Manufacturing of podiums for front acoustics. Acoustic podium: photos and possible options for creation

In many domestic cars, there comes a time when the sound quality of the audio system begins to decline. Vehicle owners are trying in every way to fix the problems that have appeared. However, if you bypass the alteration of the cabin, then it is simply impossible to solve this problem.

This article shows and tells how to make special podiums with your own hands, with which you can install speakers on the car door. The podium can be made for any speaker and for any car. The creation of these podiums is considered on the example of the VAZ 2106.

Creation of the foundation for the future podium.

Before making the base for the podium, you need to decide on its shape. Much depends on the shape of the podium, because this is the basis of the entire device. The podium should not interfere with the handle that opens the brother-in-law and the window regulator handle. It is also important that the podium does not interfere with tightly closing the doors. First of all, we draw the selected shape for the base on cardboard and cut it out.

Cardboard template for the base.

Speaker platform.

The speaker requires a ring-shaped base. Before doing it, you need to measure the dimensions of the speaker itself, as well as its protective mesh. Usually, the inner diameter of the ring seat is equal to the inner diameter of the ring itself, and the outer diameter of the protective mesh is equal to the outer diameter of the ring. It is also worth considering that five to seven millimeters must be added to the outer ring to obtain a decorative ring in the future. With the help of a decorative ring, the speaker will be slightly deepened, which will give a more beautiful and aesthetic appearance to the structure.

a diagram of a ring for a speaker and a decorative ring.

The next step is to cut the template and transfer it to the plywood. The plywood should be the same thickness as for the base, that is, six to eight millimeters. After transferring the template to the plywood, you need to cut out two parts. Glue the decorative ring coated with glue to the base, for safety reasons, you can pin it on small carnations.

received blanks

Attaching the ring to the base.

In order to attach the ring to the base, it is necessary to make spacers. Any material is suitable for the manufacture of spacers, the main thing is that it ensures the rigidity of the fastening. In this case, a regular rail of the required length was chosen. All spacers, there are four of them, must be of different sizes. Their size depends on how strongly the ring is tilted relative to the base and how far it protrudes forward. It is best to point the speaker towards the gearshift lever. Self-tapping screws are used to secure the spacers.

scheme of fastening spacers using self-tapping screws.

Shaping the podium with polyurethane foam and frame. Polyurethane foam is the best option for shaping, because it can be easily processed, beautiful rounded corners can be made. The foam is applied neatly, in even layers, starting from the ring and ending with the corners. Any suitable pipe is inserted into the hole (ring) for the speaker. This is necessary in order not to waste the foam, because the ring will still have to be cut out.

Finally, you should check if the foam is correctly applied to the decorative ring, it should not be lower than it. If it is still below the ring, some more foam should be applied before it dries.

foam application.

Shape the base or feel like a sculptor.

As soon as the foam is dry, you can start cutting it off and giving the desired shape to your future catwalk. This is a very interesting and extraordinary activity, during which you can feel like a creator and a great sculptor. Excess foam is removed with a clerical knife, it must be sharp enough. First, the base is cleaned of excess, then the top. And only after that you can start drawing the form.

After the base of the podium has acquired a clear shape, you need to bring it to the best condition. It is best to sand the base with a coarse sandpaper.

almost finished construction.

Leveling the surface.

The surface of the podium must be leveled. For this purpose, a mixture of putty and PVA glue is prepared, which is then applied to the surface of the podium. You need to apply in thin layers, then dry well.

podium with putty applied.

After the structure is completely dry, you can start processing with sandpaper.

Creation of a protective layer with epoxy resin and fiberglass.

Fiberglass must be properly impregnated with epoxy so that it can fully fulfill its protective functions. Epoxy must be applied to the podium, then wrapped in fiberglass. Apply resin again on top of the glass fabric.

After the base of the podium has dried, you can cut off the excess pieces of fiberglass and use a sandpaper to remove the remnants of the glue.

Catwalk design.

To give the catwalk a "serious" look, you can cover it with faux leather. The color of the skin must be matched to the color of the door trim. In the photo, the arrows show the order with which it is best to pull the leather onto the podium.

