Elemental Designs e3.6 Sub-Woofer - Free Air Excursion Test - VC Rock and Rub, and Output Cessation

Elemental Designs e3.6 - looks like I got a bad one. It did this right out of the box - this is its first run to Xmech, to break in the suspension. This is what VC rocking sounds like. The rubbing you hear is actually the cone and voice coil rocking side to side instead of just moving straight in and out, due to an overweight voice coil on a single spider that doesn't provide enough lateral stiffness, or something misaligned during assembly, or an out-of-round voice coil. Please keep in mind, the driver isn't 'bottoming' - it only strikes the backplate twice during this free-air excursion test with a louder 'pop'. At the point when the woofer stops altogether, I didn't shut the amp off -- the driver just stopped responding to a signal (both coils reading 'open'. It's not a thermal failure - no burnt varnish smell or acrid smoke was noted. (The amp was a Dayton APA150.) After the test, the driver cone can be pressed in a short distance quietly, and then after that there's substantial VC rubbing. I certainly hope they all aren't like this one. eD, you've got a warranty request coming your way.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Elemental
• Designs
• e3.6
• 6.5
• woofer
• subwoofer
• free
• air
• excursion
• test

[rorybz]

I guess I never posted up here what the resolution to this problem was. In short, there wasn't one. After the gentleman from ED wrote an email to me and I replied to him, I never heard back from him. Agreed with a prior poster -- eD isn't getting another dime from me. Which blows, because on paper this was going to be a killer little subwoofer driver.

[agog86]

yea that elemental designs for you. i will never ever do business with them again

[SpeakerFreak95]

@scc8619 dont get one, they all suck ass!

[SpeakerFreak95]

lol it sounds like after I eat a spicy taco, but that shouldnt happen, that company bites ass. 

[rorybz]

@scc8619 - I finally was contacted by Elemental Designs. They said they'd found a box in their shop without any 'paperwork'; I had written the RMA ticket number on the box per their instructions, and I shipped back to them exactly what had been shipped to me, which didn't contain a sales invoice or any other paperwork. Still, this might (at long last) be close to resolution. I'll keep you posted.

[scc8619]

Did you ever get a replacement? I was looking at getting one of these sub-woofer's

[wersuss]

This is great :D

[TheGDizzo]

Hrmm... I'm thinking the one I just received like a week ago has this same problem. A funny rattle that's heard on the bass hits. And like you said.. it's not the sound of bottoming out either.

[form109]

sorry...thats Unfortunate.