# Rainbow Reference Line Speakers *Exclusive Pics*



## ARH (May 26, 2009)




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## ARH (May 26, 2009)




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## ARH (May 26, 2009)




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## ARH (May 26, 2009)

Insane pricing on these beauties. I wonder if you get your moneys worth in performance, or if you're just paying for polished copper cones and general bling-factor? How do you think they'd stack up against Morel's and Scan-Speak's finest?


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## ///Audience (Jan 31, 2007)

speaker PrOn!


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

I bet they're more 'bling' than 'sing'. IMO, buy affordable raw drivers FTW.


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## MajorChipHazard (Feb 10, 2008)

Wow


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

Don't be suduced by the shiny!


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## RowJoe (Nov 14, 2008)

tspence73 said:


> Don't be suduced by the shiny!


Shut up.


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## pyropoptrt (Jun 11, 2006)

ARH said:


> Insane pricing on these beauties. I wonder if you get your moneys worth in performance, or if you're just paying for polished copper cones and general bling-factor? How do you think they'd stack up against Morel's and Scan-Speak's finest?


I haven't heard Morel and Scan-Speak in my car to compare them against the Rainbow Ref but the refs are incredible and take a ton of power. The midbass is some of the best I have ever heard—lots of punch and tonality to boot. The midrange detail is incredible as well—lots of clarity and they bring out the body in stringed instruments with ease. The pics don't do the tweeter justice; the tweeter is a little smaller than a baseball. One of the nice things about the tweeter is that the come with a mount that allows it to swivel so you can aim it precisely. The tweeters are incredibly smooth and airy, lots of detail and not overbearing.


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## pyropoptrt (Jun 11, 2006)

tspence73 said:


> I bet they're more 'bling' than 'sing'. IMO, buy affordable raw drivers FTW.


trust me they have the "sing" to back up all the "bling"


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## cvjoint (Mar 10, 2006)

ARH said:


> Insane pricing on these beauties. I wonder if you get your moneys worth in performance, or if you're just paying for polished copper cones and general bling-factor? How do you think they'd stack up against Morel's and Scan-Speak's finest?


Well since you are asking: the woofers look like a Seas Excel Magnesium driver from the 80s, the spider and basket design are not as good as the Excel line. 

The best combo to stack it against would be the Seas Excel 7 inch Mag cone and the Scan Speak small format Illuminator with the large chamber. If anybody gets their hands on the Rainbows I'd say send the to Zaph for a head to head comparison  I put my money on the raw driver combo.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

Haven't these drivers been out for years? Are the manufacturing process pics the *exclusive* part, or???

Maybe Spence could go to work for Rainbow? Bring his expert auditory training on his Infinities to the development of an even better Reference line? Doucherag.


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

FoxPro5 said:


> Haven't these drivers been out for years? Are the manufacturing process pics the *exclusive* part, or???
> 
> Maybe Spence could go to work for Rainbow? Bring his expert auditory training on his Infinities to the development of an even better Reference line? Doucherag.


I would be happy to listen to them and tell you what I think.


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## Melodic Acoustic (Oct 10, 2005)

FoxPro5 said:


> Haven't these drivers been out for years? Are the manufacturing process pics the *exclusive* part, or???
> 
> Maybe Spence could go to work for Rainbow? Bring his expert auditory training on his Infinities to the development of an even better Reference line? Doucherag.


Yes sir, for years. I remember I was going to buy a set way back, but end up with all Focal Xpert drivers and the TLR Tweeter.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

In a german magazine (don't flame me lol), the Focal Utopia Be 3way is above the Rainbow Reference 3way. 
Rainbow has the same SQ score with the Brax Matrix 3way 

Kelvin


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

subwoofery said:


> In a german magazine (don't flame me lol), the Focal Utopia Be 3way is above the Rainbow Reference 3way.
> Rainbow has the same SQ score with the Brax Matrix 3way
> 
> Kelvin


OMG, puke! Can someone say "over-priced club"? :uhoh2:


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## pyropoptrt (Jun 11, 2006)

tspence73 said:


> OMG, puke! Can someone say "over-priced club"? :uhoh2:


until you've heard them I don't think you can judge whether or not something is over-priced.


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## pete36 (Jan 5, 2008)

Very nice speakers. Maybe someday i will win the lotto. nice none the less.


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## instalher (May 13, 2009)

as far as iam concerned any thing by focal rainbow, morel, dynaudio, is overpriced and not by a little...... think about it focal byrillium tweets are 2500 bucks a pair!!!!! FOR WHAT. sorry i will put them against my ow11 at 260 bucks a pair and i will destroy them.... thus iam a multiple time national sq champ WITHOUT expensive bling products in my car. please zaph test the focal byrillium tweets, morel supremo tweeets, hertz millie tweets,


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## Luca_Bratzi (Mar 9, 2007)

tspence73 said:


> I would be happy to listen to them and tell you what I think.


