Well, I followed the lead of some folks on this forum...thanks to all of them for the invaluable descriptions and pictorials....and the quality of the audio in my car is now orders of magnitude better than it was.

I have a Sport package with the base stereo. From reading reviews on here I elected to go with the Infinity Reference speakers: 6000CS 6.5" components in the doors/sail panels and 6x9 9603 3-ways in the rear deck. They're efficient, so I can make the most out of the power available from the stock HU, they sound pretty good and they're relatively cheap.

Now...if you search around on Ebay, they're REALLY cheap. I got mine for a grand total of about $150, including shipping from Canada to South Florida. The fronts were some open-box demo speakers and the rears were used but fully functional. (One caveat: One of the tweeters for the fronts is bad, but there was a guarantee against DOA so we'll see how that goes...still, at about 1/4 the price of a new set I can afford to go get another tweeter if I need to).

A couple notes on install issues that hopefully will be helpful to someone.

- The tweeters CAN be mounted in the stock location without cutting anything. They don't snap in like the stock tweeters, and of course you can't use the existing wiring as it would bypass the Infinity crossover and send bass freqs to your tweeter (the stock tweeter appears to have the high pass filter built in). This also gives you stock aiming of the speaker, which isn't that great. However, I don't like it overly bright so so far I'm happy. Once I get the other side replaced, I may decide I'm better off using the adjustable mount and cutting the sail panel as others have done for sound stage purposes, but I can always do that later.

- The idea used by several others on the forum of using Lexan and a jigsaw to make an adapter for the 6.5" woofer is a GREAT idea. Others have mentioned having to enlarge the stock cutout, but with these speakers I didn't have to do that.

- Someone posted that you can bend the top of the rear seats down enough to get to the rear deck speakers. Personally, I don't see how, unless they aren't mounted properly...there are clips or whatever holding the seat backs to the body, and you have to lift them upwards to get over them....which you can't do without unbolting them from the bottom. At any rate, its insanely easy to take out the rear seats in this car. Seriously. Don't even waste your time trying to avoid it.

- You'll either need a very short torx driver, a small allen wrench or a socket (9mm I THINK). The socket worked great for removal, but I couldn't use it on the re-install because there wasn't room with the Infinities to get it over the screw head. I could fit my torx driver in under the glass to get to the front screws, but not the backs, so I screwed them up from the trunk. The holes weren't perfect, but close enough. Come to think of it, I could have used my own screws with a philips head and a much shorter screwdriver....whatever.

- Pay attention to polarity! I made sure I saw the correction post about the pink, not purple wire being positive on the driver's side rear, and then botched the other side. The white wire is ground, not black, doh! It makes a HUGE difference in bass output.

- The difference in clarity is nothing short of amazing. No more muddy mid-bass hiding all the detail in the music. THe bass itself is pretty amazing, to the point where I actually started questioning whether I needed to get that Basslink...but I came to my sense, of course I need it. Still, even with no sub, no amp and the stock HU I'm very happy with the sound at normal listening levels.

In conclusion: If you don't like the sound of your stock base stereo but are afraid to bother because you don't have $500 or more to spend on it...don't let that stop you!

I'm the one that installed those infinity speakers without taking off the back seats. Like I said before its doable--its a tight squeeze unless you have overly large hands. At any rate once my amp came in, I took the seat backs off to run wires and what not and to ensure the fitment of the 6x9s--it was a seemless install. It is easier to take the back seats off than bend the seats back to do the 6x9 install--its doable but takes some muscle work. No crease was left in the seat like someone incorrectly assumed. But like you said--taking the seat back off is probably the easiest part of this install. I will have pics up soon of my setup. Ultimately I will fiberglass the sail panel in Black to expose the Kappa tweeters and match the piano black trim. I also plan on adding a Polk/Momo 8" sub. With the amp I cannot turn the volume up past 15 without it being BLARINGLY loud.

pictures would be helpful

I actually don't think pictures of my completed install would be very helpful at all...it looks 100% stock! This can be considered either good or bad I suppose. I thought about pictures of my progress, but I would just be rehashing what others have already done. Alas, I'm no pioneer :-)

jds

Hey, where you at in South Florida? I'm living in Miami now.

bereau13: Those are the same speakers I got! I paid a bit more, but got them at Brandsmart for 220 (fronts and rears) since they listed them as a discontinued model :D Who am I to correct them.

