waterproof loudspeakers

[blackbeard]

Have two of these on my boat, installed by a previous owner, about 5 inches in diameter, made by Maxxima Marine. They work fine, and are completely waterproof in the rain sense of the term.
However. Should any water ever get through it will go into bilges/accommodation which could thus be a problem - one of many - should the boat ever get laid flat / invert. If the water pressure removes the diaphragm I will then have two 5 inch diameter holes through which the boat could flood. Does anyone know if the loudspeaker diaphragm is likely to be tough enough to prevent this happening?

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[pvb]

Probably be the least of your worries...

I'd think the diaphragms would resist a fair amount of water pressure. And, in the circumstances you mention, leaks through the speakers would probably be the least of your worries!

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[jackho]

An interesting proposition - forces me to think where else the H2O can enter in this situation and conclude air intakes, cockpit seats etc. My response therefore is to conclude that while the Mylar (plastic type) diaphrams might shear from their housing at some point - the greater water intake from other sources would create a problem long before a diaphragm failure. Anyway food for thought.

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[Talbot]

If you are concerned about this, there is absolutely no reason why you could not put a fibreglass box behind the speaker, with a proper grommet for the wiring, and thus waterproof this possible access point.

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[gunnarsilins]

Glass fibre box

Remember, such a box must be fairly big, rigid, and damped. Otherwise it will colour the sound and create a lack of low frequency response.

Most speaker elements for use in cars and boats are designed for use in what´s called an 'infinite baffle' which means they are supposed to be put in a car door, cockpit coaming or the like with a unspecified volume behind the speaker. The suspension of the membrane is quite stiff and when put in a smallish box the low end response will be weak.

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