I'm here to inform you that Dynamat is NOT the way to go when it comes to sound deadening/damping your car. It is an asphault-based material that can be purchased at wholesale prices all over the internet. Dynamat just stamps their logo onto generic material and over-emphasizes their claims on their product’s effectiveness.

The simple message: All Dynamat does is add weight to the surface applied upon, thus changing its resonant frequency so it won’t vibrate or rattle. This stops the movement of the applied surface, and enables sound waves to move more AIR rather than metal (or whatever surface Dynamat is on). When more air is moved, stronger and cleaner bass is the result. :)

Two Types of Sound Damping:
Mass Loading: Adding weight to a surface, changing its resonant frequency and eliminating virbrations. Also absorbs vibrations and converts it to negligible heat. (Hi-Temp Mastic, Dynamat Original)
Barrier Loading: More expensive, but more effective. Barrier loading actually BLOCKS sound and turn vibrations/rattles into heat and absorb acoustical energy from sound waves. (foam, vinyl, insulation, viscoelastic materials)

There are much cheaper alternatives to Dynamat. Here are some good online stores to purchase from:

- McMaster-Carr Supply Company http://www.mcmaster.com
* Hi-Temp Mastic, Item # 9709T18 (equivalent = Dynamat Original)

A variety of sound damping materials (heat shield insulation, rubber-based damping, foam insulation, etc.)

- JC Whitney http://www.jcwhitney.com/
- Parts Express http://www.partsexpress.com

RAMMmat is a product that is supplied by Rick McCallum. It is a foil-backed adhesive material that has the same effectiveness (and more stickiness) than Dynamat Extreme. I have used four rolls myself, and from personal experimentation, IMO, it is the best material on the market. His usual price is $65 + shipping (UPS), but he’s been having a deal in August, $55 + shipping, and a discount on multiple rolls.

The guy to e-mail: raam@raamaudio.com. He is very friendly and is willing to help you, even if you don’t buy his product.

This is not an advertisement, for those of you who are being picky about it. It's just another option.

I hope this helps all of you in purchasing your sound damping materials more wisely. Good day.

Unless you are in the car audio industry "Turd" you have no idea what you are talking about...

Maximadave

i know you have been a big RAMMmat fan for a while but i really hope you are not making the stuff up of dynamat beign useless cuz so many ppl use it.....i for one will prob not be getting dynamat bec of what youre saying. not to say that i'll be geeting RAMMat either but to show you your thread does have an influence....so plz, i hope you are not making this up

Wow... this looks a lot like free advertising... Hmm...
I use bquiet myself. Works good, doesn't stink like dynamat.

maximadave, I'm just trying to save some people's money. I'm not trying to do anything harmful. And I've been associated with lots of people who are involved with very professional installations.

It's not that hard to see that Dynamat is a ripoff...


I learned a lot from elitecaraudio.com.

While I'm not in the the "Car Audio Industry" myself (although I used to be), I tend to agree with Turd. Its a commonly known fact that Dynamat is a ripoff at the price it costs. And everything he said about the brand IS true. I have Dynamat in my wifes car, and even though it was installed properly, I have had a few problems with it wanting to stay, and there was a strong asfualt smell for about a week. I myself use RAAMmat and it is a very very good product, as is the BQuiet. and the roll I bought was actually cheaper than the 10sq ft Door kit I purchased for my wifes car. Interestingly enough, ther used to be a guy on here by the anme of Deathwish ( before most of you guys) that had a large writeup on his webpage on sound treatment, and he had very similar things to say about that wonderful brand Dynamat. If anyone that IS in the "Car Audio Industry" doesnt like anyone badmouthing Dynamat, its because they know that once people find out that its no better than everything else out there, they're going to loose profits. So my recommendation is, unless you REALLY know what your talking about( and not just sell stuff in a chain store), listen and learn. Better yet, go to a forum like forum.elitecaraudio.com and read up alittle on the "Car Audio Industry"

man...DONE...no dynamat for me....EVER....i have now officially stopped looking for cheap dynamat on ebay...and it smells too? funk that..

Thank you Riggy. I appreciate your cooperation.

BTW, if you're interested in RAMMmat...I can send out a few samples in an envelope w/ no charge.

thanks a lot....thats very nice....i will get in touch with you once i find somebody willing to help me with this project....

Take on the project yourself...That's what I did! :laugh:

no no, it's great that you're trying to find a friend. If I had to do it all over again, I'd find a couple of friends that were generous enough to donate their time/effort/sanity towards my car. :D

I had a daily log of my sound deadening project, it totaled to 250+ hours. Imagine how it would be if I had even one other guy to help me. But then again, no one knows about car audio here. :D

I doubt that Turd:rolleyes:

Well, MaximaDave, what is it that you doubt? That he did the work himself? That it took close to 250 hours to do it? I know what he did because I helped him out online as much as I could, as did a few people over on EliteCarAudio, so I know what it took for him to do his system. And since it took me about 100 or so hours to do my 2 rolls of sound treatment and layer of carpet padding, I could see him taking that long to use 4 rolls and multiple layers. But you must excuse people like him and I since we arent in the car audio industry like some people are :D......

