it's important to prevent the pressure produced on opposite sides of the cone from interferring with one another.
you may not need it if the speaker is in an airtight cavity such as a tender along with an airtight seal between the speaker and the face it rests on.
when used, there should be an airtight seal between the baffle and the speaker
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
From what I know about speakers, I think the baffle is good, as it is with home stereo speakers.
Speakers need an enclosure to sound right.
You could do your test, and try with and without.
Mike.
My You Tube
I use a baffle/enclosure on all of my speakers, it increases the low frequency response. Where possible I have the speakers mounted in open holes.
This particular tender has a pair of 4Ω speakers in series and has outstanding sound.
The tender below has a cheapo speaker and a PVC pipe cap as the housing.
Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
This TCS speaker came with the baffle as shown. Should I use it? The screen grab from Solo Contracting's YouTube video shows the install without the baffle. Would the volume of the tender shell be better than the baffle?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu1gLY9PDMo&t=175s&ab_channel=SoloContracting