# Elemental Designs Gone.



## axiom26 (Apr 21, 2010)

Hopefully this is the right place to post this. Just though I'd let everyone know Elemental Designs offically closes Aug 31st. 

Official statement inside. « Elemental Designs News Blog


----------



## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

Many people lost their jobs,very sad.more **** to import from ****ing china

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## SuBXeRo (Mar 3, 2011)

mismanagement is sad. The US has always been know for speaker engineering, another will replace them.


----------



## kizz (Jun 22, 2009)

sad to see another car audio company hit the dust.


----------



## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

kizz said:


> sad to see another car audio company hit the dust.


they haven't been a car audio company for 5 years...


----------



## ellocojorge (Sep 30, 2009)

Isn't he in the online payment business now?

Sent from my LG-MS910 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

ellocojorge said:


> Isn't he in the online payment business now?
> 
> Sent from my LG-MS910 using Tapatalk 2



Ben Milne started Dwolla....not sure if he has any ties left to what used to be eD. Its looking more and more like he does not. Or at least he has chosen not to go public.

https://www.facebook.com/bpmilne

He turned into a hipster doofus...and from reading about it dwolla isn't far behind eD. JMO.


----------



## soundcontrol (Aug 28, 2012)

That is why I'm here. Been on the forum there since it was icix and noticed the forum had been down for several days now. Then I saw the post that stated the official surrender of the business.

Another one bites the dust.

So what would be the growing list now of car audio manufactures that have dies since say 2000?


----------



## kizz (Jun 22, 2009)

miniSQ said:


> they haven't been a car audio company for 5 years...


really? odd since I bought "car audio" subs from them a year and a half ago. says car audio to me.


----------



## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Dang... I knew I should have snagged one of those 13Av.2 when they were down to $185.


----------



## ntimd8n-k5 (Nov 11, 2008)

This sucks, another good USA company that went the way of the dodo. I have got an RMA with them, wonder if I will see any of it....


----------



## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

ntimd8n-k5 said:


> This sucks, another good USA company that went the way of the dodo. I have got an RMA with them, wonder if I will see any of it....


Forgetaboutit


----------



## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

I remember pre ICIX (IIRC lol)....I came here from SIN (Sound Illusions) circa '05 I think and remember eD being a vendor there first. I remember thinking their first flat cone sub (A series?) was the coolest looking sub I'd ever seen....


----------



## axiom26 (Apr 21, 2010)

ntimd8n-k5 said:


> This sucks, another good USA company that went the way of the dodo. I have got an RMA with them, wonder if I will see any of it....


Get ahold of Matt Tower, his email is listed in the blog/statement. After that if you sent in something for repair and never got it back, some on AVS forums had luck getting ahold of the credit card company and some also filed a claim with the Iowa Attorney General, since ED is located in Iowa. Some got the price of the subwoofer amp refunded back or driver price.


----------



## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

Its a shame. I had a few sets of the original flat cone drivers in the early 00's up until about 2 years ago and they never failed me. Sad to see them go...


----------



## Gpgtp (Jul 8, 2011)

Victor_inox said:


> Many people lost their jobs,very sad.more **** to import from ****ing china
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2


You're kidding right? That's all ed did in the first place.


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Just saw this and I must say, I am sad to see them go. I still use some of their products on a daily basis. (NINe.2 + 11Kv.2 in the wife's car and some 3x 5 MTMs + A2-300 in my home theater.) To me, eD started to lose their way when they began neglecting car audio to focus on home theater products. They had proven themselves to be a value leader in the car audio market, even if some didn't like their practice of importing Chinese goods. When they started with the home theater stuff, they were able to strike a pretty decent balance between the two markets. 

Over time though, it became apparent that car audio was going to play a distant second fiddle to their home theater offerings. The home theater products quickly evolved from reasonably priced value leaders to more upscale pricing that the average Joe just couldn't justify. Or if he could, he had offerings from a lot of other reputable companies in the same price range. The writing on the wall, at least for me, was when they discontinued their car audio amp line (yes, I am aware it was just dressed up Avionixx gear). Shortly thereafter their car audio offerings got slimmer and slimmer, even if it wasn't reflected in what was shown on the website. I quit paying attention to the home theater line and just figured they would end up dumping car audio all together to focus on the home theater stuff. Obviously, I was wrong. 