I'm doubting Turd's quote, "But then again, no one knows about car audio here". I'm sure RAMMmat is good stuff and I'm sure his car audio system sounds good but when someone starts talking about, "Nobody knows anything about car audio on Maxima.org", it makes you think that he really doesn't use the Car Audio section of Maxima.org. Just ask any of the guys here on Maxima.org on the stuff I've been hooking them up on gear and sending it directly to their doorstep or picking it up at one of my stores by their house...

Maximadave

Hey Dave,

Just drop it, k? :D What I meant by "no one knows Car Audio here" is no one has any knowledge about car audio in my neighborhood!!!

I would never ever put down people here on maxima.org. I know we're all here to learn, and it'd be idiotic of me to say such a thing.

And yes, whitemax did help me a great deal. I couldn't have done this project w/o him. I think I still have all the e-mails, and it would probably total to around 40+? haha :D

oh and BTW, 250 hours on the whole system install, not just sound deadening :D

Ok everyone, it's time to put on a happy face here and stop the insanity!!! :D

Turd congrats on your system and thanks for the info on RAMMmat. When you get some more pictures of your system, please post them!! I'd be interested to see the rest of it.

Maximadave, dude where's all the hate coming from?? Turd is just trying to give his opinion on RAMMmat, I know he did it in kind of a negative way, but you don't need to say he doesn't know what he's talking about. Hey, I've been into car audio now for the past 8 years and I know that Dynomat isn't all it's cracked up to be. There's another product out there, some kind of a roofing material, I believe it is ice gaurd or something like that, I can't remember off the top of my head, but people have been using that for years instead of Dynomat, because it is basically the same stuff, just without the Dynomat name. You can put that in your car and have the same lovely asphalt smell for weeks.

I think we just ned to stop bashing on each other and try and make this a nace place to learn more about car stereos and what others have done to have successful systems. Okay, I'm done....off the soap box now!! :D

from my reliable sources i have heard of this Brand called Cascade which costs less than Dynamatt, weighs less, and does just as good if not better of a job as dynamat does, and its not asphalt based... so you dont get that crappy smell in your car

yup, Cascade, IceGuard, I forgot about those. Sorry. Those are also alternatives to Dynamat Original.

I think Cascade is a great product. Its made for an auto interior, and they have all types of products. Sprays (in different strengths) mats, and even pads that go behind the speaker basket to improve bass response. :D

anyway, thanks for understand dusty. And well, yeah, I guess I did "diss" on Dynamat in that negative way you were referring to. But anyone who tries to defend Dynamat might as well work for them, lol. I'm just saying that there are soooo many more alternatives to Dynamat, and I don't want anyone to waste their money on it.

Thanks.

I bought 2 rolls in May or so, and I went back for 3 more this August, and I gotta go back for 2 or 3 more again in Sept.

Whats that say about RaamMat? :)

BTW, Rick's car is solid as a f'n rock..

Turd, totally OT here, but I love your name!! Anyway, you are right and I totally understand what you were trying to do with your comments. I just felt that you were being kinda harsh there, but hey you have opinions and feelings, so go ahead and express them. The main point you were getting to was that there are definite alternatives to Dynomat and everyone shouldn't be blind to that fact. I appreciate your comments and the spreading of your knowledge and experience with RAMMmat. Thanks again!! :D

Damn, talk about overkill! Hey Dave have you seen or heard Ricks car? I really want to get some opinions other than his on the Rainbow Ref. 6.5" 2-way he's got. I'm really courious as to how an $8k 2-way can sound! Of course with all the raammat we've been buying, I'm sure he can afford it :laugh:

I just go to HomeDepot and buy minimal expaning foam... workd good for me...

im not gettin dynamat just because it its like $300 for good guys to install it in just the trunk. im too lazy to do it myself. anyone want to put mine in for cheap?

Turd, Thanks for the info. As much as I travel through road construction, I don't want a constant reminder of it. Then on top of that, as much as I have a ish fit when tar is on my car, why
When I get ready to do the full monty as far as a car system is concerned, I will definitely be considering the alternatives. :D

ALL of the products you guys have mentioned work.. dynamat works, and it does the job well..but it DOES have drawbacks. (yes, you're buying a brand sticker with 80% of your money).. and yes, it does smell like tar inyour car for about a week..I noticed it in my GXE for most of the summer after it sitting in the sun all afternoon in 110+ heat.. but as soon as the A/C was kicked on, the smell was gone..

when installed correctly, you don't have much problem of the stuff peeling up either. mine did in a few places, but it's because the metal underneath was dirty and the stuff was stretched to the point of almost tearing.

my next system will be installed using raammat also, as I've heard lots of good stuff from manyother places too. but it won't be the only thing I'm using. it just doesn't cut it.

and yes, RaamMat still works much in the same way dynamat does.. it adds mass to the metal to lower the resonance frequency, but it also does absorb the sound waves somewhat.. still relies on the tried-and-true ideaof mass loading started by Dynamat.


