First thing, the tear on the passenger side is normal if the bar that touchs the top was not filed down.

Second thing, was there water coming in through the tear?

Third thing, some people forget to treat there tops and that's why they look done, I have brought a few tops back to life with some cleaning.

Foruth thing, I can tell you right now that you hear everything in the s2000 with the top up and windows closed.

 

I dailyed 2 S2000s, both AP2s a total of over 100,00 miles. Every minute I sat in an S2000 I heard the gears engaging, the wind sweeping past the softtop, the tires rolling over every pebble, the exhausts growling and oh! how can I forget? The revs climbing. I love it! I crave it! I turn off the radio because it's much better music; it connects you with your vehicle. Let's get this straight. This is not a quiet car by any means. It is a modern bare bones roadster with only the bare necessities steering wheel, pedals, speedo, tach, two seats, four wheels and a gearbox. As close as you can get to driving a go kart on the street. It's a driver's car. The goal is to connect you to the road through your vehicle.
A hardtop and maybe some DynaMat might help but if you require that level of comfort that you described above then you should just look at another car because the S2000 will not make you happy.

Make sure that there are fender liners in the front. Sometimes they are removed or cut to fit bigger tires.
Good luck in your search.