3rd Millennium FAQ

Q: What is the power handling capability of the Millennium-5's?

A: With the installed crossovers they are rated to handle 20 RMS watts each. As part of our development testing we subjected the M5's to 5 watts of white noise for 8 continuous hours and 10 watts of white noise for 10 continuous minutes without issue. White noise is audio 'snow' similar to what you'd hear when you have an FM radio between stations. This is a painful level of audio output that you would never want to have 4 inches from your ears but it does show that the M5's can handle a lot of power.

top

Q: I've seen speaker brand 'X' claim to handle 20, 50, 100, 200, 1000+ watts. Why are the Millennium-5 speakers only rated for 20 watts?

A: The Millennium-5's are rated for 20 watts because that's the actual honest number (and it's plenty - see the next question). Be careful when evaluating power handling numbers from other manufacturers as they are often being deceptive in reporting this number. It's also easy to confuse power ratings with volume - they are related but are very different.

Power Handling Capability is actually the level of continuous amplifier power over the normal frequency range of human hearing with which a speaker will continue to operate in a normal manner. Normal means operation without electrical or mechanical failure, and without any significant distortion or audible side effects.

Power handling capability of a speaker system is made up of quite a few elements:

Voice Coil: The voice coil (a winding of fine copper wire attached to the back of the speaker cone down inside the magnet structure - see picture on right) must be able to sustain the power running through it. The voice coil is basically a simple coil of wire like an electric heater that's wound around a form which is then attached to the back of the speaker cone. Just like a heater it gives off heat as more power is passed through it. Too much power and the wire just burns out. So the more robust the voice coil structure the more capable a speaker is to have amplifier power delivered to it. However, in manufacturing high fidelity speakers you want the speaker structure to be as light as possible in order to move quickly (called transient response) so you don't want to install a larger voice coil in a speaker than needed.
Speaker Suspension and Surround: The surround structure is the part of a speaker that attaches the cone to the metal basket. In the Millennium-5's, we use a special butyl rubber material for the surround that runs around the edges of the speaker. Other manufacturer's use foam and the cheapest speakers just press the edge of the cone into an accordion shape so it can flex (original Miata speakers). There is also a part of the speaker that holds the rear of the cone in place called the spider (right). The purpose of the surround and spider is to hold the cone in place and lets it move back and forth like a piston. To produce more volume a speaker needs to push more air - it's as simple as that. The surround material and structure determines how far the cone can move back and forth to produce sound waves As you would expect, there are practical limits as to how far the cone can be moved without tearing the surround or suspension apart.
Magnet Structure: The magnet structure is what enables the speaker cone to move and create sound. When an electric current flows through a wire (in this case, the voice coil), it sets up a magnetic field around that wire, and for a coiled wire that field is increased. If the coil of wire is placed in the field of a magnet, the field of the coil interacts with the field of the magnet and force is applied to the coil. As you probably remember from elementary school science, two magnets with like poles push away. So in a speaker system, the amplifier creates alternating current energy which when fed to a speaker, causes the magnet field around the voice coil to build up and collapse as the energy changes. This in turn moves the cone which moves air, thereby creating sound. A larger magnet structure can work with more amplifier power to move a heavier cone or move a cone further, but the magnet doesn't want to be any larger than is necessary as it can over dampen the cone. This is why simply having a large magnet isn't necessarily a good thing. A speaker with too large a magnet will actually have poorer frequency response and just sound lousy.So to determine a power handling capability rating, a manufacturer should run a maximum level of power through their speaker for a continuous period of time, over all the intended operating frequencies, and without distortion or undesirable audible side effects.
Enclosure: A proper enclosure is critical to getting good sound from a speaker system. The enclosure serves to dampen the cone at certain frequencies and when properly designed and matched to the speaker, provides a smooth frequency response and greatly increased power handling capability. This is why simply stuffing loose speakers into the headrests will never produce good audio. The Millennium-5's were specifically designed for the speaker boxes that mount into the Miata headrests.

