What is the best speaker cabinet material?

Speaker cabinets are constructed of everything from wood to concrete and then some. What's the best material going and why? Have a question you want to ask Paul? www.psaudio.com...
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[@johnpick8336]

Klipsch from the 70's and before used 3/4" Marine Plywood that resonates and sounds breathtaking !

[@groverbaker6404]

You're 100% correct..I have pair of heresy II klipsch...with plywood unfinished..my friends who have other speakers started looking for klipsch..great job

[@jessicaembers924]

Ya, everything resonates. Instead of trying to stop the impossible, make it sound good.

[@poserwanabe]

Every cabinet we ever built , and we built truck loads of them to fill night clubs, theaters and arenas, were built using 13ply baltic birch, it worked very well...

[@TheEchelon]

Birch plywood is also very popular for guitar speaker cabinets.

[@EdwardT9]

For pro sound work MDF is terrible as it’s heavy and has no strength. As you found, Birch ply is the best, as it’s strong and can handle being moved and dropped and it’s less dense then MDF.

[@pandstar]

But home audio speakers are not aiming for the same end result as professional sound reinforcement applications. MDF is better at controlling resonances, and is better damped, so it does not infringe itself on the sound as much. So, for the end user, where accuracy is the goal, MDF is better than ply. BB ply has more problems with resonance and damping, but in the professional setting, those types of 'problems' are not that big of a deal, since accuracy is not high on the list of goals. Loud, clean, lots of bass are more important. In a club setting, how many people are concerned with imaging and soundstage, lots of detail, or even accurate timbre? So, the fact that BB ply does not produce the most musically accurate results, is hardly important.

[@pandstar]

@@TheEchelon True. Because the guitar amp is supposed to be part of the end resulting sound. The colorations produced by the amp, are what give different guitar amps their signature sound. In home audio, one wants the cabinet to produce as little of its own sound as possible. The less resonant and better damped the enclosure is, the more musically accurate the end resulting speaker will be. And since the goal of home audio speakers should be, to reproduce the incoming signal as faithfully as possible to the original, emulating guitar amps is about the last thing one wants to do.

[@poserwanabe]

@@pandstar this can be debated all day, but after all these years AND owning my own woodshop I've had better results using BB ply for ALL TYPES of speakers, including high end home audio...it's all about the bracing, peace Edit, 18mm BB ply is also MUCH stronger 💪

[@viragovtwin]

I have a pair of vintage SIXTIES. W35s that are large bookshelf speakers that belonged to my father. Each panel of the enclosure is actualy two sheets of plywood spaced apart and filled with sand. Yes very heavy but as you can imagine free of resonance. These were built in the sixtieS.

[@simrae1]

Yeah, one of the main benefits of MDF (apart from low cost), is ease of manufacturing - it's easy to CNC, it's can be finished in any number of ways (paint, laminate/veneer etc). Acoustically, it's not the best - BUT as a compromise, it works pretty well and doesn't require any special fabrication skills.

[@kdawson020279]

If God wanted MDF to look good, he wouldn't have blessed us with 3M spray adhesive and "speaker fuzzy" [that's what people I played music with called the non woven stuff], Tolex, and tweed. 🤣😎🤘

[@stevengriffin1676]

In Australia, we have a Pineboard Flooring material, 17mm thick, anti-mould, anti-water soaking properties, Really Dense and quite hard on saw blades but I find a great material for most boxes. Ok, it has 'tounge and groove along two edges but it's priced economical which is a bonus! Ready for whatever finish you desire!

[@jimatyeo]

Some of the best speakers I have heard were made from 3/4 Baltic Birch and some with natural hard woods, Oak, Cherry, Poplar and Sapele.

[@MGTS24]

Apparently research by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.) found that birch ply is one of the best materials, though I don't have the details.