Glad we are agreed on how much better such a simple swap worked out :D

Wow, $220 at Brandsmart is pretty damned good. I would have paid the extra for peace of mind...but not the extra for what they should have charged you :-D

rabinabo, I'm in Sunrise, near the Sawgrass Mills mall.

jds

I'd be interested in hearing how much better those speakers sound than stock. I have the base stereo too. I'll PM you later to see if you'd like to meet sometime.

pixs would be cool
either way nice upgrade

Where and how did you mount the crossover for the front speakers?

I mounted it where the Bose amp or crossover or whatever it is goes, right next to the speaker. There's nothing mounted there with the base stereo. I could only use one of the screw holes but it was good enough.

jds

i am planning on doing a similar upgrade to the stock stereo. i was wondering if you knew if the hu has out puts for a sub?

No, it doesn't.

awe man! that sucks. oh well i half expected it anyway. thanks

does anyone have any suggestions on what hu to replace the stock with?

I haven't heard of anyone successfully replacing the HU yet. many have tried and have found the AC/Heat contraols to be an issue. It all seems to be contraolled from the same circuit board. Do some searches to get the whole picture, but I know its not going to be easy.

test

Is there a link to see how to remove the plastic panels for the doors, the HU, popping a 4gauge wire thru the driver's side foot panel, etc? I want to replace the stock speakers, and use my own speakers/amps, but i am a little intimidated because i would have to remove all the bose wiring and get it to the HU. I have 2 JLaudio amps, and would put them in the trunk, but that is a lot of car to have to hide the wires in, and i really dont wanna jack this car up considering i just got it 3 days ago. I thought the bose system would be doable, but there literally is 0 bass out of it. i was really surprised at how bad it was. shouldnt be considering i just got rid of my touring 350Z, and had to replace that bose system too.

The search function is your friend. Literally, you can find detailed information to all of your questions on this board.

Bureau 13

quick question on the install of the remote tweeter:

you said to not use the existing wiring because bass will go to the tweeter .

How did you wire it so that the infinity crossover is being used?

Thanks

Thanks very much for this tip.
I did exactly the same thing after I read your posting,
and I'm happy.

A few things I learned:

- crutchfield has a 6x8->5 1/4 adaptor plate that
fits the 6000cs perfectly (need to drill holes in it for
the speaker mounting holes, that's all). I did ebay for
the speakers but if I did it again I'd just buy everything from crutchfield and get this, nice speaker harness clips, etc included (crutchfield isn't _that_ much more expensive,
especially as both these speakers were on sale last
I looked).

- I believe the fronts are somewhat of an improvement.
The rears, though, are like night and day. And the rears
are easiest to remove.

- I'm not mechanically that competent, and there
were various things that challenged me a bit here.
But to echo earlier comments, the idea that changing
rears speakers is hard _because you need to remove
the rears seats_ is (in retrospect) simply funny. This
is nothing.

- all in all, it probably took me 6-7 hours total.
Doing it again, I could probably do it in 4. (But
see previous point, I'm not good at this stuff.)

- pep boys has replacement clips if you break a few
while removing the front door. The ones I got were for
GM and looked a bit different but worked fine.

- I managed to use a socket wrench to remove/install
all the rear speaker bolts. (Not only didn't I need
to fuss with getting torx bits as various others have
talked about, but it seems to me I must have had
it much easier than anyone who used the torx even if
they had it.) I'm not quite sure where others would
have found difficulty with this. Anyway, if you
have a small xmm socket (for x = ... I forget. 8mm perhaps?) try this first.

-ajg

Well, I just bought a set of Infinty speakers at circuit city. It was a tad more than $150, however -- like $320. That did include a 6x8 mounting bracket for the doors, which was a special order.

Now for the installation. I figure I'll do the back this weekend, the front next weekend, assuming the brackets come in. Too bad the pictures are missing from the DIY threads.