Many unscrupulous vendors report their power handling number as a 'peak' or instantaneous number that the speakers can handle without suffering damage. This peak may only be for 1/1000th of a second. Since speakers obviously play music longer than that, a peak number is pretty meaningless.

In other cases, the reported power capacity may be a combination of a peak rating and also only at a particular frequency � say 1,000Hz. It's easier for a speaker to reproduce sounds and handle power at certain frequencies. But to report power handling for only one frequency isn't realistic or honest. .

top

Q: How much power do I need? Is 20 watts enough?

A: It's plenty! 20 watts of continuous music with the Millennium-5's in the Miata headrests is LOUD. Remember, these speakers don't reproduce low bass frequencies (that's up to your door sepakers) and are going to be located only a few inches from your head. We actually caution customers to be careful as you don�t want to risk any hearing damage.

top

Q: I saw another seller claim that because their speakers had bigger magnets, they were louder. Is that true?

A: No, that's false. The size of the magnet has nothing to do with the loudness of the speaker. Sound volume is determined by the amount of power deliverable by the amplifier and the efficiency of the speaker/enclosure design. Saying that a bigger magnet makes a speaker louder is like saying more chrome on a car makes it go faster - it's just nonsense some unscrupulous sellers spout to try and deceive buyers.

The size of the magnet structure is critical to the performance of the speaker and you don't want it too large or too small. The magnet structure works with the voice coil and suspension to regulate the movement of the cone. The magnet structure should be designed specifically to deliver the performance required for the speaker system including the enclosure. The Millennium-5 magnet structure is a lot larger than the original speakers in the Miata, but only to the extent required to meet the design and performance goals of the speaker.

top

Q: OK, then what determines how loud the music will be coming out of my speakers?

A: That's actually the key question of any speaker system. You want the volume at the level you'd like to listen and you'd like smooth frequency response and no distortion at all volume levels up to the loudest you'd like to listen at. So there are two interrelated goals for any speaker system: efficiency and frequency response. You want a speaker that is highly efficient and has a wide frequency response.

Efficiency means how effective a speaker system is at turning amplifier power into volume and is rated in decibels, or dB. Decibels is a scale and not an absolute value. Every 3 dB represents a doubling (or halving) of the apparent sound level. So if you have two speakers and one is 3dB more efficient than the other, the more efficient speaker will be about twice as loud given the same amplifier volume setting.

Wide frequency response means that the speaker can reproduce sound at all frequencies across it's range with similar volume levels (click here for more on frequency response)

In the Millennium-5's we used a number of manufacturing techniques to get the best possible frequency response and efficiency. It's difficult to create such a small speaker that does both and that's why there have never been good quality replacements for the Miata headrests before the Millennium-5's.

To achieve a wide, low distortion frequency response in the Millennium-5's, we made use of a butyl rubber surround and polymer impregnated cone. The surround lets the cone move much more freely than a foam or paper surround - this allows the speaker to have a much more extended low end frequency response. The polymer in the cones helps minimize distortion by keeping the cone from flexing while in use. Flexing is a normal artifact of speaker operation and different cone materials are better than others at minimizing this effect. There are tradeoffs with all cone materials and in our testing the polymer impregnated cone gave the best combination of performance and cost in the Miata. The magnet structure is also important. We used a larger magnet and a deeper channel for the voice coil to provide longer cone extension capability. The larger magnet structure also helps control the looser suspension created by the butyl surround. When installed in the headrest speaker boxes, the result is a nice warm and extended frequency response.

Our speakers have a relatively high efficiency when installed in the Miata headrest boxes. Without getting too technical, there is a correlation between efficiency and low-end frequency response. We specifically designed the mass of the cone structure and the compliance to best work with the headrest boxes in the Miata. Most users should find any quality radio perfectly capable of driving the Millennium-5's as loudly as they'd like. As a matter of course we do recommend more power for the Millennium-5's if you can practically afford it as long as the power is cleanly delivered. Running an amplifier into clipping (distortion) is the sure way to destroy any speaker.

top

Q: I have an external amplifier rated at more than 20 watts. Is it safe to connect to the Millennium-5's?

