Sound Deadening - What it does and how it works.

As you're browsing our site, you've likely noticed that there is an option to add sound deadening to your Stage 1 speaker package upgrades.

Well, what is sound deadening, and what does it do?

The material itself is little more than an aluminum backed charcoal layer of varying thickness with an adhesive attached to it. We use this material in the audio world to do one thing, and that is to control unwanted resonance. When we mount a speaker to a door panel, we want all of the speakers' energy to transfer into an outward projection of s0und. By adding this sound deadening material to the door panel or area where the speaker mounts, we're adding mass and therefore dramatically decreasing the chance of any resonance occurring throughout the area.

This yields more accurate midrange and midbass frequencies, as well as less perceived distortion. Further, the chances of rattles coming from door panels or kick panels creeping into the system is dramatically decreased, as the sound deadening material controls this energy and disperses it.

How do I install it? It's pretty easy, believe it or not. Y

ou'll need one of two things; A heat gun or your wife's hair dryer. We need to apply some indirect heat to the material in order to properly activate the adhesive, as well as increase the pliability of it. I recommend cutting the material into rectangles approximately 4"x6" and working with them independently, as you can better mold the backs of the panels using the smaller pieces. You want to focus the highest concentration of the material around the speakers' mounting points, and if any material is left over, spread it out from there.

In most BMW's, it isn't necessary to apply the material to the rear deck speakers, as there is more than enough insulation and sound deadening material back there already.

You want the majority of the material that comes with your Stage 1 kit to be focused on the front doors, as that's where the majority of the midbass is coming from. That's it for now. Off to the dealer to do some super secret test fitting. Keep posted!