Anyone use the foam/boom mat style speaker baffles?

[flyin-lowe]

I upgraded my HU and am upgrading the stock 6x8 speakers. Not going to add an amp or anything.... Someone recommended the speaker baffles, mainly for weather protection for door speakers. Like everything else it seemed like a no brainer so I looked on Amazon and Youtube and see a bunch of conflicting info on them. Some say they made an amazing difference in the sound, some say they ruined the sound. Many people say you need to cut holes in the back of them so the speaker is not sealed, etc. Needless to say it is hard to read the reviews and figure out if they are worth messing with or not. They are cheap so that is not an issue. Curious if any of you audio guys on here have any input on them, especially in this situation where I am just doing a basic upgrade.

 

[SenorNoob]

Most automotive speakers are made to work an open soundstage. Boxing them in can do funky things to the sound. The common exception is subs. They generally require a restricted airflow to "direct" the sound where you want it. That said, if the speakers aren't too hard to remove, I'd experiment. I've used disposable bowls behind speakers, and stuffed cavities in the body with plastic shopping bags for better sound with my cheap stuff.

 

[flyin-lowe]

After reading many mixed opinions I opted to not worry about the baffles. Given this is not a high end system I decided it wasn't that big of a deal. I had some dynamat sound deadener left from work I did on my Chevy square body. I went ahead and put some of that inside the door behind the speaker. Not sure if that made any difference or not. But the 4 new speakers are in and all is well.