overveiw of the ed a

[visitor 3]

Alright, bought this woofer from a noob to this site. sub arrived VERY promptly, with EXCELLENT packaging. (thanks rog2961 !) Now, some of you may know I am NOT an ed fan. But this price was fantastic. Now i bought it knowing it was blown, so i didn't listen to this one, but i have heard 3 or so in person, and they don't sound half bad really. and for the price? the sound is a-OK. But the build quality leaves MUCH to be desired. (and i DO mean MUCH) Now, on to the pics i promised-

the "comex""cone" as ed portrays it. its really very neat looking, and the little eD logo displayed in the middle. now, when these first came out, i noticed the proto drivers looked like the "cone" wasn't glued down all the way. i chalked it up to a bad photo, and thought to myself "why would they release a picture that made something like that so blatantly obvious?" but, i chalked it up to being pre-production. no big deal really. well, i get this one, and.....the cone isn't completely glued down.

sorry for the shitty pics. camera isn't that great.

now, a note on the "cone". its not. It isn't a cone. its a dust cap. the cone is below. a simple poly thing.

this brings us to the glue. you cannot see it in the pics (shitty camera again)

but the glue is A MESS. Not only is the first roll of the spider COMPLETLY drenched in glue (it actually fills the whole inner ring to the top!) now, that is excessive, IMO, but even worse is this-

(don't mind the broken tensil, i told ya, i bought it blown) anyhow- looking past that, see the "line" that looks like a woven tensil or something? its not. its glue, smeared across the WHOLE spider. that is just unacceptable for a "flagship" driver, IMO. I'm sorry, but it is. (as a note, that is the only side the glue is smeared out like that on.) Moving on to spiders- there is 2, spaced FAR apart by a plastic spacer). and they are perhaps the softest, thinnest spiders Ive ever came across (even thinner than the tc spiders, if you've ever messed with them) merely touching the spiders causes them to fold, and make a crackling noise. (of course they do regain there shape, but that should give you an idea of how soft they are). I told you there was a big spider spacer- pics-

The basket is very nice, with good clearances. I'm looking for a blown w7 right now as there was a bit of controversy over ed "stealing" the w7 basket design. i would like to see a side by side comparison:)

I obviously haven't torn apart this woofer yet, so i cannot comment on the coil, but, it is vented, which i like.

[visitor 3]

the motor- boy there is a lot of steel here! its pretty typical under hung (tall top plate, etc) not really worth commenting on. the only things worth noting are:

pole vent has a nice screen in there to block crud getting in. the mesh is big though, so sawdust, and other small particles have no problem getting through. a valiant effort by ed, however, i have seen foam used in place of the mesh with better results. just saying.

and here is the odd thing- see those 6 holes?

i was always led to believe those were for extra coil cooling. that's great. problem is....they are all blocked. completely. looking up through there, it seems like the ferrite is blocking the passageways.. that leads me to question.. wtf AaRE these holes for? (if they aren't supposed to be for cooling, then feel free to correct me!)

All in all, i am pretty disappointed. I honestly had high hopes for this driver, seeing the time and effort put into it! As for what i intend to do with it? well, i think i may make a custom driver, as ed will not send out recones, and the 147.xx + shipping both ways to them to have them do the work is wayyyy higher than what i want/need to spend on a sub $300 driver:( comments? criticism? wanna call me an arseho? feel free:)

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Priceless.

[dre3k78 0]

I don't really understand this "review". First off its a blown driver abused by a previous owner. That could account for the loose cone as other issues illustrated. My 13a cone is just fine and doesnt have "smeared" glue on the spiders. Also im not sure what you are trying to review here...the build quality or the cosmetics of a damaged driver? Who knows how the previous owner treated the driver and what damage was resulted in its misuse.

I still say its one of the best SQ drivers you can get for the money. Id like to see your review of one that works?

[visitor 3]

I don't really understand this "review". First off its a blown driver abused by a previous owner. That could account for the loose cone as other issues illustrated. My 13a cone is just fine and doesnt have "smeared" glue on the spiders. Also im not sure what you are trying to review here...the build quality or the cosmetics of a damaged driver? Who knows how the previous owner treated the driver and what damage was resulted in its misuse.

I still say its one of the best SQ drivers you can get for the money. Id like to see your review of one that works?

Overveiw does not = review. the dustcap not being attatched has NOTHING to do with the blown coil. not one thing. as for smeared glue.. i would hope it doesnt have glue. its not supposed to. and are you REALLY saying that the previous owner...unglued a small portion of the dustcap? serious? and smeared glue in the spider? or.. do you think the coil got hot and smeared glue into the spiders? As i stated. the driver SOUNDS NICE. the build quality plain out and out sucks. no blunter way to put it. its built like chit. sounds nice, yes. built poorly, yes.

