Flush Mounting vs Surface Mounting

[adwilk]

Just curious... I'm looking at a simple project to start but at the moment i'm kind of lacking the the resources to route the recesses for flush mounting. Its for a pair of monitors for my office and i'm getting the DIY bug once again. All the other speakers I've done have been flush mounted but i've never really known the exact whys. Can i surface mount? what are the cons?

 

[Swerd]

Just curious... I'm looking at a simple project to start but at the moment i'm kind of lacking the the resources to route the recesses for flush mounting. Its for a pair of monitors for my office and i'm getting the DIY bug once again. All the other speakers I've done have been flush mounted but i've never really known the exact whys. Can i surface mount? what are the cons?

Surface mounting is most important for tweeters with a large mounting flange, about 4" diameter. Read this link. Surface mounting woofers causes less problems.

The way I cut a flush mount recess is to use a plunge router, a circle cutting jig such as a Jasper jig, and a ¼" spiral up-cut bit, but any straight bit can do it. There are other ways to get this done, depending on which tools you have.

 

[Swerd]

Whoops, I left out something.

When cutting a recess to flush mount a speaker, I first cut the large diameter recess with a 1¼" mortise bit and a circle cutting jig. When that is cut deep enough to allow flush mounting the tweeter flange along with any sealing gasket, I then switch to a ¼" bit and cut the smaller diameter hole through the front baffle.

 

[j_garcia]

The tweeter's frequencies are much more susceptible to surface interactions which is why flush mounting can make a difference. So it depends on how accurate you are looking to get in terms of response from this particular speaker and the driver chosen as to whether or not flush mounting is necessary.

 

[adwilk]

sounds like i'll be just fine, i'm using the the HiVi tweeter mounted atop the cabinet... sweet...