speakers are crap

[bas_I_am]

I already had the front passenger of my 09 TSX Tech replaced. When they pulled the speaker, I asked to see it. Polymer cone but not much weight. my god! maybe a 3 oz magnet if that.

woofer blew yesterday. completely disappointed with the speakers

[ELSSRND]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Not sure what the circumstances were surrounding your speakers but so far the system in the TSX has gotten the best reviews of any system we've put out to date.

[jinny]

I don't like to make assumption... well, that's not true. I DO like to make assumptions, so...

I'm guessing that the speakers blew because you are cranking it a little too high for the way the system was designed. The speakers are fantastic for "normal" listening volumes; however, with the windows rolled down, at highway speeds, and with really hard hitting thumpy music, trying to get the cars next to you to hear the system will be very taxing... and IMO, very annoying. If you want to win a decibel contest you need to swap out everything... but that isn't necessarily going to get you the best/most accutrate sound. I know some people would disagree but loud doesn't mean good.

oh yeah, your estimate of the quality of the speaker based on magnet size also suggests to me that you are looking for "loud" over "accurate reproduction". The ELS speakers were designed with weight savings in mind. They are being put into a fairly performance oriented vehicle so the lighter the better. Sure, there are cost considerations so flashy materials like carbon fiber or exotic alloys frames, and flashy colors may not be employed, but they are indeed quality speakers. Everything is a compromise, the magnets may not weigh as much because they may be more powerful than average magents. Part of the point of a heavy magnet is to move the cone as quickly as needed by the source... but it requires a lot of corresponding power to match, so a speaker that is designed to play loud will need to have bth a bigger magnet AND more power.... the magnet power can be facilitated by a heavier magnet (as you suggest), or with a more powerful magnet... ELS would probably choose more powerful magnet... and coupled with lighter (yet still sufficiently rigid) speaker cone material, very high quality accurately reproduced sound is possible. Try listening to the system at the ELS designer's target range... have the windows up and set to a modest volume... it should sound awesome. Cranking it to loud, just taxes the systems capabilities. Not to say that "loud" is bad, I just think that in your case, the stock ELS system in your car is not compatible with the way you listen to music.

Remember no system is perfect for everybody. if you must crank your music loud, you may be better served by changing out your system... although playing your music too loud is harmful to your hearing and pretty annoying to others, so I personally don't like to recommend it.

good luck!