Miata Bose 01

Mazda has released more details of the new specially-developed Bose sound system offered on the latest fourth-generation MX-5 roadster. The big news is, headrest-mounted speakers - pioneered on the original Mazda MX-5 - are back!

Now, a pair of 2.0-inch (50 mm) Bose UltraNearfield speakers, working in tandem with the proprietary Bose TrueSpace digital signal processing technology to create a wide sound stage, even with the speakers just inches away from the listener. The music envelops the occupants and doesn't fade in the breeze, claims Bose.

Acoustics obviously get (quite literally) thrown out of the window in open-top cars. With the roof down, vocals and instruments can be lost when competing with ambient noise. To combat this issue, Bose designed a unique sound system with different roof-up and roof-down equalisation settings. The EQ settings, combined with Bose AudioPilot 2 noise compensation technology, adjust automatically depending on roof position, wind and road noise.

a pair of 6.5-inch (165 mm) speakers in each door and one-inch (25 mm) neodymium tweeters in the A-pillars. Bass is delivered by a 5.25-inch (130 mm) woofer housed in a six-litre custom enclosure under the front passenger footwell. Completing the system is a dedicated, seven-channel digital Bose amplifier mounted below the convertible-top storage space.