I've been driving around town listening to all sorts of speakers, namely ones from Boston, Focal, Eclipse, Alpine & MB Quartz. Unfortuately, I haven't been impressed with what I've heard. Even the MB Quartz were a bit too abrasive for my tastes. I guess I'm looking for something a bit warmer, with the highs complimenting the mids, not competing with them. Anyway...I did stumble on shop that carried Diamond and was througly impressed. (the S600s I believe) The only thing unappealing about them was their size 6" and their price, 550 bricks.

My question: Does anybody recommend any other speakers from them? I'm curious to know how the D661s sound, but they didn't have them readily available for me to listen to.

Conversely, not being able to hear the Rainbows, and having to take a leap of faith if I do buy them, how do they compare to the Diamond's? I've heard mention of the SLC's, but haven't heard much about the Profi or Germanium lines. How does the SQ differ from line to line?

Thanks for any help you can provide me with.

FYI: My musical taste primarily revolves around crunchy guitar riffs and solos and quick punchy bass beats. Stuff like Dinosaur Jr, Deftones, A Perfect Circle/Tool, Rush, System Of A Down, Disturbed & still dig on Tesla, Maiden & Priest too.

Once aalways a

 

The Diamonds are solid. I personally like them as well. I have never heard them in a Maxima though. You will need a hefty amp to bring out the midbass with those. I have auditioned the Rainbow's and liked them as well. The hardest part was trying to chose based upon hearing them in non-maxima's. Imaging is different, speaker location, etc.... I would recommend either in thier respective price ranges. The Diamonds I liked were the D9 components. The Rainbows that were available for demo were the SoundLine SLC265's.

 

Just re-read your post. A possible reason that you haven't heard any mention of the Profi Vanadiums or the Germanuim line is the performance/cost ratio. You can start looking at other manufacturers and get a better sound for less dough. They are awesome drivers, just not inexpensive.

 

I use MB Quarts. I have a 3 way component set up front (6.5", 4", and 1" tweet) and an 8" component/coaxial in the rear. I listen to my music relatively flat and IMO the MB Quarts sound very natural. Make sure you get the 1" tweet. They are smoother and more natural. The smaller tweets are a bit raspy.

 

I have the diamod hex. Anyone who rode in my car will say they sound amazing.

 

Rainbow Profi, Arc Audio ACS is your anecdote ....Germanium line is not released yet but will be priced in the Arc ACS range(which is a Rainbow, German made set) The Cal25 tweeter is soooo smooth, yet doesn't hold back on detail and depth,mids as natural and expressive as they come in that price range. You'll love them, particularly with your music choice.

 

I have the diamond M6 (exact same as D6) components in my max getting 170+ watts each side and am thoroughly impressed with the sound. You can get them cheap on ebay the D6 are this year's model and you can pick them up under 200 i bet

 

Haha... This is hilarious. I just saw you at "China Best". I was the guy with the Black Maxima. Hit me up if you wanna hear each other's systems......

 

haha NO WAY! I was checking out your car, I wanted a black on black 4th gen lol

Never saw you at a meet before

 

Glad you like them but...
Actually D6's are night and day performancewise from the M6, Don can attest to this-he had them in his Altima demo vehicle....they changed alot of things particularly the mid, its all new- and they now can be braxially mounted on axis. An these drivers you dont wanr picked up on e-gay.

You ever see an M6 or ?Hex mid blow? I have....they literally blast a chuch of the cone when it happens. Craziest thing I've ever seen. Warranty is your best friend then.

 

I was at the East Coast stereo meet Just PM'd you. Not a mods guy...just audio.

 

And as we both know, they finally dropped that aluminum cone, so yes definate difference.

 

I prefer Rainbow...

 

As do I sir

 

what's the main difference between diamond hex and the compairable rainbow model?

 

Depends what you choose to be comparible. I had many take the Soundlines and they dumped thier HEXs. Cost wise the SLs are about half the retail as the HEXs.

General concesus agrees the Rainbows gave a warmer sound,more accurate reproduction through the mids as well as providing more midbass. I heard things through my Rainbows the HEXs were never able to produce.

 

Hmmm thanks for telling me. I might have to sell the M6 and get some D6 components. Someone told me it was just cosmetic so i'll have to look into it! Thanks Don

 

I've had the opportunity to hear CDT, Diamond, and more recently, my own Rainbows (SLC 265). Out of all three I would have to say that I prefer my Rainbows the best. I felt that the CDT's and Diamonds component systems seemed more as if they were separate components that were competing with each other. The Rainbows offer that separate sound (naturally, they're components), however the tweeters and midbass drivers compliment each other. Also, I felt similar to the consensus, that the Rainbow system is a richer, warmer sound, one that is soothing to the ear. Both the other systems were more harsh to the ear.

My $0.02. Good luck with the search and feel free to ask any more specific questions....

 

It certainly sounds like the Rainbows are an ears best friend. Perhaps the Diamonds are too, but when considering Filtor1's performance/cost ratio formula, it seems the Diamonds have pushed themselves out of the equation.

From your testimonies, the SLC's sound like they're a great speaker, a performance/cost ratio's wet dream. I'm still wildly curious about the other ones though, and have not eliminated the possibility of dropping a few more bucks to move up the ladder if it makes sense sound wise.