At the ring, the skin is pulled last, then fixed with a stapler. Excess skin is removed. As a result, after many hours of painstaking and laborious work, the following design is obtained:

Installation of the podium.

Several self-tapping screws are screwed into the base of the podium, on the other side of the casing. With their help, you will need to attach the podium to the door trim. Once the podium has been attached to the sheathing, you can put it back in place. Then you can screw on the door handles and all other elements.

It is also possible to pull the podium base close to the door. This can be done using the small projections that have been provided at the base of the podium.

The podium is in place.

Impressions.

The effect of using these constructions is simply amazing. All sound will be in front, will be transmitted by strong loud bass. However, if you make noise insulation of doors and close up technological windows, the effect will be many times stronger!

High-quality acoustics is the dream of every owner of his own car. But, even for the best speaker system, you often have to modify the seat. This is especially true for owners of Russian cars who are never satisfied with the sound quality of the speakers. Sometimes you get the impression that all the sound is somewhere in the trunk, and only noise remains in the cabin. Without an acoustic podium, a high-quality installation of speakers in the cabin of any car is impossible.

The only way out in this situation is to install a special shelf for acoustics. If you buy a ready-made podium, you will have to pay a significant amount for it. Finding the right model for your car can also be difficult. You can make the podium yourself.

What is an acoustic podium for?

1. The main purpose of an acoustic podium is to improve the sound quality of speakers.
2. After installing it, you can not limit yourself in the choice of audio equipment
3. The acoustic podium increases the comfort of the car: it becomes possible to install an acoustic system for those sitting in front.
4. It is designed to securely fix the speaker system and protect it from damage.
5. 5. Properly designed podium eliminates vibration and greatly improves sound quality.
6. With the help of an acoustic podium, it becomes possible to install speakers without damaging the upholstery
7. Allows you to install speakers of any model
8. Sound quality is achieved that is pleasing to all passengers.

Where to put the acoustic podium

There are 2 ways to install an acoustic podium: monolithic and frame. Let's consider their features.

A monolithic podium is made in a “wet” way: a cement or concrete screed is constructed over the entire surface of the podium. The frame podium is a frame sheathed with two layers of plywood.

The advantages of the monolithic method are obvious: a reliable, moisture-resistant podium is obtained. Such a podium is very easy to make and decorate. The disadvantage of a monolithic podium is that it creates too much load, it is impossible to hide communications in it.

The frame podium, on the other hand, is very lightweight and versatile. You can even install boxes in it. Since the frame podium is empty inside, it becomes necessary to isolate the sound. Therefore, mineral wool or polyethylene must be placed under all the supports and between the cladding. There should be a small gap between the frame podium and the wall for the material to expand. And between the wall and the monolithic podium, a thick tape should be provided to exclude the possibility of cracking of the concrete.

Preparing to install an acoustic podium

To make an acoustic podium on your own, no special skills are required - all you need is to have a desire and be neat. The materials needed to create the podium can be purchased at any hardware store at an affordable price. An important point is the exact measurement and determination of the location of the future podium:

1. For more convenience, the door panel must be removed. If it has a speaker, it should also be removed. The size of the future podium depends on the number of speakers and their dimensions, as well as the free space on the door panel.
2. Make a template for the base of the podium from cardboard directly on the door panel, which will then be transferred to the plywood
3. Cut the ring (of the same cardboard) to fit the speaker size
4. To accurately determine the final height of the podium, it is necessary to take into account that it does not protrude too much, otherwise it will interfere with the legs of the passengers sitting in front. The large podium allows for the installation of oversized speakers. The main thing is that it is comfortable and does not spoil the main interior of the car.
5. If you want to slightly "sink" the speaker into the podium, make a plywood frame and glue it along the outline to the main platform
6. A well-chosen design of the future acoustic podium is very important: it improves and makes the overall interior stylish.

