on-fly, keyless, HD everything
Modifications:
"Protected by the Owner and his 2 friends, Smith & Wesson" sticker, Westin Chromed Stainless Nerf Bars, ARE LS II bed cover, Bedrug™, Gibson Swept Side Cat Back, K&N filter w/airbox mods, Pacesetter ceramic coated headers
Future Modifications
Superchip, 3" body lift with at least 33's, alarm/pager/auto start system, stereo system

 

Actually Boss, I just installed a pair of Pioneer 6x8's in the front doors without baffles and they sound WAY better than the Blau 5x7's in the rear doors with them! I guess the Blau's just suck! I'm looking for an identical pair of Pioneer's to replace install in the rear doors. This time I'll Dynamat them while I'm at it! Thanks for all the posts guys.

 

The Blau's might not be that bad - it's just that they are in the rear. The front speakers are way more important and noticeable than the rears. If you are only going to replace one pair with quality speakers, always do the front first!

 

ONE,

Another thing you need to remember is that any speaker will distort when turning the volume high being connected to just the radio because no matter how good the radio is, it is limited by the amp they can fit in it. Head units just don't have enough power to make good speakers perform well.

The Pioneer's probably sound way better because they are designed to work best in low power situations, like that of just a radio. The Blaupunk's need more power to sound good at higher volumes, so they sound like crap compared to the pioneers.

One thing to make them sound better is to add an inline passive crossover. Those speakers aren't meant to play bass, and the low bass notes will make them distort very easily. If you get a high-pass "bass blocker" filter that connects between your speaker and speaker wire at say 125hz, the speakers will be able to play louder and clearer with less distortion. Go to your local stereo shop and ask their opinion on where the best x-over frequency would be for your situation. Most likely they will say the same I did, or maybe a little lower like 80 or 100hz

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Boss™

Ordered June 29th, 2000; took delivery Nov 28th, 2000: 2001 F-150 Lariat, Oxford White/Silver Supercab 4x4, Styleside, 5.4L, 7700# payload, Class III Tow, 3.73LS, Skids, Leather Captains, 4W disc ABS, shift-on-fly, keyless, HD everything
Modifications:
"Protected by the Owner with his 2 friends, Smith & Wesson" sticker, Westin Chromed Stainless Nerf Bars, ARE LS II bed cover, Bedrug™, Gibson Swept Side Cat Back, K&N filter w/airbox mods, Pacesetter ceramic coated headers, Hyper-White bulbs, Pioneer DEH-8200R, Ventshades(not on back doors), Hood deflector.
Future Modifications
Superchip, 3" body lift with at least 33's, alarm/pager/auto start system, stereo system

 

I just installed some Eclipse 5X7's 85741's in front and rear, the difference from the front to back is amazing, the front sound great, and the rear sound like crap!!!same speaker, yet what a difference. the only way I can listen to them is fade them out to about 1/2 or a 1/3, otherwise the distort so bad it ruins it.what do you recommend for a fix? the mat, do these need more power?or are these doors just plain no good for speaker boxes? had I known what they sounded like in the back I would have left the stockers.

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2001 F-150 XLT S-CAB 4.6 "the full ride"
96 Taurus GL
93 Kenne-Bell Supercharged Mustang
"Injection is nice, but I perfer being blown!"

 

Pulled the Eclipes out and reinstalled the factory speakers in the rear only. Even setting the fade to all rear and only one side, still sounded like crap, yet the fronts sound great, and now with the stockers in back, it sounds better than having all of the Eclipes, so now the front are replacements and factory in the rear.

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2001 F-150 XLT S-CAB 4.6 "the full ride"
96 Taurus GL
93 Kenne-Bell Supercharged Mustang
"Injection is nice, but I perfer being blown!"

 

I'm pretty happy with the overall sound after installing the Pioneers. I haven't found another pair for the price I got the first ones so I think I'm going to leave it alone for a while. I would like to find a better fitting dash kit though. I replaced the one I got from Crutchfield with a Scosche after reading good things about them. The one I had in before actually fit better but I broke it taking it out!