Will I even notice a difference between these speakers??? The Rainbow line seems way too expensive to be logical. The Focal line however, seems to be great and right up my alley. Although im confused on which line to look at with the Focal products. Which would be best? Would it be worth it or should I just stick to the CDT ES's??

thanks guys!!!

Oh and the link to Focal Audio is www.focal.tm.fr/index.html And they have a tab to click on to switch to english. The only supplier in the US is in Cali. Go figure.

 

You would be buying from a local dealer, not a supplier. search for dealers in your area.

As far as difference in sound, its all subjective to Your ears. I carry both Focal and Rainbow, Ill keep my Rainbows anyday.

A few months back in a sanctioned IASCA competion (SQ) the Rainbow SLs were compared to the Focal Utopias....Focal Lost by 3 points. Comparing a $350ish set of Rainbows to a $1000ish set of Focals.

Rainbow is also not That expensive especially considering theyre all made in germay and are a Very solid product. One of my best selling lines of components/coaxs.

--Don

 

Thanks for the reply!!!

So what would you reccomend in the Rainbow line for my application? also, once Ive decided, I take it you can sell to me, right???

thanks again!

 

It would all depend on your budget, they can range from the $200 range to the $10K range...

 

Don't forget that if you are going to be dishing out some moderate/serious bank to have ample clean power to push them. Pearl can help you out, he's easily the most reputable audio guy on the .org I bought a set of rainbow coaxes for my rearfill and recived them lickety-split!

 

You have not mentioned one product line from either Rainbow or Focal to compare to the ES's. Funny you mention the Eurosports -I recently had a caraudio forum member(that blew a ES mid)buy a set of Rainbow Soundline components I had originally reserved for my Pathfinder- and he hasn't looked back, loves them. And these are 2nd from the bottom of Rainbow's product line and considerably more affordable. A vehicle equipped with these Soundlines last spring beat out a vehicle with $900 Focal Utopias (top of the line set) in Spain IASCA competition. SLC's had other 1st place finishes in European finals as well in '04- just to give you an idea of what they are capable of
http://car.rainbow-audio.de/press/ne...n=2&dat=062004

Each speaker is 'hand made' in Germany under the highest of quality standards. You mention they 'seem too expensive to seem logical', yet they have a product line for EVERYBODY.

Also both Focal/Rainbow are in a different league IMO- they dont have kids online pushing and selling their products dirt cheap below msrp- while the European brands are more restricted and a wiser investment as they hold their value better. Also the name, quality reputation sells itself- people that shop for these are looking for a reason
IMO The term 'CDT' has now become synonymous with 'cheap', as they are suggested in every 'cheap' or '$100-200 components' thread around . I would think of them in another light if they sold factory direct at those prices- not pretending to support their dealer networks while allowing online sales . A good reason why nobody carries them anymore.

BTW - My intentions are not to offend those that use or prefer CDT. They do make quality products. I'm just calling them how I see them

 

Okay, I know i dont have 10000 buck to spend, so lets stay in the non bankruptsy range . anyway, im going to be putting the speakers with the Zapco Refrence 360.4 and eventually a Pioneer Avic-D1. So, lets say I dont want bottom of the line and i dont want top of the line (if its 10K), what should I be looking at? I dont really want to get into any modification in order to install them, thats saying not like a custom rip apart and reinstall. Im just looking to put them in the stock holes. So I know youre the pro at this, so any help would be appreciated. What specs should I entertain in the Rainbow line?

thanks in advance!

 

Would those be the Rainbows that I have? If so, schweeeeetttt!

 

exactly. i call my speakers budget speakers but all in all if i had more than $150 at the time for components i would have gone with something else.

 

Lemme know whatcha want now.... Im sure I got it. Wanna demo a set of Alumapro ALC6.2s?

 

define demo? lol i still owe my mom $100 for my new sub. kevin hook me up with the job already!

 

Well of course youd have to pay for them ....then leave some feedback. We can work out the pricing via PMs

 

:attention

 

Definately get the Rainbow Soundline speakers, you won't be disappointed. I know I'm not. (and I shopped on a "budget")

 

What is a ballpark budget that youd like to be within? I can provide you something within that range. Or possibly a bit lower...