The one thing I will say is that my dealing with the individuals (Alex, Chris, etc.) at Elemental Designs was always pretty good, even if the products weren't performing up to par. My sincere hope is that all the hard working people that made eD the company it once was will land on their feet and be more successful in whatever they pursue next.


----------



## soundcontrol (Aug 28, 2012)

It is sad when it comes down to management problems and not just a lack of demand for the product. I agree the piston subs were my favorite.


----------



## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

Matt Towers has posted his own version of "Lemon Out" ( 30 rock)

He is done...he tried and failed....as was suspected by most. 

i have a feeling its going to get real ugly in the next few months...i'm guessing alex and his crew may may be asked to answer some pretty tough questions before its over.


----------



## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

I hate to be mean, but in all honesty, I am surprised they made it this long. After all, they were plagued with customer service horror stories throughout their existence.


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

When I bought my first eD products I was an active member of the sportruck.com forums. Even way back then, guys were warning me about Ben Milne. For the most part though, I would say my experience with them was positive.


----------



## soundcontrol (Aug 28, 2012)

interesting

Elemental Designs: Car Stereo, Home Speakers, Electronics

Elemental Designs News Blog


----------



## Brian Steele (Jun 1, 2007)

A few years ago I purchased a 13Kv.2 from eD. It was completely off spec. When I brought the issue up, I was not impressed with the response at all. It would have taken 5 minutes to take one of a box and determine whether or not my own was faulty or if the specs I measured were indicative of that shipment.


----------



## hirino (Aug 2, 2011)

its a shame they had soem good stuff.


----------



## styxnpicks (Jul 24, 2008)

I still have 4 9kv.2's in my daily ride, 2 7kv.2s and 3 ehqs12's collecting dust in the closet. eD did some things right and some wrong over the years, I'm not suprised to see them go given the economic climate. Car audio is a niche luxury market to begin with. They did well early on mainly because they sold affordable gear that wasnt complete junk. expanding into HT seemed like a good idea but they just stopped bringing new car audio product to the market and what they did offer wasnt the same great deal it once was. only way to survive in that market is to bring inovations to the market or undercut your competition.


----------



## InjunV18 (Jun 16, 2008)

May show my youth here... but that was the first sub I really bought in 02 or 03 I guess. We got two e12a.22's from the first production run (before the aluminum backing which fixed the piston separating from the flat cone). I had no idea what a pre-order was back then, but I think we must have used icix or sounddomain or soundillusions forum. I can't remember, but I do remember talking to Ben on the phone about how me and some college buddies were setting up a car audio club and he gave us some great deals. They sold Tru amplifiers back then too and I still regret not taking the deal he offered me then on 3 of the T03 (i think) 2 channels. I know they had some customer service issues afterwards, but I still have that 12a, still love it.


----------



## cruzinbill (Jul 15, 2011)

ChrisB said:


> I hate to be mean, but in all honesty, I am surprised they made it this long. After all, they were plagued with customer service horror stories throughout their existence.


I agree, while i feel bad for the guys that are now jobless, the customer service and quality of product in the last prolly 2 years has been beyond horrendous. My buddy spent over 6 months trying to get a sub replaced that was DOA. In the end he ended up getting almost what he paid for it back, it was just a complete pile of BS really. 

That is just what I have seen personally not to mention what I have heard from others.


----------



## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

Funny how some people had horrific service issues and others had no problems. I fall into the no problems category, I ran a nine.4 and nine.1 for a while had several of their subs and if I ever had an issue or wanted to order something it was always very easy and friendly. I bought DLS from them without incident a dead extremely happy with how they handled my DOA issue on my front stage midbass.


----------



## King Nothing (Oct 10, 2005)

Add me to the list of people who had terrific customer service from them. I bought a B-stock 16ov.2 from them on ebay. they sent me a D4 instead of a D2. when I called them they told me they didnt have any D2s so they replaced it with a new A-stock unit and covered all the shipping. Im quite sure they lost a chunk of change on the deal after paying to ship 3 15 inch subwoofers that were boxed in MDF crates


----------



## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

interesting. I need to send someone an email...


----------



## dragonballz (Nov 23, 2009)

I bought 11kv2 and Nine2 in 2007. Ive had great customer service from them. Answered all my questions and helped me with the install. Even 2-3 years ago they helped me with a product that wasnt even theirs.