[@mverbaan3381]

There is not one single 'best'. Even if 'the best sound' is your primary goal. Best for manufacturing? Best for shaping? Best concerning resonances (which also depend on the form of the speaker(enclosure)? Best concerning costs? Best concerning the environmental impact? And all these factors interrelate with each-other. So: welcome to the world of an engineer. ;)

[@anthonyman8008]

So whats the best then?

[@guitarwizard1989]

Im here to try and figure out a guitar speaker cabinet material. This guy covers the materials and uses very well. I think Im going to look at plywood vs solid wood now for mine :) I dont want the dead sound I want the resonant singing material ;) Thanks for the great video.

[@lynnpoole7830]

Baltic Birch plywood is my favorite but it's about 3 times more expensive than MDF. I use 3/4 in. and a thin layer of 1/4 in. ply with a secret sauce in between as a composite. I've used MDF and HDF in several past projects also. I can see why it's used in the business as it's more uniform, cheaper and machines more easily with smoother results. It's also easier to paint and get a smooth finish.

[@jonathansturm4163]

Decidamp DC30 your secret sauce?

[@lynnpoole7830]

@@jonathansturm4163 Actuality no. I use something that (I'm pretty sure) is similar. SIKA Sikaflex 292i Marine Structural Bonding Compnent. It seems to work well and is much easier to purchase and cheaper. I'd never use all of a pail of the DC30. It's supposed to be have sound dampening properties. I heard about it at DIYAudio.com. (that is where Nelson Pass hangs out. AKA ''Papa'').

[@jonathansturm4163]

@@lynnpoole7830 I have used several Sika products, but not come across the one you mention. Quality gear! I think while it's considerably more expensive, my idea of using the birch ply laminated with Paperock is the way I will go with my proposed build. One of the advantages of the Paperock finish is it's very hard, not just stiff. I tried to scratch the sample I have with my pocket knife and it left no mark! When I put it into a vice and attempted to bend a 90 mm by 45 mm by 5 mm thick piece I couldn't. I have no idea of what it would take to bend or fracture it. It's way stiffer than any timber I have come across.

[@lynnpoole7830]

@@jonathansturm4163 Amazon sells the Sikaflex 292i . Paperock is new to me but sounds interesting. (I googled it)

[@lynnpoole7830]

@Nat N Are you referring to me? I've used Fostex drivers in the past and their spec sheets usually come with plans for enclosures. All I've ever seen tell you to use 3/4 birch. LOL. As far as laminating with 1/4 ply I never claimed it was my idea and I plainly said in a response to Jonathan Strum that I got the idea to use Sika adhesive for dampening from DIYAudio.com. So I'm not sure what you are talking about. BTW I've been building speakers on and off for 35 years. Thanks for the laugh.

[@phetmoz]

The cabinet's of my speakers are entirely made of a special blend of concrete. It's called the Rauna Vidar. It downright murders resonance - especially after being placed on stands ontop of an vibration absorbing mat.

[@JoelHernandez-tz3vk]

Do I want to make a headphone housing out of that?

[@sunilcherianpullockaran8817]

Of all the materials I have used for speaker box building the one that came close to being dead is cement particle board called Bison Panel made by NCL industries of India. It is made of 62% cement and the rest is made up of wood particle. Very minimal internal bracing is needed when making the speaker boxes out of this especially sub woofer boxes made of 40 mm thickness board. The only major problem is that an 8 x 4 foot panel( 2440 x 1220mm weighs in at 155 kilos and the drill bits and saw blades do not last even 1/3 of what it would when used with MDF. The available thickness are 6,8,10,12,16,18,20,25,40 mm.

[@JohnJackson66]

A lot of the time MDF is thought of as poor substitute for natural wood, but it has advantages. As well as being less resonant, it is a more uniform material, one piece of MDF will behave much like another. It also expands uniformly meaning it is easier to engineer an airtight enclosure.

[@derbigpr500]

It also keeps it's physical properties over time, it won't dry out, or pull humidity, or warp, or crack, etc.