 

Lets say $800 bucks.

 

Now thats what Im talking about... ProfiVanadiums/Kickbass Up for you sir A bit of dampning and youll have an amazing front stage.

May want to take that AVIC out of your plans though, your system will only work as well as its weakest link....

 

How is the AVIC-D1 a weak link??? They havent even released it yet.

 

Something doesnt have to be released to know what the product is/does. It is an AVIC-N2 in a double din chassis. Which would equal being a typical HU with touchscreen and Navi. Nothing more, nothing less. Just like buying a lower line Pioneer HU and adding a screen to it.

To add to that the 2V preouts will own you.

 

Well, I know with a new HU, you get a better EQ than stock, and that pretty much sums up what I know about HU's. Anyway, This unit has everything I want in it!!!! What am I going to do now????? Will it still be okay to get it and get an aftermarket EQ??? What should I do? My preferences on the HU would be, XM, DVD, NAVI (optional really), and the Gauges thingie (really just a perk there). Anyway, that bums me out, i was really excited about it.

I am interested in the Rainbows BTW. What can we work out on those?

 

[QUOTE=Pearl96Max]Now thats what Im talking about... ProfiVanadiums/Kickbass Up for you sir A bit of dampning and youll have an amazing front stage. QUOTE]

Is SecondSkin audio a good choice for dampening? Or is that also a weak link???

 

Ill throw together some pricing for you. Are you doing rear fill as well?

As for adding a processor to the AVIC it could get rather pricey. I just dont want to see your running all high end equiptment and then let down with the HU itslef. You may want to look into the Eclipse AVN5435 for your double din touchscreen/DVD/etc needs.

Second skin makes a good product although business wise Ive been having some issues, which of course wouldnt affect you in anyway.

--Don

 

By rear fill are you refering to some 6 by 9's? I havent planned on it, but Ive always kep that option open. If youre meaning rear fill by replacing the stock speakers in the rear doors, then yes, the stock ones are as good as gone. Ill need some co-ax's for the rear doors too. Where do I get info on the AVN5435?

Thanks for your words of advice, I really appreciate it!

 

Yes I was referring to the rear doors. I wouldnt tell ya to budget up that deck to throw speakers in there.

Unfortunately Eclipse hasnt updated their site yet, althought the units have been released about 2 weeks ago and Ive already sold/installed about 5 of them. In the meantime any questions you might have Im sure I can help you with.

Did you already buy the Zapco amp, or it was just a consideration?

--Don

 

Well, first of all, Id like to see what the AVN5435 looks like and Id also like to see some specs/features as well as some *pricing* info on them. Do all the Eclipses come with Sirius? Ive got XM now and even though the price is going up, id still like to keep it.

No, I have not purchased the Zapco amp yet, it was just a decision I came to after weeks of research. I like to research as much as possable so I dont buy something and then get mad cause I could have gotten something better if id only done some research beforehand. why do you ask???

 

yeah thats why i saved alot of $ and went with the pioneer 6600...its so sad that EVEN this year they are still making their navi unit with 2v preouts.

 

Okay, explain what the heck 2V preouts are. Dont get too technical, youll lose me!

Just like to know what they are, maybe ill learn something new.

thanks!

 

don will chime in but the higher the preouts the less "noise" in a system. for example, my subwoofer amp goes from like 250mv-8v. my tv has 4v preouts so if everything worked perfectly in car audio i should set the gain to about 1/2. if you had 2v preouts youd have to set it much higher, thus more noise can enter the system. higher preouts=cleaner signal via lower gains.

 

Okay, now I understand.

2V =

 

Check out this email I just got from a Rainbow Distributor...

I have a 2001 Maxima (same car different engine), so I can relate to what you are trying to do. I have a 4-channel Zapco C2K-4.0 amp and installed high-grade mids and tweeters in the locations you noted. With my car I found that the factory placements of the mids and tweeters will not exactly yield the best results. The drivers side mid is absorbed by your pants, while both sides are hampered by the depth of the grill structures. The sound bounces around in the door panels, and sounds smeared.
Also, while the tweeter is located at an almost ideal height, the factory grill assembly again is pointed off axis and absorbs much of the highs.
After returning from Japan a few weeks ago, I found what is probably the only good way to achieve sonic eutopia---custom A-pillars. The factory A-pillars need to have pods grafted on to accept a pair of upper mid-tweeter drivers. This is what I would propose:

Rainbow KX87 Installer 3.5" Coax. These drivers should easily handle 200 Hz and up, but would better at 400 hz crossover. Theya made in Germany and sound exceptional natural and dynamic.