The $150 price assumes you make your own brackets and buy your speakers off of Ebay. You get a bit more security for the money if you do it your way...I had to send one of the tweeters back since it didn't work. Fortunately, the vendor was a good guy and replaced it. Check that feedback before you buy!

jds

Some clarifications:
All screws for the rear OEM speakers are 8mm, so best is to use a ratchet.
The seats come out in max 2 min. each. The rear plastic cover is tricky the first time, before you see how it is hold in place.
Due to the "tower" on Infinitys 6x9 3-way pushing in the top plastic speaker mask, mount the speakers from the trunk side. Someone mentioned it but did not give details on the replacement screw sizes :) The new screws from Home Depot are for metal sheet, #8, 1.25" length, cross-head.

I have a question: is this the "base" non-Bose (100 Watt 6 speaker) system we are replacing, or do new speakers also add a dramatic improvement on the factory 300 Watt Bose (9 speaker) setup? I have already added an Infinity Basslink sub and it really adds a lot on the low end. I would love to improve the highs a bit.

I am right in the middle of replacing the rears on the stock system. Just to make sure I don't mess the polarity, positive wires are pink and black (L and R side) ?
Also, I am using Infinity 3-way speakers in the rear. The "tower" in the middle of the speaker is tilted (on that "tower" are mounted the tweeter and middle freq.). Should I mount them with the tilted part (30 deg.) facing the rear hatch or the front of the car (so I go for direct highs or reflect them in the rear hatch) ?
I did not take the doors apart just yet but what colors are the positive wires in there?

Hmmm, which 6x9 did you use? I used Infinity Reference 6x9 3-ways and the tower didn't touch the plastic cover when mounted from the top. Maybe the Kappas are taller? One of my References blew and I picked up a cheap Kappa 2-way...and it sounds a lot better actually :( Now I may have to replace them all with Kappas!

jds


Some clarifications:
All screws for the rear OEM speakers are 8mm, so best is to use a ratchet.
The seats come out in max 2 min. each. The rear plastic cover is tricky the first time, before you see how it is hold in place.
Due to the "tower" on Infinitys 6x9 3-way pushing in the top plastic speaker mask, mount the speakers from the trunk side. Someone mentioned it but did not give details on the replacement screw sizes :) The new screws from Home Depot are for metal sheet, #8, 1.25" length, cross-head.

Got the Reference ones all around. If the mask is almost fixed and the speaker is not bolted-in, I cannot lift it from the truck by pushing, so I ocncluded it touches the black mask. As I don't want to put stresses on them and it is actually easier to mount from the trunk side anyway (soldering, screws), I went that way. Costs $1 extra for the screws :)

How did yours blow? You use an amplifier? I plan to use the stock unit, I don't like loud music (volume scale 10-12). You had the polarity right?

About 2-way speakers, I've experience the same comparing 2-way vs. 3-way Sony Xplod. The former sounded much nicer. But well bellow the References.... So I got 6x8 References 2-way for the doors and those have swivel tweeters on them.

Mine actually was probably on the way out when I got it. I'm still using the stock HU amplification, although that will change soon. Like I mentioned previously, I went super cheap on this stuff, and paid for it a bit with some stuff that I then had to replace. Still, my total cost is pretty good and the stereo sounds amazing considering what I paid.

jds



How did yours blow? You use an amplifier? I plan to use the stock unit, I don't like loud music (volume scale 10-12). You had the polarity right?

About 2-way speakers, I've experience the same comparing 2-way vs. 3-way Sony Xplod. The former sounded much nicer. But well bellow the References.... So I got 6x8 References 2-way for the doors and those have swivel tweeters on them.

i used the same speakers and bought them on SquealBay, I added the 6 channel infinity amp with a digital lightning audio 1 farad cap and 4 gauge power and gnd wiring and an infinity perfect 10 DVC sub and wired the amp sub channels to each voice coil as I have two sub channels on that amp and since the sub channels are MONO, no need to worry about output level matching, and I used an input line level conditioner also, whenever a decent and affordable setup comes out to replace the factory BLOSE or whatever they use then I will use the preouts on the new HU, it will sound so much better!!!! with a new HU and preouts.....

