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So I've seen a number of different speaker setups on the net to such as:

Mounting them into the rear shelf - not a fan of cutting into the metal sheet there.

2 speakers mounted in the wind breaker - again cutting into it, but also having both speaker so close would seem like it would unbalance the sound.

A speaker behind the seat, but mounted low and in the plastic mold on the side of the car. Has any one here done this one?

Some versions had small speaker mounted in the wind breaker (like the SE), rare though and hard to find, but not much bigger than a tweaker.

Any one come up with another solution? Not looking to install subs or anything, just to round out the sound

Tweaker? You have got problems!
It's a small convertible car, I don't think you will ever get decent sound quality.

Those small speakers in the SE windbreak did actually make a difference. Miata.net had some threads on upgrades to improve their effectiveness slightly. I kinda miss them since fitting the roll bar in mine, though I hardly ever have the stereo on most of the time as it can’t be heard properly with the top down regardless. The speakers in the headrests of the NA seats were the most effective I've experienced. Best fix - just fit a decent sounding exhaust ......

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KevGoat wrote:Those small speakers in the SE windbreak did actually make a difference. Miata.net had some threads on upgrades to improve their effectiveness slightly. I kinda miss them since fitting the roll bar in mine, though I hardly ever have the stereo on most of the time as it can’t be heard properly with the top down regardless. The speakers in the headrests of the NA seats were the most effective I've experienced. Best fix - just fit a decent sounding exhaust ......

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You could always do what I did and modify SE unit to work with the roll bar...
(That was actually quite a project)





The headrest speakers in the ND work well too.

I did actually do that in my NB8A - I can't be bothered in the SE



OP mentioned trying in the side pillars. I gather that's the seat belt tower? From memory, once the plastic cover is removed, there's no room behind. It's been a long time since I've had those panels off, so I could be wrong. Speakers cut into the rear shelf would surely be useless when the top is down covering them.

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You absolutely can have great sound quality in an NB, even with the roof down at 110kph!

Personally I wouldn't worry about rear speakers. I've looked where you are talking about and behind the plastic trim is only 2-3cm of depth to the metal.
Best thing you can do it get good quality front speakers (splits with seperate crossovers) in either 6.5in or 8in and mount the tweeters in the factory location.
Then power them with a decent powered amplifier. You'll be amazed how good it sounds with 100w RMS powering the front doors.
Add sound deadener (dynomat etc) to the inside of the outer skin of the door. Use a foam gasket to seal the speaker to the door. Trim the door card foam to sit flush to the speaker.

If you absolutely want rear fill and don't want a subwoofer, you could remove the metal parcel tray cover, build up the thickness on the front and mount 5.25 or maybe 6.5in speaker in each side with the magnets aimed down the tunnels each side of the fuel tank. This will require a decent amount of customising but will aim the speakers straight at the rear of the seats like the windblocker speakers do but in a larger size.
Alternatively you can get the speaker insert for this area (hakuna) but this aims the speakers straight up in an open top car...

Quality over quantity. Don't underestimate good quality amplified front door speakers. The setup in my NB sounds great at any speed with the roof down

Yeah the NA's in head rest were a great option. The current speakers struggle at about 80 with the top down, but it's fairly rare I get to do that.

This was the other spot, the back would go into the cavity between the outer metal of the car and the inner metal..

Yeah that's the spot I thought you were talking about. I'm sure last time I had the panels off I sussed it out and there was no space behind it. May have to revisit that seeing that picture. However that will be firing directly into the side of the seat. I'm not sure if any speaker will give decent output there, but it could work.
What speakers do you have in the front doors and are they amplified or just running off the head unit?

Ok you've got me intrigued now
https://www.miataturbo.net/general-miata-chat-9/custom-rear-speaker-install-few-pics-64424/
I google searched that image and found the original post on MiataTurbo. My memory is failing me because I dont remember there being a hole there, so thats good and that's where the depth comes from.
Doesn't say what size speaker, maybe 5.25? Doesn't look big enough to be 6.5in.
Also not sure how he's getting the speaker wire out of the cavity. I guess you could just drill a small hole for a grommet just next to it.
Is that cavity open/vent into the cabin or outside of the car or a solid sealed cavity? If its sealed, the volume would matter, too small a volume can cripple output of speakers but might be perfect for 5.25in or smaller full range speakers. Shame the original poster didn't report back for if the effort was worth it.
I'm going to have a closer look next time I've got the interior out of the car.

hmmm it's hard to describe, but it has a large (for a mx5) gap in there, you can easily fit your hand, there are also other pre-existing holes you could run a wire through. Jump to about 2:50 on this video for a better idea. https://youtu.be/frP_w7oRavo

Wow... I've had those side panels off heaps of times in the past and don't remember that hole being there!

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