----------



## hurrication (Dec 19, 2011)

InjunV18 said:


> May show my youth here... but that was the first sub I really bought in 02 or 03 I guess. We got two e12a.22's from the first production run (before the aluminum backing which fixed the piston separating from the flat cone). I had no idea what a pre-order was back then, but I think we must have used icix or sounddomain or soundillusions forum. I can't remember, but I do remember talking to Ben on the phone about how me and some college buddies were setting up a car audio club and he gave us some great deals. They sold Tru amplifiers back then too and I still regret not taking the deal he offered me then on 3 of the T03 (i think) 2 channels. I know they had some customer service issues afterwards, but I still have that 12a, still love it.


Yeah, I remember back then when the piston subs were the new hotness. Sounddomain and termpro used to be the popular forums back then. My buddy had a ported 15a and was metering in the 140's. 

Here's a picture I took of them from the usaci world finals in '03. I demoed the black firebird behind them. It had horns and 8's in the doors. At the time, it was like "...you mean to tell me you've got 8's *IN THE DOORS*???? ".


----------



## Derekj (Aug 11, 2011)

That sucks. I love my eD system in my truck and always had great experiences with ordering product and calling in. Good luck to all that worked there!


----------



## stockgp (Jun 7, 2007)

i have a few pieces that are stiull under warranty *grumble grumble.

i'll say i was a fan of their amps. good power at a decent price. had nothing but problems with their subs, though. i bought four od their 9kv.2 subs, and all had glue issues. three of the surrounds came apart and one had a voice coil completely fall apart.

had them all reconed under warranty, and they ALL had glue issues again.

no i've had a 13av.2 sitting inthe box for years, and i'm afraid to even hook it up.


----------



## criddopher (Apr 3, 2011)

Glad i got a 13av for my gf car when that sale was on a few weeks ago. bummed I cant get one for my car though, they kinda kick ass.


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

stockgp said:


> no i've had a 13av.2 sitting inthe box for years, and i'm afraid to even hook it up.


You should be. I'll help you out, I'll give you $50 shipped for it.


----------



## stockgp (Jun 7, 2007)

Id plug it into the wall and let it fry before that. Lol


----------



## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

I have had several bad experiences with ED myself with their products. I was even kicked off the forum for helping out another member that had the same problem I did, I knew what the problem was, ED was playing stupid. So when the other person verified what I was saying, he contacted ED. They babied up and banned me after that. I think Chris was the best they had there, and I dont think he has been there for awhile now. Alex was always nice, but I never really dealt with him that much back when I actually purchased acouple things from them.


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

I agree. I think Chris aka "Mandos" was the best guy to deal with there. Alex always seemed to treat me fairly as well.


----------



## takeabao (Jul 18, 2005)

There was a time when ED subwoofers shared the same buildhouse as Image Dynamics and those drivers were awesome.

Their amps were always pretty decent. Good value, imo.

Their old school flat-cone subwoofers were great.

Sucks to see/read this, but it is what it is. If you have any mismanagement at the small-business level, you WILL fail.


----------



## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

If you mean shared the same build as ID...as ID built the drivers for eD for a while, then that is correct.


----------



## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

takeabao said:


> Their old school flat-cone subwoofers were great.


Those were some of my favs, atleast the A series. Thats prob becasue those were designed and built by Thilo of TC Sounds


----------



## takeabao (Jul 18, 2005)

thehatedguy said:


> If you mean shared the same build as ID...as ID built the drivers for eD for a while, then that is correct.


LOL.
I *tried* to be somewhat vague about this (surprisingly, not many people knew this...), but the cat is out've the bag now (and dead).


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

I think it was pretty common knowledge. At least after the fact. 

As I understand it, ID built some of the eD stuff initially. When ID's production went overseas on their lower end product, so did eD. Quality control was high and the product was excellent for the price. eD then took the design and went with a new build house that cut manufacturing costs but sacrificed quality control. I think ID, at least up until Eric Stevens left, continued with their same quality control requirements and build house.


----------



## Gpgtp (Jul 8, 2011)

BeatsDownLow said:


> Those were some of my favs, atleast the A series. Thats prob becasue those were designed and built by Thilo of TC Sounds


Ya they were just fantastic. I love how the cones broke on most of them (including my 3 12's) tc quality control at its finest


----------



## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

Gpgtp said:


> Ya they were just fantastic. I love how the cones broke on most of them (including my 3 12's) tc quality control at its finest


Hmm, never had a problem with about the dozen of them I have used. The coil snap at the cone?