A: Yes, in fact it's actually safer. Generally, what destroys speakers isn't clean audio but rather the distortion that is generated when an amplifier is driven beyond its rated power. Any amplifier can put out more power than it's rating, but that excess power is distorted and the sound waveforms are what are called clipped. Clipping is really bad for speakers and can damage the speaker's cone or burn out the voice coil. Clean power is much safer for speakers.

Still, some protection for the speakers is a good idea so we include crossover / blocking capacitors pre-installed on each speaker. The correct value capacitor will start to gently roll off response below the point that it is safe for the speaker to reproduce. Blocking frequencies below what a speaker is designed to handle will help protect it from being overdriven and potentially damaged.

The correct value for any speaker depends on a number of electrical, design, and performance characteristics for the driver and must be carefully calculated. Use of the wrong value will either make the speaker sound weak and tinny or provide no protection at all. For the Millennium-5�s, the correct crossover capacitor is a 150uf non-polarized capacitor rated at 25 volts or higher. These are included and already installed with all Millennium-5's. If you ever need to replace the capacitors on your M5's, we have these capacitors available on our website.

top

Q: My old factory speakers were 4 ohms and the Millennium-5's are 8 ohms. Is this OK?

A: Yes, it's no problem. We intentionally designed the Millennium-5 speakers as 8 ohms to provide a greater safety margin with the wide range of aftermarket radios that are now out there. The amplifier in any car radio can have difficulty operating with impedances that are too low. With 4 ohm headrest speakers, the two seats connected in parallel (the factory configuration and what we recommend sticking with) will present the amp with a 2 ohm load and potentially lower than 2 ohms under certain operating conditions. This may cause some amplifiers trouble as they sense they are close to operating into a short circuit - zero ohms. This may cause the amplifier in your radio to go into 'Protect' mode - momentarily shutting down to protect against damage.

The Millennium-5's are 8 ohm speakers so wired in parallel present a 4 ohm load to the amplifier in the radio. Any car stereo will have no trouble with this and will operate normally.

What's the tradeoff? With a lower impendance speaker, more power will be drawn from the amp which means you can potentially get greater volume. However, because these are headrest speakers and located only inches from your ears, power needs (and ultimate volume levels) aren't a factor, so we chose to design the speakers to be 'foolproof' with whatever stereo or headunit/amp you may have in your Miata.

top

Q: I saw another seller claim that blocking capacitors aren't required for their speakers. What's the truth?

A: 'Blocking' or crossover capacitors aren't required for any speaker, but with small speakers like those in the Miata headrests a properly sized capacitor connected to the '+' lead of the speaker will help protect the speaker from being overdriven and allow maximum performance. To understand why, we need to explain how speakers recreate sound.

What we can hear is energy that vibrates the air back and forth. Each back and forth vibrations is called a cycle. The number of cycles per second (or Hertz) is called the frequency. To recreate sound, a speaker cone moves back and forth vibrating the air just like the original sound. Low frequency sounds contain a lot of energy. If you've ever heard an organ in a cathedral or sat near a a bass drum, you know that you can not only hear the sounds but feel them! The challenge with speakers is that to recreate low-frequency sounds (from around 20 to 200 Hz) at the same level as mid and high frequency sounds, a lot of air must be moved to duplicate the energy of the original sound. Speakers accomplish this by moving the cone further in and out. This presents the problem with small speakers.

Simple physics dictates that there is a limit to how far a cone can move in and out. If you exceed that distance you will damage the cone and/or speaker suspension. A crossover (in this case a capacitor) prevents very low frequency energy from reaching the speaker and potentially damaging it. This is why all multiple driver speaker systems have crossovers.

The Millennium-5's were specifically designed with a suspension that permits greater cone movement than in the oem speakers (or the cheap transistor radio speakers other sell). This gives the Millennium-5's their warm, pleasant sound and extended frequency response (see next question). However, there is a practical limit of cone motion for even the Millennium-5's.

