Both Frazier and Peavey have put together some rather odd looking speaker packages that I would find hard to be enthused about... No speaker likes sunlight exposure or a damp enviornment... Heavy paper woofer cones (especially when they are rubberized or plasticized) can last a very long time... Foam surrounds have a very limited life expectancy, especially if driven hard, and fabric reinforced or butyl reinforced accordian edge woofers are by far the best choice for long life... That JBL sub may have been used or stored in a damp enviornment before it came to you, and if you are driving it hard, it's a race between dry rot and mechanical fatigue to see which will do it in... Next time, I would look into a replacement with a reinforced accordian edge surround...