Following Doc's lead, upgrading...

[AppleBonker]

Yes, you read that right. I have no money right now, so as usual, this is the perfect time for something to malfunction. It seems as though one of my Rainbow mids is no longer working. Seeing as though the company is German, the odds of getting a repair are slim (and if I can pull this off, it'll probably take half a year). Seeing how horrible to car sounds lacking that entire range of frequency from one side of the car, I don't know that I can deal with this down time.

I searched for a replacement driver (hoping someone was selling these used and I could get a deal), but no go. So now, I have what appears to be two options:

1. The more fiscally responsible option. Find a somewhat comparable driver set used (maybe the Dynaudio MW162s) and use those until I can actually afford to upgrade.

2. Get what I really want and try to find some way to actually be able to afford it (maybe pick up a couple shifts of OT).

Option one may be almost affordable right now. The only problem with this, is it is wasting money on a lateral move when I will definitely be upgrading later. I'm leaning towards option two (it will actually be cheaper in the long haul) because I've been craving a new toy for a while now. With that in mind, I'll gladly be taking donations from anyone who has some extra money to blow.

Unfortunately, this means that new springs, a sway bar and new shoes will likely need to be put off for a while. Having said that, here is the goal:

Esotar2 650

These are widely regarded as the best of the best. They could quite possibly the last upgrade I make to mids for the next 2-3 cars I own. I'm salivating thinking about how good they would sound, but I'm crying thinking about how much I can't afford them. Maybe it's time to start whoring myself out...

[Infantry1327]

WOW, those speakers look amazing. How much are those bad boys going for. I have been searching but can't seem to find a price?

[AppleBonker]

WOW, those speakers look amazing. How much are those bad boys going for. I have been searching but can't seem to find a price?

Yeah, my preferred audio dealer has the other speakers in this line in his car. He told me they've been there for 10 months (which is probably about 8 months longer than the longest anything else has been in his car). He switched to the sub from the UL12 that I'm currently running and he's been happy with it (don't think I would make the move, but to each his own). He also has the tweets (I'd like to get them eventually, but they are relatively cost prohibitive at this point).

As far as cost, it's posted out there. For the whole system from dynaudio (MSRP is per driver, these are not sold as pairs - sit down so you don't hurt yourself):

Esotar2 sub (1200) - $1500Esotar2 mids (650) - $500Esotar2 tweets (110) - $800

[Infantry1327]

I can now see why money is the issue. lol

So you will be changing out your sub as well. Maybe you could sell your old sub to doc.

[AppleBonker]

I can now see why money is the issue. lol

So you will be changing out your sub as well. Maybe you could sell your old sub to doc.

Yeah, it sucks having expensive tastes...

No, I wont be changing out the sub. My dealer told me he occasionally wishes he had the UL12 back so he could swap it out every now and again. To be honest, there are probably a few things the dynaudio 1200 does better than the UL12 and a few things the UL12 does better. That would really be a tough comparison, and I don't think it would be worth it for me to make the move. It would cost me a good slug of money to make the move, and I would only receive a minimal (if any) performance gain. I love my UL12 and I'm gonna stick with it.

[Infantry1327]

well thats good because if I was you. I would never get rid of that sub.

[LongBeachCoupe]

Who sold you the bum speaker?They dont stand behind the product?Based on your skills, how hard would it be to get a quasi-sponsorship?!

[AppleBonker]

Who sold you the bum speaker?They dont stand behind the product?Based on your skills, how hard would it be to get a quasi-sponsorship?!

The speaker is a Rainbow audio speaker (from Germany). I'm pretty sure I can get it repaired under warranty, but that will be a long time since it needs to be shipped back to Germany. They definitely stand behind their product, it's just the down time that is going to be an issue. Also, I'm gonna have to double check but I might be partially responsible for the blown driver. I've been tuning a bit more lately and I may have pushed too much power to the speakers. I'm gonna double check, but it's a definite possibility. However, I really doubt I should've been able to send enough power to blow the speaker.

And I don't really know about getting any kind of a sponsorship. To be honest, I'm not really interested. It'd be nice to get gear at a deeply discounted price, but I'm not really interested in showing my car or competing, so that would pretty much stop anyone from sponsoring me.

What I'll probably do is upgrade once I have the cash for it and then send the bum speaker for repair. Once it gets back (hopefully in less than six months) I'll turn around and sell the set to recover some of my money.