[@googoo-gjoob]

@@derbigpr500 , zackly

[@jonathansturm4163]

@@derbigpr500 Actually MDF does respond to atmospheric moisture. In a humid environment it expands. It can also warp. I used it for the cupboard doors in the rather dry kitchen of The House of Steel. I finished both sides with three coats of polyurethane varnish. Two of 18 doors have warped. I would have replaced them, but different batches of MDF are different in colour.

[@lynnpoole7830]

@@jonathansturm4163 Exactly, I built a pair of Spica TC 50 clones years ago and they ended up being used in my basement. After a few months every seam of the MDF box was swollen. That after being glued and screwed and painted with auto paint. I also don't think its less resonant that quality birch ply.

[@brothertonwing4554]

As with so many of these questions, its all depends on application. It is pretty easy to seal a well built plywood enclosure, however the statement that MDF is "less resonant" is not necessarily true. An interesting read is the US Patent 5115884A, "Low distortion audio speaker cabinet" - patents.google.com/patent/US5115884 The author describes many aspects of the cabinet construction that involve the application of materials and densities to reduce resonance. The resonance of a panel is in proportion its size, halving a square panel should increase its resonant frequency by a factor of 4, doubling the thickness increases the frequency by a factor of 2 (not considering bracing) If an MDF panel in a given enclosure has a dimensional mode at 500hz, the fundamental and harmonics will be distributed evenly. If the enclosure has parallel walls, the resonant frequency and harmonics will be boosted equally throughout the enclosure. The way plywood is constructed involves gluing each layer with an opposing grain, and sometimes the layers are differing hardness and density. Due to the many subtle variations in density and grain direction throughout the panel, micro frequency changes result in cancellation and therefore help to reduce resonance. Bracing can affect this in a big way but also introduces new resonance, these are usually well up the spectrum and away from crossover frequencies. For me, the weight of MDF coupled its water retention problems rule it of most portable applications. Even when properly sealed, its relatively low hardness means that sooner or later it will be exposed to moisture. However it is easy to work and cost effective, so for home or studio applications it should be fine (with the right design and construction).

[@clearbrain]

Learnt a lot from you... Regards from India ❤❤❤❤❤

[@mojoneko8303]

I'm building my Tower speakers out of Red Oak anyway. I figure it will be dense enough especially with the "No Rez" speaker damping material I'm using.

[@jeffharper410]

You nailed this one Paul. Peter Snell was the master at using internal resonance to produce fuller mid bass. Peter Q. experimented with everything from chip board to Apple wood on the Snell E and settled with Baltic Birch. Wilson are compleatly inert useing a special lay up of resons and fiber glass . Eric atTekton uses HDF and MDF . And Jhon at Grado labs has used some of the most exotic woods imaginable in his headphone designs and different woods will resonate at different frequency s . Mahogany is one of his favorite choices and on the RS1 is truly amazing . I have also seen large floor stander made of granite! Try moving one.🤣 I really liked your opening statement Paul as when you read the question I thought of all the attempts at building a material specific cabnet.

[@stephensmith3111]

And don't forget aluminum (Magico, YG Acoustics, et al.), carbon fiber lay-up in plastic resin (Wilson Benesch) aluminum and carbon fiber (Magico again) and others. Crystal Cable even made speaker cabinets out of glass, but I don't know if they still do this. The ultimate speaker cabinet material? Why, General Products hull material (see Larry Niven), of course.

[@hangnailh.9659]

I've built with MDF and Birch plywood. Birch is more expensive and is dense. They are great for speakers especially if you want to stain them.

[@bigelile07]

Yes, birch plywood is great.

[@tommygreist9560]

Walter Cox that owns a Radio Shack told me he's seen boxes made of marble.....solid.

[@wric01]

Ikea Oval , circle bowl is your best type as it limits diffraction from surface.

