I have a 54-plate mk2.5, probably still with original front speakers. I don’t feel the quality is that great - lacking in an decent bass sounds. Does anyone out there have any recommendations as to good quality speakers? Is the removal/re-fitting reasonably straight forward?
Hi,
I found that the original speakers where fine, but I needed a more powerful head unit to power them, and for a bit extra bass I also add a slim sub behind the seat. Also putting some rear speaking in (a sound board), will help bring the sound out of the foot well and back closer to your head.
I have also fitted a couple of subs in the boots of MX5’s and they sound ok, it means you can use the front speaks for high’s and mid range, and use the sub for bass, this way you can work the front speakers harder.
I am sure many people have upgraded the front speakers and hopefully someone will be along soon with an answer for you.
I’m thinking of buying the upgrade speakers from MX5 Parts but think I’ll need a more powerful head unit. When I had my mark 1 Euros i fitted after market speakers and head unit and it completely transformed my drive. I think the speakers cost about £40 from MX5 Parts and are more than powerful enough for the car. Add a midrange head unit and for £150 you’ll find it makes all the difference.
I agree a more powerful head unit is the best way to go, when buying an aftermarket head unit aim for a middle of the range one, high end head units have limited internal amps (as they assume you will amp all speakers), low end ones have no power, if you can get a good amount of power to the normal speakers they are actually quite good in a mk2.5.
Ian 
Thanks for your comments/thoughts so far. Ian & Claire, when you say ‘I think I’ll need a more powerful head unit’, what exactly do you mean there? I would add that quite soon after buying my MX-5, I swapped out the original double-din unit (as it was only a cassette-radio!) and replaced it with a SONY CDX-GT23 player. This offers 4 x 45W (at 4 ohms), as max power output…
I fitted these JVC speakers from MX5 Parts and am very pleased with the tone and volume
You will have to cut the standard plug off the speaker wires and fit spade terminals.
http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/250w-door-speaker-upgrade-mk2-25-35-p-2154.html
4 x 45W (at 4 ohms) is good enough, the original head units are terrible, sorry I missed you had already upgraded to a sony double din. Mine is 50 x 4 and is enough to power the mids and highs in the doors, then a little behind the seat sub for a little kick. JVC speakers from MX5 Parts sound like they are worth a try.
One of these will just about squeeze behind the driver or passenger seat (you need to remove the ISO fix baby seat mounts that is just four long bolts). This will stop the seat going fully backwards.
Biggest benefit of having it behind the drivers seat are:
You can reach the volume control while sitting in the drivers seat (not while driving of course)
You get the best back massage when you listen to drum and bass :-)
Just an idea, you can buy them for less online, just shop around.
I’m experimenting myself atm - went to halfrauds and bought the Vibe Slick 6c component set which are the best they sold, already had an aftermarket headunit.
Sound still isn’t ideal but once you get the door panels off you’ll notice there’s a lot of empty space behind the speakers. I’m thinking she could do with some decent sound-damping like dynomat etc to keep the sound inside the cabin.