JL Audio

JL Adio Speakers

[3/2/2019] Reviewed by: Keith Kimble

Applicable to: '90 - '97

Co-axial speakers that easily mount in the door of NA

A year or so

Massive improvement in sound although driving them with 40 WPC head unit. Seats Nakamaes so no headrest speakers. Highly recommended.

Under 30 minutes to remove completely

JL Audio C2 650 X speakers

[7/5/2017] Reviewed by: Keith Kimble

Applicable to: '90 - '97 '99-'05 '06+ 1.6 liter 1.8 liter

Replacement speaker for NA in-the-door speaker. Probably works for any miata but you need to check.

Installed a couple of months ago

Been listening to a news station on my commute since the days of hanging chads, but just could not stand it anymore. Total BS. Music with OEM speakers (minus the headrest speakers--went to Nakamaes long ago) was unbearable. No wonder. Paper cones had turned to dust. Not that they were ever very good. For not much $$$ replaced the door speakers with JL Audios. These are mid-level speakers in JL Audio's lineup, but still pretty inexpensive. Wow. What a difference 25 years of speaker technology makes. Coaxial tweeter so don't have to cut another hole in door panel. Admittedly I'm playing them thru a pretty decent Alpine head unit, but even so, the difference is amazing. Don't misunderstand, this is not audiophile stuff. That is pointless in a Miata (or almost any car. IMHO) anyway. But very good for not a lot of $$$. Will never again listen to radio news. Yuck!!

Under 30 minutes to remove completely

JL Audio 6CX-1 6.5 inch speakers

Reviewed by: John Daeschner

Door mounted speakers, co-axial, with a nice touch: the tweeter, in addition to the standard series capacitor, is also shunted by an inductor, thus forming a 2 pole filter.

The installation of the speakers in the doors of the Miata was quite complicated since they are just slightly larger in diameter than the opening in the door. They also have four mounting holes, the stock speakers have but three. JL Audio supplies them without fanfare - no wire, no mounting hardware, no template - no nothing. I decided to mount them as follows: I made a template and drilled four holes in the door. I installed four #8 screws (3/4" long), each backed by a flat washer with the head of the screw on the inside of the door. I put on a lockwasher and a nut and tightened them so that I had four studs sticking out of the door. I stacked three additional flatwashers and another nut on each stud. I then installed the speakers and secured them with flatwashers and nuts. I also installed a rain baffle between the speakers and the doors with the bottom cut out for ventilation, and perhaps better sound. The installation is very solid and fits under the door panel without causing it to bulge at all. I also ran new wires for the speakers since I removed the stock radio and did not want to cut the harness. I lined as much of the interior surface of the door with Dynamat as I could. I am now convinced of the usefulness this product. The doors have a much more solid feel that you notice when you close them. No more rattles. Hardware could have been #6, the flatwashers I used were smaller in diameter than standard off-the-shelf hardware. Metric hardware, say M4, might be a better choice since the nuts and washers tend to be smaller in diameter.

I am highly satisfied. Damn good sound with less vibration than I expected. These speakers are not efficient, I am running 50 honest watts, but it would be inadvisable to power them directly from the stock radio. I paid $129 at a local store. They have rubber surrounds and plastic cones - no paper in the door for me. I have had good experience with JL's in the past, although never a subwoofer, and I find them to be a relative bargain. Next: new head rest speakers....