We recognized that not everyone was comfortable with attaching crossover capacitors, so we designed the terminal mounting arrangements on the Millennium-5 to better accommodate the recommended crossover capacitor. The design lets us pre-attach them on all Millennium-5 speakers as part of the manufacturing process. This means that all buyers get the benefit of the proper crossover but we maintain the simple, drop-in installation. The best part for buyers is that because of the efficient design, we are able to include the crossover capacitors at no additional cost.

top

Q: What is the frequency response of the Millennium-5 speakers?

A: The Millenium-5's have a frequency response of 100-14,000 Hz -3dB measured with 1 watt of power at .5 meter distance. This is a range that will effectively cover the human voice and most musical instruments. This is the critical range of frequencies for creating a realistic stereo image. The Millennium-5's (and any other small speaker this size) are not designed to cover very low bass frequencies such as from bass guitars, drums, etc. This is just a matter of physics - any small cone can't move enough air to reproduce very low frequency sound.

You should rely on your door speakers (or an installed subwoofer) for very low frequencies and blend the sound with your radio's fader control or a crossover into your headrest speakers. Check out our M800 and M600 door speakers.

top

Q: I've seen other manufacturers claim a frequency response of 20-20,000 Hz for their speakers. Is that better?

A: No, it doesn't mean anything. Unless a speaker has a frequency response published along with the parameters of the measurement including the plus or minus 'X' dB points indicating rolloff points, it's a meaningless claim of performance.

The range of human hearing is approximately 20 to 20,000 Hz - at least when you're about 15 years old! The upper limit of hearing starts declining soon after that point :( All speakers reproduce some sound at all these frequencies. What's important from a listener's perspective is the ability of a speaker to produce uniform output across its intended operating range. In other words, you would want a sound at 40Hz to be just as loud at a sound at 400, 4000, and 13,000 Hz. This is what is called a flat frequency response.

Look for the manufacturer's frequency response curves for their speakers. What you�re looking for when examining one of these is a relatively flat graph � it will never be ruler flat, but there will be a pronounced roll-off at both the low end and the high end. The actual frequency response will be the flat portion between the lower and upper ends. The -3dB point is commonly used to denote the effective limit of the response as it indicates an approximate halving of the loudness. If you want to look at the response curve for the Millennium-5's, it's available at www.3maudio.com/M5_specs.pdf and is included with every Millennium-5 set of speakers purchased.

top

Q: Will the Millennium-5's sound as good as the original speakers?
Compare Millennium-5 and Miata oem Speakers

Compare Millennium-5 and Miata oem Speakers

A: They will sound better! The original speakers weren't very sophisticated or expensive components. They had simple paper cones, foam and accordion paper surrounds, and tiny little magnets. They were OK but not great. Here's a comparison picture.

The Millennium-5 speakers were specifically designed for the Miata headrest. There are numerous improvements that we designed into these speakers:

The magnet is a much larger structure that handles more power. Power doesn't just mean loudness - it also means the ability of the speaker to control the cone movement more accurately and thus provide a wider range of sound and better fidelity.
The surround is butyl rubber. The surround is the part of the speaker that attaches the cone to the metal frame. A butyl surround has two benefits. First, it permits a freer motion of the cone which results in more low end response. No speaker this small is going to have bone-thumping bass - it's physically impossible - but the Millennium-5's have a low end that extends down to around 100Hz. That's about the lower end of the human voice range. This means that speech and vocals have a nice, neutral, mellow sound that is very pleasant to listen to. There's no harsh, tinny, or shrill sounds like you get from cheap speakers.
The second benefit of the surround is that it's much more environmentally resistant to moisture than the oem foam surrounds. This means it will last much longer than the originals.
The cones are polymer treated. This is a coating that actually bonds to the paper cones and makes them more rigid. Making them more rigid is desirable as that permits them to more faithfully reproduce the sounds sent to them by the amplifier. The coating also has a secondary benefit of making the speakers stand up better to moisture in the air. A definite plus in a convertible.

top

Q: I've heard some users talk about the M5's as being good for 'Augmented Wideband'. What's that?

A: Augmented Wideband is a term that describes a philosophy which we at 3MS have always held. Essentially, AW refers to having a low-mid bass driver that potentially sacrifices some of the lowest frequency handling capability in exchange for being able to reproduce frequencies up into the critical midrange frequencies - which is where voice and most instruments will be heard.

