To sound deaden or to not sound deaden?

[DARBADARBZ]

My car from factory came with 0 sound deadening material, no fabric or anything in the doors.

I have Rockford Fosgate R1675X2 in the back, Rockford Fosgate R169X and Kicker H631SFJ101 in the front. I also have a sealed Skar SVR-10 D2 down firing in the back.

I was thinking of sound deadening the floors and back of the cab. What about the roof? What kind of sound deadening material, AmazonBasics, Killmat, Noico? What thickness or does it matter?

And my other question was, I've heard that people have put in sound deadening and it made their audio sound really bad, throwing frequencies off and reducing bass. I included a picture to show my vehicle so I'd love to hear opinions, and will my sub sound better if the floor underneath was sound deadened?

I'm a super noob so any responses I'd love.

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[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I consider acoustical vehicle treatments to be as important as any other audio component in the system. For me, it is the majority of the work I do on an install. You can see what I do for treatments in my build logs.

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I have moved to Resonix products, and Nick has a lot of great information on the usage. Check out his Resources page: https://resonixsoundsolutions.com/

Treating vehicles does not make the sound system worse. Systems with a myriad of problems, or systems that are poorly designed, will chase issues and I have seen some blame their issues on deadener - but it's a misplaced claim.

 

[spokey9]

I've never heard a legit complaint about deadening hurting sound quality...I've heard people blame deadening for not fixing everything wrong with a system though

 

[HardofWhoring]

Sound deadener is not going to hurt your sound, and it's not about making your equipment sound better: it's about trying to block out the other noise. It's about trying to make your "sound-stage, cleaner", which will make you hear your system better. I think of it as the Adult Mod for your stereo. It won't make it louder, it will make it so that you can hear it better when it's quieter. It's not going to change how your equipment sounds, it's going to change the environment where your system plays.

It's trying to block the sound waves that are creating ambient noise around you. Drive with your windows down, and put your stereo on the lowest volume you need to hear it. Give it 15 minutes to get used to it, then put your windows up. That should give you an idea of what deadener will do for you. Same as sitting in your house with the windows open and the volume as low as you need to, to hear it. Then after 15 minutes close em, and hear the difference.

You want to put it between you/your speakers/your sound stage, and all the other noise you hear while you are driving. Most people start with doors because it helps to block noise from other vehicles. Putting it on the floor will stop road noise, tires, exhaust. Back wall will help a little with a loud exhaust, but that and roof are usually the last places to do. (It's not that you shouldn't there, but the doors and floor are where you will notice it most, and then it becomes a question of how much money and time do you want to invest to improve the sound stage).

It will also help if you have thin tingy sounding metal. It will help to stop that if applied on it.

The thicker stuff is obviously better. I can't think of one you can't stack to achieve the same results. Some vehicles have tighter tolerances, don't want the weight, or to spend the money. IMO, on pickups, go for it.

The only thing to really know about sound deadener is there are two types: butyl and asphalt. The asphalt stuff is what they put on roofs. It doesn't last over years and it stinks like tar. Butyl is the better stuff. It's what is designed to be in your cars. There are a lot of brands, and varying thicknesses. Dynamat is probably the biggest name, and you pay a slight premium for it.

IMO, start with the doors, then do at least some on the floor. I would suggest a minimum of 25 - 30 ft which would do the doors and some of the floor. 50 ft should be close to the doors and most of the floor. From there you'll probably get hooked enough to do more.

 

[Firewalker]

The stuff the OP listed is asphalt based and all iirc by the same people. Resonix is the top rated sound deadener around right now across the board via independent testing on the facebook group The Deadening. Guy who runs it takes every known sound deadener and does a ton of testing using his own money and equipment. Resonix is always on top. From there they go down. Check them out for a list of what is best right now. There is good quality stuff out there if you don't want to pay for Resonix. I would just stay far away from the stuff you listed originally.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

I would do min. as possible if its a Leased vehicle or if I do not consider keeping the vehicle after paying it off. I like the Fat Mat 80 mill sound deadner. Prep and clean the area being done with Alcohol works well. Cut and place the areas wanted, and Id recommend using a heat gun and a roller to make sure it sticks well for whatever deadner you choose. Just warm it up to get it sticky not within the melting process, but warm enough to roll and it will stick much better than not using a heat gun. You can do 2-3 layers on the doors usually. one layer works just fine. id do the doors, entire floor, Back doors, and back fire wall.