The "ultimate" MX5 NA audio system install

Hi all,
I have spent most of the lock-down building the best possible audio system for my beloved MX-5 R-Ltd.
The research done for this project was even more time consuming than the actual install. So I thought I would share what I have learned.

Hopefully this can act as a useful guide for any fellow audiophiles out there…

See link below to my blog for the install. Please feel free to get in touch of you have any questions etc.

https://rubicksjourneys.wordpress.com/2021/04/05/mazda-mx-5-miata-the-ultimate-car-audio-system-install/

  1. My model of MX-5 is: NA R-Ltd
  2. I’m based near: London
9 Likes

thats brilliant @NickyNoodles …how is the bass after all that ? do you get any thump and feel?

The bass is really good, it’s feels like it is surrounding you, it also really feels effortless and clean.
The tone isn’t mega low, as you would expect from the cone sizes, but tbh I don’t really want mega low down bass.
On something like “Welcome to Jamrock” it really sounds pretty special.

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that’s good to hear - and that’s a good reference song for my type of music too!

my thoughts on amplification were to:

  1. amp the front component speakers with an aftermarket amp
  2. amp the rear sub
  3. leave the headrest speakers unamplified

thoughts on point 3 above?

That is a viable option, although I opted to amp all speakers - as it meant I routed them all through the head unit’s pre-amp RCA connectors.
You could switch the amp into 2-channel mode and just drive the door speakers with it -that may give you a better sound.
That said - your limiting factor with the door speakers is still damned resonence, even with all the sound proofing, so in practice you might not be able to gain too much more.
Certainly worth experimenting with though!

I was thinking of a 3/4 channel amp … 2 channels front and the other to the subs … I would then run the headrest speakers from the head unit amp

As for the components it would be great to mount them on a custom baffle pod on each door but as you say in your awesome guide clearance is the biggest issue … where did you buy the soundproofing from ?

That would work sjoshi, you need hardly any power to your head rest speakers, so your set up sounds good.
I got all sound proofing from Ebay - both the silent coat and the silicon.

What I didn’t mention in my write up (I forgot), I also stuck a couple of pieces of rubber draft excluder on the sides of the dash - where they contact with the door.
I’m not sure if it’s the same for all of these or it was just mine - but a LOT of squeaking came from the sides of the dash rubbing against the door (at the height of the wing mirrors).

Happy to help if you have any other questions - good luck! I really enjoyed my project, I think sourcing the parts was just as fun as doing the actual install.
If you’re lucky you may be able to find the subs used on Ebay - I manged to find one of mine ‘nearly new’ which helped me save a few quid.

If you’re looking for a 5" sub cone…

This is the older model - but looks good for the price

Alternatively, I found this on Amazon - the reviews look good - if you want to go for something that is a little better on the budget . These would happily fit in the same place I put mine…

Nice writeup, NickyNoodles. I was particularly interested in the headrest speakers as my current Mk.1 has none. The picture of the plastic shell from your headrests is curious because mine are different. Yours has mounting points for speakers but mine is an empty shell perforated with drilled holes.

I don’t know whether it’s a leather seats vs fabric seats thing or a different audio system option but yours is the first I’ve seen which mounts the speakers on the plastic shell rather than in the seat itself. It certainly looks like a better option than the small rectangular speakers most of those I’ve seen got from the factory.

I don’t suppose anyone knows if that type of plastic shell is drop-in compatible with the fabric covered tombstone seats? If I can find one it would make life easier.

Hi Martin,
Could you take a photo of your head rest?
My covers have 4 mounting screws that attach it to the seat, it looks like your one has only 2 in the centre (as shown).
Nothing is impossible, but I guess this would be a bit of an issue in terms of swapping your cover for a cover as per the ones I have.

The front covers inside the fabric* tombstone seats don’t have any fixing screws at all. They are just held in place by the tight fabric cover. As it happens I’m in the middle of fitting some speakers to mine right now. I’ll post some pics of what I did when I can.