And correspondingly, the typical tweeter found in traditional systems is replaced by a slightly larger driver that is capable of operating down into the critical low-midrange frequencies. When crossed over properly to the mid-bass driver, the result is a very pleasant, warm, and normal sound as opposed to the traditional shrill, peaked sound you get with many OEM and aftermarket speaker setups.

The M5's are not tweeters - they are midrange speakers designed very specifically to operate down to a very low frequency. In the Miata the real bass is left to the door speakers and the M5's seamlessly take over and handle all the vocals and most instruments.

top

Q: I've seen other speakers for the Miata advertised on eBay and some other sites. What about them?

A: Aside from our own speakers which we do offer on eBay for customers that like to shop there, there are some other speakers that may fit the headrest boxes occasionally advertised on eBay and some other locations. You should note that those are simply paper-coned transistor radio speakers usually bought in bulk from Asia for about $1 each and not high-fidelity music speakers. While some of them will fit the Miata, they will frankly sound like a transistor radio. The Millennium-5 speakers are the only premium music speakers designed for the Miata, warranted for a full year, provided with actual specifications and frequency response data, and sold with a 30-day money back guarantee.

Sadly, those cheap speakers you see elsewhere are typically sold at the same cost or more than the Millennium-5's and they have no warranty at all! The sellers typically make all sorts of claims about how 'great' they sound because they know that when someone buys them, they won't be able to compare them to anything else. While any speaker can make some noise, $1 transistor radio speakers are not very nice to listen to for music. Buyer Beware.

top

Q: One speaker I saw said that it was 'low profile' and therefore more comfortable in the seat. Is that true?

A: Unfortunately, that's just a bunch of nonsense intended to mislead buyers into thinking there is some advantage to the speakers they are selling. In the Miata the speakers mount into the oem boxes in the seats. They either fit or they don't. The Millennium-5 speakers are exact fit replacements for the oem speakers and therefore there is no effect upon the seat or upholstery. We are aware of the seller that makes this claim about the low profile speakers - they are simply cheap transistor radio speakers and not music speakers. The 'low profile' claim is just a gimmick to try and mislead buyers. See the previous question and answer for more details on this and similar scams.

top

Q: I read somewhere that a 3.5" speaker would perform better than the factory shaped oval speakers. Is that true?

A: No, that's nonsense. The shape of the speaker has nothing to do with the sound it produces. The area of the cone (usually measured in square centimeters and seen on many spec sheets as 'Sd') is the surface area of the piston moving with the same velocity as the voice coil and producing the same volume velocity as the radiator at low frequency where all points of the surface are still in-phase. Or in other words, it's how much area is being devoted to moving air to reproduce the sounds.

The Millennium-5's have an Sd of 29 cm2. A typical 3.5" speaker like the Dayton ND90-8 sold at Parts Express has a Sd of 31.2. You'll note that they are almost the same.

top

Q: Are the Millennium-5's 2-way speakers?

A: No, they are single cone drivers.

top

Q: Aren't 2-way speakers better?

A: Not necessarily. The idea behind multi-driver speakers is that each speaker element can reproduce the sounds in that range which is ideal for its physical and acoustical properties. However in the Miata, the headrest speakers are intended to cover the important voice and higher frequency instrument area. A quality single-driver speaker like the Millennium-5 covers that range completely.

The ideal configuration for the stereo in your Miata is to have the door speakers reproduce the low-frequencies like kick drums, bass guitar, and lower organ notes, and then you blend in the headrest speakers to cover the upper frequencies and produce a nice left-right stereo field.

top

Q: What about crossovers? Do I need them?

A: While not 100% required, we strongly recommend that the Miata headrest speakers have crossover / blocking capacitors installed and the Millennium-5's do.

A crossover is made up of electrical components that allows only certain frequencies to reach the speakers. This provides two benefits. First, it permits the speakers to only reproduce the frequencies they are best at producing at maximum power levels. More importantly, it protects high frequency speakers from being overdriven and potentially damaged by low frequency energy. To much low frequency energy into a high frequency speaker can overdrive it (push the cone beyond it's normal limits of travel) and damage the suspension. An overdriven speaker may get burnt out and not work at all or may still work but sound thin and buzzy.

