Ron.Colby

Hi Guys, I hope this is the correct place to ask this question. I have a 72 Cutlass Supreme convertible. I installed 6x9 (high quality)speakers for the 1st time. The car didn't any rear speakers when I restored it. Anyway, I installed them onto the metal support behind the rear seat, facing them into the convertible well area, pointing them into trunk. They don't sound good at all. Should I have installed them facing into the back of the rear seat? I thought that would have muffled the sound worse than facing them into the well. And, when the top is down, they sound really muffled. So.....I really need your expertise.
I look forward to any help you can give.
Thanks in advance for any guidance you can give. It will be greatly appreciated.
Best Regards,
Ron

oldcutlass

They need to be facing towards where you want the sound to go.

mrolds69

Consider this...if you turn them around, the magnets will stick out and break the rear glass when you put the top down.

rcorrigan5

Hi Ron,
I would say you are right on all counts! Yes, the speaker(s) are supposed to be aimed into the convertible well area. Yes, they aren't going to sound very good because they are off to a rough start from the beginning as the well muffles the sound. And yes, when the top is down, you can hardly hear the rear speaker(s).
I have a '69 convertible with a factory AM-FM stereo radio. When the top is down, half of the sound is effectively gone.
I also have a '68 convertible with a factory AM-FM radio (non-stereo) with the rear speaker option. At least when the top is down, I still get all of the sound out of the front speaker!
Convertibles of that day weren't really configured well for the rear speaker or stereo option. During that time, most cars just had a single front speaker AM radio. It took a few years for the convertible rear speaker design to develop into a good quality sound.

Randy C.

dalilama

You could always do this - not my thing but it apparently works for this guy as long as he has no passengers in the back seat...

Fun71

Yeah, the factory convertible rear speaker location is not optimal. I put a pair of 6x9 speakers in boxes and wired them with quick disconnects so I can move them wherever they work best. I can put the speaker boxes on the back seat, the floor boards, in the top well when the top is up (sound great there - sound reflects off the back glass and the well acts as a resonance chamber for the bass), or disconnect them completely and put them in the trunk if I have back seat passengers with the top down. I did this back in the 90s and have been very satisfied with the setup.

Ron.Colby

Thanks everyone. It looks like I installed them correctly, and faced them in the right direction. I guess I'll have to get use to the reduced sound quality that the 60-70s convertible design allowed. The car originally had only a front speaker. I guess I now understand why. Thanks again for the fast response!

Fun71

There was an option for a rear speaker in addition to the front dash speaker - notice I said "a" rear speaker. I rectified that on all of my cars the same as I did with replacing bias ply tires with radials.