| Les mentions a capacitor limiting the current to the headrest speakers as they are only 'fill-in' speakers. Having measured the resistance of the 4 ohm existing speakers and found it to be just over 3 ohms (therefore poss not knackered) is it poss that the capacitor has gone s/c ? Don't know if they do that !? Was just a thought before I invest in some new speakers. Also, does the capacitor have to be removed when the new speakers are fitted to stop the limited flow - and where is it ? Lastly, I have a pioneer sensory sound system (original I think) and wonder if anyone knows the power output as I suspect the door speakers I recently replaced are a bit below what they need to be. Oh, and really, this is the last one, the waterproof speaker covers - anyone know if they can be ordered from anywhere ? (11/99) |
| Do 10cm speakers fit? I've seen some people saying they don't. (11/99) |
| Just, I had to remove some of the foam in the headrest but otherwise OK. (11/99) |
| yep they fit! I bought those sony speakers for mine when halfords had the same offer about 4 or 5 months ago. check www.robpickering.co.uk have a look at the mods page to see how they fit. (11/99) |
| I took Halfords up on their "2nd pair half price" offer and got some Sony 10cm speakers. Buying anything by Sony stuck on my throat, but I know people have fitted these so I could be confident they'd fit. I'm going to have to pull out some foam, drill the thick plastic panel and also maybe pierce the leather. I'll try without piercing the leather first - anyone care to guess what it'll sound like? Are 4ohm speakers best wired in series? 2ohm at the amp is a wee bit low! (11/99) |
| Wire the 2 left speakers of both seats in series and do the same for the 2 right speakers. Makes 8ohm, but since they're rather close to your ears it'll work fine. (11/99) |
| Actually from the Halfords special order book you can get 8 cm round sony speakers 50 Watts which are replacements for a Fiat Punto. Naturally being smaller these require less foam removal from the headrest. Took an hour to wire and fit on my 93 SE. If you are think of getting them form Halford look out for the buy one pair get second half price. (4/00) |
| I've gone for JBL GTO402 (they won awards in magazines FWIW) at £40 a pair. Mine came from a specialist but I understand you can order them thru' Motorworld and Halfords. They have big magnets so you need to grind back the metal plate in the back of the headrest. (5/00) |
| JBL GTO402s e-v-e-n-t-u-a-l-l-y installed (much cutting of headrest metal plate/sponge/plastic speaker cover); would probably have been better to go for something smaller...GTO302s maybe.... Question: the headrest speakers are 4 ohm each.....I'm tired....how are these wired to the headunit? Does anybody have a Roadster audio wiring diagram? I'm conscious that the choice between series or parallel wiring has a big effect on the impedance presented to the head unit/amplifier and would like to get my head round the standard set up. (5/00) |
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For reference - the JBLs have 75mm magnets, a mounting depth of 48mm *AND* a tweeter which sits slightly "proud" of the woofer itself. The bottom line is that if you were to just shove them in and zip it all back up you'd end up with speakers held tightly in place but with serious risk of damage to the tweeter. In the end I cut: See: http://members.tripod.co.uk/yee_har/roadster/roadster_images/jbl_gto402.jpg (5/00) |
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If you wire them in series ( daisy chain ) you will result in 8 ohm impedance to head unit. BUT if you wire in parallel you only end up with 2 ohm impedance to head. So maybe get a pair of small 2 ohm resistors and wire them in series to each side so 2 + 2 is back to 4 ohm. Well thats my schoolboy electronics done, so the audio buffs can telll whether that is going to have any sound effect or can you just get away with presenting 8 ohm to head and just having less volume in the headrest speakers. (5/00) |
| What I want to know is do you put anything in between the speakers and the cover afterwards ie what holds them in place? (11/99) |
| The old speakers have a few screws which hold them in - no problems getting them out. You have to cut a little of the foam surround out of the existing holes, as the 10cm speakers are bigger. Don't go over the top though, because you use the foam to support the speakers. when you fit them in, the hard plastic cover and the foam surround hold them in place very tightly. They are loud, but not overly so. I alter the balance so the main volume comes out of the door speakers - unless the roof is down, then change the balance around and the stereo is nice and clear! I think they cost £30 odd quid from halfords - they do an offer every now and then which is buy one pair and get the second free! So have a look around for when this offer is back on, then you can get both sets for £30 ;o) (11/99) |
