Infinity 3 1/2 inch speakers in seat.
After having the Kenwood speakers in the seat that blew after 8 months, I decided to find something a little sturdier. I had had Infinity speakers in an old RX-7 and they sounded great so I decided to give them a try. I also got the bass blokers for $9.99 a seat. Sure it blocks most of the base in those speakers, but with the Infinity's clarity and the bass from the floor it is just find. I know these speakers cost a little more, around $60 a seat, but I know they are a lot better than what I had before.
I am interested in getting some replacement speakers for the doors. Any comments?
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Purchase of these units from PBC went extremely well. Got good service from their representative over the phone and the product was delivered quickly and without incident.
Installation went easily and quickly. I have a 95 Miata which had no headrest speakers. The Infinity units come with wiring harnesses which simply snap into the wiring existing under the seats. I used a straightened coat hanger to "fish" the wires up through the back of the seat covers. No prob. Took less than 10 minutes for both seats.
The speakers came with very incomplete installation instructions. Also there is no hardware included ( screws ). I wound up simply inserting the speakers into the available space in the foam which holds them very securely. I haven't screwed them in and don't plan to unless it becomes obvious that it serves some purpose.
The speakers also came with what appear to be rather large resistors, but with no reference to their use, purpose or installation instructions. They simply say "bi polar" on their sides. Having had a "bi polar" ex-wife I want nothing like that in my car, so they remain in the boxes until I can find out what the hell I'm supposed to do with them. Seems like Infinity could do a much better job with instructions......
All in all, the speakers improve the sound quality of the system and I'm glad I installed them. Next week I install a CD player and we'll really see what we've got.
Under 5 minutes to remove
High quality 3.5" diameter round speakers with poly woofer and silk dome tweeter, w/ integral crossover.
These are great. Much cheaper than the Clearwaters and an easy install. PBC has them with a wiring harness for some Miatae, but since I didn't need the harness I got mine from Crutchfield for a bit less than PBC had them for.
Note: I'd already had my speaker wires sorted out as part of the headrest speaker mod - this is highly recommended before upgrading.
I recently had the headrest speaker mod done to my radio, and while this increased the volume and stereo imaging in my stock headrest speakers, the stock speakers just sort of suck. These new speakers match the 5.25" Kappa speakers I put in the doors (see the review), and sound great.
Install notes: on my '94 I had to pry the stock speakers out of the little boxes they're mounted in. Remove the 4 small screws that hold the speaker in the enclosure it lives in. Use a very small flat head screwdriver between the corner edge of the speaker and the box - they are glued in so apply gently increasing pressure and they'll pop free. Uh, be certain your car and your car radio are off when doing this. Carefully remove the speaker leads. On my 94 1 is narrow and 1 is wide - these precisely match the infinity speakers. Undo the 3 large screws that hold the boxes into the headrest and remove the boxes. Now comes the hard part - while applying strain relief with your hands to the wires outside the box, pull the box until the rubber plug that holds the wires into the box starts to seperate. It may not move as it's glued in with some NASTY glue. In that case use a large bladed screwdriver to lever out the rubber plug. There's a technique to it, but it requires patience and some hand strength. *BE CAREFUL* not to stab yourself in the hand, and not to damage the insulation on the wires, AND not to pull the ends off the speaker leads when the plug finally lets loose. Now stuff the thin lead, then the wide lead, out the hole in the box and remove the box. Re-attach the size-coded leads. Stuff speaker with leads facing downward into cavity in foam. I used some packing foam to support the speakers from beneath. I also taped one of the leads to prevent shorting if one ever came loose.
Each speaker took me 10-15 minutes, but despite the long description above this was pretty much a bolt-in. Just take your time so you don't damage anything. It may be different on cars other than '94s (particularly 93-s which don't have unzippable headreast covers).
Applicable to: '99 + 1.8 liter
Component speaker system consisting of 2 each 6x8 midbass, 1 in. tweeter and crossover module.
System was almost a drop in replacement for factory set, only modification was to the basket holding the midbass as the magnet on the new speakers was quite a bit larger. I used the surface mount brackets supplied in kit and screwed them onto the factory tweeter mounts. The whole installation looks completely stock even with the door panel removed.
