Rainbow IQ 320.25 install, reviews, and pics

[R Durty 2]

I have had the 365.25 on my car for about 6 months now. The install was done pretty quickly by my friend Edison. The sound quality is noticeable and a lot clearer. No modification was need to make these fit.

 

[Monkeykungfu]

I have had the 365.25 on my car for about 6 months now. The install was done pretty quickly by my friend Edison. The sound quality is noticeable and a lot clearer. No modification was need to make these fit.

Are you using the stock or aftermarket HU? Did you amp the Rainbows?

 

[A41.8QTM]

How do these differ from the 320.25?

I have had the 365.25 on my car for about 6 months now.

 

[LoyalSage]

How do these differ from the 320.25?

I believe the 365.25 is the older model with the 6.5 inch midbass. the new model has an 8 inch midbass. i might be wrong though.

 

[R Durty 2]

Are you using the stock or aftermarket HU? Did you amp the Rainbows?

I am running it off a Pioneer D3. They are currently not routed thru a amp.

The difference is the 365 is a older model

 

[LoyalSage]

ok guys,

i received my set today and i took a few pictures to share with you all. the build quality is not up to par with what i expected to be perfectly honest, but i still have hope.

i am certain that this set will knock the socks off of the stock speakers for sure. this weekend i will do the install and document everything for anyone who is interested.

 

[1canuck2]

When you say build quality is not up to par, can you be more specific about what you don't like?

 

[LoyalSage]

When you say build quality is not up to par, can you be more specific about what you don't like?

i really do not intend of writing several paragraphs about the build quality on this set, however i will say that i feel that rainbow may have cut some corners, i do not have any experience with rainbow however i cannot compare to their other products.

there is something about build quality that is difficult to explain with words, when you hold a product, you feel a certain weight to it, when you look at the details such as solder points on the crossovers... i know i am not being specific, but i would rather not be.

i do have plenty of experience with JBL car audio drivers, and i am almost whiling to say that the low end to midrange JBL has a better build quality then this specific set.

as i mentioned, i am 100% sure that this set will sound leaps and bounds better then the stock speakers, i will be installing the set this weekend, at which point i will post my feedback on the set.

i was well aware that i am paying a premium for the fact that this set is designed to drop into the MKV and that is a great part of the appeal to buy this set. if you are not afraid to do a good amount of custom work, then for the same money you can probably get a higher quality set.

 

[Tpass]

cool, looking foreward to more impressions... thanks for all your work in this Loyal!

 

[LoyalSage]

cool, looking foreward to more impressions... thanks for all your work in this Loyal!

No worries man, I am doing what I can to help out and provide information. On that note, after doing further research on these drivers I found that they are using some pretty amazing magnets to build them.

Neodymium
Main article: Neodymium magnet

Neodymium magnets are the strongest and most affordable type of rare-earth magnet. Neodymium alloy (Nd2Fe14B) is made of neodymium, iron and boron. Neodymium magnets are typically used in most computer hard drives and a variety of audio speakers. They have the highest magnetic field strength, but are inferior to samarium-cobalt in resistance to oxidation and temperature. Use of protective surface treatments such as gold, nickel, zinc and tin plating and epoxy resin coating can provide corrosion protection where required.

Traditionally, the high cost of these magnets has limited their use to applications requiring compactness together with high field strength. Both raw materials and patent licenses were expensive. Beginning in the 1980s, NIB magnets have become steadily less expensive and more popular in other applications such as children's magnetic building toys. Even tiny neodymium magnets are very powerful, and can pinch severely if skin or other body parts are allowed to come between them.[1] There has been at least one death of a toddler who swallowed several small magnets, which pinched between sections of intestine. [2]

I am feeling better and better about this set and have a feeling they will sound great, I will of course provide more info once they are installed. Hopefully later tonight.

 

[6spdcoupe]

No worries man, I am doing what I can to help out and provide information. On that note, after doing further research on these drivers I found that they are using some pretty amazing magnets to build them.



I am feeling better and better about this set and have a feeling they will sound great, I will of course provide more info once they are installed. Hopefully later tonight.

http://www.golfmk5.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1683362&postcount=4


:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[TDIESEL]

I am feeling better and better about this set and have a feeling they will sound great, I will of course provide more info once they are installed. Hopefully later tonight.

I've got Rainbow IQ's in my '93 Mercedes running off an eclipse head unit with amplified pioneer sub and the sound is amazing. Crisp, tight and oh so clear is the best way to describe. I was originally going to amplify the Rainbows but after hearing them just run off the head unit power I was astounded at how well they performed.

I'd love to put a set in my TDI Comfortline but think I'd be better replacing the original head unit first.

 

[A41.8QTM]

I'm with ya on the build quality. I was expecting something alittle more substantial, especially with the 8". I understand the neo magnets are very strong but the basket is stamped and just feels kind of cheap. I guess I didn't expect much beefier from the mid. All that really matters is that they sound good so I'm remaining optimistic. Besure to take lots of pics of the install. I'm waiting till someone else works out all the kinks before I bother :biggrin:

ok guys,

i received my set today and i took a few pictures to share with you all. the build quality is not up to par with what i expected to be perfectly honest, but i still have hope.

i am certain that this set will knock the socks off of the stock speakers for sure. this weekend i will do the install and document everything for anyone who is interested.

 

[darcness]

I am feeling better and better about this set and have a feeling they will sound great, I will of course provide more info once they are installed. Hopefully later tonight.

Sage, with all the work you did with pre-install deadening and dampening, you'll be just fine. Install is at least 50% of any speaker setup anyway. You can make even sub-par drivers sound pretty damn good with a quality install. Likewise the best sounding drivers are never going to sound up to potential with a shit install. All the work you did will pay off and you'll be happy with them. They are quality drivers to begin with, maybe not top of the line, but still quality. That and the quality of your pre-install work will make them shine.

I need to get my doors done this summer. I've got a horrible resonance right around the 2k range on my Daytons due to the lack of deadening/dampening. They sound amazing, but that one bit of tonality is highly annoying to me.

 

[LoyalSage]

OK Guys,

It has been one hell of a weekend. I took one door apart and sort of dove in on friday night, but something came up and I had to put the door back together quickly to go pickup my new KW V3 coilovers from down south. I drove 16 hours, picked them up and drove back.

So I do have one door with the drivers in using the stock crossover and wiring, so things are seriously half assed at the moment. I will be perfectly honest, the drop in factor is not that amazing as I had expected, I am a little disapointed in Rainbow and the way they marketed this set, but I think I had too high of expectations to begin with.

My decision is to actually rewire everything and leave stock wires intact. The drivers are definitely a huge improvement over stock, but do expect to do work. The good news is the midrange fits without any modification, you have to rip out a ring inside the door trim to fit properly the midbass with its included bracket and the tweeter pretty much drops in.

I did not have too hard of a time drilling out the rivets for the midbass, and I had to chop off some melted plastic to remove the stock tweeters.

All in all, I cannot review this product yet, as it is not only receiving half the power I will be proving it, but it is also being run through stock wires and running stock crossover for now.

Hopefully the coils will be installed this week and I can pick up some speaker wire and dive into installing the Rainbows next weekend.

I think the clarify, my expectations were incorrect, however I do believe that once this project is over, the results will be much better then running the stock system.