[@BlankBrain]

Depleted uranium would probably work well. I used 1" and 2" of MDF with 1X1 and 2X2 oak bracing. The baffle panels are 1" marine plywood made from two 1/2" laminated panels. Marine plywood had no voids in 1980, when the speakers were built. I was going to use veneer on the outside. Instead, I used teak plastic laminate, which is very convincing. The plastic laminate improved the sound! All surfaces that aren't covered by plastic laminate have several layers of polyurethane. If my speakers didn't sound so good, I'd consider building double-wall enclosures filled with sand. It would be fun to mold HDPE (high-density polyethylene) double-walls and fill them with sand. Screw caps could be molded into the panels to make filling and draining easier. Oh, if only Walmart hadn't put Rubbermaid out of business!

[@jordenb9469]

Depleted Uranium LOL! Good one! Even if you are being serious I think Unobtainium would be even better.

[@marc.0000]

Thanks for your answer... I enjoy a lot with these videos.

[@craignehring]

"Clean Sound From the Drainpipe 8" By David Weems from the June of 1962 Magazine of Popular Electronics Page 58

[@jonathansturm4163]

Usually the driver here in Oz was the Wharfedale Super 8. Not exactly the optimum position for a driver, firing lengthways into a pipe. But what did we ignoramuses know back then?

[@kellykinsey6611]

I remade some wedge shaped speaker boxes I have in my boat with a 10" sub in each, I fiberglass ed and gel coated them at first to guard against water damage. These are sealed boxes and my personal opinion is they sound considerably BETTER!

[@AviewFromUnder]

MDF or Beaver Barf lol. Enjoy your videos Thanks.

[@antondupree5322]

I use jelly I find it wobbles great and smells great to and if you get bored of them you can eat them and just make new ones plus you can mould to pretty much any shape

[@jessicaembers924]

I like to make my own boards by gluing and press clamping 1" strips of solid hardwood together. Black walnut & cherry every other strip looks just beautiful with a simple rubbed on cooking oil finish. Gotta have that real sound, but i like a REAL Box to.

[@lazarprodanovic8373]

You use dense wood that's most available in your area. If you can choose you pick some that doesn't breed much or at all under humidity changes. My pick would be a Sorbus Torminalis because it doesn't breed at all & it's bright acoustics. You should be able to find it in Spain. What ever you choose be certain to go for 30 mm or more tick so that it stays at least at 25 mm after assembly and polishing. It's recommended to apply a layer of piano polisher to harden it even more inside. To do more in terms of acoustic resonance enchantments for low frequencies from wood I advise front mid panel from thinner Oak plate with a hole in the mid (check out how log drums are made for reference) but it will be lot of experimenting & nerves until you make it sound really good.

[@blazed85]

Chip board always worked for me and cheap. Then get a textured spray for the outside to dampen it a bit.

[@davehwang6815]

Mostly MDF, Glass - Crystal Cable, Aluminium - Magico, Composite - Wilson, Vivid.

[@jondoe6618]

I have used mdf and its fine, but can break easily and moisture kills it. Not to mention breathing the dust when cutting it. Now I only use 3/4in birch plywood.I have good results with it. Remember opinions are like a$$holes everyone has them.

[@BughunterX]

Are there speakers made of BMC,Bulk mold compound? Sony for example use this to make turntable plinths back in the 70s. Could be perfect as the cabinets simply could be cast...

[@kdawson020279]

I love MDF for uncolored sound reproduction and bass guitar/keyboard, I prefer pine or void-free Baltic Birch 18mm [nominal 3/4" for the metric impaired] for my guitar speakers. Heavy woods have interesting tonal qualities, but it can be hard to get the right match of wood and speaker. Definitely not worth the extra cost for reference speakers when MDF is easy to work and relatively inexpensive.

[@benjoe999]

Pine wood!

[@stevefick3919]

I build my speakers from MDF. Easy to machine and quite dense. Watch the dust, however, not good for the lungs! The guy I used to work with built his own "Wharfedale" style speaker cabinets with the sand filled walls. He used a 12" Co-axial JBL driver in each one. Nice, but weighed a ton!

