Alright, I've got the itch, I can't live with crappy sound in the Miata. I'm not going to do anything about road noise but I'm going to add some deadening to the doors. 

 

The plan is to put a 7" tablet, a miniDSP and a PPI 900.4, and do a simple 2-way install, without a sub. 

 

Midbasses are going to be a set of Adire Extremis 6.8. I'm already using a set in the Jeep, they dig down deep enough for what kind of listening I want in the Miata. Plus it's a pity to let my extra pair collect dust. 

 

Tweeters vs Full-ranges...the car has narrow A-pillars, speakers should pair up with the Extremis (I've seen them used up to 1.6-2k in home audio) and shouldn't be over $150. 

What I've been looking are are:

 

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/vifa-soft-dome-tweeters/vifa-ne25vts-04-1-silk-dome-tweeter/

 

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/approx-2-fullrange/vifa-ne65w-2-fullrange-driver-4-ohm/

 

Both have the same external diameter, almost identical mounting depth. Is there any other sensible choice in the budget and size?

 

 I'm really leaning towards the full-ranges for the reason that I can cross them way lower than the tweeters. They're as efficient as the Extremis and a 4x140w amp should provide enough output. 

For a qtc of 0.7 the full-ranges need a 1L box. This is what scares me since I want to keep the A-pillar build as small as possible. Really curious if I can vent them under the dash. Ideally I'd take out the dash and install a pair of 3" full-ranges there but it's too much work for this car. 

Set of under dash horns?

J

Won't work, the dash is very low. Same goes for kick-panel full-ranges. It's either on the dash or on the A-pillars.

Was hoping for some under dash room to cut and glass a set in.

With the choices you have suggested I would vote for the pillars.

J

As long as you keep the front and rear waves separated, a little padding is all you'll need behind the FRs.  No need for an enclosure.  You won't need/want to extend them low enough for that.

My pillars are packed pretty full with polyfill for the Founteks, and they play quite well.

As long as you keep the front and rear waves separated, a little padding is all you'll need behind the FRs.  No need for an enclosure.  You won't need/want to extend them low enough for that.

Also won't be able to, 2" ers have no balls. A vertical array of a pair of them may be interesting depending on the pillar. If I had to choose a 2 or a tweet I'd probably do the tweet. None of the downfalls of the FR with the capability to play low enough to blend with the Extremis. I'd figure out a way of getting a little more space though and running a full size tweet if I could.

Vertical array is too much. I'll take the FR88 and take some pictures to see just how small the A-pillars are. It's a tiny car 

Fountek FR88 for comparison with the A-pillars:

 

 

 

 

They are way too large for how small the car is. I'll have to settle for the 1" Vifa tweeter in the first post. And hope I can mate it with the Extremis. 

Do you use your A/C? I see two spots that would hold 3's nicely...

Any chance you can mount them on the top of the dash firing up towards the windshield?  Looks like there's room but I'm guessing it's a PITA to remove the top of the dash.  Also would require cutting the dash and I didn't catch how you feel about that.

It's too much work to take out the dash, not something I want to go through. 

 

Most of the times I use the foot and windscreen vents. The driver's side dash vent is blocked by my hand while driving. But I'll look some more into that location. 

the pillars dont look much smaller then my brother's sentra.  i guess the sentra's do widen towards the bottom where as the miata does not.  what about dash pods? 

 

Dash pods, no way, no how. I want as little interference in my field of view as possible. Hell, I've been thinking about putting the mids on the door. Not ideal, not nice  

3 way?

3-way would require 2 extra channels and extra processing which a 2x4 minidsp doesn't have. I'm having troubles thinking about a tweeter or FR location, I'd have twice as many for a 3-way front stage 

 

For the moment, I need to buy the amp and tweeters and it will be functional. I already have a Pioneer cd-player and the amp can handle processing. 

Another 2 tweeter options:

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/soft-dome-tweeters/tang-band-28-1177sb-1-textile-dome-tweeter/

 

the TB is apparently close to the 1" Vifa in performance. 

 

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/vifa-soft-dome-tweeters/vifa-ne19vts-04-3/4-silk-dome-tweeter-4-ohms/

 

This is the smallest out of the the 3. I'm tempted to buy the TB and dremel away at the mounting flange to make it smaller. 

I can't say that I've had good luck with quality on the TB tweets. The mids have been good lately, but I always twinge when ordering something from them.

When I ordered the W3's for the Passat install, one arrived with the voice coil stuck and Madisound sent another mid. If QC is the main concern, it's not that scary.