Do I have headrest speakers?

[Laconian]

My Miata's sound system sucks, because it only has two speakers near the legs and neither of them gets particularly loud (necessary in a LOUD CAR.)

I doublechecked the package for my car. I have the Popular Equipment Package which has power steering, cruise, power windows and locks, Torsen diff and... headrest speakers? So how come I haven't heard a lick of sound from them yet? The HU is aftermarket which leads me to believe that the installer neglected to re-wire the headrest speakers.

Either that or for some odd reason I don't have any headrest speakers at all. Is there any sure way to check short of ripping things apart and looking for wires? They are black cloth seats and so the speakers would not be as easily identifiable as the leather-equipped seats.

[Eye of the Tiger]

A friend of mine put Miata seats into his TR8, they were tan leather and had perforations on the headrest. He wired the speakers into his car and they sounded great!
There must be a way to access the speakers if they are in-fact there. Is there a zipper on the upholstry perhaps?

[AutobahnSHO]

Look for wiring from the seat to headrests/ floor to seats??

You could also pull the headunit and see if there are any loose wires not connected to anything, or if there are 4 sets of speakers connected to the headunit..

[Rupert]

Well, here's a question I can answer!

The headrest speaker-ed seats have got a zipper around the headrest. No zipper, no speakers. Also, there will be a wire running from the console to the seat, with a plug thing in the middle.

The stock speakers in there suck, but there are aftermarket speakers that do not suck. I think they're made by Clearwater. Check Moss Motors or one of those sites...

Could the fader on the head unit be all the way to the front?

[Laconian]

I took a Xenon flashlight and looked for it... and ooh ooh, there's the zipper!!! Found a few exposed speaker wires nearly under the seat when I moved everything FAR forward....! COOL!

I think the head unit doesn't even connect to the wires. I adjusted the fader to 100% rear and heard absolutely nothing, hence my apprehension that I didn't even have the speakers in the first place. Do you know if the speakers reproduce both left and right channels on each headrest?

I'm looking forward to driving in the summer with sound aimed at my ears and not at my shins!

[AutobahnSHO]

Bring me the car and I'll not only wire it up but testdrive it for you.  Just to make sure the speakers work, of course....   

[Rupert]

Yeah, me too, but I'm much closer.

Each seat does have a left and a right channel.

[AutobahnSHO]

Yeah, me too, but I'm much closer.

Where's the fun in that?? 

[Rupert]

Good point.

[Secret Chimp]

I'd assume you'd do something like double-wire the front speaker leads from the aftermarket head unit (splice the front speaker leads as well as the headrest speaker leads to the front speaker lead and ground running from the head unit's harness). Whatever it is, it shouldn't be too difficult.

[Laconian]

Is it hard to yank the HU?

I'm thinking of just getting them hooked up when I replace my whole system this spring. The speakers suck, the HU sucks.. it all needs to gooooooooooooo!

[Secret Chimp]

It looks like the Miata's interior has a 2 DIN or 1.5 DIN sized radio (you'd be in some shit if you had the radio integrated into the same panel face as the HVAC controls like my girlfriend's stupid Escort). What you may need to do is buy a little plastic spacer block that holds the deck on top and creates a little storage bin on the bottom so the stock stereo's slot is fileld in, but generally it's an easy job.
You'll probably just remove the lower console/tunnel cover and then the upper console to get the stereo out. It was a very quick job on my Accord, I barely even needed my manual for it. Just make sure you check a Haynes or Chilton first so you're aware of any hidden screws, or hooks you can break if you start removing a panel in the wrong direction, etc.

[AutobahnSHO]

crutchfield.com is good for this- they little diagram they give out with a purchase shows all the clips/screws that hold the radio/speakers in. (Much better than a Chilton's etc...)
They can also tell you which radios will fit in the car, and sell the harness adapter, and dash adapter to hold a smaller radio.  They're a little pricey though, so you should check around, too.

But I would still try to get their installation diagram.  maybe you can buy it separately??

[Rupert]

He already has an aftermarket HU... As such, there are these handy little tools that slip in the sides of the HU and catch on little hooks that compress or something, allowing you to remove the HU. You  can probably buy them somewhere. If yer already gonna replace the whole system, I'd just do it then. But definitely get better headrest speakers! (http://www.gomiata.com/clhesp.html) Spendy, but worth it (or so I hear). It won't be hard to hook up the speakers, as the harness from them combines them all for you, so at the HU end, there's only a left and right wire (IIRC).

[Secret Chimp]

I forgot to mention to watch out for those little harness adapters. I didn't pay attention when going to a local independent audio shop and ended up shelling out $17 for a plastic plug with colored wires coming out of it. If you have a Best Buy with a car installation center in it, they should have fair parts prices (the one out here does, at least).

[Laconian]

Really? I always assume that Best Buy was the worst buy by default.

No, I don't want a $5 warranty on this $15 music CD.

[AutobahnSHO]

Really? I always assume that Best Buy was the worst buy by default.

No, I don't want a $5 warranty on this $15 music CD.

LOL
Sometimes they are cheaper on the same stuff you'd get somewhere else. 

[Onslaught]

If I was you I would rewire the rear speakers when doing all this. I just did this to my MX-5 because the factory wiring is so thin that it break from the seat moving all the time. That and it's just cheap anyway. You can get replacement speakers off Ebay or even round ones will fit from a car stereo store.