Required materials and tools

Not every material is suitable for making an acoustic podium. There are specialists who use gypsum or clay for this. This is not correct as these materials take up a lot of space behind the speakers, which degrades the sound quality. The most suitable material is plywood. Compared to other materials, it is inexpensive, durable, has high acoustic qualities, is easy to work with and can be found in any store. For work, in addition to desire and time, you will need the following tools and materials:

1. Electric jigsaw for cutting plywood;
2. polished 8 mm. Plywood
3. polyurethane foam;
4. epoxy adhesive;
5. fiberglass (1 sq. m);
6. Sander;
7. coal tape;
8. special drill attachment for grinding;
9. self-tapping screws with a press washer;
10. anti-gravel aerosol;
11. black matte spray;
12. nylon fabric (women's tights can be used);
13. stapler;
14. sandpaper (coarse and fine);
15. fiberglass putty;
16. material to cover the podium (for example, leatherette).

Step-by-step instruction

1. Using templates, you need to cut out forms from plywood with a jigsaw.
2. To select the slope, it is necessary to connect the base with the ring with plasticine. After choosing the desired angle, we make racks for the ring to secure it.
3. The racks are held together with glue and several self-tapping screws. The skeleton of the future podium will be ready after the glue has completely dried.
4. Take polyurethane foam and place the finished skeleton on the floor (cover it with newspapers first). Now you need to fill the skeleton with polyurethane foam. This should be done in several steps, since when the foam dries, it almost doubles in size. The embedded skeleton must be dried within 24 hours.
5. The dried foam needs to be given the correct shape with a knife, and then sanded well.
6. Cut off a piece of nylon fabric of the required size. Wrap the podium with a cloth so that its edges go over the base and fix it with a stapler.
7. Thoroughly coat the fabric with epoxy and spread the fiberglass on it.
8. When the resin is completely dry, cut holes (for diffusers).
9. Remove all roughness on the surface of the podium with sandpaper to a perfect condition.

Final finishing of the podium

The finished catwalk can be painted or upholstered with fabric, vinyl or leather for a beautiful look. It is best to choose the finishing method that best suits the overall vehicle interior. The staining option, despite its apparent simplicity, is far from the easiest: for an ideal result, you need to carefully prepare the surface and make it smooth. It is much easier to fit the catwalk, you just need to choose the right material and its shade.

The leather or fabric is attached with a special leather adhesive. The glue should be thoroughly spread directly onto the podium and the fabric should be gently pressed against it so that it adheres everywhere. The edges of the fabric should be wrapped around the base of the runway. A fabric cut to the shape of the back is glued to the base. After the glue is completely dry, you need to carefully cut out the holes for the speakers in it. Then press the podium against the door frame and, if it snuggles well against it, you can install it.

The podium should be fastened with self-tapping screws, which are screwed in from the seamy side of the sheathing. So all fasteners will be invisible. If the podium is large, it is better to fix it on the metal part of the door panel.

Watch a video on how to make an acoustic podium on a VAZ 2114

Outcome

This method can be used not only for the door acoustic podium, but also for its installation anywhere in the car interior. The most important thing is to choose the right and high-quality materials, since the result of your work and the quality of the finished podium will depend on this.

Acoustic stands for tweeters and mid-range speakers are the face of any car audio system. By their execution, you can determine the degree of qualification of the installer, his accuracy, and competence in the installation of auto sound.

In my personal mail, I am often asked about the process of making stands, how to make acoustic podiums with my own hands, the same as I do. Therefore, I decided to show you the process of making acoustic pillars using the example of the popular mass production car of the middle class VW Touareg.

The speakers were also selected average speakers with excellent sound quality characteristics and a high price / quality ratio - Audison Voce three-way system, which includes:

For more accurate tuning of all speakers, a processor is needed that allows you to competently organize the control of all bands, as well as an amplifier with which you could implement the idea of ​​channel-by-channel amplification. Usually, such devices are physically located in different cases, but for aesthetic reasons and considerations of compactness, the choice fell on a nine-channel sound processor with a built-in eight-channel power amplifier.

A direct relative of the front acoustics was chosen as the LF Speaker - the Alpine mrp-m1000 amplifier.

The design of acoustic stands begins with the placement of the speakers - for this we cut out the support rings from plywood (8-10mm) with a jigsaw and then work with them.