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Given the acoustic properties of the MX-5 with the hood down
(cr@p!) I intend to upgrade the speaker system so that you can
actually hear the music that you are playing! I have seen the
Headrest speaker mod by Chris Lewis on MX-5 On-line, and don't
fancy this approach for two reasons. Is it possible to mount two speakers on the rear parcel shelf area or the vertical part between the seats? If so, do you need to attack the area with a Jig Saw?? If the Jig Saw is necessary, how easy is it to damage the fuel tank? I am not after anything too Boy Racer ish, just something desecrate to make it easier to hear the stereo whilst cruising topless. By the way I also use a wind Blocker, (Moss Oris) will this affect the sound at all as the speakers would be behind the screen? (12/99) |
| Go to miata.net and check under the garage section for audio replacement. I am sure someone there has done what you are proposing to do with a detialed writeup. (12/99) |
| I've bought some 10cm sony speakers for the headrests. The speakers were a very tight squeeze in the headrests, the ones I got had four mounting lugs round the cone, I had to cut them off straight away, after that it was a simple case of swapping over the wiring and pushing the speakers in. There is a huge difference already but I'll get most benefit when the hood is down - I'll be able to hear the radio at 60+ for a change. The actual speaker is made from plastic not metal so they should be ok in a crash, the zip on cover is hard plastic and I've hardly trimmed the foam in the headres, If anything I think they would be safer that the original metal speakers and hard plastic speaker cases with sharp corners. (12/99) |
| Golly, I just finished clearing up from doin exactly that. I cut a pair of corners off each speaker, drilled the plastic cover to let the tunes out. and ran wiring down through the seats. I then discovered I was out of crimp connectors so didn't get around to wiring back to the CD/radio. I'll buy some more crimps tomorrow and pull out the armrest and centre console. I'm looking forward to some NIN through six speakers! (12/99) |
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I finally got around to buying some Sony 10cm speakers from Halfords and started fitting them today. However, I can't quite make them fit. The magnet has a slightly larger diameter than the rectangular hole my old speakers came out of. This pushes the speaker further forward than the originals, so it seems I have two options. 1) Leave out the plastic cover that goes between the speakers
as the leather. I don't really fancy doing the latter, but if I leave out the plastic cover are the speakers likely to get damaged? What methods have others used in this situation? (5/00) |
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I fitted these to my car about a 2 months ago. They do fit but are very tight. If you trim the blue plastic corners off of the speakers and use a bit of force but not enough to damage the zip, all will be fine. Although it may be more difficult with leather. Make sure you replace the plastic cover on each headrest as this is what holds the speaker in place. If you did not have speakers in there already you will need to put some holes in the plastic (not the leather) to let some sound out. (5/00) |
| I finally replaced the speakers today. I couldn't get them to fit without judicious use of a hacksaw which no-one else has mentioned. Maybe my car is different, my speakers are different or I'm stupid ;-). Anyway, its done now (well, almost). The sound is so much better (not suprising when you see the original speakers). I recorded the process for posterity and if anyone is interested it can be seen at www.lane.demon.co.uk/speakers.htm (5/00) |
