What happened to Elemental Designs?

B Run

Does anyone know what happened to Elemental Designs? I can't get a hold of anyone under any extension, they shut down their forum and will not respond to emails? I feel terrible because I recommended their subs to a friend and he had to return it due to a faulty driver, and it arrived with the amp unplugged on top of that. He returned it and it's been over 3 weeks, no new sub, nobody will contact him about where his sub is or if he'll ever see it again. I've been waiting for the grill for my A5-350 for almost 2 months and cannot get a response but his sub is definitely my concern. Does anyone know where those guys went? As always any help is appreciated.

tommyt21

B Run looks like your not alone http://www.avsforum.com/t/1423667/resolving-issues-with-elemental-designs
Also there Facebook page is filled with angry people.

tommyt21

This also B Run http://www.avsforum.com/t/953081/official-elemental-designs-subwoofer-thread/14550#post_22305583

tommyt21

B Run some members also stated that their Credit Cards had suspisious activity after the purchase transaction, you and your friend may want to keep an eye on your accounts...Just a FYI

B Run

Well that's interesting since my identity got stolen about a week and a half ago, getting random charges on a card I only use for big purchases (i.e. an $800 subwoofer) and I had to close it out and file a fraud claim with my bank. Man I really feel bad for my friend they have his sub and he stretched his budget because I told him it'd be worth it. Thanks for the links.

VR3

Wow....

Thats crazy

coolsax

wow man that sucks..

B Run

Yeah i'm only out a grill and apparently a warranty which with everything i've been reading i'll probably end up needing in the future. I Just hope they make things right for him. As far as the credit card thing i'm not pointing fingers or blaming with no evidence, but it is very suspicious that it was a card i NEVER use and happened to have put that sub on.

Drenis

Looks like ED was falling hard and took the money and ran.

I was looking at a 18" driver and magically it disappeared off their site.

VTO888

Wow unfortunately I came across this thread. I'm glad I did though. I was really thinking about buying a sub from them. I was even going to run out to Iowa for a demo. I guess my gut was telling me not to do it. Guess Ill go back to thinking SVS, or Epik. Sorry for you and your friends troubles. I know the feeling good luck

EndersShadow

VTO888 wrote: »

Wow unfortunately I came across this thread. I'm glad I did though. I was really thinking about buying a sub from them. I was even going to run out to Iowa for a demo. I guess my gut was telling me not to do it. Guess Ill go back to thinking SVS, or Epik. Sorry for you and your friends troubles. I know the feeling good luck

Another good company is Chase Home Theater. I want me 2 of their passive 18" subs to run with whatever I want . They have some really good stuff!

B Run

I LOVE my A5-350 but in hindsight I wish I would have spent a little more and gone with either the Chase Home Theater, Epik or Hsu. I had an SVS pb12nsd before and it was a great sub, but couldn't compare to the ED for the price.

Conradicles

What a shame ED did this.

halo71

Wow, had no idea. Been a few years since I dealt with them but always had a good experience.

dorokusai

Thank goodness I've never recommended their subwoofers and told folks to stay away since their CS issues started a couple years ago. This has been the subject of discussions on at least 8 forums and has been going on for awhile. The original problem was simply getting products that were defective and the subsequent return process to get repairs.

B Run

I had no idea either until my friend said something, they always had good customer service and were helpful when I called. I just want my grill my wife loves the sub but hates how much it stands out without the grill on, don't suppose I'll be getting one anytime soon.

tommyt21

B Run you should have your friend call his credit card company and report the purchase as fraud. He can use the fact that many have now filed official fraud complaints with the Iowa attorney general.

tommyt21

I hope this is not rubbing salt in any wound, however I feel a product is not valued by price alone. Quality and a good company that stands behind their product gets my pennies (why I own Polk). I researched long and hard about subs, originaly was going to get a Outlaw but went with HSU instead, both great companies from my research. I loved the price of ED subs, the reviews and the look (boy did they look mean!), but the bad amps and what seemed like poor customer service from owners posting on forums convinced me to pay the higher premium for HSU.

dorokusai

B Run wrote: »

I had no idea either until my friend said something, they always had good customer service and were helpful when I called. I just want my grill my wife loves the sub but hates how much it stands out without the grill on, don't suppose I'll be getting one anytime soon.