- Pay attention to polarity! I made sure I saw the correction post about the pink, not purple wire being positive on the driver's side rear, and then botched the other side. The white wire is ground, not black, doh! It makes a HUGE difference in bass output.

All the DIY I found gave the reverse polarity, as per the tech manual. Which thread claims reversed polarity for the rear speakers? That means that the tech manual scheme is also wrong....
Maybe someone who did the instal on the base system can advise?

I have a question: is this the "base" non-Bose (100 Watt 6 speaker) system we are replacing, or do new speakers also add a dramatic improvement on the factory 300 Watt Bose (9 speaker) setup? I have already added an Infinity Basslink sub and it really adds a lot on the low end. I would love to improve the highs a bit.Yes, replacing the stock speakers with good quality, sensitive ones will make a world of a difference with the base stereo.
The Infinity Reference series speakers would be a good choice - drop-in sizes are available, and they are not too expensive either. You will get much better sound. You probably want to go with a component setup in the front, to get the most gain.

I can't remember! Whatever I said in the post you quoted is correct. :D

jds

All the DIY I found gave the reverse polarity, as per the tech manual. Which thread claims reversed polarity for the rear speakers? That means that the tech manual scheme is also wrong....
Maybe someone who did the instal on the base system can advise?

OK, I mounted them and linked them as per this thread. They do work, bass seems OK, how to figure out if the polarity is fine? Is there some special sound file (like you get for DolbyDigital 5.1 home theaters setting) to test the 6 speaker stereo system in the base audio RX-8? :|

Well, wire one of the rears backwards and watch your bass response vanish...its pretty obvious actually when you do it wrong.

jds

OK, I mounted them and linked them as per this thread. They do work, bass seems OK, how to figure out if the polarity is fine? Is there some special sound file (like you get for DolbyDigital 5.1 home theaters setting) to test the 6 speaker stereo system in the base audio RX-8? :|

this car has soooo much trunk space...i will be making use of it very soon.. :)

is there an alternator upgrade for the rx-8 yet?

the alternator on the mazda is very good, if you think you need to upgrade the alternator, then you REALLY must be obsessive compulsive, perhaps you would be better off with a prescription of ZOLOFT!

I've seen a thread on installing front door speakers, but I can't seem to find it at the moment. Can anybody point me in the right direction?

I am not sure how to get the cover off or how to get the rear seats out. I don't want to break anything. Can someone explain?

Thanks!

There's an excellent write-up (or two) somewhere on the forum, if you search for it you will find it. In a nutshell, just pull the bottom seat cushion up and out...it just pops out...and then unscrew two bolts holding the seat back in, and lift the seat back up and out. The speaker cover is snapped in, just be careful prying it up so you don't break any of the plastic clips.

jds

you have to remove the rear seats to get to the rear speakers,

there are many good speakers out there, the question is, how much do you want to spend??

whatever you choose to buy, will clearly be better than what comes in the car.....blose????

OK, I'm finally done installing all the 4 speakers for the base stereo unit. I mounted Infinity Reference's all around - sounds completely different, well worth the effort (cause I did it myself, with help from Kel RX8 (thanks, buddy !). Used 6x9 3-way in the rear, and 6x8 2-way in the doors (make sure to aim the tweeters on these towards you! - it rotates 135 deg.). Perfect fit, no extra brackets, even the stock speaker cover (look at them when out, there is some half-shield made from plastic glued on the back - pry with a flat scredriver those slowly, the glue is like chewing gum, it will come loose and will hold on the new speakers as well). The holes will all line up and everything will be tight and beautiful :)
The rear ones - get 1.25" long metal screws no.8 and mount them from the trunk side - the tweeters on them touch the grill if dropped in place from inside the car, like the stock ones.

For all speakers you can just cut and solder the original wires (small gauge but since no extra amplifier is added.... should work just fine). Cut next to the connectors, the right rear will be at the limit (or the other rear one, depending which way you want the rear speaker tweeters to face - I have them facing the hatch glass - as those are not adjustable like the fronts).

