The standard speakers on the NB2’s wind deflector are very basic—there is room for improvement!
The first generations of the MX-5 had speakers in the seat headrests—or at least space for them. From the introduction of the NB in 1998 through the 2003 model year NB2, there were no speakers other than those in the doors. That changed during the final model years of the NB2 —specifically, 2004 and 2005. From that point on, Mazda installed speakers behind the seats. In some special editions, a style bar with a soundboard was used, while other models featured a wind deflector with speakers. All of these versions have wiring running from the radio to the center of the raised section behind the seats.
However, the quality of the standard 2-inch speakers, which are mounted in the windshield, isn’t great. Of course, it’s better than nothing, but there’s clearly room for improvement. Let’s first take a look at what’s inside as the standard speaker. The plastic covers on the back of the windshield are fairly easy to remove. FYI: My first MX-5 originally had a black windshield, but since the start of Project Lübeck, it’s been replaced with a beige one. So I’ve made this modification several times.
When I started looking for better speakers for the windshield, I found a post on the miata.net forum recommending the Peerless by Tymphany NE65W-04. It turned out they were also available in the Netherlands. The specs were impressive, so I decided to buy them. The difference compared to the stock speakers was immediately obvious. They’re made from completely different materials, which gives them a professional look. The small speaker at the top of the photo below is the stock one; the speaker below it is the Peerless by Tymphany NE65W-04, but the adapter plate I made and the capacitor aren’t included in the package.
The adapter plate is necessary because the new speaker is secured in three places, while the standard speaker is mounted to the windshield with four screws. At first, I made the adapter plates out of MDF, but recently I switched to PETG, a material used for 3D printing. I created the design in TinkerCAD and had it printed locally. The result makes assembly a lot easier, and having it printed takes me much less time than cutting the MDF myself.
I added the capacitor back then on someone’s advice to filter out interference, but it’s possible that using a capacitor with a different capacitance might yield better results. Maybe I’ll try that sometime. Personally, I’m very satisfied with the result, but there are other options.
Based in the United States is 3rd Millennium, a company that supplies speakers for multiple generations of the MX-5, including speakers for the NA seats and speakers for this windshield. This video explains how to install their M200 speakers. These speakers come with wiring and a connector and should fit right in without any modifications. This is in contrast to the solution I chose, which required an adapter plate and soldering the wiring on myself.
