Headrest Speakers - Has any tried these?...

ll_spud · Postby **ll_spud** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:01 pm

Hey Guys,

Just wondering if anyones tried or brought these? They are from NZ and are pretty cheap.

I've looked around locally and havent been able to find anything that would fit into the headrest.

Considering $AUD is strong at the moment, i'm contemplating on getting these.

http://www.mx5mart.co.nz/db.cgi?db=mart ... records2=1

Let me know k guys,

Thanks.

Juffa · Postby **Juffa** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:15 pm

While the ones from MX5mart are same shape/design as the originals, I would go for something likes these.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.as ... BCATID=609

It is my understanding that that 4 inch speakers will fit, you may have to remove some of the foam to do it though.

Oh, and as you proabably already know...you need to speakers per seat....could get expensive.

J

Jeo · Postby **Jeo** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:23 pm

Most 4" speakers will fit however I'd recommend against headrest speakers in general. I spent quite a while researching and even trying a bunch of different options and eventually just removed them completely. Spending the money upgrading your door speakers will end up sounding much better.

ll_spud · Postby **ll_spud** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:40 pm

Thanks for that guys. Quick reply.

The ones from NZ are approx. $30 AUD for the pair. Quite cheap. And they fit perfectly.

I'm not too keen on putting tweeter in my headrest. I'm not a big fan of too much treble.

I've looked online, and found good reviews for the USA Clearwater headrest. But they come to approx. $200 USD for the 2x pairs. Bit too much.

Has anyone for any good or bad feedbacks on sound quality of headrest?

I've searched the previous post, and noticed your not such a big fan Jeo..lol

I currently have a good pair of door speakers, just dont like pumping them up soo loud so i can hear the sound from my head.

I dont mind putting 6x9's in the back parcel of the seat, however, if the MX5 is designed with headrest speakers, shouldnt i ultilise that space instead?

Let me know k guys.

I've never had headrest speakers before, and like the idea of it. Has anyone had any first hand experience? Good and bad?

Cheers,

LUke

Jeo · Postby **Jeo** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Why yes I have had some first hand experience :wink:

Quote from this thread

Jeo wrote:Just for the information of others contemplating this themselves..

I did end up having a listen to a car that had an amplified set of aftermarket speakers in their headrests, and I wasn't a fan. They were far to bright and overpowering for my tastes, but that may have just been how the owner had them setup. Either way, he loved them.

Since there were too many factors that were different to how I would have used them, I decided to basically disregard that and talk to some of my local car audio stores and get their advice.
One of them was nice enough to let me test fit and listen to a couple of sets of speakers, physically in my own car. Best way to audition speakers EVER! Tried every combination of wiring the speakers to the amp, played with crossovers and equaliser settings for about an hour or so, nothing sounded quite right. It was about this point that the installer who was helping me said that he had installed headrest speakers in a number of MX5's over the years and never like the end result.
Always nice to have the person with experience agreeing with you

... and this one

mx52nv wrote:When I was building my car, the sound from any headrest speaker was just not going to cut it for both my ears and SQ competitions. I ended up making custom A-pillar mounts that were angled for the optimum sound stage and auditioned over 10 different 2 way (tweeter & woofer) separate component speakers before deciding on a set of the Focal Utopia speakers.

Of course, the power and clarity was very much reliant on the Xtant amp and Nakamichi CD700 but the point is that I was not ever going to be happy with the headrest speakers.

Listen to different set-ups of other Miata/MX5 owners in your area and decide what you like and suits your budget.

Essentially if you want to be able to hear you music without turning it up reasonably loud, headrest speakers can help. Your quality will suffer however. Best advice I can give you is just as mx52nv said, try to find some owners with a similar setup already in their car and have a listen. It will certainly be the easiest and cheapest way to find out if you like them or not.