Sound quality is greatly improved over the stock speakers, stereo imaging is no longer lacking and top down sound is improved with the speakers louder with no distortion.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
[9/23/2004] Reviewed by: Hal McGee - wmcgee@triad.rr.com
Applicable to: '90 - '97
Infinity Kappa 63.5i 6.5" 3-Way Speakers Used as replacement for Door Speakers
Product install was fairly striaght forward. My car is a 'rescue' Miata and the previous owner had replaced one speaker with a decent OEM type speaker, the other was the original factory speaker. Per Crutchfield these were not supposde to fit, but since others had used the 62.1i, I gave it a try. Came with adapter plates and fit without drilling holes into door. Did have to put hole into door panel. Speaker enclosure interferes with window handles. Can you say power window upgrade? Mounted Infinity sound module with Velcro inside of door. No rattles so far.
Fantastic sound definitely adds bass to my Clearwater headrest speakers. I cheat the fader to give the door an extra 15% or so. Balances the sound nicely at 70+ mph top down of course. These and the Clearwater headrest speakers are a great combo and have completely reshaped the driving experience. Highly recommend. I listen to Classic Rock, Jazz, and Classical, all sound great.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '99 + 1.8 liter
The Infinity Kappa 62.1i is a 6 1/2" 2 way speaker, with a rotatable tweeter pod. These speakers can handle 70 watts, have a sensitivity figure of 89 dB, and a listed frequency response of 50 hz-20 khz.
This is an update to my earlier review of these speakers that I had put in my 1990 Mariner Blue a couple of years ago. In February 2001 I bought a base 2001 Emerald Green, and quickly decided to upgrade the factory (non-Bose) speakers. I first tried a set of Kenwood eXcelon 5 x 7 speakers, as they would be a direct drop-in replacement. However, after having them in for a couple of days, I was disappointed, as they had absolutely no bass, despite being wired in phase and being installed correctly. So I returned them. I decided to go with what I knew, and bought a second pair of the Infinity Kappa 62.1i speakers.
In order to install these, I had to build a pair of adapted mounting plates for the door panels in which to then mount the speakers. I used 1/4" hard board and a jig saw. I then painted them flat black ( a bit of overkill, perhaps.) That work took perhaps an hour. Then I put the new Infinity Kappas in. What a difference! The sound was great: mo' bass, mo' bass, mo' bass. So this is my second enthusiastic "thumbs up" for these great little speakers.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
This is an Infinity 6 1/2" loudspeaker with a rotating 1" tweeter. The frequency response is 54 Hz to 20 kHz. They can handle 60 watts rms, 180 watts peak. The speakers are four ohms.
These speakers replace 3 previous speaker systems. I previously had the stock Pioneer's, Pioneer TS-A1648, and a set of JBL's. To date, these are the best speakers I've had in my car. The bass is good and the treble's very clear. The rotating tweeter helps to direct the sound exactly to my ears. If you have either the MSSS1 or MSSS2, I would recommend unplugging the separate tweeters mounted high in the door sill. It makes the system sound too bright. I would also recommend getting a separate amplifier to drive the speakers. They can be driven by the factory head unit or an aftermarket one, but to me, the bass can get distorted when played loud.
These speakers are good, but they seem a little bright to me at times. This is all subjective of course, so they may sound different to you. Overall, I think they are a decent set of speakers.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 '99 + 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
2-way full range 6.5" aftermarker door speakers.
After installing a new Cd player (see my Blaupunkt review), I became disenchanted rather quickly with the stock speakers. After reading numerous reviews and dropping hints to my wife, I got these speakers for Christmas. These are a new model for Kappa, but they are identical to the 62.1i except for the mounting hole configuration (the 652.1i gives you more).
Great improvement over the stock in sound quality (duh!). Bass response is greatly improved and the highs are much better defined. Two caveats. 1) I bought the 652.1i's over the 62.1i's because I didn't want to have to do any drilling - I still had to drill one hole for each speaker. 2) the sensitivity of these speakers is lower that the stock so it takes more gain from the stereo to acheive the same volume level as the stock. This isn't a huge issue though because these speakers can take MUCH more gain than the stockers. It just means they'd probably work a little better with an external amp. I also had to trim a small non-essential part of the stock speaker cover away to get it to snap back in place, but this was mostly due to the speaker protectors I also installed (see review).