[@newriverratsam]

Fiberboard is simply any number of wood derivative small sawdust particles and adhesive that is compressed. The quality/density can change from formula to formula, batch to batch. I've worked with wood a L-O-N-G time and lovingly refer to this as garbage-board.

[@transdimensionalist]

i call it glorified cardboard ;)

[@derzulya]

I listened to a pair of marble cabinet speakers. They sounded very good, however were pretty expensive for the sound they had because of the production costs. Building a speaker cabinet out of marble is also not only less efficient as a whole product but also really heavy and brittle at the same time.

[@SarcastSempervirens]

I've seen some measurements and in that particular case MDF had a lot of dB above 1k and a significant amount in the bass. 5-ply pine plywood had the least amount of dB across the spectrum. People from the industry say MDF howls like crazy and it's not the best for a speaker. I do acknowledge it may be a good compromise cause of it's mass and production but I wonder.. pine playwood isn't exactly rocket science.

[@robertyoung1777]

Hi Another issue to consider is the off venting of gasses that materials have. My 40 year old JBL L00s still smell like chemicals.

[@AndyBHome]

Outside of creating a new material specifically for loudspeaker construction, the best material is MDF. Wilson has their X Material that's probably better, but MDF is probably about as close as you can get from the list of readily available materials. Cast iron good (Jerrn from Sweden). Cement is good (Concrete Audio). Thick enough almost anything would do. Marble probably sounds good. But of course in the real world there are factors like workability, weight, durability, availability and of course cost. Why not Corian? Is that still readily available? Again, thicker anything is probably better than a thin version of the same thing. Leon Speakers in Michigan makes speakers in cast aluminum boxes, and then covers the sides, top and bottom in nice wood, but acoustically they're heavy aluminum boxes. Is anyone making loudspeakers from Corian? Is that what I need to quit my job to start doing?

[@jarethrock8761]

For me, the best material i can think with Baltic Birch Plywood. And possibly i would like to rebuild vintage speaker cabinet out of Baltic Birch Plywood.

[@jonathansturm4163]

Here in Australia MDF is called Craftwood, or more colloquially: Crapwood. Apart from cost, it is inferior to plywood in every way.

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

Never heard of it being called Craftwood here, always just MDF.

[@jonathansturm4163]

@@DodgyBrothersEngineering Probably never heard of Laminex either I suppose: www.laminex.com.au/about-laminex/brands/trade-essentials

[@reynaldoaleman2035]

Humidity is the MDF. Problem and easy to break. Than. Birchwood

[@laurentzduba1298]

Givem that they're always present in every hi fi show even here in SE Asia, Wilson's top tier speakers - i.e. those that cost 20,000 USD per pair or more are to my ears the best ones available and are the only ones to my ears better than my current (5,000 USD) DIY set up. Wilsons priced 20,000 USD upwards tend to make lesser models sounds as if - especially when playing a well recorded acoustic bass guitar / upright bass - sound as if those bass strings are on a big harp instead of an acoustic bass.

[@scottyo64]

I have often wondered about those "Waterfall" glass speakers. I saw them on Amazon.

[@maheens2173]

Which is best rd or mdf

[@MrCatalysis101]

Years ago I owned a pair of Celestion Kingstons. They were made from a very dense material called alphacrystal which I'd judge too the cabinet out of the equation altogether. Sad that this was never followed up.

[@ekimandersom4478]

Whats your opinion of concrete speaker cabinets? Like Betonart Audio in Germany makes.

[@bournelucid]

Stone, carved out of a mountain

[@TheChadPad]

Mr god I would like to try that

[@thecarman3693]

I heard of using Panzerholz wood, but it's so dense that it's a bear to work with and would likely fall through your floor and sink to the center of the planet.