----------



## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

The flat cone ones broke at the cone/former joint...made an awesome sound when it broke and started slapping the cone.


----------



## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

thehatedguy said:


> The flat cone ones broke at the cone/former joint...made an awesome sound when it broke and started slapping the cone.


My understanding is that this happened when bottomed out.


----------



## Gpgtp (Jul 8, 2011)

BeatsDownLow said:


> My understanding is that this happened when bottomed out.


Your "understanding" is wrong. It was a design flaw that was rectified in later models by discretely changing the design about 3/4 the way through the run. But hey how would i know, i just built em for a while.


----------



## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

Gpgtp said:


> Your "understanding" is wrong. It was a design flaw that was rectified in later models by discretely changing the design about 3/4 the way through the run. But hey how would i know, i just built em for a while.


Huh, then all of mine must have been after that was fixed, as I never had a problem with any of them. I purchased about 6 from ED directly, new, and then pick up about a half dozen more off the forums after they werent available for awhile. I guess acouple of those were the O series as I had 3 10's of those, the rest A series. Wish I never sold some of them. 

So you worked for ED or TC?


----------



## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

The ones I had that broke never were bottomed out. I was sent a couple to do a review on, and I never hammered them thinking I might have to send them back after I was done with them.


----------



## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

thehatedguy said:


> The ones I had that broke never were bottomed out. I was sent a couple to do a review on, and I never hammered them thinking I might have to send them back after I was done with them.


Ya, I was not aware of that problem. I saw acouple pictures that it separated at the former, but the bottom of the coil was smashed up in spots from bottoming out. Earlier I was assuming that was the prob, which I shouldnt have.


----------



## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

It could have been a problem...just a different problem.


----------



## hurrication (Dec 19, 2011)

The bottom of the coil could have been smashed after it separated from the cone while it only had the spider to restrict its movement.


----------



## squeak9798 (Apr 20, 2005)

Gpgtp said:


> Your "understanding" is wrong. It was a design flaw that was rectified in later models by discretely changing the design about 3/4 the way through the run. But hey how would i know, i just built em for a while.


IIRC that was one of the first debacles out of eD, I don't remember the details now but I seem to recall Ben denying for a while that there was any problem with the design until there were too many to ignore, or something along those lines. And I believe people from the TC side of things claimed that they informed eD of the potential for a problem before hand but eD went ahead with the design as-is anyways.

My memories a bit faded as this is stretching back many years now. I just remember there being a big stink about it.


----------



## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

That sounds like how I remember it too.


----------



## Gpgtp (Jul 8, 2011)

squeak9798 said:


> IIRC that was one of the first debacles out of eD, I don't remember the details now but I seem to recall Ben denying for a while that there was any problem with the design until there were too many to ignore, or something along those lines. And I believe people from the TC side of things claimed that they informed eD of the potential for a problem before hand but eD went ahead with the design as-is anyways.
> 
> My memories a bit faded as this is stretching back many years now. I just remember there being a big stink about it.


TC did warn them. Ben swore he knew better, theyd be fine. When Ben came crying, complaining, TC tried to help, by discretely adding a very thin alum plate to the cone. To little to late. Shame too.. Such a pretty cone.


----------



## Gpgtp (Jul 8, 2011)

BeatsDownLow said:


> Huh, then all of mine must have been after that was fixed, as I never had a problem with any of them. I purchased about 6 from ED directly, new, and then pick up about a half dozen more off the forums after they werent available for awhile. I guess acouple of those were the O series as I had 3 10's of those, the rest A series. Wish I never sold some of them.
> 
> So you worked for ED or TC?


