Anyone Here using a Dash mat of any kind
02-13-2008, 03:27 PM
#2
Yankee
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,599
A dash mat can serve many purposes for a SQ system, your dash will be able to reflect, refract or absorb sound. Depending on what you need and weather the sound is really interacting with the dash at all, a dash mat can be great or terrible or no results at all. Design one correctly and it make a word of positive change. Different materials do different things... so have fun
Last edited by JohnVroom; 02-13-2008 at 03:32 PM.
02-13-2008, 11:28 PM
#3
No worries Mutt. I'm make a few different ones for my car. We can test them in you car too. They dont always help and can look pretty nasty if not done right. I have only heard one car that used one and sounded good, but that car sounds really good. So, I've been doing my research for a few months now. I have a few different materials to choose from and combine with each other. Should be fun.
The garage will be mine soon!
The garage will be mine soon!
02-14-2008, 04:21 PM
#6
Yankee
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,599
If there is sound reflecting off the glass and the dash it can be very... edgy. you cant stop the glass from being reflective but you can limit the dash's affect. The sound the listener wants to hear is the sound recorded on the CD. Anything that helps to take the cars affect (effect?) out of that equation is a step in the right direction.
I had drivers in the dash and the dash mat was essential. BUT several of the dash mats I made absorbed too much and made a muted HF sound... so what I needed was refraction (not so much absorption or reflection)
My current car doesn't need a mat, if you use kick panels for high and mids you probably dont need a dash mat, but you might need one under the dash.
Just throw a towel or two on the dash and listen critically, is there a difference? is it better or is it worse?
I had drivers in the dash and the dash mat was essential. BUT several of the dash mats I made absorbed too much and made a muted HF sound... so what I needed was refraction (not so much absorption or reflection)
My current car doesn't need a mat, if you use kick panels for high and mids you probably dont need a dash mat, but you might need one under the dash.
Just throw a towel or two on the dash and listen critically, is there a difference? is it better or is it worse?
02-14-2008, 04:25 PM
#7
If there is sound reflecting off the glass and the dash it can be very... edgy. you cant stop the glass from being reflective but you can limit the dash's affect. The sound the listener wants to hear is the sound recorded on the CD. Anything that helps to take the cars affect (effect?) out of that equation is a step in the right direction.
I had drivers in the dash and the dash mat was essential. BUT several of the dash mats I made absorbed too much and made a muted HF sound... so what I needed was refraction (not so much absorption or reflection)
My current car doesn't need a mat, if you use kick panels for high and mids you probably dont need a dash mat, but you might need one under the dash.
Just throw a towel or two on the dash and listen critically, is there a difference? is it better or is it worse?
I had drivers in the dash and the dash mat was essential. BUT several of the dash mats I made absorbed too much and made a muted HF sound... so what I needed was refraction (not so much absorption or reflection)
My current car doesn't need a mat, if you use kick panels for high and mids you probably dont need a dash mat, but you might need one under the dash.
Just throw a towel or two on the dash and listen critically, is there a difference? is it better or is it worse?
Fozzz, as usual, looking forward to it.....have you done any of the mid testing yet?.....we could make a day of enclosure/mat testing.
02-14-2008, 07:12 PM
#8
I've been to busy with the house.
When I first set out to build my current system. I knew that a dash mat of some kind might help me (my mids are on the dash). The trick is to get just enough absorption without killing the sound. Not all reflections are bad.
When I first set out to build my current system. I knew that a dash mat of some kind might help me (my mids are on the dash). The trick is to get just enough absorption without killing the sound. Not all reflections are bad.
02-14-2008, 08:43 PM
#9
Yankee
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,599
Exactly and with the towel technique, since they are easy to move around you can quickly tune to the car, where the towels end up is where you probably need absorption. If you have cloth/ felt/ suede at your house you can use them too since each will have a different sonic affect. With my current ride I used rubber cement to attach felt to parts of the interior I didn't want a refection (the cement comes up easily so it wont leave a permanent residue). I color coordinated the felt so it looks good with the interior.
For the final product you can go to an automotive upholsterer give them the materials you selected for them to use and they will fab up a good looking mat with the best sonic properties for your specific build. They can stitch in your name, the cars model, your sponsors name... and give it a nice professional look.
This is one area where TA, DSP and EQ will let you down, but with my SHO I tried to do all the EQ with materials and fabrics... I think the EQ and TA is a lot easier and more successful.
edit: A LOT more successful at killing problem frquencies
For the final product you can go to an automotive upholsterer give them the materials you selected for them to use and they will fab up a good looking mat with the best sonic properties for your specific build. They can stitch in your name, the cars model, your sponsors name... and give it a nice professional look.
This is one area where TA, DSP and EQ will let you down, but with my SHO I tried to do all the EQ with materials and fabrics... I think the EQ and TA is a lot easier and more successful.
edit: A LOT more successful at killing problem frquencies
Last edited by JohnVroom; 02-14-2008 at 08:45 PM.
02-15-2008, 05:46 PM
#10
That's pretty much what I do. I get a bunch of material (usually scrap stuff) for local fabric stores and play around with them. I've tried different amounts of different material in differant areas. I found the difference easy to detect in most cases, but not all rusults were good.
