I'd rant and rave about my Rainbows here, but nobody here wants to actually throw down some cash to buy them anyway, and I'm too busy listening to their gloriously ungodly clear loudness to care whether you perceive they are good value or not. The Rainbows in my car get so loud all by themselves that my side mirrors (in heavily deadened doors) shake badly enough that I can't see anything in them. Note that I posted my extreme satisfaction for these speakers, then essentially dissapeared for a few months. Why? Because i'm happy; why post about them when they're awesome and i'm satisfied? On the other hand, someone with problems for whatever reason is going to post here, repeatedly and loudly... and so you get a perception that people don't like them. But when someone asks about what to buy, people come and recommend them - because they are happy with them. See the pattern? People who dislike post when they are unhappy...people who like post when people ask about what to buy, saying they recommend them. Thus the '2 faces' that you referred to as far as people not being satisfied 'but still recommending them'.
I think the people you see complaining about their experiences buy the lower quality lines from Rainbow, pair them with very loud sub stages (2x12w7's @ 600$+ each matched with a pair of rainbow SLC's? Come on now, give me a ****ing break) and then are confused when they don't match up well. Often times, they are shoddily installed on top of that, leaving much to be desired. News flash; if you want to spend 800$+ on an excessively loud sub stage - you need to spend that kind of cash on your front stage to find something directly comparable. I think the lower rainbow lines are excellent - when they are matched with modest sub stages in the same price range.
