Miata Mailing List: April 1995, Message #17
sponsored by



     


   From: mbooth@cts.com (Mark Booth)
Subject: Speakers..speakers..speakers???
   Date: Sun, 2 Apr 1995 00:32:57 -0500

I'm in the process of doing an audio upgrade to my Miata and I need some advice
on speakers.  I purchased the factory CD player today and will be installing it
later this evening.  I was planning to purchase the Clearwater door speakers
and possibly the Clearwater headrest speakers but decided to research lower
priced alternatives.

My criteria, in order of importance are:

 1. Absolutely, I want to leave everything looking stock.  No door
    tweeters, etc.  In addition, I don't relish the idea of drilling any
    new holes to mount the new speakers.

 2. Next would be sound quality.  I want a noticable improvement in
    the low end (bass) vs. stock.  I'm slightly less concerned about
    an improvement in the midrange and highs but this is important as well.
    My gut feeling is that just about ANY quality speaker would be an
    improvement over stock in these areas.

 3. My final concern is price.  Granted, I would love to find speakers
    that meet #1 & #2 above but sell for 1/2 the price of the Clearwaters
    but if everyone agrees that Clearwaters are the ABSOLUTE way to go...
    then I'll shell out the bucks.

Note:  I have NO plans to add any additional amplification.  If the speakers
can't cut it with the stock amp then I don't want 'em.  The stock
radio/cassette puts out plenty of power to drive reasonbly sensitive speakers
at levels to make me happy.  (What is the power output of the factory radio
anyway?)

I glanced through an old Crutchfield catalog and found some Sony speakers
(model XS-628) that are advertised as EXACT factory replacements. From the
picture, they certainly have the right bolt pattern (3 holes) and the price is
right ($80 per pair), but how do they sound?  Does anyone have these speakers
installed in their Miata?

To give a better idea of what I'm looking for, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1
being poor and 10 being fantastic) if the stock speakers are a 3 and the
Clearwaters are a 9 then if I can find something in between...about a 6 or 7
(such as the Sonys?) that sells for 1/2 the price then that is probably how I'd
like to go.

Also...exactly what size are the Clearwater headrest speakers?  They can't be 3
1/2 speakers???  Aren't they more like 2-3/4 or something?

Are there any good alternatives to the Clearwater headrest speakers (using the
same criteria as above)?  I see very inexpensive 3 1/2 coaxial speakers in the
Crutchfield catalog for around $45 per pair.  (BTW, I don't need the headrest
wiring harness.)

Sorry for the long post.  I'm planning to make the speaker purchase within the
next 2-3 days.  Any and all help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Oh..has anyone tried the new Clearwater "Junior" door speakers?  Clearwater
reps told me on the phone yesterday that they are almost as good as their top
of the line models.  In fact, he said that the "performance per dollar" gain
wasn't really worth the extra $$$ unless you were a fanatic.

 Mark
 '92 B Classic Red
 Member:  MCA
          SOCALM
          TEAM VOODOO