Not an installed item
Applicable to '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
The Infinity Kappa 62.1i is a 6 1/2" 2 way speaker, with a rotatable tweeter pod. These speakers can handle 70 watts, have a sensitivity figure of 89 dB, and a listed frequency response of 50 hz-20 khz.
I was looking to replace the original ten year old factory speakers in my '90 Miata, and saw the Infinity Kappa 62.1i speakers on sale at Circuit City of $117 (normal selling price for them at most places is $149). I ended up paying 10% less, as I took the demonstration floor models. To install them I had to fashion new speaker wire connections, place adhesive foam around the outer edge to help them seal better, drill new holes around the speaker hole, and mount with screws and clips. Working slowly, total installation time was a bit more than an hour.
These speakers sound wonderful. Having had them in the new car for two weeks now, every day I am more pleased with them. Bass is plentiful, and nicely tight and focused. The rotatable tweeter allows you to aim the highs directly at your ears.
These speakers are a bit less efficient than most, and would probably sound their best with an external power amp. However, even with the stock factory head, they still sound great.
I now drive with the headrest speakers completely off. Compared to the new Infinity speakers, the headrest speakers simply sound bad.
I give these speakers a high recommendation.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Bolt-in door speaker upgrades.
Speakers were purchased from an online stereo equipment outfit. The installation instructions that they sent with the speakers were Miata-specific, and they provided a hook-up harness for each speaker. I have a 93A, so all I had to remove to get at the old speakers were two small covers. No removal of the entire door panel as in later models. The mounting holes did not match up, so I had to enlarge the holes with a drill and used the threaded clips that were provided with the speakers. I also purchased the shrouds that protect the speakers from dust and moisture. These are inexpensive and really needed since the stock shrouds will not fit these speakers. All-in-all, a very easy upgrade from stock.
The speakers are beautifully crafted, and I hated to cover them up! The tweeters are directional, just rotate em to where they sound the best. Very clear highs. deeper bass than stock, would probably be excellent with the addition of a booster amp. Still, it sounds great with the stock stereo. The stock headrest speakers seemed at first to be louder, but I finally realized that it was because the new speakers could be cranked way past the volume of the old ones without distorting. I originally wanted the 5.25 in. version of these speakers, but the catalog place was out of the adapter rings for those. I'm glad I ended up with these and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for an decent upgrade from stock.
2 Infinity Kappa door speakers w/ mounting hardware, 2 poorly-cut aluminum adaptor plates, 2 wiring harness sets to easily connect the stock Miata wiring to the speakers. You also get a couple feet of adhesive weatherstripping, with no info about what it's for. No custom instructions are given,and the stock instructions are inadquate to easily install the speakers.
In retrospect this is pretty much a straight bolt-in, but it took several attempts to figure out the order of parts installation (which is critical to success). I had to use a very small round file (about 1/8" diameter or less) to move the mounting holes in the aluminum adaptor plate around. After several attempts this is the order I assembled stuff in:
1) use the weatherstripping between the door and the alum. adaptor plate.
2) bolt the alum. adaptor plate in w/ the 3 stock bolts.
3) hook up the wireing harness to the speaker. You'll have to remove the white plastic thingy on the end of the stock Miata wiring harness to add the jumpers provided.
4) clip in the provided mounting clips, making sure they line up with the holes in the adaptor plate. You will have to crimp them to ge them to stay in place. Note that they will clip *over* the door panel and alum plate, not between them.
5) Bolt in the speaker. I used a bunch of adhesive rubber feet of various sizes to ensure that the speaker didn't touch the door panel once the door panel was installed. This is a potential problem with this speaker setup: the Infinitys use a rubber speaker surround that sticks out above the mounting hardware, unlike the stock speakers. This is how you get better woofer excursion and better base response. But you need room. I actually removed the stock Miata speaker vents after installing the door panel to make sure I had clearance, then re-installed them.
This is, IMHO, hardly a bolt-in. However it can be done fairly easily if you have a small diameter (jewelers) file and some patience. At $150 for the set this is a lot cheaper than the clearwaters, and the speakers are probably as good or better. Infinity mades great speakers and these are no exception, with a woofer and true tweeter, and what appears to be a builtin crossover system. The tweeters are very sweet. I may soon upgrade my headrest speakers with the set available from PBC for $150 per 4 speaers.
| Back to Product Reviews | 31 July, 2005 |