gr8jab

I've got a sweet motorola bluetooth speakerphone setup in my RX-8. My only problem is that I can't always hear it at highway speeds, because of road noise and such.

Right now, I have the speaker zip-tied between my legs under the steering column (on the metal bracket that runs by my shins). It is quite unobtrusive. It works great in traffic or at slower speeds. The installation manual said to mount the speaker behind and/or pointing away from the mic (near the sun visor hinge, for me).

I already have a PIE on my radio for XM. The speakerphone doesn't have any handy line-level outputs. Although I could probably buy/build a switchbox/transformer, I really have no desire to wire the speakerphone into my stereo. I was lucky enough not to scratch up the interior when installing the PIE, and I don't want to mess with the radio again.

I was wondering if anyone has tried putting a speaker in the head rest. I know the rotor in the headrest might be a problem/oppotunity. Being so close to my head, I'm sure I would be able to hear/enjoy the conversation much better. With my fat head and shoulders between the speaker and mic, it will probably qualify as 'pointing away' from the mic.

I think the ultimate would be a replacement rotor looking thingy with a built in speaker. I can imagine what it would look like, but don't know how to make one that will look good.

The next best choice would be to mount the speaker to the rotor thingy, then put the mazda seat covers over it.

I know that other cars have speakers built into the headrest. I'm not sure if I can take the factory fabric off the seat and mount a speaker in the foam. It would have to be inside the headrest, above the plastic rotor thingy.

Anyone done anything like this? Any ideas or advice?

Thanks!