Cut out the rings

Here, excessive accuracy is dictated solely by the degree of perfectionism and, by and large, is not so critical: it is important that the speaker does not fall into the ring and the ring does not stick out too much. It is highly desirable that the outer diameter matches the speaker diameter. To make the ring, I used a jigsaw with a thin file.

After 4 rings are cut out, we begin to expose.

This is one of the most crucial moments. In the Tuareg, we decided to install both stripes in the lining of the windshield pillars, although there are still options for installing midrange or tweeters in the corners on the doors to relieve the structure and affect the geometric parameters of the scene. However, in a Tuareg midrange, the dynamics would be cramped, it is difficult to gain volume, so we put it in racks:

Exposing the right side

So. Where to exhibit? Where to send? Surely these are the most common questions that worry a novice amateur who wants to make podiums on their own. The answer is both simple and complex: to understand how to place a speaker, you need to understand the scope of technical constraints dictated by design features and, based on them, choose the optimal speaker location based on a number of criteria, which we will now talk about.

The first thing to understand is the location. Consider the option suggested in the photo. We raise the midrange speaker from the panel by a few centimeters and, since we need more space for the volume, the speaker installation plane can be practically not recessed. The tweeter is different: it needs to be positioned as high as possible (within reason), wider and deeper. In total, we have identified three vectors, based on which it is necessary to choose the optimal point, not ignoring, moreover, both the aesthetics that play an important role, and the possibility of subsequent fitting.

If you set the tweeter too high, it will sit close to us and too far from the midrange. Such an arrangement will give great difficulties in tuning, the near tweeter will have a strong attachment to itself, it will be extremely difficult to make the correct docking with the midrange speaker. It is better to nip such mistakes in the bud!

On the other hand, if the tweeter is installed very deeply, it will sit very low. It will not be easy to fit such a structure. Although the variants of the "monitor" arrangement are quite acceptable in sound, but kmk, they are cumbersome and less aesthetic than the one shown in the photo ...)

In order to install the tweeters as wide as possible, you just need to cut out the plastic of the stand and lean the ring against the metal - this will be the widest place ... the excess plastic is then cut off so as not to block the tweeter, and an aesthetic groove is formed.

The second important question is "Where to direct?" The rule that I adhere to is essentially the same - you need BOTH speakers to look at the listener from the same angle! The speaker characteristics are not linear and dispersion, especially with respect to high frequencies, varies greatly with frequency. That is, if we direct the right speaker towards ourselves, and the left towards the passenger, then the right one will emit high frequencies without blockage (if it can) and the left one will be heavily overwhelmed (see the dynamics datasheet for illustrations, frequency response graph on the axis and at an angle ). It is practically impossible to correct such a mistake with an equalizer - adjustments often only exacerbate the situation.

Frequency response and impedance graph of Audison Voce

AFC Red line - on the radiation axis, green at an angle of 45 *

Thus, we have two options: to direct both speakers towards ourselves, but this is not symmetrical, which means that the aesthetics that are so important to us are lost, or to deflect each speaker away from ourselves by the same degree: left to the right by 15 *, right to the left. The clever men will say: "I would say so: at the intersection in the center of the salon." But, if you look at it, they will be directed to the center in any case, if they are symmetrical.

Important! Be careful not to point the far speaker at you when you assume the listening position by reclining against the headrest. (approximately this is the position the judge will have at the refereeing)

OK. Having set 2 rings on 1 rack, remove the rack, and set the second symmetrically on the table, using rulers, plumb lines, protractors, Kolyana- in general, everything that will benefit you.

Second rack

We mark with a marker so that the holes are the same as on the first rack.

Layout of the second rack

We cut out the plastic with a knife, with a jigsaw - what's not scary ...

We cut the second rack

We expose the ring for the second twitter:

We expose the second twitter

We expose the ring under the second midrange:

We expose the second midrange

We sit in the car - we measure, check, look, sit in the driver's seat, then in the passenger's seat ...

Trying on the second rack

Foam with copious amounts of polyurethane foam. Foaming must be done on both sides!

Foaming

After drying, cut the foam:

Outside, everything is simple. cut off perpendicular to the edge of the ring. Straight down.