[stovebolt6 3]

damn i know i told you i wanted to pick one up to test, but i don't know about that after seeing this.

very disappointing in the glue joint that can be seen, although i have had other ed drivers ( as in current drivers) and they all had the first roll of the spider completely filled in with glue also. kind of weird, and pointless.

if i find one for the right price i might still pick it up, but after getting to read your up close look there is no way i will buy a new one at full price.

[stovebolt6 3]

considering how far apart the spider landing, and surround landing are from each other, they would of been better off with one single spider of a much stiffer/resilient material.

with the far spacing between the two landings, and the non-tall/narrow surround, they could of easily apply the old adire audio philosophy when designing the suspension.

Edited October 3, 2008 by stovebolt6

[visitor 3]

new pics incoming. got it tore apart. found a few more interesting things!

[mrogowski 6]

Hurry!

[visitor 3]

The dustcap-

notice the cap is prepared (sanded) for glue. you can see the glue except on the parts i stated werent glued down.

(the lighter color is teh glue. see how its missing?)

some pics of the damage-

[visitor 3]

alrigth- moving on. i stated that there was excess glue on teh spider? good pic:D

Also- pics of the cooling holes-

I also noticed all kinds of little tears in the spider. these things are rediculously thin!

[visitor 3]

Another funny thing i found is that the driver actually uses 2 formers bonded together-

anything else you guys would like to see, i can do my best to snap a pic!

[Adrian_D 520]

I don't really understand this "review". First off its a blown driver abused by a previous owner. That could account for the loose cone as other issues illustrated. My 13a cone is just fine and doesnt have "smeared" glue on the spiders. Also im not sure what you are trying to review here...the build quality or the cosmetics of a damaged driver? Who knows how the previous owner treated the driver and what damage was resulted in its misuse.

I still say its one of the best SQ drivers you can get for the money. Id like to see your review of one that works?

Abuse does not explain the fact that the cone is actually poly...

[JimJ 11]

And to think, they were promising this driver ever since they stopped making the one I bought in '03...and this is the best Milne & Co. can come up with?

Is it just me, or is the motor shifted as well? If you mentioned that in your text I apologize, just something that caught my attention.

[visitor 3]

And to think, they were promising this driver ever since they stopped making the one I bought in '03...and this is the best Milne & Co. can come up with?

Is it just me, or is the motor shifted as well? If you mentioned that in your text I apologize, just something that caught my attention.

the pole piece? just the angle of the picture i think:)

[dre3k78 0]

All i can say is mine is fine. No loose dust cap, no glue on the spider or rips in spider(lol abuse) etc. But then again i bought it new and in working condition so who knows. Giving you the benefit of the doubt(even though this same post is copy/pasted on other forums) lets say you got sloppy built driver prior to being abused...this isn't something new in the 12v world(for any company) and certainly doesn't represent all shipped 13av.2s. It sucks i know and should be something that QC SHOULD pick up on, but this "review" was quite skewed from the start.

Again the driver speaks for itself when operational which is something this review lacks. Its the only ED product i own btw so im not going to say im some ED fanatic or anything but i am quite pleased with its performance for the cost.

[dem beats 1,223]

This is the result of someone wanting a pretty outside, and taking the extra funds for that FROM quality building materials and process.

I have heard so much about eD both good and bad, but when it really comes down to it, every time I see one it looks like it's been cheeply made.

[dem beats 1,223]

Kslice, he admited to not being a fan of eD.

He also said it sounds verry good. From my point of view visitor really only wanted people to be warned of the lower quality build practices. I think it's good information as most people out there DO clip their subs at some point, or give them a BIT too much power. Or pick any other of the bajillion other abuse that modern woofers go through. In a nice perfect clean room with perfect set up, this sub may sound GREAT for the money. Or even better than anything at that cost, but it not only looks fragile it truely is. Those spiders should not have reacted like that.

My money will always go to something over built not just barely tows the line.

[visitor 3]

All i can say is mine is fine. No loose dust cap, no glue on the spider or rips in spider(lol abuse) etc. But then again i bought it new and in working condition so who knows. Giving you the benefit of the doubt(even though this same post is copy/pasted on other forums) lets say you got sloppy built driver prior to being abused...this isn't something new in the 12v world(for any company) and certainly doesn't represent all shipped 13av.2s. It sucks i know and should be something that QC SHOULD pick up on, but this "review" was quite skewed from the start.

Again the driver speaks for itself when operational which is something this review lacks. Its the only ED product i own btw so im not going to say im some ED fanatic or anything but i am quite pleased with its performance for the cost.