Don't bother. You've already made it clear to all of us that your Infinity Reference drivers sound better than everything else out there. (mounted on axis at Walmart sound boards like your infinitys' are no way to audition Rainbow drivers) So, we beg of you not to listen to them cause no one cares what you think.

Congratulations. You're on your way to ruining another perfectly interesting thread here on DIYMA.


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## tophatjimmy (Dec 16, 2005)

A couple of years ago, CA&E (i think) did a speaker showdown between the Alpine F1 set, the Rainbow References and (again, i think) the Morel Hybrid Ovations. The F1's were the winner at 1/2 the price of the Rainbows.

I did get to hear the Rainbows a few years back in James Cotta's Millenium Mack. He has 2 sets of them in there and though I didn't get to have a long listening session, they sure sounded good to me.
http://www.caraudiomag.com/v_features/0112cae_mack_custom_big_rig/index.html

But, would I ever drop 3 large on a set of speaks? No ****in way.


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## Cerberus2k7 (Jun 6, 2009)

pete36 said:


> Very nice speakers. Maybe someday i will win the lotto. nice none the less.


Seriously. I feel baller for trying to put together a system for $2k. But I wonder how much the price would drop if you didn't have that pretty box.  Regardless; I want the box though.


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## benny (Apr 7, 2008)

tophatjimmy said:


> A couple of years ago, CA&E (i think) did a speaker showdown between the Alpine F1 set, the Rainbow References and (again, i think) the Morel Hybrid Ovations. The F1's were the winner at 1/2 the price of the Rainbows.
> 
> I did get to hear the Rainbows a few years back in James Cotta's Millenium Mack. He has 2 sets of them in there and though I didn't get to have a long listening session, they sure sounded good to me.
> Mack-a-roll Custom Big Rig - Featured Custom Cars - Car Audio Magazine
> ...


I have an old magazine with a feature story on Cotta's truck! That Mack has stuck in my memory alongside Fishman's Ranger with the goldfish and Infinity Digital amps.


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

cvjoint said:


> Well since you are asking: the woofers look like a Seas Excel Magnesium driver from the 80s, the spider and basket design are not as good as the Excel line.
> 
> The best combo to stack it against would be the Seas Excel 7 inch Mag cone and the Scan Speak small format Illuminator with the large chamber. If anybody gets their hands on the Rainbows I'd say send the to Zaph for a head to head comparison  I put my money on the raw driver combo.


Just a note: the Rainbows are coated paper (or composite) cones, not mag.....


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## tophatjimmy (Dec 16, 2005)

benny said:


> I have an old magazine with a feature story on Cotta's truck! That Mack has stuck in my memory alongside Fishman's Ranger with the goldfish and Infinity Digital amps.


Yeah that thing is seriously cool. James was telling us that almost every inch of it is custom. If you look at the front, the headlights are Chrysler Concorde I think and the bumper is an upside down and stretched Acura Integra bumper.

Stellar vehicle....


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

how come everyone hates tspence...or is it a big joke?


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## Brian Steele (Jun 1, 2007)

Cup spiders used in such an expensive component system...?


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## pete36 (Jan 5, 2008)

NOFATTYS said:


> how come everyone hates tspence...or is it a big joke?




no idea. he has some great idea's. he doesn't know or understand everything but not everyone is an expert. i always thought forums are supposed to be places to discuss new idea's and to share information. 

if nobody posted the so called stupid question then the forum wouldn't be a very active community. 

no one here was born an expert and learned from someone , so this place would be much better if the majority didn't frown upon people asking questions to learn. maybe they did read such and such a thread but didn't understand it fully?


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## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

tspence73 said:


> I would be happy to listen to them and tell you what I think.


You don't seem to need to listen, spence. 

You guys who think you can assemble a better system, I understand. I always feel the same way. But please stop acting like any speaker company who charges a lot for an expensive speaker set is trying to defraud you. 

If you don't have experience at very low volume manufacturing with incredibly high R&D costs, incredibly high QC requirements and probably very lossy QC rejection, and the worst inventory turns imaginable... most high-end companies struggle to be sustainable. Profit to a business is caloric intake to an organism, without profit the business dies. 

And remember, Rainbow sells an active kit

The paper has a mineral coating deposited on it. Rainbow believes that paper sounds better due to low odd-order distortion components, and its metal cones in the higher end speaks have a paper composite sandwich, I believe.


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## cvjoint (Mar 10, 2006)

shinjohn said:


> Just a note: the Rainbows are coated paper (or composite) cones, not mag.....


