Yes, convertibles are inherently more noisy than a fixed-roof car. I know. It's not a big deal to me, but if there is a cheap and easy way to reduce noise a bit then I'm all for it.

Fatmat/Dynamat/etc. works well at cutting down noise and such, but my question is this: in the S2000, are the doors a source of a lot of road noise? If I add sound deadening to the doors, will it make an appreciable difference?

 

when i did it, it didnt make a big diff. sound is better but not road noise reduction

 

+1 I don't think I heard any real change in road noise.

 

+2 here. I have a bit of dynamat and even with the stereo I feel I need alot more sound deadening. Outside noise is always there. Sometimes I think the windows are cracked open lol.

 

I think a lot of noise is transmitted through the floor.

 

Thanks for the input, guys. I guess if I'm feeling bored one weekend I'll yank the carpet and get some Fatmat in there or whatever.

 

Look. You're driving a convertible. No matter how many pounds of dynamat you add to the floor and doors and firewall and what-have-you, you can't get rid of the road noise that comes through the top (esp if it's down). Unless you have a hardtop, save your $$$. I would even argue that the "musical" benefit of dynamat in the doors is a "butt-dyno-esque" judgement (again, IT'S A CONVERTIBLE)

 

Hey Neutered, is there any non butt dyno esque solution for increased musical pleasure?

Just asking because I think you're right... unfortunately

 

Only way I could think of would be to install a hardtop and dynamat/raamat/fatmat (whichever) everything, including the hardtop.

Or you can always improve the quality of your amps/speakers. Yes, there is a point where the improvement received does not match the increase in price. However, lets say that a good 25% of your music quality will be lost on the highway with the top up, and say 50% top down. Given speakers and an amp that would be rated a 4 or 5/10, you're really only getting 3 or 4/10. Given speakers and an amp that would be rated 8 or 9/10, you'll be getting 6 or 7/10. To get from 8 or 9 to a full 10 is extremely expensive and you won't hear the difference. Going from a 5 to 7/8/9 wouldn't be prohibitively expensive and would make a good improvement in sound quality.

 

As far as amplifiers go:

McIntosh, Sinfoni, Audison VRx/Thesis would be 10/10.

Audison SRx/LRx, Zed would be 8 or 9/10

JL G/Slash/HD, Alpine PDX, Eclipse EA/XA, etc are 5,6,7/10

Jensen is -5/10 (or so)


Speakers are far too subjective for me to rate accurately but if you're looking for 7-10/10, look at the higher end offerings from CDT, Morel, Focal, Rainbow, DLS, Hertz, JL, Diamond, MB Quart, etc


HU's can make a big difference. The biggest difference I saw in SQ was moving from passive to active crossovers. To do that, you'll want a HU capable (Alpine CDA-9887, Pioneer Premier D880-PRS, Eclipse CD7200mkII).