As for who's been in the industry or not, that's not much of anything to go on.. I've been "in the industry" on a consumer level for close to 15 years. I've been a professional for a while and sold dynamat and other brands- they all work pretty much the same (again)..
I've competed seriously in IASCA for a while..not doing it currently because of school, but when I get my current ride done, you can be damn well assured you'll see me on the podium at IASCA finals next year.

Wanna try and challenge anyone's "qualifications" now? You never know who you'll run into. (And no, I'm not saying I'm the end-all, be-all car audio guru, but I DO know more than most installers out there)

Who are you talking to?

Sorry but I had to quit reading posts way up to avoid to overkill of 'you don't know what your talkin' about' crap. The truth is that there has always been and will always be alternatives to the name brands. You can but raam mat equivalent at Lowes, $12 for 12sq ft. And there are far to many places to list on this net that have other dampers, absorbers, and blockers. 3M has lead layered tape to name one, try topping the density of lead.

dynamat
 

Look

I know RAAMMat is good stuff, a lot of people who know what they're talking about have said that, so I believe it.

But I don't buy the fact that Dynamat is a ripoff because mostly of what I've been told by others but ALSO my personal experience with it. I'm extremely pleased with it in my car and think is has helped quite a bit.

Further, it never ever smelled even a little bit, so I don't know what you guys are talking about.

:rolleyes:

They are talking about the dynomat original which is a roofing material with a scent similar to tar paper. Kinda like Owens Corning Weathergard.

:wall:

Re: dynamat
 

The reason why so many feel that it's a ripoff is the fact that it doesnt do a better job for more money. Just the same job. That's all.

Re: Re: dynamat
 

That is probably a valid point, but it's COMPLETELY different from what Turd said at the beginning of this thread.

Interesting
 

Since I got my Dynamat at a good price I can't understand the problems you all have with it. I have a friend who works at Circuit City, so I got the 129 roll for 55. I love Dynamat, since I haven't heard any others, but I noticed huge differences in it.

I do have a question, what do you mean by, Possible Sticky?

K

Re: Interesting
 

he means it's possible that the dynamat can sneak thru the door and stick to your skin forever. Unlike super glue and stuff, Dynamat can never be removed from human skin.

Just a heads-up

http://www.mpz.co.uk/cwm/cwm/cwm/errrr.gif

Re: Re: Interesting
 

ok, lets end this and stop flaming.... everyone is entitled to their own opinion/experience with the product... its like the question of who makes the "best" subwoofers?... everyone likes certain kinds and has their own biases... so lets just end this, they're all good brands and they all do the job

Thanks Shugarhi.

Maine, I was never trying to say that "Dynamat sucks."

I said that it's just a simple asphault based material, and alternatives can be purchased at extrememly much lower prices than Dynamat's.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Well, not all the RaamMat is for me. I plan on using 2-3 rolls in my car, but I haven't even had time to start on it yet. I've used .5-1 roll on my gf's integra trunk, it worked awesome. The rest is for my max, and a friends accord.

We're both waiting on the IDMax... (same shipment)

As for the Rainbows, I didnt get to hear them. Rick was setting his car up for the 2nd IDMax, custom console, blah blah blah.. hes got more speakers in that front cab than my whole car, easy..

I'll hear them next time im down there (this month) pickin up more mat .. can't wait. :)

My friend who picked up my first 2 rolls (goes to school @ UCSD) got to hear them.. he said theyre the best hes ever heard. You can point to an area of glass and say "this is where that instrument is coming from" .. cracked me up. :)

Ya, I've heard they are unreal for imaging. But for $8,000 a pair, I'd better to be able to not just hear where they're at, but see the bastards too!!!!! :laugh:

raammat
 

just a few questions about this stuff.

how much is this stuff and where can i get it at a good price?
how much will i need to cover my trunk? (maxima trunk of course)
and what tools will i need to tackle this project?

thanks for any info.

Re: raammat
 

Okay....I know that Dynamat isn't all that it's cracked up to be from experience...and everything that is said above seems logical and right to me. I've been meaning to look for dynamat alternatives, only i've been too lazy to do it. And that crap on ebay isn't worth it at all. One thing i do know (also from experience and not for advertising purposes) is Brown Bread...it is seriously [b]THE SH*T[/]!! I've never tried this rammat but from what i've heard about it, it's pretty impressive. Could you send me a sample of it please?? i'll email you the address.