Given the small size of the speakers in the Miata headrest, we recommend that those speakers have the proper crossover / blocking capacitors installed. All Millennium-5 speakers include the exactly calculated crossover capacitors preinstalled. This permits maximum performance and protects your speakers by blocking low frequencies that might damage them. If you choose not to protect the Millennium-5 speakers by bypassing the capacitors, limit the amount of bass that you try to reproduce from the speakers. You should get your bass energy from your door speakers and perhaps a subwoofer - not from the headrest speakers. They were not designed to produce very low frequencies.

top

Q: Are there any general use guidelines for using the Millennium-5 speakers?

A: Aside from having them properly wired, there are several guidelines for ensuring the best sound and long life of the Millennium-5 speakers. Specifically:

1. Use multiple EQ options if available. Many modern head units allow you to store multiple equalization curves and if your radio does, we recommend create one curve for parked/engine off and one for driving. Follow the guidelines below to set up your curves.

2. Adjust your stereo balance: while safely driving at a normal speed (or with the engine off if you can store multiple EQ curves), turn your stereo's balance control fully forward so that all sound is coming out of your door speakers. Adjust your left/right balance until you get a good stereo coverage. Then slowly adjust your fader to start bringing sound to the headrest speakers. Continue fading to the headrest speakers until you are hearing more content from the headrests than the doors. Stop and fade back slightly to the door speakers so that they are now louder. This is the optimal point for creating a 3D stereo field and also compensating for wind noise.

3. Do not overdrive the speakers. If you hear distortion from the speakers reduce the volume immediately! Even a inexpensive radio rated at a small power output like 5 watts is capable of putting out many times that amount of power but severely distorted. This is called overdriving and can damage the speaker's surrounds, suspension, or burn out the voice coil. Damaged caused by overdriving the speakers is not covered by the Millennium-5 limited warranty.

4. Do not try and get lots of bass from the headrest speakers! Physics can't be changed - a small speaker like the Miata headrest speakers cannot move the necessary volumes of air to reproduce very low frequencies. The Millennium-5 speakers are tough and much more rugged than the oem speakers, but they can be overdriven and damaged. The most likely damage will be that the suspension is torn and sound becomes distorted. Damage due to overdriving is not covered by the Millennium-5 limited warranty. All Millennium-5 speakers include pre-installed crossover capacitors to help to help protect the speakers while still allowing maximum performance. If you want more bass from your Miata stereo setup, consider replacing the door speakers - our M600 and M800's will give you all the bass you'll want. Of course, you can always add a subwoofer and/or amp if you really want ultimate low end.

top

Installation Questions

Q: Will the Millennium-5 speakers fit into my Miata without modification?

A: Yes. If you have a 90-97 Miata with the standard headrest speakers, they are a direct swap. Because they are exact fit replacements, installation consists of simply unscrewing the 4 screws that hold in the old speakers, removing the push-on wires, fitting the wires onto the new speakers, and reinstalling the screws.

top

Q: Are there any of the 90-97 Miata's that the speakers don't fit into as a replacement?

A: There were a very few Miata's with moveable headrests and our speakers won't work in those. If you have one of the rare Limited Edition or Special Edition Miata's, our Retrofit Kit Special Edition is what you need.

You can check what speaker arrangement you have in your Miata in less than 10 minutes by following the instructions in our on-line installation guide.

top

Q: Do you have the speakers for the Miata's with the 3.5" speakers?

A: Yes! Our M170 and M170F speakers are a drop in replacement for the Special & Limited Edition Miata.

top

Q: Which Miata's came with headrest speakers installed?

A: Except for special and limited editions, there were basically four models of the 90-97 Miata. The 'Base', 'A', 'B' and 'C'. The Base and A models did not come with headrest speakers but they were available as an option. The B models seemed to mostly have come with the headrest speakers. If you have power mirrors, you probably have a B model. The 'C' model is just a 'B' but with a leather interior.

top

Q: How do I open up the headrests to see what I've got?