Cutting the foam

There should be a lot of foam inside so that the rack does not get carried away when there is little left of the factory plastic.

Foam

We cut out the plastic, make a kind of indentation, cut out everything that will subsequently interfere.

Cutting out the plastic

We apply aluminum tape as a separator for the polyester resin so that it does not eat up the foam and so that the foam can be easily removed after all operations. Aluminum tape can be additionally lubricated with wax, grease, any oil.

Wrap up with scotch tape

We prepare polyester resin and glass mat (fiberglass).

Cooking fiberglass

Apply glass mat (fiberglass) and impregnate with resin - it's done. We are waiting for 15 minutes.

We apply fiberglass

We cut the sharp edges with a knife until they are completely hardened so as not to catch a splinter (extremely unpleasant)

Cutting the fiberglass

We sand the fiberglass for better adhesion of the putty (in other words, so that it sticks well and does not fall off).

Skinning fiberglass

Now we raise the sides in order to drown the speaker. We roll up any disc with a diameter like that of a tweeter and midrange. If you are not afraid, you can wrap the components themselves in a thick layer of scotch tape (important: keep in mind that you need a gap of about 1 ... 1.5 mm (+ 2 ... 3 mm to the diameter), depending on the material). The main thing is to get it on time!

Raising the boards

We throw in fiberglass. And again the main rule: get it on time!

We get

Remove the tape from the back of the rack and sand the surface of the fiberglass and plastic.

Skinning from the back side

We throw in fiberglass to strengthen the structure. After that, no cracks will appear in the structure during further preparation.

We throw it from the back side

Now we apply a fiberglass based polyester putty.

We putty

We cut it with a knife until it gets up: then it will be incomparably more difficult to remove the excess

Cutting the spatula

Skin with a coarse P80 grit. when preparing the racks, only this grain size is used.

Skins

We replace the volumes, in advance at least roughly calculating the volume required for the midrange dynamics. If you cannot keep within the cherished numbers, then the problem can be partially solved by filling the volume with materials such as a padding polyester, making a PAS or increasing the frequency of the high-pass filter on the crossover. But, of course, it is better to achieve the calculated volume.

Penalty volume

We throw in the volumes: the layer must be made thicker, since the surface turns out to be quite flat, which is why resonances of the case are possible, which will give color to the mid frequencies, which pretty much adds problems to the overall picture. If for some reason you do not want to thicken the walls, you need to make additional stiffeners and glue the walls with a mastic vibration to reduce the resonant frequency beyond the range reproduced by the mid-range speaker.

We throw in the volume

We glue the volumes onto the polyurethane sealant:

We glue the volume

We apply glue to the rack and to the Alcantara.

Apply glue
The beauty! Left pillar in the car
Right pillar in the car photo on the background

Happy installations to everyone! I hope my article will help you make acoustic podiums with your own hands, otherwise you can always contact me for advice, a question, making, and of course setting up.

To the sound of your favorite songs and musical compositions. To do this, many drivers buy expensive amplifiers, subwoofers, and a stereo system. In this case, the speakers are installed not only under the rear window, but also on the doors of cars, which allows you to get a clearer and better sound. However, the installation of the speakers in their standard form does not look so nice. To decorate even ordinary speakers and install them on the door, you can make your own podiums, which we will do now.

So, in order to make podiums for the speakers on the car door, we need:
- cardboard;
- stationery knife;
-saw;
- chipboard;
- glue;
- sandpaper;
- file;
- self-tapping screws;
- carpet.

We figured out the materials, now you can start making our podiums. We take a piece of cardboard and use a stationery knife to make a template for future catwalks.

Now we will use our template to make three layers of the catwalk. To do this, take a 15 mm chipboard and use a saw to cut off three pieces according to the template. It should be especially noted that the last chipboard layer should be 5 mm less than the other two.

Now, using sandpaper and a file, we process the corners of the podium blanks. The layer that was 5 mm smaller than the rest will actually be the top layer. After processing, the workpiece should turn out to be slightly rounded and tapered at the top, which will give it more beauty and showiness.

For greater reliability at this stage, you can additionally strengthen the chipboard layers with self-tapping screws.