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Fitted some Kenwood 4 inch speakers into the drivers headrest last night (11pm in the dark) and have a few questions. Does anyone know how Mazda wired them in Japan?? The ovals I took out (crap paper cones) were all marked as 4 Ohm - same as the replacements. Surely a pair running from a single channel would present 2 Ohms to the head unit??? They were also rated as 5W peak which is much less than the head unit is rated at - does this mean that the power to them is restricted in some way? The new Kenwoods are much louder than the old ones but I haven't changed the cables or anything other than the speakers. They do sound a bit tinny but they are so small and close to your head I suppose that is to be expected. I'm not sure if I have wired them correctly as well, both old speakers had two wires to them one with a white stripe. I assume the white stripe is the ground as it is common to both speakers. If I've got my + and - the wrong way round will it make any difference to sound or damage the speakers??? The Kenwood 3-way 17cm 's I put in the doors sound very good, but I'm also not sure whether I've got my + and - the right way round on those. Until I look at the back of the head unit I won't know for sure. These weren't cheap so I'd appreciate a warning if I'm going to knacker them running them wired wrongly. Has anyone fitted a sub in the boot?? Does it make much difference or is the boot well insulated from the cockpit?? (5/00) |
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will it make any difference to sound or damage the speakers??? Not at all. Just make sure BOTH speakers are wired the same. I'd appreciate a warning if I'm going to knacker them running them wired wrongly. Not in my experience. Although if one speaker is wired differently, you CAN notice the difference...I can't describe it, you just can.....the soundstage sounds really funny, particularly in a car where you're in a confined environment. Is there any way you can trace the cabling round to the back of the head unit ? Or is the wiring spliced somewhere along the cable run ? Does it make much difference or is the boot well insulated from the cockpit?? In my MK2, I reckon it would make quite a difference. I think this is one for those ICE chimps that already have one installed. Anyone care to comment ? What DID make a difference to my boot was the deluxe boot carpet that Coventry Mazda sold me - 5 times thicker than the standard piece of felt, well made and a nice shiny MX5 badge on it ! God, I'm so vain !! You don't even see the bloody thing... (5/00) |
| The speakers are wired correctly in phase with each other - you loose all the bass when they're out as one is pushig air as the other pulls. I need to know whether it matters about having the + and - the right way around. If it's right or wrong on mine then it's like that for both door speakers. I've bought some self adhesive sound deadening mats from Europa which are the size of a sheet of A4 each. I plan to line the boot under the carpet to cut down on the road noise and the exhaust noise. I was also thinking about doing the rear shelf under the carpet as it's cheap and easy, however this would make a sub in the boot even harder to hear ! (5/00) |
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Does anyone know how Mazda wired them in Japan?? If Roadsters are like Miatas in this aspect, Mazda has wired the HRS wrong. There is a good explanation on how to correct the Mazda wiring on Miata.net. It makes a BIG difference. (5/00) |
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A couple of bits of advice on speaker phase from the Miata. Net archives: Jeff Anderson (from Miata.Net archives) has sent this little phase test to the Miata mailing list. Try it out and see what you think: To check for proper phasing between the two speakers play the AM radio (assures mono) and listen as you move your ear between the two speakers for the lack of a phase null between the speakers. To go one step further, swap the two wires on one speaker and redo that test to see that you have a phase null between the two speakers. For the H.R. speakers to sound best they must be in proper phase not only with each other, but also wit rs you connected. h the door speakers. So, run the same type listening phase test between each door's speaker and each of the speaker. Another bit from the Mike Pietrzyk on Miata.Net archives: To test phase polarity, take a AA 1.5 volt battery and affix a short wire to each polarity. Then touch each of the two wires to the connectors on the stock speaker. If the speaker moves inward, the polarities are backward. If it moves outward then you have it right. Then look and see which connector on the speaker had the + from the battery and match that to the wire on the stock harness from the car. (5/00) |