TC sounds


----------



## daveds50 (Jun 10, 2011)

ha, just saw this thread. dont mean to dig up a thread from a few days ago, but i can add a little. 



ntimd8n-k5 said:


> This sucks, another good USA company that went the way of the dodo. I have got an RMA with them, wonder if I will see any of it....


 pm me your RMA details and i can see if i can help. ( if it was an amplifier ) 



ChrisB said:


> I hate to be mean, but in all honesty, I am surprised they made it this long. After all, they were plagued with customer service horror stories throughout their existence.


 yup... and i can elaborate on that. 

up until the end of last year, i was one of the repair houses for eD for amplifiers. mostly home amps, but also some car amps. i do not talk about my clients, but seeing that eD does not exist anymore, i dont see any reason not to mention that. 

however, since my last bill was submitted in early January this year for pallets that were shipped out in December, and was never paid, i quit taking any repairs from them this year. they were using someone this year in AZ, that seemed to keep everything that was sent to them. they also had someone at the shop that did repairs the whole time. i was used in the past when there was too much, or too difficult for the eD repair guy to handle. they usually shipped me 1 or 2 pallets at a time, but also shipped me individual boxes on occasion. 

but here is the deal with very lengthy repair turnaround time... when they sent me things, i noticed on the RMA sheets, that some of them had been sent in up to 5 months before i got it. dont know why it was held, but it was. even though i shipped it out the same day as it came in, there was a lot of complaints about eD's slow service, and that is why there was. RMA's were never in my possession for more than 24 hours, and were shipped direct back to the customer using a eD supplied Fedex label. 

as some sort of compensation for my past due bill, i received a pallet of broken home and car amps from them. a lot of it is RMA home amps that i have been sending off to the owners. i do not have any RMA car amplifiers. while what is left over wont come close to what they owe, im ok with it. in the end i will only lose a few $k. not a big deal, and it wont have any effect on my business. 

however, i would like to get whatever i have that belongs to someone else back to their rightful owner... so, ntimd8n-k5, PM me if it is an amplifier and i can check if it is in the shipment. home amp and it's possible i have it. car amp is unlikely, as the car amps i have are new, but defective from the factory. ( with the exception of one nine.2x that looks like it was used for a door stop :laugh: ) but it would not hurt for me to check serial numbers to be positive.


----------



## drocpsu (May 3, 2005)

bummer, (kind of). I randomly tried to go to their website today to check something out and saw that it doesnt exist anymore. Then I found this thread. 

I have, and still do, own ED car audio subs and always liked them. My favorite sub ever was my old e10o flat-cone nomex sub. That thing was beautiful! flat cone, no logos, etc. My specific sub was a prototype version that I bought from a well known guy back on ECA. It was stolen a couple years later when my car was broken into. Sad sad. 

It is too bad to see companies go down like that though.


----------



## 92blacktt (Dec 18, 2008)

This sucks, I got a pair of ED 13av.2 and nine.1 that I ordered back in 2008 and am only gonna get around to powering them up tomorrow. If they dont work I am boned.


----------



## stockgp (Jun 7, 2007)

That's a great motor and basket. If they don't work, have someone recone them for you


----------



## 92blacktt (Dec 18, 2008)

stockgp said:


> That's a great motor and basket. If they don't work, have someone recone them for you


the tinsel leads looks flimsy. I hope they work, but my own damn fault for not getting them installed 4 years ago...haha


----------



## Marc1234 (Oct 18, 2012)

stockgp said:


> That's a great motor and basket. If they don't work, have someone recone them for you


That's what I should've done instead of throwing it away after it blew.


----------



## 92blacktt (Dec 18, 2008)

Marc1234 said:


> That's what I should've done instead of throwing it away after it blew.


where would you even be able to get the recone kit?

Good news is that everything works fine...lucky me.


----------



## SpecV (Mar 26, 2009)

92blacktt said:


> where would you even be able to get the recone kit?
> 
> Good news is that everything works fine...lucky me.


Check with Dave at FIXMYSPEAKER.com. Hey may have a drop in kit for them or at least be able to do a custom recone for you.


----------



## diceman1000 (Feb 10, 2007)

damn, i just found out about this... and i was a fanboi

i still run a pair of 13Ov2's an a Nine.1, have for the last 8 years with no trouble and ALWAYS had good experiences with the guys at eD...


----------



## scout62 (Mar 9, 2011)

If you look at some of the other threads around the net you'll find the link to the lawsuit Ben filed against Alex & Matt, I have a feeling those costs are what killed them. You can be the best speaker builder in the world but that doesn't mean you know how to run a speaker building business.


----------



## Nismo (Jan 10, 2010)

I feel bad for the guys who lost out with the company. I did actively campaign against the company while Ben was there, after being present when he started screwing his SI.N friends right after he went from DD to TC?