[@BostonMike68]

I got a lot of free oak if I covered mdf with the oak does anyone think that would sound good some people say soft wood works better

[@ronniefranks4351]

I own a pair of 2-way speakers built of ¾ inch plywood. The entire interior surfaces are covered with a thick layer of lead shot epoxied in place. They are dense and the most dead cabinets I’ve ever experienced.

[@changappalarny4701]

Hope particle boards are the best not toot hick either for a two feet bookshelves not more than 3/4 " thickness. too hard the material the box will be dead. even the box should give a slight low frequency vibration which gives the bass a additional drum like vibration. too thin the walls the box resonance will be too much spoils the sound stage. too thick kills it. so it should be ideal.

[@pipervibe3427]

When I place my small bose revolve speaker inside my wood shop cabinet and open the door, the resonating qualities of the cabinet improves the sound of those little speakers dramatically. Could an empty cabinet be designed with specifications to optimize this affect? An audiophile who loves the convenience of the small portable speakers (like myself) would enjoy the higher fidelity at times by moving to the room with the enhancing cabinets.

[@johnsweda2999]

Chipboards good I think you call it particular bored over there, but you should use valchromat it is Made in Portugal better than HDF and much stronger, they use a natural resin as a composite and is safe to use no formaldehyde, not like MDF is very poisonous to work with should treat it like asbestos always wear a mask and always highly ventilated. Marine Plywood, is very good specially beach boxwood or ebony. And I say one of the best is Bamboo. Don't think much of your typing up the glue joints Paul should use clamps match stronger and always lap joints at least. Use multiple different types of materials don't stick to one material either

[@laurencemarkmallak3076]

Does anyone know if the acoustical properties will suffer if I use MDF instead of the original particleboard that was used in the design of my vintage JBL enclosures. I need to replace them do to damage, thanks.

[@gm2655]

Thanks

[@linandy1]

Harbeth speakers resonate like an instrument, ive never had the chance to hear some. How are they? anyone?

[@carlitomelon4610]

I like the real wood side panels on the prototypes. So they damp/diffuse panel resonances of the MDF main cabinet? Or just cosmetic? How much do they add to speaker cost?

[@workingclassperson2124]

Isn’t Birch lighter? I’m trying to make a box for two 90 pound monster excursion subs I want light and strong wood. Any suggestions? Price may be a factor but it’d be nice to hear you opinion. Thanks

[@whocares.20]

I like poured concrete, with 6" rubber, sand, molten lead poured into a mold buried in the ground of my basement floor. But MDF is a good answer I suppose :D

[@cemmany]

B&W uses birch-ply laminates heat pressed with propitiatory resin glue . Its very different from using MDF in a simple box geometry . The Nautilus uses fiber resin infused cabinets designed by the legendary Laurence Dickie of Vivid Audio . The high frequency drivers are loaded into a Tapered Tube Loading system which is voiced and stuffed . The drivers are loaded with Super Flux Magnet motor systems and the list goes on . Just saying .

[@charlesnr]

How about Green Mountain's speakers in Colorado-marble composite?

[@coppercabjr4865]

is that why we dont make speakers like old times like many older speakers are amde out of mahogni wood but I cant see any spakers are made with that anymore know its also werry expensive but dant maeby makes alot of resosnse so see why we dont do it anymore

[@CarlosGarcia-bm5se]

Great video

[@stevedimitrakopoulos8923]

I've made my speakers out of marble they are just stunning but they are very heavy

[@44029340]

Plywood or solid wood would be my choice

[@stonefree1911]

Is that the top half of the AN3?

[@Sampardhanani]

We also have a manufacturer making cast iron speakers.

[@thegrimyeaper]

"No more dry meat"

[@thisisnev]

Technics used cast aluminium for their SB-F1's , back in the day, and Canon's speakers used cast zinc.

[@NickP333]

@thegrimyeaper That made me laugh aloud. A true LOL! 😂

[@jonathansturm4163]

Steampunk! :-)

[@hardeepkogar]

Solid timber?

[@craignehring]

Wharfedale sand filled hollow cabinet walls were a thing at one time, perhaps still are?