STOP CALLING IT A REVIEW. Are you dense? really. this is an overview of parts used/general assembly. yes the spider is torn from use/abuse. problem is.. that shouldnt happen. the spider is retarded thin. absolutly retarded. and lets be clear here.. are you saying its OK to get a chitty driver because other companies do it also? really? the glue spewed everywhere is not a result of abuse. that is chitty build quality. the dustcap not being glued down? not abuse. chitty build quality. you dont get it do you? the driver sounds FINE. the build quality is NOT. more fine ed build quality. 400 watts did this-

im sure that was abuse too, huh?

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Quality control has not been their strong suit.

[dre3k78 0]

Kslice, he admited to not being a fan of eD.

He also said it sounds verry good. From my point of view visitor really only wanted people to be warned of the lower quality build practices. I think it's good information as most people out there DO clip their subs at some point, or give them a BIT too much power. Or pick any other of the bajillion other abuse that modern woofers go through. In a nice perfect clean room with perfect set up, this sub may sound GREAT for the money. Or even better than anything at that cost, but it not only looks fragile it truely is. Those spiders should not have reacted like that.

My money will always go to something over built not just barely tows the line.

I understand where you and the OP are coming from, but the problem is this is all sampled from an abused, blown driver. If it was bought brand new from ED then i would understand. Bottom line is we have no idea how much power it received, enclosure it was in, or other environmental variables that were involved, with this driver(he said he bought it from a noob). Again mine has NONE of the signs this driver has regarding the glue, dust cap, spider damage etc. Can you see where im coming from here? I just think its a poor example to base an opinion on.

The only thing i see that someone may not want is the thin spiders. However this is a SQ driver not a massive SPL sub. I do find the break down of the driver interesting and wish more people would do the same with other drivers.

[visitor 3]

Kslice, he admited to not being a fan of eD.

He also said it sounds verry good. From my point of view visitor really only wanted people to be warned of the lower quality build practices. I think it's good information as most people out there DO clip their subs at some point, or give them a BIT too much power. Or pick any other of the bajillion other abuse that modern woofers go through. In a nice perfect clean room with perfect set up, this sub may sound GREAT for the money. Or even better than anything at that cost, but it not only looks fragile it truely is. Those spiders should not have reacted like that.

My money will always go to something over built not just barely tows the line.

I understand where you and the OP are coming from, but the problem is this is all sampled from an abused, blown driver. If it was bought brand new from ED then i would understand. Bottom line is we have no idea how much power it received, enclosure it was in, or other environmental variables that were involved, with this driver(he said he bought it from a noob). Again mine has NONE of the signs this driver has regarding the glue, dust cap, spider damage etc. Can you see where im coming from here? I just think its a poor example to base an opinion on.

The only thing i see that someone may not want is the thin spiders. However this is a SQ driver not a massive SPL sub. I do find the break down of the driver interesting and wish more people would do the same with other drivers.

my question to you: what does the excess glue, and the not completly glued down dustcap have to do with abuse? serious? If i had torn down a brand new driver, it wouldnt have shown the tears in the spider. i did NOT rip on ed for it being blown. it happens. i dont know what happened here, nor does it matter, really. I didnt go into the sound of the driver (other than saying the truth. the several i heard all sounded nice! i would have considered it for my sq build.) what i was showing is the build quality on this particular driver. i never claimed this was representative of all ed units (although i do question it, going purely off pics on ed's site/posted by ed) showing the glue not being too consistant) I am sinserely happy you like your driver. I do respect the work put into teh design of it. it still isnt built well:( i wish you complete enjoyment out of your system, no matter what product you need to get that.

[visitor 3]

oh and on the topic of tearing apart other subs the only other one i have posted is a mach 5 spl i tore apart. i posted it as well:) should be in teh m5 section. if you are REALLY interested, i can probably re up teh pictures!

[dre3k78 0]

STOP CALLING IT A REVIEW. Are you dense? really. this is an overview of parts used/general assembly. yes the spider is torn from use/abuse. problem is.. that shouldnt happen. the spider is retarded thin. absolutly retarded. and lets be clear here.. are you saying its OK to get a chitty driver because other companies do it also? really? the glue spewed everywhere is not a result of abuse. that is chitty build quality. the dustcap not being glued down? not abuse. chitty build quality. you dont get it do you? the driver sounds FINE. the build quality is NOT.

Are YOU dense? Mine looks nothing like that so what do you want me to say? You make it sound like they all look like this...which is retarded. I can say the same thing from drivers i've bought from any other company but im not that dumb and know every now and then a driver gets by QC which is less then up to standards. It happens to EVERY company in EVERY form of business who sell any form of product.

[dre3k78 0]

Gah sorry I sounded rude. I just don't like being called "dense". This was a "review" of the build quality of this individual driver which i agree was sloppy. Anyway lets keep it civil.

Edited October 3, 2008 by KSlice