I think you are right, maybe just coated or something. Anyway the copper phase plug reminds me of the Excel Mags. The Magnesiums might not be the best thing to compare against if it is a paper sandwich. Maybe the Seas ER? 

I'm glad somebody else noticed the cupped spider. It doesn't really scream high R&D costs especially when all you have to do is to take a short look around to notice it's outdated. 

It seems like a sandwich is the way to go for most companies. Maybe people are jaded from all the paper cones and distraught with large breakup in the metal cones. I would however like to see proven design, imo like the Focal one. Sandwich things toghether but make sure they beat a pressed paper cone.


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

I don't understand why everyone gets so riled up over expensive gear. Can you out-perform these for much less money? Hell yeah. But is there still a place for the super-expensive? Sure.

Face it. The world (especially America) is full of people who have more money than sense. Heck, even I'm guilty....I have a bass boat (freshwater fishing boat) that will do 75 mph...is there any possible reason that it needs to??? NO! Do I enjoy running to my spots at full-throttle? ABSOLUTELY!


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## ARH (May 26, 2009)

metanium said:


> I don't understand why everyone gets so riled up over expensive gear. Can you out-perform these for much less money? Hell yeah. But is there still a place for the super-expensive? Sure.
> 
> Face it. The world (especially America) is full of people who have more money than sense. Heck, even I'm guilty....I have a bass boat (freshwater fishing boat) that will do 75 mph...is there any possible reason that it needs to??? NO! Do I enjoy running to my spots at full-throttle? ABSOLUTELY!


You just managed to majorly contradict yourself in a single post. Nicely done, sir.


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## 89grand (Nov 23, 2006)

Screw those Rainbows. For the same amount of money I could put these all over the place in my car.

Like 3 sets in each front doors, a few more sets in the rear doors, about 10 sets on the floor in the back.

Real SQ FTW!


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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

pyropoptrt said:


> until you've heard them I don't think you can judge whether or not something is over-priced.


They're clearly rediculous.


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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

89grand said:


> Screw those Rainbows. For the same amount of money I could put these all over the place in my car.
> 
> Like 3 sets in each front doors, a few more sets in the rear doors, about 10 sets on the floor in the back.
> 
> Real SQ FTW!


Dont forget the roof. Theres plenty of open space on that headliner just begging to be used.


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## awboat (Jun 18, 2007)

I hope you are correct as this is what I have now. I hope to get them in my CRX in the next week or two. The midbass is a little too big for the mounting contraption I have there now. 



cvjoint said:


> The best combo to stack it against would be the Seas Excel 7 inch Mag cone and the Scan Speak small format Illuminator with the large chamber.


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

89grand said:


> Screw those Rainbows. For the same amount of money I could put these all over the place in my car.
> 
> Like 3 sets in each front doors, a few more sets in the rear doors, about 10 sets on the floor in the back.
> 
> Real SQ FTW!


Why would you want to mess up SQ that good with multiple drivers? Do it right. That speaker system sounds pretty damn good. Me thinks many aren't being fair to my babies. :mean:


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## 89grand (Nov 23, 2006)

tspence73 said:


> Why would you want to mess up SQ that good with multiple drivers? Do it right. That speaker system sounds pretty damn good. Me thinks many aren't being fair to my babies. :mean:


For the money saved I could buy numerous Infinity speakers. If two sound great, can you imagine my install with them mounted everywhere?

SQ for days.


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

89grand said:


> For the money saved I could buy numerous Infinity speakers. If two sound great, can you imagine my install with them mounted everywhere?
> 
> SQ for days.


No way. You can donate those extra sets of speakers to needy car audio lovers and let them enjoy good soundz.


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## 89grand (Nov 23, 2006)

You have a point, I shouldn't be greedy. I'm sure just 7 sets in my car would be enough. No reason to go hog wild with them.


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

89grand said:


> You have a point, I shouldn't be greedy. I'm sure just 7 sets in my car would be enough. No reason to go hog wild with them.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

I remember back in 01 I had Seas Excels in my kicks...and the References were just out. Everyone asked if they were the Rainbows. I lied and said "Hell yes." From a distance you couldn't tell them apart...well, especially since no one back then had really ever seen a Reference up close.

That Seas/Reference thing was running rampant on ECA back in the day.


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

ARH said:


> You just managed to majorly contradict yourself in a single post. Nicely done, sir.


I don't understand how i contradict myself. My point is that the uber-expensive can be out-performed for less money in many (perhaps most cases), but still have their place in this world. Namely because people (admittedly myself included) like to spend way too much money on impractical stuff. Lastly I gave my ridiculous boat fishing boat as an example.

So where's the contradiction?


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## betterbelizeit (Oct 4, 2009)

They're worth every single dollar!