Alumapro 6000 6.5-inch mids to handle 80-400 hz. You will need to make/buy an adapter plate to install into the factory hole, since the factory speaker is a non-standard size. These speakers do not require an enclosure, but a few sheets of Madmat (Dynamat) in the doors is recommended.

For subs, a single Alchemy12 MX in a sealed box of 1.0-1.2 Ft3 would suffice. It is highly desirable to have a custom baffle board fitted behing the rear seats to seal the trunk from the main cabin. This will tighten the bass and improve overall efficiency.

We think this is a good start, but obviously we need you input on whether custom A pillars are an option for you. If not, we are not convinced that ANYTHING will perform to your expectations. Let us know what you think!

Regards,

Matthew Honnert
VP Engineering


Pretty detailed huh?

Responses anyone?

 

this is why i like smaller companies.

 

Maxima-ness....stock locations are more than ideal for a nice system-no need to tear your car up, fiberglassing. Leave that as an option if you are not content after install. I actually used my doors sail panel to mount my tweets. as i prefered them there, required nothing drastic really- and as any 5th gen owner will tell you-midbass drivers mounted on an mdf ring and a dampened door give great results. You wont be lacking in any dept-trust me...

The Profi Vanadiums are sweet, but unfortunatly I would not waste them by using a 50rms x4 ch amp (ref350.4) I'd give them at least a 100rms x4- for example an arc xxk4150 which BTW is a finer Zeff product than the Reference line. Or go with a higher powered 2ch/4ch of your choice to get the full potential from that fronstage.

 

So you installed the tweeters in the little black thingie in the bottom front corner of your doors? Also, whats this adaptor you speak of, the mdf ring? I plan to dampen the entrie car via SecondSkin.

thanks!

 

just make a square piece of 3/4" mdf to use as a spacer big enough to fit the speaker.

 

MDF?

 

one of my doors partially done...you basically make a mount out of mdf (medium density fiberboard) and deaden all around the door as well as the mount itself before mounting speaks.

 

Yes it is and Matthew knows his products very well. You must have contacted Alumapro, in which case I was just on the phone with them finalizing an order.

Although unless your getting into a Very large amount of work and custom fabrication the stock locations for the mids will work very well. As for the tweets they can be mounted within the door panel itself,A-Pillar or Mirror pillar. Personally from all the Maximas that Ive done Im quite pleased with the stock (A-pillar) location sounds. Especially considering there is very minor modification and it is completely stock looking.

 

My doors done with various manufacturers...



Wifes car...




As far as your power on that amp...I have to agree with Manny on that one. A 4150XXK would run those beautifully. Hmm sounds like what I have

Voltage preouts as Rich stated will change the overall aspect of how the amp handles the input into it. Something with a higher output as well as LOW impedance will eliminate any noice induced into the system, run your amp at a lower level thus more efficent and without the introduction of distortion.

Eclipse AVN= 5V/55Ohm > AVIC= 2V@2369178234Ohm Also keep in mind that Eclipse has proven time and time again that there specs are very accurate if not Underrated. Whereas other companies :::coughAlpinecough:: Overrate theirs.

Ive posted a few pics and some specs of the AVN on here just search around a bit, or I will try to find them again.

--Don

 

So with some minor mods, I can put all the speakers in the stock locations, right? What kind of mod do you normally do to the stock location of the tweeter on the A-pillar? Matt got me a little worried when he said that the stock locations added a lot of distortion if not modified.

Yes, it was the same Matt you ordered with.

Rest assured I will take all advice to heart, as im not just thinking of doing this, it will be done, and I want to make sure I only do it once.

thanks for your through advice so far!

 

oh, and Matt told me to contact Robert at Zapco, but id feel a little guilty doing so If im checking out the Arc Audio amp...