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Meta
Kick Panels
25th November 2009
Speaker Positioning
Speaker installation is very critical for performance. Whether you spent $1000 or $10,000 on a set of speakers, if they are not properly installed, they would not sound as they should. Even though it may seem that the best position for most speakers are in the stock housing’s that came with the car e.g. on the door panel near your feet, this is just not so. You would see why such positions are still used however along with alternative solutions such as center channels for 5.1 dolby, LCD screen, in-dash DVD players. There are many factors that need to be considered in placing the speakers in the correct position.
Distance
The first thing to consider is distance. If the left speaker is only a couple feet away from your ears, while the right speaker is several feet away from you, then the sound will arrive at different times giving you poor sound. Since the left speaker is closer, it sounds louder. The best solution is to figure out a location where the difference between the distance of the right speaker to your ears and left speaker (also known as path length difference), are minimal. This is where kick panels become the preferred location.
Multiple Speaker Placement
If you have a system with two or more speakers per side, you need to try out different locations to obtain the best possible sound in your car. If you have a 2-way system with a tweeter and sub per side. The subs are mounted in the stock location at the bottom of the door. The tweeters are mounted high up on the front corner of the door panel. From the driver’s seat, you can see that there are 4 speakers all aimed towards different orientations and all at a different distance to your ears. This interaction of sound waves at different frequencies arriving at your ears at different times seldom sounds good. The best thing to do is to position the woofer and tweeter on each side as close as possible to each other. This is also why kick panels are used so much these days. Professional installers do use some tricks such as inverting the tweeters’ polarity when mounted for example on top of the dash while the woofers are low. Achieving good sound with unconventional mounting schemes is very, very hard and is only achieved after plenty of time has been spent trying different configurations.
Aiming
Our ears can distinguish the direction of sound more easily at higher frequencies. This means that aiming the mids, and most importantly, tweeters towards your ears play a critical role in sound imaging. Midbases are not so critical, but should be also aimed towards the listener’s ears if possible. To figure out the best aiming angle involves many hours -even days- of work. To start, try to aim the speakers towards the center of the car. Play around with different angles until you obtain the best sounding position. Subwoofers should be mounted up front for best sound. Since this is not possible in most cars, mounting subs in the back is not such a bad thing, since most people can’t distinguish where bass comes from. If you have good midbases going down to 60 Hz or less and subs picking up the signal below 60 Hz, then the bass will seem to come from the front.
Enclosures
Subwoofers need a properly designed enclosure to give top performance. Midbases and mids also do sound much better if they are installed in enclosures. The best sounding and easier to build enclosure type for midbases and mids is sealed.
Mounting Speakers
If you are using speakers that fit into the stock location, make sure there are no spaces or holes. Sometimes building a wood or fiberglass baffle helps reduce holes and gives you much better sound. Always be careful when using power tools around speakers. Holes in speakers usually are not covered by the warranty. For unconventional speaker locations, sometimes metal has to be cut. If you have the resources, plasma cutters and pneumatics tools work great. For most of us that do not have these tools, a pair of metal snips (left and right cut) will do the job.
Take your time to plan your system and dont just buy brand and product for the sake of popularity. Sometimes the simplest system is the most effective.
Get more Auto and Car Audio Video help.
