Focal Vs Rainbow

What's best is a matter of personal opinion. I'd go for Platinums in the front, and Utopias in the back. I'd also use a good chunk of that 20 grand to sound deaden the vehicle, as much as freakin' possible. It'd be a waste to spend so much on speakers, and have road noise crinkle your aural sex.

 

I'd use the $20,000 for a 2010 Prius, but that's just me.

 

Not a guru...that'd be F8L...but congratulations on being able to spend $20k on speakers alone. I'd think you should be able to come up with something that's probably okay...

But if you were spending $200 or $20,000, I suspect the advice will be the same: trust your ears and go listen. Sure, you can read reviews and narrow it down, but you'll need to trust your ears at end game. Especially in that price range, you'll get a lot of opinion but the final decision rests with those holes on the side of your head! Really, bring your music and listen, listen, listen. Any audio store worth it's salt will treat you well if you're spending that kind of scratch.

You may already be thinking this but I'd also go active with the crossovers. Most people feel that makes a big difference and I would try to mate a head unit (or some aftermarket amp and sound shaping) when you buy the speakers. But I'm assuming you won't be running the stock amp with a set up at that level.

Hell, for $20k, I can get you a few LIVE musicians to play for you while you drive!

Good luck! Let us know what you end up with.
:rockon:

 

$20,000 for speakers and your Prius is worth approx $20,000?
I would think you made a type-O and wanted to say $2,000 for speakers.

I just went through the same dilemma, but my budget is not $2,000 for speakers.

I listened to all Focal brands, Hertz, and Polk. For the money I thought the upper end Polk components were the best. Polk has a Silk Dome tweeter which is very smooth. The one thing I did not like about the Focal, the tweeter was a little harsh for me. You will have to go and listen to some high end speakers and make a decision. I spent months with this so good luck.

 

I cannot speak to the Rainbow gear, but I do own a set of Focals in my other (non-Prius) vehicle. I'm a big fan of the Focals....even the mid to high-end stuff shy of the Utopia. Realize that the differences in sound quality can be substantial going from a $100 set of speakers to a $400 set for the car, but in my opinion the costs don't justify the audible differences you hear going from say a $500 component set to a $2000 set. What I'm saying is that $20K is really overkill on speakers for the Prius. I could easily see spending $3,000 retail on speakers for the Prius if I was going for the gusto and money was no object....I just don't see spending $20K and appreciating $17K worth of difference.....and I consider myself pretty picky when it comes to car audio.

 

you got my vote for focal. that's what i installed in my prius. however, i think the opinion that matters the most is your own. you have to audition the speakers yourself & determine which sound you like better. sound deadening materials (like dynamat) will make a significant difference in your sound investment... especially in this car. i personally don't think its worth that chunk of change to put into any car system. the interior of a vehicle provides poor acoustic environment for sound reproduction.

 

In that price range (assuming 2,000 was meant, not 20,000 or 200) you should throw Morel into the pot of possibilities too. Both Focal and Rainbow have great reputations. As KCobby said tho, you need to listen to them before you can choose.
Is there already an amplifier of some kind in the car? If not you'd want one for this level of speaker. Keep in mind that the speakers in the rear door aren't that critical, you may want to go easy on that spend to afford an amp, for example.

- D

PS: Dynamat Extreme is a fine CLD but shop SecondSkin too (Damplifier is equivalent to Dynamat Extreme, Damplifier Pro is a step up). Also read up on the topic at www.sounddeadenershowdown.com, where they also have an excellent CLD on offer. Don't overdo it (like I did) as it just adds weight and cost.

 

Ah well, if you're looking to compete then you're better off in car audio forums than here most likely. Sounds like you need to work with someone experienced in competition level installs too, not DIY. Check out sounddomain.com and diyma.com. At diyma.com specifically look at one of my favorite build logs from a guy named Matt Roberts. Some of the photos were lost but if you start here you get an idea of the quality: Kevin K.'s New Build - Page 6 - DIY Mobile Audio
Glad to hear someone is considering the Prius as a competition level audio vehicle.

- D

 

Spend as much money as possible on sound deadening and customizing your door panels and dash or else no matter what speaker you choose you will be limiting your potential for ultimate sound quality, imaging and staging.....

I've seen a great speaker go in a subpar car and they turn out sounding terrible because speaker location sucked and/or the car was not properly deadened.

 

I have a question for you - I am about to install new components in the front and rear doors with a new HU, Amp & sub. Did you place your new speakers in the same factory locations? It seems that the woofer locations are a bit low in the Prius and I will not get the full sound from the mids from my new 6.5's. My tweeters will be mounted in the factory location in the rear door and above the arm rest in the front doors. I will not be using the front dash squawkers. I am a little concerned that after spending all this time & money will it be worth it because of the speaker location and just the dynamics of the car?

Would putting Dynamat around the speakers & not the entire door be sufficient?

Thanks

 

Tough for me to answer because you have the 2010 model and I have yet to do any stereo work in one.

I installed my 7" mids in the stock location (low in the door) on my 2005. My new tweeters were WAY to large to go in the stock door pillar location so I moved them into the little window cubbyholes on the dash using a fiberglass pod. With the time alignment feature on my HU I can get very distinct vocals out of the center of the dash just about in line with the MFD.

In my case the tweeters play low enough to keep the vocals high on the dash and you don't notice a large separation between mids and highs. You can always try your stock locations and see how that works out. Playing with phase adjustments, EQ, and time alignment can help overcome a non-perfect mounting location in the event you do not want to do any serious custom work.

I prefer to sound deaden the whole door because the Prius is already lacking in sound deadening. I did not try both methods so I cannot give you a real answer only that the more deadening you can afford the better your sound is going to be.

More info on tweaking the system once installed:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-staging-problems-in-prius-stereo-issues.html

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...4-got-kenwood-excelon-kdc-x993-installed.html

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...iamond-audio-midranges-installed-finally.html

 

I do not want to customize or cut anything because of resale value when I sell the car, that's why I will keep factory locations and hope for the best.

Thanks for your valuable input

 

That is the reason I didn't cut anything up either. The tweeter pods are the most custom pieces and those are not even mounted. They just kinda pressure fit into place such that I can grab the pod and pull it out.

 

Wow! $20,000 dollars for speakers? Okay, I lead a sheltered and modest economic life but if I spend $20,000 dollars for an electronics "upgrade" I expect it to allow me to contact alien civilizations or allow the car to submerge underwater.

 

Well, if you tune in between radio stations I bet you can hear some of the residual radiation from the big bang through those speakers. Granted only about 1% of the radiation is from the big bang but who's counting.