Juffa · Postby **Juffa** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:07 pm

As with many things in life the use of head-rest speakers is a personal thing. I have not used them in any of my 5s. I have tended to upgrade the head unit, speakers and amp....and ignored the head-rest speakers (i.e. not wired them in). I'm happy enough with my system.

Having said that I was in the US of A 3 years ago, and had the chance to drive a limited edition Miata with the Mazda MSSP system installed. This had the usual door speakers, head-rest speakers. It also had body sonic transducers (bass shakers) built into the back of each seat. From memory the head-unit is different to the normal OEM, and I don't believe this set up was available on cars imported by Mazda Australia. For a OEM system I thought the sound was great, and almost convinced me to experiment with head-rest speakers....haven't done it yet.

J

ll_spud · Postby **ll_spud** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:25 pm

What do you guys think of these for headrest?

3.5" speakers. So they should fit snug into the headrest.

http://www.ryda.com.au/category-s/73.htm

As far as specifications, I dont know what it means.

Which one would be a better choice, value for money wise?

Cheers,

Luke

Hammer · Postby **Hammer** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:37 pm

Not that these are cheaper alternatives, but in case you want to replace them with the same type speakers, try these from ebay.

With our dollar so high at the moment, it's very good buying from the US.

ll_spud · Postby **ll_spud** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:26 am

Hey Hammer,

That looks good. Have you actually brought them yourself?

Any reviews on quality?

Cheers,

Luke

Hammer · Postby **Hammer** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 10:38 pm

I've got no personal experience on them.

I'm now tracking my Clubman, so I've decided not to install any headrest speakers - it just adds weight. But when I was considering putting some in, I would have purchased one of their kits. And since the Clubman didn't come with headrest speakers, I also needed the box mounts. So one of their kits that included one was perfect for what I was after.

Looking at Miata.net, they seem to recommend them highly.

ll_spud · Postby **ll_spud** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:57 am

Cool, thanks for that Hammer.

If the price is right, i'll give it a bid.

And hopefully, they'll be alright. I'm not looking for spectacular. Just ok is fine with me. As long as they're not crap..haha.

Cheers,

Luke.

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 9:16 pm

Well if you have still haven't tried the headrest speakers, I scored some cheap way back. Finally got around to putting them in (or will). I'll be able to tell you this week how they went. As to what they are, I'll have to get back to you on that. Car got Canaried so it's at my brothers place getting 'fixed' so I can get it inspected, speakers are there too. So yeah, I'll let you know how they sound and what they are when I get it back (hopefully around Tuesday).

I've never tried the headrest speakers, so I guess I can't give you an opinion but from what I understand; it's one of those things where you either like it or you don't. Everyone has their own mindset about it from what I've read. So the only way you are probably going to know is trying it yourself.
To be honest, if I could give you advice.. If you can get your hands on a set of cheap but decent headrest speakers, pick them up and wire them in yourself. If you like having the sound drilled into the back of your head, great! you scored, if not, just ebay them.

Goodluck with whatever you decide to do!

ll_spud · Postby **ll_spud** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 9:28 pm

nanotech wrote:Well if you have still haven't tried the headrest speakers, I scored some cheap way back. Finally got around to putting them in (or will). I'll be able to tell you this week how they went. As to what they are, I'll have to get back to you on that. Car got Canaried so it's at my brothers place getting 'fixed' so I can get it inspected, speakers are there too. So yeah, I'll let you know how they sound and what they are when I get it back (hopefully around Tuesday).

I've never tried the headrest speakers, so I guess I can't give you an opinion but from what I understand; it's one of those things where you either like it or you don't. Everyone has their own mindset about it from what I've read. So the only way you are probably going to know is trying it yourself.
To be honest, if I could give you advice.. If you can get your hands on a set of cheap but decent headrest speakers, pick them up and wire them in yourself. If you like having the sound drilled into the back of your head, great! you scored, if not, just ebay them.

Goodluck with whatever you decide to do!

Looking forward to your reply! :wink: