Earthquake plate amp stopped working

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EricKalet

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Hey group!! Have any of you had a plate amp on your sub go bad?? What has been your experience with repair and cost to fix?? I've got a 15" Earthquake Mark IV sub and short of bad fuses, it looks like the amp has sunset.

Thanks,
Eric
 
Hey group!! Have any of you had a plate amp on your sub go bad?? What has been your experience with repair and cost to fix?? I've got a 15" Earthquake Mark IV sub and short of bad fuses, it looks like the amp has sunset.

Thanks,
Eric

I don't have that type of amp/sub in my system but my son in law does. He had a Polk 12" sub-woof just go dead for no known reason. We inspected the driver, both sides, & checked the internal amp fuse which was ok. It was still under warranty so he called Polk & had great co-operation... they suspected, as we did, that it was damage to the driver & they sent out a replacement no cost. We switched that out & still did not work. A 2nd call to Polk said it must then be the amp board. They said keep the driver & they sent a new amp board to him. We switched out & all was good after that.

So indeed it can be the amp board. Replacing is easy if you just remember where the colored wires go... probably no soldering needs to be done. Call Earthquake tech support & see what they can do.
 
Those subs look fairly easy to service. 12 screws to get inside. If the fuse is OK attach a speaker to the speaker out and see if it is putting out anything there. Watch the volume so you don't blow up the one you are connecting. If you get wooof out of that one your speaker driver might be blown.
You can open the case and look for cooked things which often are evident. You can gently move the woofer driver to see if it has rubbing which can happen when the voice coil goes bad.
And I second Sonik's suggestion. These are not el Cheepo so they should have some good customer soivice.
 
Yeah it definitely seems the amp is toast. I’m able to get the woofer to vibrate but very low level. Normally when cranking this thing it’s like the whole house shakes! I’ll call Earthquake tomorrow and see what can be done
 
Well bad news and a bummer...I got this email below from Earthquake and was so excited to be able to swap out the amp for $99.

Guess what? They told me they made a mistake and now want $400 for a new amp and won't budge. They won't honor their email.

Looks like I'm in the market for a new sub, and certainly will not be buying an Earthquake product.

  1. If you send it for repair, we will quote you the cost to fix the problem (if we can). The cost is about $150 to $199. Anything above this price is not recommended.
  2. The alternative, which most people elect to do, is to purchase a brand new amplifier. The new amplifier has been upgrade to the newer version as attached. Cost is $99 plus SH
 
Well bad news and a bummer...I got this email below from Earthquake and was so excited to be able to swap out the amp for $99.

Guess what? They told me they made a mistake and now want $400 for a new amp and won't budge. They won't honor their email.

Looks like I'm in the market for a new sub, and certainly will not be buying an Earthquake product.

  1. If you send it for repair, we will quote you the cost to fix the problem (if we can). The cost is about $150 to $199. Anything above this price is not recommended.
  2. The alternative, which most people elect to do, is to purchase a brand new amplifier. The new amplifier has been upgrade to the newer version as attached. Cost is $99 plus SH

Well, that's craptastic. There are so many, many powered sub woofs out there to replace it with. I can vouch for the quality of service for Polk thatmight fit your needs. Or you can do some research at Parts Express as they sell a good variety of these plate amps. Biggest thing to be aware of using something like that is it has to fit the cut out on your Earthquake exactly. Or be a bit larger & silicone rubber seal. If it was me I'd at least give a shot at fixing it myself.
 
I think I may go for a Monolith THX Ultra 12" :SB
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