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We are having a wonderful January thaw here in the Southwest with lots of sunshine and temps in the low 50's so I took the opportunity yesterday to add rear speakers to MY04 yesterday.
Hats off for the great article and pics. They were a wonderful resource and helped soothe my better half ("look, its all right here!") as I starting cutting holes into my 2 month old brand new car.
The install went smooth, took me a bit longer than originally expected as I went slow in the measuring, cutting and install of the speakers. The speaker placement is critical and my 5 1/4" Alpine's just fit in the small opening behind the panel. Running the wires took less time than I thought but then I ran into confusion when I pulled my radio and harness out. MY04 has a full complement of wires including the rear ones for what I am assuming is the optional Honda rear speakers in the seat head rest.
I pulled the correct ones by following the diagram on my aftermarket harness for the rear left and right speakers.
I did a quick test to make sure both speakers were working and then began the process of buttoning everything back up.
Results were wonderful! As all of us know, the sound in the S2000 seems to be stuck down in the footwells. Add a body or two and your sound is lost for the most part.
With the rear speakers installed ( I have mine set to +3 rear) you find yourself surrounded in sound for the first time in your S2000! You can clearly hear sound coming up from behind the seats, its sharp and not muffled at all. You can feel the bass in the lower portion of your back at times on selections with a lot of low end which is now whetting my appetite for an external amp to pump up the volume a bit more!
I had replaced my stock door speakers just before Christmas with a pair of 6 1/2" Alpine's so I am now running Alpine all the way around. The stock speakers in case anyone is wondering are much better in MY04 than earlier models. No paper cones now, all poly-propylene. It was hard to hear day and nights difference between the stock and my new Alpine's in the door but I am very happy none the less with the sound especially now with the rears. I sat in my S2000 last night just popping CD's in and out and for the first time, I was really happy with what I heard in the cockpit!
Something you should consider is the fact that you are creating sound in an open space. This means that you are losing sound quality and clearity into the void behind the center console. You might want to go to the local stereo shop and try to find a set of Qlogic (i think they are made by Qlogic) speaker cups. They look like little foam cups with a flange on them. They go behind the speaker to enclose the space, allowing you to have better sound.
I usually have to jack the stock HU up to 20 to hear anything decnt aat freeway speeds. And even then it doesn't sound very good. I am still on the fence with what to do.
Originally posted by exsilio
Looks great Ibglowin.
Any further reports on the sound?
I usually have to jack the stock HU up to 20 to hear anything decnt aat freeway speeds. And even then it doesn't sound very good. I am still on the fence with what to do.
Sound: LOL:
Very happy with the sound and only spent $75 for all the parts. You need to leave your seat 1 click up from the farthest recline position for best sound, other than that not much else to do.
The Alpine speakers also have an adjustable tweeter, so I angled it up towards the headrest. This may help a bit in driving the highs up towards your ears.
You still need to crank a bit (not as much as befroe though) with the top down of course, but now you are surrounded by your music instead of having it lost in the foot well.
