Big Bass In A Little Space With This Miata MX5 Build

The objective was simple enough: Make it sound better and give me BASS! Honestly, it’s a request we get on a daily basis. This project in particular was a little unique. The vehicle in question was a 2007 Mazda MX5 (read Miata ). This vehicle presented a few obstacles: the speaker locations weren’t great, there is next to no trunk space and, oh yeah, it’s a convertible. None of these things are on an installer’s wish list when the challenge is impressive sound and monster bass response. We spent a lot of time going over the car and coming up with a system that could deliver. From there, it was up to our MECP Advanced technician to connect the dots…and the wires.

 JVC Receiver And SirusXM Provide Plenty Of Listening Options

The JVC Radio combined with the Sirius/XM Tuner provide hours of listening options.

The JVC Radio combined with the Sirius/XM Tuner provide hours of listening options.

We started by replacing the factory radio with a JVC CD receiver. The factory steering wheel radio controls were integrated to the new receiver and a dedicated SiriusXM receiver was added to the source repertoire so there would always be something to listen to. With a cabin as small as the MX5, who has room for a CD case?

Hertz Energy Speakers, A Perfect Fit For This MX5

The result is great! Much improved sound, with a completely factory look.

Notice the chrome accent on the tweeter, how it mimics the Mazda logo. Attention to detail is paramount at Mobile Edge.

Midrange driver and crossover securely mounted in the door.

For amazing results sometimes we have to go outside the box and for this application the radio was wired a little differently. The front outputs from the new deck were used to run the tweeters and the rear outputs were run to the mid bass drivers in the doors. The factory speakers were upgraded to a pair of Hertz Energy Series components. These particular speakers did not need any vehicle modification for the midrange speakers. The tweeters were able to mount in the factory brackets with minimal modification. With the door panels reinstalled the overall appearance was factory. The keen eye, however, would observe the Hertz logo through the factory tweeter grille. It was by no accident that on both doors the tweeters were mounted so that their chrome trim would mimic the center of a Mazda emblem.

Two Hertz Energy Subwoofers Make Sure The Client Is All About That Bass

Proper grounding in an audio system is paramount. Mobile Edge uses factory spots whenever possible. The location is cleaned of paint, for maximum current transfer, and ready to have the wire bolted down.

The Memphis amp is tucked away in the trunk well area. It will be visible through a stylish cutout in the floor trim piece.

Now this sporty MX5 has a sporty looking trunk to match! PLENTY of bass from the Hertz subwoofers had the client grinning from ear to ear.

With the Hertz Subwoofers installed, the final step is to protect the speakers with grills.

To accent the speakers, custom fabricated grills were made and wrapped with red vinyl.

A before and after. The left enclosure has had the filler applied and sanded. The right enclosure has the filler applied and waiting to be sanded.

With the fleece stretched, Bob begins the fiberglassing process.

The enclosures start with a wood frame.

We meticulously measured and re-measured to come up with a workable plan. A Memphis Audio amplifier was mounted in the trunk to conserve as much space as possible for the subwoofer enclosures. There had to be two separate boxes made to be able to fit in and out of the trunk. The enclosures began life as an MDF skeleton. We used ¾” MDF to build the base and back plates for the box, along with a ring that would be used to mount the subwoofers. From there, we measured again and set the rings in place.

After making sure the trunk lid still had room to close, the box frames were removed and were taken to the fabrication room. There, the frames were stretched with fleece and coated in fiberglass resin. The next step was to coat the inside of the box and add chopped fiberglass mat for strength. Once the resin cured, the boxes were prepped, sanded and skim coated. Then we sanded more. And sanded…and sanded. When the boxes were shaped and ready to go, we covered the enclosures in black vinyl.

Once installed back in the vehicle the woofers were mounted using machined screws into threaded inserts. Finally, accent panels were created to trim out the amplifier and sub boxes. These panels were wrapped in red vinyl to contrast the black and make the installation pop.

Mazda MX5 Sound System With Quality and Power

The result is was a system that was fairly simple, yet sounded amazing and looked even better.  The client loved the upgraded sound and cosmetics that the team at xxxxobile Edge put together.  If you are interested in having your vehicle enhanced cosmetically or audibly, we would love to talk with you about it.  You can contact us here, or better  yet, stop by our facility and let’s meet face to face.