How much clearance behind drivers?

[sanaka]

Hi

It's my first Cultish post!

I've been lurking for a little while, and got some help from ThomasW over at Tech Talk. I think I'm on to a workable idea for an IB installation in my new house I'm building.

I did use search and read the FAQ's, so sorry if I missed it and this is one of those Q's that gets asked all the time.

The arrangement I'm thinking of puts the 'rear' (frame and coil side) of the drivers into a shallowish space. So how shallow is too shallow? i.e. what's a rule of thumb for minimum distance between the back of the rear plate of the driver and a wall surface? Thanks!

Peace,
Sanaka Thompson

Kona, Hawaii

[ThomasW]

A basic rule of thumb is no less than 12" or so, more is obviously better.

Can you post pictures of the install location and the wall?

In situations like this I can frequently figure out an alternative way to build the IB, or a different way to orient the drivers.

[sanaka]

Thanks Thomas

I'm working on a drawing and will try to post it soon.

The box the drivers would be mounted in is ~16" deep, which would only clear ~8" with the drivers in it. I can turn the drivers around and point them inwards, but would prefer to have the faces rather than the 'works' exposed to the crawlspace, which itself is open to the humid atmosphere here in Hawaii.

I'll give more thought to a downfiring arrangement. I could get 12" clear easily and the cabinet would actually be smaller. It's just the installation would be much harder, plus there's the horizontal mount sag factor.

Peace,
Sanaka