I managed to convince my best friend to dump his 15A...which failed a month later.

Early on, I backed Ben, and even shared a hotel with him at MECA finals 2003. It really irked me that he split the tab 3 ways, when there were 4 of us (one being his gf). After he screwed quite a few of my friends over (who backed him heavily, very early on), I just did what I could to prevent people from purchasing his junk products that he used the ISUX forum to manipulate the information people had about his products.

Eric


----------



## axiom26 (Apr 21, 2010)

I did something similar on AVS with the HT stuff. After amps failing and broken promisies I made sure to comment in every "what to buy thread" to stay far away from ED. I hope it stopped a few from getting ripped off in the end.

Luckily for me the 13av.2 is still going strong since 09 buts its getting retired and replaced by Anarchy tapped horns in the car.


----------



## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

I had friends with brick and mortar shops who picked up eD. What a cluster that was.



Nismo said:


> I feel bad for the guys who lost out with the company. I did actively campaign against the company while Ben was there, after being present when he started screwing his SI.N friends right after he went from DD to TC?
> 
> I managed to convince my best friend to dump his 15A...which failed a month later.
> 
> ...


----------



## therapture (Jan 31, 2013)

Gpgtp said:


> You're kidding right? That's all ed did in the first place.


Weren't eD's speakers just TangBand rebrands?


----------



## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Damn, I want a deal like Ben got when he sold the company...

120k a year with the taxes paid, 2044 a month as a consultant, and 744 a month for vehicle lease.

http://www.newtonindependent.com/ne...entor-to-the-des-moines-start-up-communi.html


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

I never really had dealings with Ben, but did quite a bit with Alex, Matt, Anthony and Chris. Even before I bought my first eD product I heard warnings about Ben Milne. I've still got an 11Kv.2 and NINe.2 going strong in the wife's car just shy of 7 years later. Neither has ever really been abused, but it was the first install I completed by myself (with email assistance from Chris). 

I can't really say the same for my A2-300 in my home theater. After 4 months it developed a rattle that ultimately led to a failure in under a year. One of the tabs from the post on the subwoofer where the tinsel lead is soldered failed. Alex did take care of me and send out a new (different model) driver. Approximately 5 months later I had another failure. This time, a capacitor on the amp blew. I removed them amp, sent it back to them and received a repair/replacement amp. (My three A6-5T5 MTM bookshelves have performed well. No complaints there.)

Bottom line, my experience with their later HT products was not nearly as good as the older car audio products. At least I did have a company that stood behind the product and took care of me in an appropriate and expedient manor. I have become a bit more careful with my HT sub. My gain is set lower and I'm more cautious when playing movies with low frequency content loudly. I'm sure though that I'll have another failure and won't have a manufacturer to turn to. Then I'll have to decide if it is worth finding a replacement driver, paying for an amp repair or just replacing the subwoofer all together.


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

thehatedguy said:


> Damn, I want a deal like Ben got when he sold the company...
> 
> 120k a year with the taxes paid, 2044 a month as a consultant, and 744 a month for vehicle lease.
> 
> Dwolla founder Ben Milne sues owners of his former Newton company Elemental Designs - Newton Independent


I'm not saying Ben didn't potentially get the sweet end of the deal here. Especially considering the personal guarantees outside of the corporation. However, I think people are getting hung up on the dollar figures. This looks to me like a standard buyout agreement of ~$300k over a two year period. Not that unusual at all. 

Now if we want to get into the valuation of the company, that is a whole different issue. And something that is pretty hard to discuss without inside knowledge.


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

The last vestiges of elemental designs car audio in our household...










The elemental designs gear was removed and sold off months ago. The car moves on to the new owner today. So, I broke out the razor when I was cleaning up the car on Labor Day. Our eD HT products remain in use.


----------



## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

I used to work with them on there pro audio designs, never ran any of them but provided a ton of advice. I was active on there forumand know someone still using the 6500 component set in there Tacoma, still strong after 10 years. I had three of the spv2 15s which apparently was the most owned by someone not working at the iowa location, and I still have a t shirt I wear to audio events.


----------



## stockgp (Jun 7, 2007)

Man, hell of a thread revival.