From what I gather, wanting a 6.5 mid with a flush mounted tweeter, my choices lie in the SLC's, Powerline CS, Germanium (which aren't out yet: should I wait for them?) Profi, Profi Vanadium & the Arc ACS 265's. Of those, which ones should I strike from my list?

What is the difference between the Profi & the Profi Vanadium lines btw?
(Manny you spoke of the Profi Line & the Cal25 tweeter. Is the Cal25 tweeter a part of that line, or was it pulled from the Powerline CS speakers? I noted the color difference so that's why I ask.)

Thanks again for all your input.

If possible and not too much of an imposition, would it be possible to provide me with price ranges for the respective speakers so I can get a better idea of what I'm considering?

 

I'm pretty sure the Profi line is expensive, and the Vandaium's are hella expensive. What's your budget, anyway?

 

Not quite sure yet. When I listened to the Hex's, I had a pang of sticker shock primarily because the 550 big ones they were asking didn't justify them to me. I don't know what realm the Profi or Profi Vanadiums fall into, so I can't make an assesment on my budget quite yet. I could go higher than the SLC's, but If they require me to sell a kidney to get them and don't sound significantly better than the SLC's, then the SLC's are clearly my choice. I've got some other stuff on my list too (namely a head unit) so if I increase my budget with the componenents too much, the timeline to get my headunit will increase exponentially with what I can comfortably save & afford.

Is there something in between the SLC's and the Profi's that I should consider?

 

It all depends who/where your buying from, as many members on here would tell ya I didnt charge near the $550 range for the HEXs Although according to DAs guidlines and contracts I am supposed to.

 

The Profi/ProfiVanadiums would be up around there though...

 

What is the difference between the two? At least in terms of sound quality, and to a lesser extent, price?

 

I believe as you are are considering price performance ratio the Rainbow SLC's and Arc Audio ACS are your best bet. The SLC have been proven to be a worthy set to work with. Last year at European IASCA SQ competition a vehicle running SLC's mustered a first place win over a vehicle running Focal Utopias (Focal's top of the line $1k+ set) Of course alot of factors, but just to give you an idea of their SQ used properly.
http://car.rainbow-audio.de/press/ne...t=2&dat=062004
http://car.rainbow-audio.de/press/ne...t=2&dat=072004

If you check their Competition news archives, you'll see Rainbow does very well in European competition
http://car.rainbow-audio.de/press/ne...t=2&dat=002005
http://car.rainbow-audio.de/press/ne...t=2&dat=002004

The Cal25 tweeter is Rainbow's lengendary tweeter that put the company on the map. The Rainbow Profi line(tweeter now is Cal26silk), prior to this year was called 'Rainbow Professional line'(used the Cal 25silk). Prior to this year, Rainbow , a German company, was distributed in the US for years through Arc Audio. Through this relationship , Arc was able to have a high end component set made for them to offer customers along with their high end amplifiers. So the arc ACS set is basically a creation of using the Professional Cal25silk dome tweer, custom xover, mated to an Rainbow SLC/Contour line hybrid midbass woofer.

Don (Pearl96max) sells both Rainbow/Arc....The Arc under the old RainARC MSRP for $449. Shoot'm a pm, you'll be surprised how well you'll be taken care of, both sets are within a hands reach.

Now i like the SLC's. BUt I have to say the ACS are much better, accuratly price reflecting. But not in the midbass dept, both mids are close and offer a wicked natural kick. But the ACS tweet is a much larger dome and offers a more warm, wider dispersion. This is a set that you can go ***** out on the volume and be amazed how how ear drums are not bleeding, yet everything still sounds purely enjoyable and detailed. They also handle more power over the SLC.

For a mental pic...here's the CAL25 dome
http://car.rainbow-audio.de/products...1&lin=17&kom=2

here's the SLC dome
http://car.rainbow-audio.de/products...=1&lin=7&kom=2

 

Manny, you should write a book...jeesus, good read though.

 

Indeed! I couldn't have asked for anything more. Thank you!

I am curious though. From what I gather, the Arc ACS 265's & the SLC 265's are almost identical with the edge going to the ACS's because of their use of the Cal25 tweeter & ability to handle more power. The SLC's (unless I misunderstood) have the slight, if not negligible edge in the Mid, but are still very comparable.

My curiosity rises from the not yet released Germanium's. With the Germanium & ACS lines sharing the same Cal25 tweeter & price range, how do you percieve the comparison between these two? Mid vs. mid, power vs. power, and most importantly, sq vs. sq.

If the edge goes to the Germanium, would you recommend holding out until their release? Would you happen to know when they are supposed to be released?

Time isn't of the essence, so no worries if they do beat out the ACS's.

I wish I could give these speakers the Tom Sawyer test.

 

Actually between the SLC and ACS there's no difference in midbass performance. Trust me, between my brothers and I we've ran the SLC, Contour line and ACS sets over the last 2 yrs.

As far as the Germanium line goes, i haven't heard the new revised Cal25(its different) to say which is better. Being I had the Arc ACS set in my car for a good 1.5yrs I would go that route, biasly speaking...i cant see the germanium set being any better by a sunbstantial amount and Rainbow prices are high, whereas the ACS set can be had for a steal.
Its up to you.