[@xanderguldie]

Plywood that is used by the marine is far superior to mdf but it costs a lot more

[@lynnpoole7830]

Yep.

[@jonathansturm4163]

Construction ply is fine and a lot cheaper. Plywood is stiffer per unit mass and it's stiffness you want in an erection even when you are erecting something as small as a speaker cabinet. Concrete is even stiffer, but far too dense to be practical in most circumstances. I'm currently looking at a birch plywood sheet faced with "Paperock", a paper and resin composite that's really, really stiff. And hard! Expensive, but seems to me to be the best cabinet material I have come across so far.

[@russredfern167]

Xander Guldie 3/4" plywood best. Though I prefer using hardwoods such as oak.

[@slyfoxx2973]

Stuff is pricey. I've got a Mesa guitar cab made of the stuff. It's either 11 or 13 layer marine grade Blatic birch ply with 2 12" drivers. 800 bucks and weighs over 60 lbs. But it's built to take the pounding of several world tours so a weekend warrior like me has no worries.

[@transdimensionalist]

yes general marine ply is pretty crappy and the marine part just means the glue they use is abit more water resistant than standard ply. birch ply/furniture grade ply is generally better quality in terms of dimension and lack of voids. often marine ply/construction ply is quite uneven in thickness and full of voids where the sheets which it is made of arent matched up properly leaving gaps or overlaps. the baltic marine ply mentioned above is proberbly better but then alot of baltic wood comes from old growth forests that are irreplaceable.

[@nickdad7136]

Sir can't we use solid wood for speaker box?

[@Shawn-wy1pb]

Solid wood is not a good material as wood density is not uniformed which causes resonance. Most manufactures use wood veneer to cover the MDF to give their speakers the look and feel of the wood without the negative effects.

[@sjowners]

What about Electrostats?

[@RSx94]

I only use 19mm MDF wood for my subwoofers.

[@kenshiroxxx90]

i use 10mm clear plastic for 4inch bookshelf speaker. it cost a lot.. is that ok?

[@chriscotton4207]

No!

[@ryanray6215]

KEF Muon made of super formed aluminium .

[@brucestarr4438]

I think another question is, if cost wasn't a factor, what is the best wood to use?

[@jonathansturm4163]

Plywood; cross lamination makes it equally stiff in all directions and it's relatively stable compared to chipboard and MDF. Make sure the glue is water resistant at the very least. Resorcinol is very good. The giveaway is the red colour line the glue makes.

[@bunnythekid]

I’ve heard birch ply isn’t bad either

[@janinapalmer8368]

B&W use plywood in steam heated dies to form the unique curved enclosures of theirs

[@terryreese663]

As does Paradigm Persona. Pressed into form/mold 7 layers. Very impressive stuff. Curved enclosure. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKeZqH5ojcqhd8U @3:45 if interested

[@jonathansturm4163]

I made curved cupboard doors for the island bench in my kitchen by laminating thin MDF sheets. A PITA to execute, but a satisfying end result: www.sturmsoft.com/House/Images/great_hall05.jpg The bench was to complement the curved and sloping ceiling. Right at the top of the picture the pink is glass wool insulation batts that were later hidden by matt black cloth (weedmat). They helped tame the rather pronounced liveliness of the room.

[@dicksontong6498]

Respeat! how about material other than wood? alu plastic PVC or even fibre?

[@sumitgenzyme]

Paul, What about the real wood?

[@rhymeswithpulverine2169]

No enclosure

[@carlosmante]

I make a composite for my DIY speakers.

[@NickP333]

Like sheets of a composite material? What is it made of?

[@lynnpoole7830]

Me too.

[@keithrowe1007]

The ultimate speaker would be infinitely dense, and infinitely resistant to all vibrations. And in the perfect world, so much so that you could theoretically go around back and hear nothing - save that which bounces off the walls.

