Hi. One of the interesting features of the MY 06 and up is that there are 4 extra speakers, two in each headrest. Because of this, the fade control on the stereo actually works, and you can adjust the balance from front to back.

However, the volume on the rear speakers seems to be lower than the front speakers so that with the fade control set to 0, the front sounds louder than the back. If you adjust the fader to balance the volume from front to back, increasing the balance to the back, the volume of the music goes down.

I'm just wondering what others who have had their MY 06 models for a while, have found to be a good adjustment for the fade control.

 

i tried playing around with the fader. but the thing is, the roll bar speakers are so pathetically weak, i have to lean my head back on the head rest just to really hear their presence. i gave up, i just leave the fader to 0 and keep most of the power to the front, where the speakers are a bit better.

the sound system of the S really seems to be anemic. this xmas i will be getting a new headunit + modifry's dci.

 

I would like to keep in touch with traffic and emergency information, even with the top down. I'll experiment with the rear speakers set to +2 and see if the sound remains audible on the highway, top down.

 

The reason why the volume of the rear speakers are lower, is because the rear speakers are right next to your head.


That is because the front speakers put out more sound than the rear speakers. When you balance the front and rear speakers, re-adjust the volume to where the system is putting out a simular level of volume as it was before you adjusted the balance.

You should have a simular volume level, but balanced front and rear. If you can't achieve this, look into some better rear speakers.

 

Thanks for the tip, racer, I thought about increasing the volume, but something about seeing the volume level over 20 made me squeamish about maybe blowing the speakers.

 

The A-package first gen Miata's have a similar setup, with a speaker in each door, and two speakers in each headrest. Same problem too. The headrest speakers are too small to be effective, and even upgrading them didn't help much with our MX5. They're just too darn small.

 

The setting of the volume should not have any effect on distortion. Distortion is caused by adjusting the volume up so high, that either the speakers can't handle the power, or the amplifier is too under powered and the speakers are draining all the power, thus causing distortion.

A high quality, efficient speaker will offer the best sound if matched with an amplifier that is simular in quality as the speakers and is rated at or above the speakers in terms of RMS power output.

 

Top down at 80-85mph, I've got the volume at 26-29 depending on the song, and the fader set to +3. Balance is 0. Bass is 3. Treble is 6.

I have no problems with hearing the music. I actually am in the minority in saying that I actually like the S2000 stereo. It really isn't that bad. I have my TL to compare to, and honestly the S2000 doesn't fair too badly when compared with the stock setup in my TL.

 

i found +2 in the rear to be best for my liking

 

the stock stereo sucks so bad that the headunit probably doesn't have enough power to even blow the paper coned crap speakers.

i just got a 9857 hu which is going to be installed next week. can't wait!