The time has come for the aesthetic part, namely, the lining of the workpiece. For this we need a small piece of carpet, with which we will glue the future podiums. Again, it is advised to do everything very carefully and without unnecessary haste, so that there are no folds and irregularities.

It remains only to cut off the middle part of the carpet, install the speakers, attach our podiums to the car door and admire their beautiful view, as well as their graceful sound.

I want to change the old ones to the new ones. Yes, only the new pancakes are very small, and there is absolutely no room for them in the car. Nothing, now we will learn how to make a podium under our own hands.

Refinement of the base for the rear speakers

Immediately after buying a domestic "basin" hands do not always reach the point of replacing the "oak" acoustics of Russian production with normal ones. Having settled down, the owner slowly begins to adjust for himself. More often than not, it all starts with the rear speakers.

In most domestic cars, 18 cm speakers are installed at the back, and most foreign-made pancakes are 17 cm in diameter. This is where the question arises, how to make a podium for acoustics.

Well, now let's get down to business! Necessary materials:

• Chipboard - a piece of 80 x 80 cm is enough.
• There are two types of putty - regular and fiberglass-based.
• Epoxy.
• Carpet is a material for external cladding. The shade is matched to the color of the interior trim.
• Bulgarian.
• Jigsaw.
• Drill.
• School compasses and ruler.

First, the markings of the future base are applied to the chipboard. We expand the compass to 7.5 cm. This is the size of the inner diameter of the podium. We apply its markup. Then draw the outer circle with a diameter slightly larger than the inner one.

The distance between the two circles is the thickness of the walls of the future podium. Its value depends on the strength of the material and the power of the acoustics pancakes: the more powerful the speakers, the thicker the wall should be. On average, it is made with a thickness of 2-3 cm.

It is also important to find the optimal podium height. It all depends on the design of the rear shelf of the car and the height of the pancakes themselves.

Podiums for acoustics are cut out of plywood with a jigsaw, starting from the inner hole, where the pancakes of the speakers themselves will be inserted. Then we cut out the outer base. Then we adjust the standard shelf opening according to the outer diameter.

Initially, we fix the podium in the opening of the shelf using pieces of fiberglass impregnated with epoxy and applied around the perimeter. Additionally, we coat the outer diameter of the wooden blank with epoxy. Then we apply fiberglass in a thick layer along the junction of the joint between the inner and outer parts of the shelf. When it dries up, we additionally go through the fiberglass again, sealing up all the irregularities and cracks.

Now we will deal with the exterior decoration of the entire catwalk. First, go over the outer surface with sandpaper (medium grit). It is important to remove large bumps and bumps. Then we drag the entire workpiece with the carpet, placing it on the glue. After drying, we cut out a hole for the pancake, and wrap the edges of the constriction material inward and also put it on glue.

This technology can be used to make podiums for acoustics. The only thing is that before processing with fiberglass, you need to set the desired angle of inclination of the plywood blank. And the rest of the technological process is identical to that described.

Before making a do-it-yourself podium for acoustics, you need to decide on the choice of its design and basic materials. Regular building foam works well for this. It allows you to fill the volume of the form and create a flat surface on which the material of the outer constriction will lie.

Before creating the podium, first determine with all its dimensions. Then the future wooden base is cut out of plywood. Chipboard rings are attached to it at the desired angle, into which acoustic pancakes will be placed. After that, the entire space between the upper point of the structure (rings) and the lower edge of the base is blown out with foam.

At the same time, they try to distribute the mass of foam in such a way that it forms a falling surface. It is necessary that the angle of its inclination be as close as possible to the inclined angle of the wooden ring.

After the foam has set, its surface is leveled with a knife and coarse sandpaper. Then the surface of the podium blank for acoustics is covered with nylon cloth and covered with epoxy.

When the workpiece is dry, its shape is "adjusted" with fine sandpaper and putty. Carpet, leather can be used as the top finishing layer. Or you can just.

Outcomes

Of course, one can argue about the acoustic properties of such a "pedestal". But on the other hand, a home-made podium will cost much less, and its shapes can be given any shape.