Read More at: http://forums.trinituner.com/forums/archive/
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1967 Ford Thunderbird Left Kick Panel $12.00 |
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64-65-66 MUSTANG RADIO KICK PANELS WITH SPEAKERS PAIR ! $109.95 |
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64-66 GMC Truck, Kick Panels, with 60 watt speakers $123.00 |
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55-59 Chevrolet Truck, Kick Panels, with speakers $123.00 |
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1995-97 Lincoln Continental Gray Lower Kick Panels Trim $29.99 |
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1995-2001 Ford Explorer Mountaineer Right Front Kick Panel Trim Gray Lower $24.99 |
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1987-1993 mustang blue pass side kick panel $15.00 |
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47-53 Chevrolet Truck, Kick Panels, with speakers $123.00 |
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1995-2001 Ford Explorer Mountaineer Left Front Kick Panel Trim Gray Lower $24.99 |
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E38 BMW 740il 750il E38 KICK PANEL & TRUNK RELEASE TRIM $18.00 |
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63-65 Ford Falcon Convertible, Kick Panels speakers $123.00 |
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67-72 GMC Truck, Kick Panels, with speakers $123.00 |
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40-46 Ford Truck, Kick Panels, with speakers $179.00 |
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96-00 HONDA CIVIC KICK PANEL OEM $25.00 |
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Ford Ranger Truck Explorer UNDER DASH KICK TRIM PANEL steering $29.00 |
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1956-60 Corvette Original RH Rear Rocker Kick Up Panel $99.00 |
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99 – 03 00 01 02 ACURA TL OEM LH DRIVERS BLACK KICK PANEL TRIM MOLDING $19.99 |
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84 85 86 87 88 TOYOTA 4X4 TRUCK 4-RUNNER KICK PANEL- RT $16.95 |
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48 49 50 51 52 53 CHEVY TRUCK SET OF KICK PANELS & DOOR PANELS BLUE VINYL $35.00 |
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Datsun 280zx Kick Panels Silver LT & RT NR $44.99 |
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MUSTANG KICK PANEL RH SIDE $14.00 |
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2008 BMW E90 328i Left Front kick panel trim, Black $25.00 |
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04 05 06 07 08 09 Mazda 3 Kick Panel Lower Dash Cover $85.00 |
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OEM POLARIS KICK PANEL SPEAKER ENCLOSURES- 2876180 $87.99 |
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1954 1955 1956 Cadillac interior kick panel vent trim duct pieces rat rod parts $14.99 |
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98-02 Firebird Trans AM Tan Kick Panels $24.99 |
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63 64 65 66 67 Corvette Kick Panels with Carpet – New $59.00 |
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64-76 Chrysler A Body Kick Panels with speakers $184.00 |
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Interior Lower Kick Panel LEFT Driver Side Burgundy $30.00 |
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Interior Lower Kick Panel RIGHT Passenger Burgundy $35.00 |
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Interior Lower Kick Panel LEFT Driver Side GRAY $35.00 |
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Interior Lower Kick Panel RIGHT Passenger GRAY $35.00 |
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97 98 99 NISSAN MAXIMA CHASSIS ECM ABS L. KICK PANEL $40.00 |
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95 96 NISSAN MAXIMA CHASSIS ECM ABS L. KICK PANEL $45.00 |
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98 99 INTRIGUE CHASSIS ECM ABS 3.8L L. KICK PANEL $35.00 |
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01 VOLKSWAGON BEETLE TURBO RH KICK PANEL TRIM $19.99 |
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99 00 PATHFINDER CHASSIS ECM TRANSMISSION L. KICK PANEL $75.00 |
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Passenger Side Front Kick Panel 01-03 Chrysler PT Cruiser OEM $39.99 |
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96 97 ISUZU RODEO CHASSIS ECM CRUISE CONT R. KICK PANEL $60.03 |
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Infiniti Q45 LEFT CONSOLE TRIM KICK KICKER PANEL 1996 $19.90 |
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EMPI 98-8973 VW BUG BUGGY KICK PANEL SET $49.95 |
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1957-58 Cadillac Front Kick Panel Air Vent Covers in White $19.99 |
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62 63 64 65 Nova kick panels W/ Pioneer speakers $150.00 |
