nigxdoof

Has anyone had any luck with making it work right??

IceyTys

Tom,

I spoke to a tech named Abraham (should you decide to contat them) at Earthquake an he tells me the black cone version are the newer version, that they switched from the white version because suppossedly customers prefered the all black. WHO KNOWS? Anyhow so far they havent experienced any mass issues from what he tells me, that possibly the woofer was damaged in transit or at the warehouse, but the more complaints the better, if they are having mass issues with production.

Anyway, I am not sure who you bought yours from on eBay, but my vendor has agreed to take the defective 1 back from me and replace it. My eBay vendor was Speed Sounds Inc in La Mesa, CA, so far so good as far as the return. When I sent my package back to them in my letter I asked them to open the box I returned to see how it was sticking, and for them to check the new one BEFORE they ship it back out to me. So hopefully I wont have that problem when the new one comes back.

My very last option would be to buy one full price locally from retailer, then return the defective one. I know that seems somewhat shady, but national retailers usually dont have issues returning defective merchandise from suppliers, so it doesnt really short them any.

The main thing is we pay for and get a quality product, that is backed up by the manufacturer!

tom281

My Ebay seller is "stereo-needs", oddly enough also in La Mesa, CA (same vendor, different name???). I emailed them and they responded instantly with a pre-paid UPS return slip and an apology for the inconvenience. They plan to replace it with no charge to me, including the return shipping both ways. At this point I am very happy with their service, although I don't know if they have any "good ones" in stock to return to me or not. I guess I'll install the one good one that I have and see how it sounds, hopefully it will make a nice difference.

originalsnuffy

I am sorry to hear that so many are having problems with the Earthquakes. I was hoping to go that route too, but now I don't think so.

There are also some posts on the E60 forums that started on the m5 forums related to the Earthquakes.

The short form is that these posts say that going Earthquake is not a good idea. The stock subs go up to 500 hz; but not the earthquakes.
So there is a frequency hole that is lost using the Earthquakes.

I am not saying that I have verified this, just passing it along.

The posts also say that to use the Earthquakes you definitely need an amp.

The other suggestion is that since there is a missing frequency range with the earthquakes the others speakers need to be changed out to compensate.

I have looked into a separate subwoofer in the trunk, and that looks like a better idea.

Or as one person put it...just get a better stereo in your next car.

With the economy the way it is, and my poor mutual fund performance, that should be about 2020 for me.

IceyTys

Just to clarify snuffy....thats not entirely true. In the BMW HiFi system (L7 is slightly different at the low end) the effective frequency range is a follows

Tweeters - 5k-20kHz
Mid Range - 100-15kHz
Low Range - 40Hz-500Hz

So the mid standard mid range speakers go as low as 100Hz, in addition the effective range of the SWS-8 is from 30Hz-250Hz. The high end is variable based on the size and type of enclosure used. Theoretically though there should be not hole in your spectrum. The main problem with the BMW system (other then it sucks) is they are using 4" drivers to try to cover the mid range frequencies, which is really an ineffective size, there should be a 6"'s in the rear parcel at the least. To top that off, there are only a select few 4" component systems that you can use as direct replacement without highly modifying the speaker mounts them selves. To help this deficiency, what I did was swap out my rear deck speakers with MB Quart components, which can go as low as 59Hz, so every little bit helps. However then I ran into the problem of the head unit being underpowered to drive the new MB Quarts, so I added another small amp 60w x 2 to drive these speakers. All in all I have created an acceptable system without any major mods, the only thing you can see different is a small amp mounted under the rear deck parcel, but even then you have to squat down to see it, everything is stealthy. Honestly we are very limited in what we can work with, which sucks, because not everyone on the planet listens to classical music.

That doesnt excuse the fact the Earthquake seems to be putting out a poor quality product, but currently its the only viable solution for our cars, other then the obvious changing out the entire system. I will say to all who are considering this mod, try just changing the stock amp out 1st, you may not even want the Earthquakes. I tell you if I hadnt already paid for them, I wouldnt have even bought them. I would have just kept the factory subs running. A bigger amp is enough to push the factory 8's to acceptable levels. You are not going to get license plate rattling bass, but you will get some good seat vibes and decent low end response, that sounds night and day better then the factory set up.

mag75

I just wanted to give a quick update.
I sent my subs to earthquake instead of the ebay seller bc unfortunately my seller wasnt as nice.
Anyway, just got a voicemail from earthquake and they are sending me two new subs at zero cost. I didnt even have to pay shipping.
They received the subs on monday and I heard from them on Tuesday.....so overall, I am happy with their customer service and how they took full blame for the stuck subs.

Hope you all have success with your ebay sellers....if not, Earthquake is very responsive and understands they are at fault for the problem.

I didnt however actually talk to them in personal so I wasnt able to figure out exactly what was wrong.

mag75

Just had a shop put the subs in, and my view has completely changed.

The first shop that did the work must have been complete morons because the sound is night and day.

The new SWS's sound amazing. They wont knock your socks off but you'll definitely notice more bass.

bruce_miranda

Did they seal the enclosures? Because that makes quite a difference. Good job with sticking with this though.

mag75

I dont believe so. You have some kind of insert, right ? I am happy with the sound as of now so I doubt I will do anything further.

akgolfpro

I was just curious if anyone who had changed their 8" sub wanted to sell me a used OEM sub! I am in need of a new speaker, mine is blown and sounds horrable. I can be reached at akgolfpro@pga.com Adam