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This is the question I asked a few weeks back. Still not sure I understand and have been busy with other car to worry. The way I see it is that they're either showing the head unit/amplifier a 2ohm load (parallel) or an 8ohm load (series). If not a "specialist" head unit/amplifier then the former is likely to be bad news and the latter mean the speakers are being fed less than they're capable of (not necessarily a bad thing). Does anyone know how Mazda wired them in Japan?? The ovals I took out (crap paper cones) were all marked as 4 Ohm - same as the replacements. Surely a pair running from a single channel would present 2 Ohms to the head unit??? Not sure - although might be tied in with "series" connection/8ohm load? 5W (as you say)! - maybe fine for the stock head unit but ours isn't and maybe that's why they were torn to ****! They were also rated as 5W peak which is much less than the head unit is rated at - does this mean that the power to them is restricted in some way? Not sure this has been answered yet? The battery test (see end of mail) will prove the speaker polarity but not the wiring. In my experience the wire with the "trace" is the negative. The Kenwood 3-way 17cm 's I put in the doors sound very good, but I'm also notsure whether I've got my + and - the right way round on those. Should make a difference yes. The boot/cabin tunnels help. Can I recommend (go on, let me...) http://www.eatel.net/~pbabin/elecdisc/caraudio.htm I find this really useful - diagrams, working models, stuff on general electrical stuff etc etc. The section on speakers includes the battery test (5/00) |
| See stereo under www.quithel.co.uk .. full wiring colours etc. (3/01) |
| I want to install speakers in both headrests of my UK '5, but the Mazda connector from the head unit only has + and - wires for left and right rear speakers. Now I want to install both sets in parallel not series in order to tidy up the wiring going up the back of the seats. People comment that if you wire two 4 ohm speakers in parallel you will get 2 ohm at the head unit which could be bad for the head unit. My electronics experience is even less than GCSE, so what do I need to do to allow me to wire the speakers in parallel? Is it a case of using a capacitor or resistor? Where would I place such a component in relation to the rest of the wiring? (8/00) |
| I asked about this when I changed my head unit and headrest speakers just in case the OE Japanese ones were 8 Ohm or something like that. Basically it sounds good with a pair of 4 Ohms in the headrest wired in parallel to my Alpine head unit. Not sure about the wiring whether it is standard parallel or has something done to it as I used the existing connections in my Roadster (8/00) |
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Just fitted an amp to my front speakers and going to change the rectangular headrest speakers to some co-axial 3.5". Looking to disconnect the volume reducer to the head rest speakers. Anyone tell me where this is located? Somewhere, in the wiring, there is some sort of resistor (or similar) that reduces the volume before entering the head rest speakers. I want to remove this so my headrest play at full volume and I can control it from the head unit. (7/01) |
| There is a resistor on one of the two speakers, in each headrest. AFAIK though you have to take the speaker out of its plastic holder (you'll see what I mean when you look inside the headrest). This is a sod to do, but it does come out eventually. Be warned though, these tiny speakers aren't really designed for hte full range, and could potentially blow :( (7/01) |
| Yeah, but he is replacing the crap paper jap speakers with some 3.5's (JBL ?) so just needs to cut the wires and solder on the new fittings. Not much slack in the cable though so cut close to the OE speakers. Also, remember the little 'uns don't have the same power rating as your fronts (probably anyway) - I blew an Infinity reference 4 inch headrest speaker on half volume with my small JBL amp. (7/01) |
| I am fitting Pro-Plus 3.5", great quality and hugely under priced, (£25 pair) So what do I do to run the 3.5" at full power??? Cut the resistor out of the cable and patch in the 3.5"? Or just chop the rectangular speaker and connect up!? (7/01) |
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I am going to remove and chuck the originals, got some 3.5" co-axials to replace them, so should handle some more power and give a better frequency range. Not be playing loud volume through them, as it is too close to the ears and would distort the sound staging. However, I find that the resistor cuts just a tad too much, so much so that the head unit is struggling to supply a clean signal due to the high volumes on the unit, yet the actual speaker volume is low. I have wired it so that the door speakers are powered by a 2 channel amp, and the headrest will be head unit powered. Do you know how the speakers are wired? Does each headrest: |
| Someone was asking about this recently. This link could prove useful: http://www.lane.demon.co.uk/speakers.htm (8/01) |