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A9 97 98 99 00 TOYOTA CAMRY R KICK PANEL $9.95 |
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1957-58 Cadillac Front Kick Panel Air Vent Covers in Black $19.99 |
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87 85-89 MR2 #36 Kick Panel Cover Trim $24.00 |
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55 56 Chrysler/Desoto Kick Panel Insulation $34.00 |
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59 Desoto Kick Panel Insulation $34.00 |
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53 Chrysler Kick Panel Insulation $34.00 |
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1965-69 Corvair Vent Kick Panel Assemblies – $74.99 |
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Super Bright LED under cabinet cove, Full kit, 10 light panels, 2 powersupplies, warm white LEDs! $149.00 This item for sale is our ALL NEW 21 LED Light Panel Super Deluxe Kit in warm white. It is a TEN (10) LED Light Panel System complete with (2) Power Supplies, (2) Remote Switches, (10) 3′ Interconnect Cables, (1) 6′ Interconnect Cable, (1), 12′ Internect Cable, (20) Cable Clamps, and (24) screws for optional hardware mounting. This is a complete Under Cabinet Lighting System from Inspired LED. T… |
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Under Cabinet Lighting 21 LED – 3 Panel Deluxe Kit, Warm White (Dimmer Optional, Sold Separately) $58.00 This item for sale is our ALL NEW 21 LED Light Panel Deluxe Kit in warm white. It is a THREE (3) LED Light Panel System complete with (1) Power Supply, (1) Remote Switch, (3) 3′ Interconnect Cables, (8) Cable Clamps, and (8) screws for optional hardware mounting. This is a complete Under Cabinet Lighting System from Inspired LED. This DELUXE KIT has a retail value of over $60 if purchased separat… |
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Super Bright LED Under Cabinet Lighting – Set of 10 Panels, 2 Power Supplies, 2 Switches! Cool White – Dimmer Switch Option Available (See Items 4864 and 4845) $149.00 This item for sale is our ALL NEW 21 LED Light Panel Super Deluxe Kit in COOL white. It is a TEN (10) LED Light Panel System complete with (2) Power Supplies, (2) Remote Switches, (10) 3′ Interconnect Cables, (1) 6′ Interconnect Cable, (1) 12′ Interconnect Cable, (20) Cable Clamps, and (24) screws for optional hardware mounting. This is a complete Under Cabinet Lighting System from Inspired LED. … |
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Wheelchair Footrest Extender Side-Kick Add On $44.95 Side-Kick Add On . Foam-padded side panels prevent feet from slipping off sides. . Attaches to all footrest extender devices. . Fits 16”W and 18”W wheelchairs…. |
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X Games iPad Pro Case $34.11 X GAMES XG-IPL1105B IPAD(TM) PRO CASE… |
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ZOTAC Z68-ITX WIFI MB LGA1155 $175.99 ZOTAC Z68-ITX WIFI, MB, LGA1155, DDR3, USB3.0, PCIEX16, MINI-PCIE, WIFI… |
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HHI Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 Re-Elegant Multi-Angle Standing Carbon Case – Carbon Fiber Black $44.99 If you own an Asus Eee Pad Transformer this case is a must have! Not only does it keep your Transformer clean and protected, its black carbon fiber elegancy will make sure your Transformer will stand out from all the rest. This adjustable case will give you multiple ways you can stand your transformer, giving you wide variety ways you can angle your transformer and to maximize the usage of your Tr… |
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Dirt Bag Hacky Sack – Assorted Colors – Qnt 1 $12.95 This eight panel beauty is our best seller. The DirtBag is made of synthetic suede leather and is stitched to last . Each bag is sand-filled making it easier to stall, and great for advance freestyle moves…. |
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Super Hero Red, White & Black 152-Panel Hacky Sack / Footbag – Comes with Tips & Game Instructions - $17.50 This 152 hand sewn panel hacky sack is for ultimate playability. In addition, this footbag is filled with a combination of metal balls and plastic pellets to provide the best weighting for performing the most difficult tricks. Intricate detail and superior craftsmanship throughout. They are also found in the best sporting goods stores nationwide. Approximately 2.25″ in diameter. Made of durable i… |
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Hero Green 32-Panel Hacky Sack / Footbag – Comes with Tips & Game Instructions - $6.99 This multi-paneled, professional grade footbag has the highest quality because they are very loosely filled with sand for maximum playability & for doing footbag tricks. They are also found in the best sporting goods stores nationwide. Approximately 2.25″ in diameter. Made of durable imitation suede. Made in Pakistan or Guatemala. NOTE: |
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