A: It's actually pretty easy. There's an installed zipper on each seat headrest. Raise the tab of the zipper and unzip. There is then a foam cover in front of the speakers. In some Miata it's held with a couple of screws and in some it's just held into place when the seat zips up. Pull that foam away and there are the speakers. See our YouTube video here showing how to check what's in your seats.

top

Q: OK, I've opened up the headrest and I've found the old speakers. They're practically falling apart! Can I reuse the wiring and boxes with the Millennium-5 speakers?

A: Yes! You should have a simple 10-minute swap. The boxes are hard plastic and impervious to moisture and deterioration. Just remove the old speakers, drop in the new Millennium-5's, put down the top, and go for a ride!

top

Questions about retrofitting the Millennium-5 speakers into a Miata without existing headrest speaker boxes

Q: OK, I've opened up the headrests and there's nothing there except two empty cavities. Now what?

A: That means you have a Miata that didn't come with the headrest speakers or someone has removed them. Simply order our Retrofit Kit which includes the Millennium-5 speakers, our NABX1 speaker boxes, and all necessary mounting hardware.

top

Q: Actually, I opened up the headrests and found some crappy loose speakers just stuffed in there and some cretin has hacked up the foam in my seat! Is it hopeless?

A: Don't despair - the situation can be salvaged! Carefully remove the old speakers making note of how the wires were connected (however, assume they're wired incorrectly since anyone willing to hack up a Miata probably didn't get the wiring correct - wiring is important and it's discussed below). Even if someone has cut away the foam, the original speaker box mounting plates will still be embedded in the seat backs. Our Retrofit Kit comes with all the required mounting hardware to securely fasten the boxes into place.

top

Q: OK, I don't have any old speakers or boxes. So how do I install the Millennium-5's?

A: You need our Retrofit Kit which includes the Millennium-5 speakers, our NABX1 speaker boxes, and all necessary mounting hardware. You can have better than new sound with no modifications to your seats or Miata.

top

Q: Why do I need the boxes? Why can't I just put the Millennium-5 or any other small speaker in there?

A: You can, it just won't sound very good. Speakers without some sort of baffling or enclosure have a huge low end loss and a 'nasal' sort of sound. Not nice. This is because with an unbaffled speaker sound waves from the back side of the speaker tend to fight with the sound waves from the front. It creates a cancellation effect where some frequencies are greatly reduced and others reinforced. Also, sound from the left speaker cancels out sound from the right and vice versa. Finally, unbaffled speakers have a much lower power handling capability because there is no dampening of the cone at resonance.

This is why any decent speaker system is always in an enclosure and why Mazda originally put the speakers in enclosures. It's the right way to do it.

top

Q: OK - so I need boxes for the speakers. Do you sell them?

A: Yes, you can order them here.

top

Q: How about wiring? Do you have a made up harness for the Miata?

A: No. The newest NA Miata factory radio is now more than 21 years old and while the original Panasonic radios were good quality, most have been replaced by aftermarket stereos at this point. So it's impractical for us to try and stock every type of adapter needed. A company called Metra makes harness adapters and radio mounting kits for the Miata and you can find all their kits on Amazon. We have speaker wire if you need some and the proper crimp on connectors here. You can also get speaker wire from Radio Shack and most home supply stores. We don't recommend using any smaller than 20 gauge for the headrest speakers or 18 for the door speakers. See the step-by-step install guide on our site here that includes a list of the items you'll need.

top

Q: How should the headrest be wired in the Miata?

A: We include detailed wiring information with every set of Millennium-5's sold and the information is also available on-line by clicking here. (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

top

3^rdmillennium

Pure Miata Audio

Millennium-5 Frequently Asked Questions

General specifications, what they mean, and how to compare to other speakers

Installation questions

Questions about retrofitting the Millennium-5 speakers into a Miata without existing headrest speaker boxes

Speaker Specifications

Installation Questions

Questions about retrofitting the Millennium-5 speakers into a Miata without existing headrest speaker boxes