Might as well join in. Lol. I sold my spv.2 15 this past winter, my bnib 13.av2 this spring, and my last nine.2x two weeks ago. Still have 4 9kv.3 that need reconed. Haven't decided to part ways with them yet


----------



## norurb (Jun 28, 2013)

Still have a couple 6.5" e3.6 subs in my closet. Heavy little suckers.


----------



## criddopher (Apr 3, 2011)

My av13 died earlier this year. Driving home one day the bass just stopped, pulled the sub out and smoke followed it..

Sooo I bought an idmax 12. the av13 was great, the idmax is better though for sure.


----------



## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

I truly miss my spv2 15s in 7 cuft boxes, best home subs I ever had powered off crown k2 amps


----------



## scout62 (Mar 9, 2011)

My 13kv.3 is still going strong as my daily thumper even after my wife beat it with groceries for years.


----------



## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

My L/t 1300 is till going strong as well.


----------



## USS Enterprise (May 26, 2007)

I had a 19ov.2
Huge ass sub.

Had to sell it. Would love to find another, but likely never will.

I still have a beautiful baltic birch Mr Marv enclosure for it in my basement.


----------



## jerzxdevil (Jul 9, 2007)

I still have the eD Nine.5. Bought it new and still haven't used that big ass amp. 

I've always wanted to try their components.


----------



## pentavolvo (Nov 12, 2008)

Miss some of the ED subs I sold long before they went under. Currently have a 13kv doing home theater business, 11kv in my wife's car that regularly gets best on. Nine.4 in the corvette running components and a paid of 8s

Still got one more 11kv and 2 11ovs sitting in the basement looking for a home as well as a pretty mint set of edi9.65's

I was an ED dealer for years and while there were a few issues with product Ben always made it correct and whole


----------



## douggiestyle (Apr 29, 2008)

oh man, the tc9 based a series with the flat cones are some of my favorites of all time


----------



## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

USS Enterprise said:


> I had a 19ov.2
> Huge ass sub.
> 
> Had to sell it. Would love to find another, but likely never will.
> ...


I have one, and I've been looking for another one so I can have a pair, but I haven't seen one that was in good shape in the 4 years I've been looking... And yea it's big.lol


----------



## annoyingrob (Aug 24, 2007)

Still run a Nine.1 and Nine.4 in my Lexus:










I'm not a big fan of the build quality of these amps, the terminal blocks suck, the pots short out on a metal screwdriver when touched, the switches jiggle out of position, the fan on the Nine.1 whines, the RCAs are corroding and bent, they're both big and heavy, but they're still running fine. At least they make decent power, and do it cleanly. I've had them for about 8 years.












But I also have THIS!









4x Elemental Designs EHQS12 subs. They were stupidly cheap, like 12 bucks each or something. I couldn't not buy them. They're sitting in my living room, in 12.5 cubes, tuned to 22 hz. It makes me happy.


----------



## stockgp (Jun 7, 2007)

pentavolvo said:


> Miss some of the ED subs I sold long before they went under. Currently have a 13kv doing home theater business, 11kv in my wife's car that regularly gets best on. Nine.4 in the corvette running components and a paid of 8s
> 
> Still got one more 11kv and 2 11ovs sitting in the basement looking for a home as well as a pretty mint set of edi9.65's
> 
> I was an ED dealer for years and while there were a few issues with product Ben always made it correct and whole


How many dealers were;there? I thought their whole business model was to sell directly to the consumer?


----------



## customtronic (Jul 7, 2007)

annoyingrob said:


> Still run a Nine.1 and Nine.4 in my Lexus:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Any issues with those amp mounted upside down? Any overheating issues? Some amps are fine with it and other do not like it at all. I'm considering a used nine.5 and mounting like that would be great in my situation.


----------



## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

I had 2 of those in a IB setup '02 Camry.More than happy with their output.You can see them in my avatar.


----------



## VietPho (May 27, 2008)

Was digging through old boxes in my closet and found my old eD NiNe.2 amp ~_~

Elemental Designs was the first Car Audio company I bought all my stuff from 

I went from 2x 12" eD 13kv.2's + eD NiNe.2x 
to 2x eD 13ov's + eD NiNe.1 
Also had their eDi 6000's. 

Elemental Designs had some solid products (except for their eDi 6000's) and it was too bad they went out of business. 




























eD 13ov vs DC Audio XLM2



















But yeah, eD subs were a great startup for new car audio enthusiasts.


----------

