Almost finished installing my new speakers. First of all, I have the base stereo (non-bose) and the sound was crap.

All I have left to install is the rear 6x9's, but I had a clearance problem. Another member said he had to install these from the bottom but my box is in the way (need about another 1 1/2 inch). I will try to install them from the top (maybe with a spacer) and cut out an oval shape in the plastic rear decklid to make it fit. It came with grills to cover the speaker.


Here's a list of the new items I put in.

Front speakers - Infinity 5x7/tweeter 6800CS Reference Components
Rear speakers - Infinity 6x9 Reference 9603i
Subwoofers - 2 10W6v2 JL Audio subs in a ProWedge enclosure
Amp - JL Audio 500/1
Capacitor - Rockford Fosgate .5 farad

Bought the cargo tray and organizer from Mazda.
Also put Dynamat in the trunk, rear deck, and doors.

The box fits perfectly against the rear seats. I measured the dimesions in the trunk and decided to get the prowedge enclosure with subs. It wasn't cheap, found a shop that could special order it for $650 (sugg retail is $799). I believe theres a cheaper model (powerwedge) that had less powerful subs but a similiar shaped box that should also work.


All stereo/ dynamat pictures here (http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/)

http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/1%20speaker%20box.jpg
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/2%20trunk%20floor.jpg
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/3%20amp%20in%20trunk.jpg
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/9%20spkr.jpg
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/5%20closeup%20speaker%20box.jpg
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/6%20tight%20fit.jpg
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/7%20new%20speaker%20vs%20old.jpg
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/8%20clearance%20box%20to%20rear%20speaker.jpg

Looking good !!! That is going to be a clean set-up. Thanks for sharing the pics. Lee

Hey Leegina, I knew your screen name sounded familiar. I was bidding on your RX8 wheels on ebay. They went for more than I thought.

Ok, I solved my rear speaker clearance problem with my box.

I installed them from the top and did a test fit with the plastic cover. It was definitely hitting the tweeter/midreange and raised the cover a litte. It would still snap down but you could tell it was raised up. So, I dremeled the inside honeycomb part of the plastic cover and it allowed more room and fit perfectly.
The bottom magnet barely cleared the speaker box.

The sound is awesome. Much clearer and you can feel the bass notes. The only rattle is coming from my radar detector on the window. Will fix tommorrow. Took more pics.



Here's the tweeter/midrange sticking up. Notice the open hole on the bottom right. I removed the clear plastic that was originally on there to help bass get into the cabin. I believe the bose has a speaker installed there.
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/91%20new%20taller%20speaker.jpg

Here's the part I dremeled. Only did the section that hit the speaker.
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/92%20dremeled%20plastic%20cover.jpg

Not noticeable from the top.
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/93%20top%20of%20cover.jpg

Clears the box.
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/94%20clears%20box.jpg

New speaker in , cover on.
http://www.cox-internet.com/adrian-1/images/RX8/stereo/95%20new%20speaker%20installed.jpg

cool

I am installing almost the exact same setup with the exeception of Infinity Perfect 6.1's in the doors and I am planning to build a custom box for my 2 10w6v2's although now if I could only get an empty ProWedge enclosure it would save me the build time.

Anyways, my question is:
Did you test the system w&w/o the cap to see if it was necessary? I haven;t purchased a cap yet 'cause I wastn't sure if the system would require it.

I did not test it without the cap.
Since I'm using a 500W amp, there's a good chance it would dim my headlghts on deep bass notes. 1/2 farad caps are good for up to 500W systems. Plus it was only $40. (more if you get digital V readout, 1Farad caps handle up to 1000W and would have been overkill for my system)

The prowedge dimensions are 12.75"H x 30.00"W x 11.35"D (bottom depth). The height is perfect, width could probably go 2 more inches, and depth maybe 3 more inches before you hit the cargo well. I could measure the top depth if you want to build it exactly.