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## jbowers (May 3, 2009)

One of the things to keep in mind is the value of image. Exclusivity, price, hype and mystique are as important to some brands as performance, sometimes even more so.

For example, the Ferrari Enzo is one of the most lusted after ultra high end sports cars, even though it's performance can be matched and even beaten by a Nissan GT-R in all aspects but top speed, and for one tenth the retail price - not to mention what you would really spend to get the very rare Ferrari. The GT-R is built by a company with a reputation for build quality and reliability, the Enzo comes from a company that is known for building finicky cars with very hefty and frequent service and repair bills and astronomical parts and insurance costs. 

So why would anyone buy the Ferrari over the Nissan? For many it's nothing more than image. Very few owners would ever drive either car to anything approaching their limits, so how do you choose? The company that makes nothing but rare dream machines or the company that makes the Sentra, Maxima and Cube?

Sure we could very easily build systems that approach or even exceed the performance of the Rainbows for a fraction of the money, and most of us will. Some people just want the Ferrari instead. For them, nothing is over-priced if it makes them happy.


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## nautilus (Oct 14, 2009)

They don't market this range for nothing, you should audit one if you have the chance. "The Best"


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## cvjoint (Mar 10, 2006)

I like the Enzo reference a lot. However, unlike the Enzo what do we know about the Reference? It comes with an Enzo like price for sure... While the 458 washes the floor with the Enzo, the latter still has a beefier engine, more carbon, more F1ish stance etc. It may not deliver more on a track but there are bits that go into it. Now what about the Reference? There are plenty polished phase plugs, tweeter chambers and treated paper cones. It's a money trap.


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## bigdaddy'76 (Nov 29, 2010)

I have four words that best describe these, "*Point of Diminishing Returns*"!!!!:laugh: However, I'd love to rock a set. If CNC machined billet aluminum effected SQ, these would be, without argument, the best SQ speakers in the history of the world. However, The last time I checked, CNC machined billet aluminum is extremely expensive and doesn't benefit SQ!!!!! I guess the Rainbow Platinums will have to suffice.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

For more feedback about the Ref line, contact Rick (Raamaudio) since he has used the whole set. 

Kelvin


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

subwoofery said:


> For more feedback about the Ref line, contact Rick (Raamaudio) since he has used the whole set.
> 
> Kelvin


As do I. Sold a few, installed a few, own a few.


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## cvjoint (Mar 10, 2006)

bigdaddy'76 said:


> I have four words that best describe these, "*Point of Diminishing Returns*"!!!!:laugh: However, I'd love to rock a set. If CNC machined billet aluminum effected SQ, these would be, without argument, the best SQ speakers in the history of the world. However, The last time I checked, CNC machined billet aluminum is extremely expensive and doesn't benefit SQ!!!!! I guess the Rainbow Platinums will have to suffice.


No doubt once you pass $200 bucks you get diminishing marginal returns. Even more importantly you may not get A return at all. In this case, with the cupped spider you'd probably get an overall decrease in your return. 

I wouldn't rock a set if they were $100 bucks. I have a great dissatisfaction with HIFI drivers for midbass in a high output application, like a car. 

The only machined part that does count is the phaseplug. However, that's not a novelty, just about every driver has a smooth phaseplug.


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## raamaudio (May 4, 2005)

They were pretty dang amazing but they are the only super high end set I ever owned so I cannot compare against the others, even some I heard because not my system, not my tune and to far apart in time. 

I am a horn guy now and can say the Refs sounded more like some good horns than all the other speakers I recall hearing over the years. 

I ran mine active, 100 per tweet, 200 per mid, and dual ID midbasses with 300 each so 600 per door for midbass

But, I did not like the way Rainbow treated me or the distributor so I pulled them out an sold them, at a substantial loss even though I paid far less than retail. 

-----------

As for the Mac, I went to lunch in it with James once, pretty cool riding around in a $650k truck!

Rick


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## raamaudio (May 4, 2005)

Nothing is worth that much money by the way, not directly, for getting attention, it was fun when people realized what I had in my 10k truck

Rick


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

Nice speakers, I'd love to test some out.


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## narcispy (Aug 23, 2010)

Those look absolutely amazing. I'd like to hear them in person, I love my SLC series.


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## senior800 (Nov 10, 2010)

Rainbow Reference 260.30 Active - Utopia Brax Morel - eBay (item 320693206438 end time May-08-11 10:00:44 PDT)

and you can for a super cheap price!


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## nautilus (Oct 14, 2009)

Hi ARH,

Where did you take all these pics from?

These are the smoothest and widest sound speakers I have ever heard so far.

How much do they cost in your country?

3 way ? c/w a 2 way crossover, the mid bass are in active I suppose?:laugh::gossip:


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