When you do the rear ones - if you have XM radio, sneak the little antenna under those grills when are out - put it on the metal "shelf"...... it works just fine, no need to have it hanging outside the car.... I lose reception only under overpasses or in tight mountain places (no direct sight to the satellite if a huge rocky wall happens to overlap). This insures a nice "stealth" XM install (those with factory units can do it too - I've seen the Shinka's have it on the trunk lid.... does not look safe there.

No extra amplifier and the bass is fine, no major need for a subwoofer. I left the original tweeters in place for now as the 5x7 in the door have tweeters too, so there are enough highs.... Now, don't get me wrong, after coming from the stock paper speakers (incredible how cheap/crappy they look ! I hope the Bose system uses nicer ones), it all sounds incredible right now but once I'll get used to it, I might add other tweeters and maybe a subwoofer.

Few comments to clarify the polarity of the speakers, as I did the testing myself (this thread, when it starts, gives the wrong polarity! Yes, the rear are in phase, so if you switch one, sounds gets ugly. But, the rears and the door ones are out of phase if you wire the rears as per this thread (sorry, bureau13 :) you were correct about both rear being in phase - but did you tested fronts versus rears? I did )

So the correct POSITIVE wires are:
1. Left Door is red,
2. Right Door is black/white,
3. Left Rear is violet (NOT pink) and
4. Right Rear is white/blue stripe (NOT black).

These colors are in line with what the service manual (see picture atached here) mentions as well - and the sound is great, as I said, because all 4 speakers work in phase now. Even visually you can see them moving all out when the bass kicks (before, as per this thread, the rears were moving in! )

Also, I took the panels down - and the cover behind (that supports the window rails), to put Dynamat on the door metal skin. Cutting the right pieces took a while, as there are two tilted cross bars reinforcing the structure and I had it put in between those bars.... Use gloves, lots of sharp endges in there and the Dynamat black tar is not easy to remove (I went through 3 pairs of gloves because of it - it is so sticky, it would rip the glove if I touched it).

As for how to remove the door panels, this site instructions worked just fine, no issues. I also took the time and use silicon sealant around all those foam inserts as none was fixed in place and surely rattles (you'll see them on the panel back side, pull on them, they move - hence would vibrate on the road or with the bass). Also, I sealed the tweeters in their supports - they moved way too much - another sure source of noise on bumpy roads....

Hope this helps people still wondering which is the right polarity or which speakers (and their sizes) to get. All 4 speakers came new from an online store for $150 - I also paid $45 for two Dynamat "wedges" rolls (1 is enough to insulate one door almost completely).
For the money, I have a great sounding stock system but also QUIET when I feel like listening to the engine's music :)

Hmmm, weird. I get a s***load of bass, but maybe that's coming from the sub :D

I'll have to take a look at this.

jds

So all i need is infinity speakers 6x9 3-way in the rear, and 6x8 2-way in the doors??
Can you guys please put some more details on the speakers? or list the parts# for me?
I'm thinking about upgrading my base stock sound system.

Yeah, that's right. You can find a whole lot more info faster by doing a searching than waiting around for an answer here. I went with the infinity reference 6x8 components in the front and polk db690 6x9 3-ways in the rear. The biggest difference is in the rear speakers, like night and day, the bass improved that much.

For the part numbers, I would just look up crutchfield.com, and they'll have all the specs on any of these speakers. That's how I decided which speakers to get.

Just pick some speakers that you like....chances are they'll come in a size that can be made to fit. The 6x8 for the doors is a bit odball...but you don't need to do it that way. I used 6.5 inch components, and pretty much everything comes in that size.

The stock rears are just so incredibly muddy when compared with even a fairly inexpensive aftermarket replacement.

jds

sure whis I had read the entire thead, cause I installed my pioneer premier's today (awsome speakers btw) and yes the wrong polaritary all the way around. nice huh. so went back and redid it after seeing this and it made a big differance. cheers! :)

I'm still confused as to why an amp will provide a great improvement to speakers even at the 10-12 volume level. I guess I'm stuck at thinking more power = more volume, not more power = better signal. :dunno:

Think of it this way: If you have to turn the stock amp up most of the way to get the volume you want then a more powerful amp means you get the same volume at a lower setting. Since amps distort at high settings...especially cheap ones...it stands to reason that you will be getting cleaner sound at the same listening volume.

jds