It's certainly not your fault BRun as you had no idea. I'd just try and help as much as you can and you'll have to leave it at that.

Sherardp

Wow terrible for your friend and Ed bro. ED used to have stand up products and good service. Sad to see this has happened to them. Hope you guys get it worked out Brun.

B Run

Thanks everyone, I definitely appreciate all the help. I just want to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else.

B Run

Well here it is, they FINALLY put something up on their site. Really regret not going with another company :rolleyes:

"Official statement inside.
I'm sure at this point most people are wondering what's going on at Elemental Designs. Phones haven't been answered, lack of email responses, promised items not shipping, and not a peep from us. Well, I'm here to let you know what's going on, right now.

You see, the company began to go into a very rapid downward spiral several months ago when a lot of criteria and standards were not being met. Even a lot of poor decisions were made. Our staff decreased in size very rapidly, leaving only a few to handle day to day operations. Stress levels sky-rocketed when our inventory was quickly depleted, RMA's piled up, and we failed to satisfy customer's orders.

The one person a lot of people spoke with was Alex. And Alex is, well, he's not here. I am. And I am here to try my absolute best to make good with as many people as possible within the short time frame that I have.

Before Alex left, however, he did write an open letter and I'll present you with that letter:

"Over the last six months we at Elemental Designs have been struggling due to a few key factors. You, our customers deserve the right to be aware of these issues.
Under my leadership for the past two years Elemental Designs has lost a large share of its customer base in both the home and car audio markets. This is due to inefficiencies in large scale business management on my behalf. The mismanagement of in house production caused an increase in customer lead times while our goal was to decrease them. Key raw materials which go into almost all home audio products reached critical inventory levels due to inadequate reordering management. Without these raw products we did not have the availability to ship orders in the quoted time.

This mismanagement of inventory meant that we had a surplus of products that would only sell when heavily discounted and not enough inventory on the items customers demanded. This was a large issue with home audio amplifiers and raw drivers, causing long delays between order placement and shipping times. To fulfill orders quickly it required us to use vendors based in the US. The largest issue here became shrinking margins and order quantity decreasing over the past six months. To complicate things even more, we ran into many out of stock parts on components we did require. This lead to item stocking issues and with warranty replacement issues. Without the proper inventory levels, we relied on repairing faulty amplifiers instead of shipping out a new unit.
All of this combined is what put us in the situation we are in today. We are putting the website in standby and are working on current individual open inquiries.
Thanks.
Alex Lindeman
CEO
Elemental Designs"

Because I cannot operate with such a large overhead with little inventory, and no staff, I have come to the conclusion that the doors at Elemental Designs will be closing by the end of Friday, August 31st, 2012.

?WHOA, WHAT! Where does that leave me!?? ? says a lot of people right about now. What DOES this mean for you? If you have an open issue with Elemental Designs, email me. ( mtower@elementaldesigns.com ) I will reply, and I will try to work with you in whatever situation you are in. I need to do a lot of information gathering over the next few days, and your input would help immensely.

This hasn?t been easy, and it probably won?t be easy for the next several months, but you better believe I?m going to try whatever is humanly possible to help in any way I can.

Thanks.
- Matt Tower"

EndersShadow

B Run: Check your PM's for some info on something related to this....

VR3

Just.... wow

cr136124

@ B Run

I'm really sorry to hear all that. Hopefully, Matt (at ED) will be able to help you out with the issue that you have. Good luck man!

halo71

Really sad to hear this. I enjoyed their drivers in DIY projects.

To fulfill orders quickly it required us to use vendors based in the US. The largest issue here became shrinking margins and order quantity decreasing over the past six months.

In a nut shell.....whats wrong everywhere today!