[@AlexanderCB1982]

MDF, hdf and plywood, prefiero este último material haciendo un sistema como el matrix de B&W, para que quede lo más sólido posible. Casi los mejores altavoces jamas construidos para mi son los b&w 802 D, y son de plywood.

[@ronbrideau8902]

Canadian Jade.

[@ottoinfomusic]

Concrete?

[@123pantyhose]

Metal is good, like elac 312

[@Pleusch]

Concrete

[@benadams1538]

Telefunken speakers cabinet are made from pure wood..... so can we also make some pure wood cabinet

[@vikassm]

MDF? It's probably the worst material to build anything out of. Even construction grade plywood is better for speaker construction, obviously with appropriate dampening and internal bracing.

[@gotham61]

Magico and YG Acoustics use aluminum.

[@hom2fu]

is like asking what is the best music listen to? Surprise, nobody come up with bamboo for speaker materials. stiff.

[@jeffharper410]

It's been done from bamboo plywood. I can't remember who but I read about it some time ago.

[@jonathansturm4163]

Beautiful and especially hard-wearing; it's grass and therefore much silica content. I'm hoping to use 'boo floating floor in my new home. Might work out a tad expensive for speakers.

[@Algazimalaya986]

I'm one of the early birds of your vids paul

[@Frisenette]

I’m sure you have been noticed.

[@edgarortiz4681]

I agree . An infinite amount of exceptional loud speakers have been designed using mdf and hdf .The science is sound and the results cannot be disputed . Yes , there are materials that are superior. Unfortunately, the cost of such materials make them unrealistic to the average audio enthusiast . Why buy a 3 million dollar Bugatti when a 911 turbo will get you there at a fraction of the cost ?

[@lynnpoole7830]

Bugatti =305 mph. They just set a new record a couple of weeks ago.

[@edgarortiz4681]

@@lynnpoole7830 ... Where are you going to be allowed to drive 305 mph . Can you even handle 305 mph ? What is the point ?

[@lynnpoole7830]

@@edgarortiz4681 I'm not gonna drive one period. I just thought I'd throw in a little current event. The point is some people want the fastest car and have the $$ to pay for it.

[@edgarortiz4681]

@@lynnpoole7830 ... I get it . Just because you can afford to use $100 bills as toilet paper does not mean that you should .

[@jonathansturm4163]

Since the issue is stiffness (lack of resonance) is the goal and MDF is not as stiff as the same weight of plywood then where plywood is cheap enough then it makes sense to build using plywood. Tech Ingredients demonstrates this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3bLYWSGjZKkb6s

[@hifiman4562]

Best enclosure is no enclosure. Open baffle!

[@lukerestlessstudios]

HDF

[@chrispytelomeres9863]

Anything inert.

[@jonathansturm4163]

Politicians?

[@fubartotale3389]

Depleted uranium.

[@r423sdex]

Why are speakers so expensive, that is what I want to know?

[@ryanray6215]

Try to build one . You will understand :-)

[@ryanray6215]

Maybe you can get a very good deal on "WhiteVan" speakers . Good luck !

[@hom2fu]

it's the time they putting into (trial and errors). Custom designs, sell only a handful. exotic materials or highest quality materials available.

[@jeffharper410]

Speakers play the biggest roll in voicing your whole system. Well made speakers take hours of engineering and time spent refining the crossover . The components themselves can be expensive $300.00 for a single capacitor that is just the right one. Cabinets are heavy and take time to build and finish. Then Shipping and mark up to keep the seller in business. The more time spent to manufacture and the better the parts ,the higher the price.

[@stephensmith3111]

4th Law of Thermodynamics: Everything takes longer and costs more. Originally Khufu's Law: Nothing gets built on time or within budget. However, it was upgraded to 4LoT when it was realized to be more universally applicable.

[@sinonistoyemi6327]

mdf, firewood is completely trash. meranti plywood is the way to go

[@karyldebolouw74]

There are many similar projects in Woodprix's plans.