Despite The Price, Dynamat Extreme Is A Convenient and Effective Damping Solution!
Written: Sep 24 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Super effective, easy install- can make your system sound like its entirely new and improved!
Cons: Expensive, but well worth it, for reasons in the review!
The Bottom Line: The most overlooked part of a quality install- and sadly so. This can bring SO much more out of a system, worth every last penny!
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| nick1326's Full Review: Dynamat 10415 10 x 10 Xtreme Vibration Damping |
As a mobile-audio system enthusiast for over 15 years, and now a professional custom installer for about the last 6, systems have come a long way and so has technology. Sadly, the knowledge basis of enthusiasts has not come along nearly as far as the technology. This is sad because too many times have I seen people invest substantial sums of money on better componentry to try and reach a next level in sound quality or power/volume, but either don't know or don't want to spend money on trying to create a better foundation to work on... Case in point- A guy comes in with a few grand to plop down on a new head unit, amp(s), speakers, sub and the install, but doesn't even consider that idea of making the interior or the automobile more sonically usable!
The interior of a car is aboslute NOT an ideal environment to dump lots of cash on a system- but of course if you like music and want good sound, it just doesn't matter. However it is important to realize that an car's interior is a sonic nightmare- acoustically, a true mess- you have funky curves and corners, not to mention seats and upholstery to soak up sound. On top of the accoustic disadvantage of a cars interior for audio purposes (as opposed to a room in a house) exterior noise is absolutely damning to a stereo system. Over the last few years auto manufacturers have come light years ahead of where they were in terms of making interiors quieter and less suceptible to road and other external noise, however when you get into high-bucks custom installs, even the quietest interiors leave alot to be desired... THis is where Dyanamat's line a sound-damping products comes into play, and where "Dyanamat Extreme" (their top-of-the-line material) excels!
Outside noise can be looked at as a type of interference with the sound produced by your system's speakers. The presence of noise waves offset the presence of musical waves eminating from your speakers- this may cause you to have to turn your system up to compensate for the noise- in doing so, you may be playing your music at levels which can be damaging to your speakers. Additionally, high performance high-output speakers can emit some powerful waves, which can move your car's sheet-metal panels quite easily. Take door panels, for instance: If a door mounted woofer produces a kick-drum sound, it is going to vibrate your door panels in some way shape or form- the panel is effectively soaking up energy from the sound wave making it less potent. All of these issues can be alleviated with the application of a vibration damping solution such as Dynamat's "Extreme" sheets.
Dynamat Extreme is one of my favorite solutions for these purposes, despite being priced a bit higher than most others on the market. Extreme is available in all different sizes and styles, such as the 10" x 10" squares listed above. However the most popular and most adapatable style are the 4sq foot sheets, which cost about 35 bucks each. This sounds very expensive, especially compared to regular original dynamat, which costs about 19 bucks for a comparable sheet. However extreme provides 4 times the damping properties of original dynamat, and is a tremendously helpful way to get more out of your system! With it, you can effectively play your system at lower volume levels, but ACHIEVE higher volume because of the absence of noise- you also perceive a cleaner sound because you aren't hearing as much noise-interference! What this means is that Extreme is a win-win situation, and even at what it costs, can save you money because you'll be getting performance out of your speakers that you didn't know was possible! Don't believe me?...
Consider that a 3dB difference in sound is absolutely audible- it is a noticable difference. Applying a full dampening sheet on your door panels can reduce outside noise by abour 4 to 5 decibels! Sometimes even more, particularly on economy cars, where everything is tin-thin and feels and sounds it. Hear's a great test- before applying the door panels, sit in your car with the doors closed and have someone give the door a rap with their knuckles from the outside. Listen to how loud it is, an unmistakable "DOONK" that you can't miss. Now Dynamat the doors- do the same thing and you'll hear a substantially muffled little "thump" which is soaked up by the damping materiall and not only is LOWER in volume, but also goes away quicker- the damping material soaks up the waves quicker!
Application of dynamaet is super easy, and Extreme is easiest of all. Adhesive back and readily applicable, simply cut the piece out to approximate size, peel the backing off, stick it on the door panel and press to secure. Then trim out the spots which need to have holes *(such as speakers magnet locations) or spots where wires have to pass back from inside the door panel out *(such as the leads for your power window/power locks). HINT: It helps to cut the piece to approximate size then either mark the hole areas OR put a slit in those areas with a razor blade- you can peel a little up through the slit and trim accordingly, without leaving a gap in the material where you should have coverage!
The two most immediately helpful areas to dynamat in most typical installations are the door panels and the rear-deck... ususally these place are where the insterior speakers are located AND where a substantial amount of road noise and vibration can be eliminated. If you want to go further, you can do the roof (underneath the headliner), firewall, interior floor and trunk-walls. Doing an entire car will cost quite a bit- but for about 100 bucks you can do the deck, doors and a bit of track walls with 3-4 sheets- I can assure you, this is a great way to start, and you may be so pleased with the results you may quite easily decide that this is all you need to do. One of the best parts of the extreme is that 1) It doesn't have a tar smell like original d-mat or any other asphalt based products. 2) Unlike original d-mat or others, it is more pliable and doesn't require a heat gun- it goes on quick an easy- cut, stick, press and trim- throw the door panels or other facade on the coverage area and your set.
Having used this more and more, I can tell you it is ABSOLUTELY invaluable. Before spending hundreds (maybe even thousands) more trying to squeeze out more decibels OR trying to get a cleaner sound and bette rsound quality, spend 100 bucks and do-up your cars interior walls and listen to the difference- it is so amazingly different, you will feel like you have a whole new system playing- SERIOUSLY. Extreme is an integral part of every install, or at least it should be! If more people knew about the drastic improvements Dyanamat could afford a system, I imagine alot of retailers might be going out of business, because more guys wouldn't be bothering to be new components- they'd realize they could get quantum-leaps MORE out of their existing stuff and just buy that dampening mat instead of new amps or signal processors! Try it out, the improvement will blow your mind!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
nick1326
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Location: Long Island, NY
Reviews written: 232
Trusted by: 93 members
About Me:
Music, Motorcycles, Drumming, Surfing, the finest cigars and living life to its fullest...
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