There are several ways to test deadener and its installation. The testing has been going on for years. Please refer to the link'd info.

The research should be done before taking on such a project. The use and application of deadening materials is not a mystery. The information is readily available. Hell, just look at how many times it's been referred to in this thread and how few folks actually read it.

 

^ Thanks for the link. Read all the pages. I will be ordering some product from this place to stiffen up the EVO doors and keep out unwanted sounds for music purposes.

 

Looks awesome.

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So, I just did some research does this Dynamat really work? How does it compare to FATMAT?

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Did you read the thread?

 

Sure did, but as I researched it saw just as many reviews online from people who thought it was hype.

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<sigh> Well...if you'd read the thread you would have seen comments relating to the very same question you asked, and a link reposted several times that explains the impact of deadening materials and their application. Taking this a step further, if you would have read the link'd info, you would have realized that plastering deadening materials all over the interior is pointless. As such, the job doesn't "look awesome," as you asserted in a previous post. The thread is only 3 pages long. Please read it.

 

the inside of the car is all shiny, I like shiny. And I followed the link, and while SDS gives some great info he doesn't compare his product to other commercial items, ie. FATMAT or dynamat?

 

Sorry, what?

Again, read the material. Don, from SDS, was solely responsible for testing every deadener on the market including the ones you mentioned. There's also a plethora of information that can be had on ANY car audio forum, again, relating directly to your query. In this very thread, I personally discussed Fatmat and its complete lack of effectiveness. Essentially, any deadener that's asphalt-based is useless. This includes Fatmat and all other cheap crap that folks install in their cars. OTOH, SDS, SS, Cascade, RAMMmat and a few others do offer a quality product. This product, however, is not used in a manner exemplified by the OP.

 

If you want to reduce sound, asphalt based deadeners are NOT worthless. You can argue, and most likely correctly so that there are better alternatives - but if you want to reduce your intake of sound, they DO work. I know this from my own vehicles as well as friends, with amounts that are nowhere near what the OP has done.

 

There really isn't anything to argue about. Asphalt-based materials accomplish a solitary function - mass-loading. If the material is seamlessly installed - which doesn't seem to be the case - it can provide a fairly mild sound barrier, virtually unnoticeable and completely ineffective next to using the right material for the job. Lead works best, but it isn't terribly practical. MLV (Mass Loaded Vinyl) is the better alternative. The metal is first deadened by placing a some quality constrained-layer deadening in the center of a panel, then MLV laid on top, glued together end-to-end, as to provide a sound barrier. MLV is lighter the lead, but it still weights ~1lb/ft2. FWIW, deadening rigid parts of a vehicle like the shock towers, molded metal, etc makes no sense at all.

 

FJF,

So what your saying is use one of those CLD metal panels to break up the reasonance in the center of the door for example (the 25% of the item in question, from the SDS link) then covering it with Dynamat or similar material? Would you consider Dynamat a MLV or a CLD?

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MLV is a material onto itself. It looks and feels like a sheet of very heavy rubber. Honestly, I don't know if I'd go for the full measure on an Evo. We have truly awful cars for audio. Interior config-wise, the Evo isn't too bad. Even the path lengths (from the speaker locations) are almost equal. The problem stems from the car being loud, really loud. I'm not even including an aftermarket TBE. The noise produced by the car, itself, effectively kills any hope of achieving decent sound. Quieting it down doesn't really make sense, due to the sheer quantity of material and its weight.

 

So should we go woth louder speakers?

 

You bet! Now, try finding truly sensitive speakers.

The stock speakers are very sensitive, and don't sound half-bad driven by a good front end. Unfortunately, most aftermarket speakers are not sensitive regardless of how much their respective marketing departments play with the specs. I'm actually trying to find some sensitive drivers that aren't meant for SPL/PA use. Not having much luck. It wasn't always like this. Going back 10-15 years, before the Chinese started offering very inexpensive amplifiers, the bulk of car speakers were indeed highly sensitive.