Beat-Sonic ENA-3Z1 Plug and Play Amplifier Kit 2019-2023 ND2 Mazda Miata

My car is a 22 Mazda MX5 Sport without Bose. Installation of the amp couldn't be easier as the harness is installed in the passenger footwell, there is a grounding point right next to where the harness plugs in, and the amp is so small it is easily tucked away. No dash removal, no splicing.

Even with stock speakers, the amp makes for a significant improvement in sound. It is just better all around, but I quickly ran into the speaker limits, which are way below the limits of the amp. They run out of steam - small voice coils, and usually less excursion so although they can technically handle the power level of the amp, they start to compress the sound (not equally across the freq range) and physically distort when the volume is turned up a bit. The sound gets foggy and detail starts to evaporate, bass disappears fades away and vocals disappear into the middle mush. The ND Miata is such a loud car that the volume is always turned up a bit, and so the speakers are always going to be close to that area of mush.

I upgraded the speakers to a pair of efficient separates (93dB), that cost a little bit more than the amp. The ND Miata Sport has a full range driver (whizzer cone) in the door and a tweeter in the A pillar, so although I installed the mid woofer from the components in the door and the soft dome tweeter in the A-pillar, another option would be a 2 way in the door and additional tweeter in the A-pillar, mimicking the factory set up. Speakers took about 10 hours to run in and to be noticeably improved, but they opened up nicely, and pair very well with the amp. Unlike the factory speakers, they don't limit the amp.

The amp also has to run in. I'd say 10-20 hours gets you 80% there. This was a good sign of a high quality amp as lesser amps typically don't change so much on run in. As a total system, particular high points are very clear vocals that sit on top of the mix, smooth extended bass that is controlled,, great balance across the freq range and dynamics. Kick drums kick. Cymbals crash without being painful. I can get way louder than factory without the distortion and break-up. No mush.

The gain settings on the amp are important and the default is a good start. I would plan on making an adjustment to the gain once the amp (and speakers) is/are run in. The trick is to find the setting that lets the amp in the head unit get into the pocket where it gives its maximum dynamics without distorting at the volume level you listen. But if you leave them at the default and never touch them, that will be really close with most speakers.

If someone told me I could get away with spending about $750 for a Made in Japan amp and high quality aftermarket component speakers to get a system that sounds this good, I would not have believed it. I am so impressed with the amp, that I bought another one to put into my daily driver.