Speaker Baffles, Necessary? (1 Viewer)

Are foam speaker baffles necessary. I noticed that when replacing my factory speakers, they were a little wet from the rain storm the night before. I just put in some aftermarket alpines in the doors and wonder if the water would damage them in any way. I am referring to the XTC brand found in Crutchfield that surrounds the rear of the speaker and repels any water or dust plus improves the sound somewhat.

Many people agree that although they do protect your speakers from water, using the xtc baffles may decrease your midbass response. This is because you are taking a speaker that is (probably) an infinite baffle design and making it play in a small enclsure. My suggestion is to get some and play around with them. Here are some ways I have seen them used, depending on the speaker in question you might have best result with any one of them.

1. Use baffles w/ or w/out polyfill inside
2. Use baffles w/ 2-3" hole cut in the back w/ or w/out polyfill
3. Take one baffle, cut it in half, use one half on each speaker on the top side, as a sort of "roof"