1990 EUNOS ROADSTER MX5 1.6 headrest speaker question

Hey guys!

I test drove a 1990 EUNOS ROADSTER MX5 1.6 today and it was a little rough but very fun to drive. I noticed as I messed with the settings that the headrest speaker was just blown out so bad, all you could hear was bad feedback and static. Obviously, for a 30-year-old car, I didn’t really expect much less but the car did have a fair bit of aftermarket parts on it.

My question for all you Mk1 owners is, how do your headrest speakers work? Are they nice? Are they easy to replace? Any other tips about MK1 ownership and mantainence appreciated!

Thanks

The standard headrest speakers are small rectangular ones of a type you might find in a TV. You can buy replacement drivers cheaply from electronics suppliers or for a little more from mx5parts (they also sell the complete speakers and loom but that’s a lot more expensive). But many people choose to fit larger round speakers instead (which mx5parts also sell) and usually report a big improvement, though I haven’t tried it myself. It does involve carving away a bit of foam inside the headrest.

Access is dead easy as the tops of the tombstone seats just unzip and then there’s a perforated plastic cover which lifts off the front.

In early cars it was common at least in North American Miatas for the headrest speakers to be miswired from new, so they only ever sounded tinny and quiet. I don’t know how common that was in other world markets but worth checking if you can.

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You will find the paper has disintegrated. I replaced them (there are two in each headrest) with 2 x 4" speakers and had to carve a bit of the foam out to get them a tight fit. The seat cover keeps them snugly in place but I added some hot glue gun to them as well.

When you have finished, Hiding a key is sensible. I have, in the past, on a couple of my first cars (Austin 1300 and Type 2 VW), screwed a key to the plastic liner under the wheel arch and then covered it with a quick spray of black paint.

Whilst working on the new headrest speakers, I thought that the speaker compartment would be a great place to put a cut into the foam and wedge a key inside. It would not be visible if someone unzipped the headrests (why would a thief do that anyway?). It is relatively easy to unlock the doors in any case as you can ( sensor rest of sentence ) - this would be a convenient emergency solution if you have lost or locked your keys in the boot (it happens!).

Anyway, back on topic

These are the new speakers that were bought from eBay - under £35 for four speakers (you will need two each headrest).

Speakers - 2 pairs required

This shows how the speakers will fit on the “lid” inside the headrest. As you can see, there is just enough room for the two 4" speakers to fit side-by-side. I did not want to have anything sharp in the headrest, so did not use screws or bolts or anything that could impact with my skull in an accident - out came the new glue gun - it takes 2 and a half glue sticks for the job, by the way.

Speakers positioned on the lid.

IMG_0145

IMG_0148

The connectors on the original wiring were identical to the tags on the speaker, one small and one large female spade connectors, so no rewiring required.

For reference, taking the photos, uploading them, resizing and writing this post took almost more time than the job itself.

A very easy job, no electrical knowledge required and a 1000 percent improvement to the ICE.

Jeff

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Fantastic breakdown!

Thank you for taking the time here this will help a lot. Seems really affordable and honestly wish my NC had some of these as the idea is great.

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