*I’m assuming the different cover plates are a fabric vs leather thing but it may be something like a different option of audio system instead.

Here’s that pic of the insides of the headrest I said I’d post:

They’re moulded and have fixing points for the small rectangular speakers of the type my previous car had (you can find them on mx5parts website).

I used a garden cane to pull the new wires up through one of the holes in the vinyl where a hog ring fastens the seat cover together and there’s a handy slot in the back of the foam for a neat cable entry at the top.

I used a slim screwdriver to punch through the foam into the front cavities and then carved out a couple of semicircles to fit 3½" speakers (Alpine SXE-0825S). I was a bit concerned about retaining the speakers and whether they would buzz against the plastic front shell, so I cut some speaker rings from 6mm neoprene foam sheet and glued those to the rims of the speakers. On reflection 3mm foam would have been a better choice; the speakers are a pretty tight fit and 3mm would be plenty to make sure the tweeter element of these concentric speakers doesn’t touch the shell in front.

Really cool project! Not to be an ■■■■-critic, but I really do wonder if those 130mm woofers in that very small space add real bass depth when there are already 2 165mm woofers in the door with much more room to breath. Obviously the quantity will benefit from it :slight_smile: In my NC I have used 2 8" Audison midwoofers, which easily get down to 40hz without too much of a drop off on the frequency curve, even 35hz is audible. But at 35hz the drop off is quite noticable. I use the same amp as you do, behind my shallow 2din head unit. Unfortunately mine has a “plop” sound when it goes on and some slight white noise mostly audible at very low to no volume, a very known problem with these amps. I only discovered that afterwards. But the performance is great.

For those wanting better sound without adding too much weight (which was a concern to me), you don’t need to stick your car full with damping materials. The biggest gain for sound is had with trying to make the door air-tight and by sticking some damping on the outer panel of the door on the inside. I think I have put 2 mats on it to get most of the movement to disappear. Also, I have used a bit on the door cards to eliminate some rattle.

2 Likes

Looks impressive, nice work! Focal speakers are excellent, but just watch out if you use their crossovers as quality control on those has been known to be their weak point…I had one fail myself and it was fitted in an area that was a pig to get to.

I’ve always been a fan of decent car audio and have spent many thousands over the years, but much as I’d love to get something decent in mine I just can’t justify the cost and effort in an environment that’s so ridiculously noisy to begin with (and predominantly from the soft top that can’t really be soundproofed)

That said, if I end up buying a new MX-5 I’d definitely have the premium audio option

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Well, it’s a matter of how you look at it. I bought a different head unit not only for sound quality but also for better functionality. So say you only spend money for a small class D amp and a nice set of speakers, you don’t need to spend more than 250-300 besides a different head unit. You will then have gains that can easily be heard even if it’s noisy. But I understand what you mean, for the reasons you gave I would not spend 500 on a set of speakers. Those gains vs more affordable after market speakers will be a lot harder to hear.

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Yeah that makes sense, my problem was I always went too OTT. In the last car that I kitted out myself I spent about £600 just on the sub, enclosure, and mono power amp, never mind the rest. Bass was incredible, the rear passengers got a free back massage lol, but I only kept the car 18 months and I’ve had 4 others since, so unless I buy something I intend to stick with longer term…

This sounds like a pretty tidy install!
How do they sound?

The two woofers really make a night and day difference to the 165mm woofers in the door.
They would probably make an even bigger diference if they had more space to breath, but they are most certainly good enough, plus I have my full boot space available for things like engine oil, jump leads, and a random shoe that my friend left in there around 2 years ago.

The headrest speakers make a huge difference to intelligibility of speech podcasts (my usual listening these days) at motorway speed when the door speakers just get a bit lost in the noise and the buffeting wind. That was my main aim and I’d call it a success. Haven’t actually tried them with music yet.

Might work better still if I was shorter; I’m really a bit too tall for these Japanese tombstone seats.