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General specifications, what they mean, and how to compare to other speakers What is the power handling capability of the Millennium-5’s?
I’ve seen speaker brand ‘X’ claim to handle
20, 50, 100, 200+ watts. Why are the Millennium-5 speakers
OK, then what determines how loud the music will be coming out of my speakers? I have an amplifier rated at more than 10 watts. Is it safe to connect to the Millennium-5’s? What is the frequency response of the Millennium-5 speakers? Will the Millennium-5’s sound as good as the original speakers? I've seen other speakers for the Miata advertised on eBay and some other sites. What about them? One speaker I saw said that it was 'low profile' to be more comfortable in the seat. Is that true? Are the Millennium-5's 2-way speakers? What about crossover? Do I need them? Are there any general use guidelines for using the Millennium-5 speakers? Installation questions Will the Millennium-5 speakers fit into my Miata without modification? Are there any of the 90-97 Miata’s that the speakers don’t fit into as a replacement? Do you have the speakers for the Miata’s with the 3.5” speakers? Which Miata’s came with headrest speakers installed? How do I open up the headrests to see what I’ve got? Can I reuse the wiring and boxes with the Millennium-5 speakers?
Questions about retrofitting the Millennium-5 speakers into a Miata OK, I’ve opened up the headrests and there’s nothing there except two empty cavities. Now what? I opened up the headrests and found some crappy loose speakers just stuffed in there! OK, I don’t have any old speakers or boxes. How do I install the Millennium-5's? Why do I need the boxes? Why can’t I just put the Millennium-5 or any other small speaker in there? I need boxes for the speakers. Do you sell them? What about wiring and a car radio plug adapter? How should the headrest be wired in the Miata? Speaker Specifications Q: What is the power handling capability of the Millennium-5’s? A: They are rated to handle 5 watts of white noise for 8 continuous hours and 10 watts of white noise for 10 continuous minutes. White noise is audio ‘snow’ similar to what you’d hear when you have an FM radio between stations. Q: I’ve seen speaker brand ‘X’ claim to handle 20, 50, 100, 200+ watts. Why are the Millennium-5 speakers only rated for 10 watts?
A: The Millennium-5’s are rated for 10 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.
Q: How much power do I need? Is 10 watts enough? A: It’s plenty! 10 watts of continuous music with the Millennium-5's in the Miata headrests is LOUD. Remember, these speakers 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. 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. 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. Q: I have an amplifier rated at more than 10 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. 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. 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 ½ 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. Q: I’ve seen other manufacturers claim a frequency response of 20-20,000 Hz for their speakers. Is that better?
A: No, it’s meaningless. Unless a speaker has a
frequency response published along with the parameters of the measurement
including the -3dB points, it’s a meaningless claim of performance. Q: Will the Millennium-5’s sound as good as the original 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. Click on the link below that shows an original factory speaker and a Millennium-5. Comparison The Millennium-5 speakers were specifically designed for the Miata headrest. There are numerous improvements that we designed into these speakers:
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 list
on eBay, 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 frankly will sound like a transistor
radio. The Millennium-5 speakers are the only premium music speakers designed
for the Miata, warranted, provided with actual specifications and frequency response data, and sold with a
30-day money back guarantee. 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. Q: Are the Millennium-5's 2-way speakers? A: No, they are single cone drivers. 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 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. 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.
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:
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. Q: Are there any of the 90-97 Miata’s that the speakers don’t fit into as a replacement? A: Yes, a few. The 'M’ edition Miata that was produced in limited numbers for a few years can’t use the speakers because it had a different seat with a movable headrest. Also, a small number of Miata’s with the MSSS stereo used a different speaker arrangement in the headrests. Those are a simple 3.5” round speaker with no boxes. 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. Click here. Q: Do you have the speakers for the Miata’s with the 3.5” speakers? A: No, but the 3.5” round speaker is a very standard size and is widely available at any decent car stereo outlet. Q: Which Miata’s came with headrest speakers installed? A: Except for special and limited editions, there were basically four models of the 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. 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. 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! Questions about retrofitting the Millennium-5 speakers into a Miata’s 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. 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’s important and it’s discussed below). Even if someone has cut away the foam, the original speaker box mounting plates are likely still embedded in the seat backs. Our Retrofit Kit comes with all the required mounting hardware to securely fasten the boxes into place. 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. 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. The reason is that 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. This is the reason 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. Q: OK – so I need boxes for the speakers. Do you sell them? A: Yes. If you've purchased speakers from us any time in the past, you're entitled to special pricing. If you aren't a previous customer and just want the boxes, you can order them here. Q: How about wiring? Do you have a made up harness for the Miata? A: No. The newest Miata factory radio is now more than 10 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 good car stereo source like Parts Express has those plugs. And the wire can simply be normal 18 or 20 gauge speaker wire from Radio Shack. See the step-by-step install guide on our site here that includes a list of the items you'll need. Aside from any special plug for the head unit, everything you'll need is available locally. 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)
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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.
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 (below, 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.