Concrete Audio Speakers...Speaker Enclosures made out of Concrete ?..

All New Ykma Design 0c1 3D Concrete speakers 
 
 https://ykma.design/
  

roxy543,400 posts08-29-2020 5:53amoldhvymec,
There are at least 3 companies that have used granite for speaker enclosures that I can think of, so there are probably more.

I know, that's what they say, and it may be true. But roxy54 check it out
Granite rings like a bell, ATH @ Corian is what every expensive countertop, speaker baffle and TT plinth are made of. You can even glue and repair the stuff. NOT granite. Granite is pretty cheap in comparison.

Really it's hard to work with, HEAVY, and just a horrible sonic signature.

Regards

oldhvymec,
There are at least 3 companies that have used granite for speaker enclosures that I can think of, so there are probably more.

I was an electrostat listener for over 20 years, from Acoustat Xs, 2+2s, Martin Logan Monolith IIIs (and reQuest for 2nd system).  Then I met my wife 23 years ago and she found them unlistenable.  She said they lack dynamics, bass and more than one listener ability.  She was right.  I went to big dynamic box speakers which had all of those factors.  The best speakers I've ever heard or wanted are large dynamic box speakers (except for maybe the big SoundLabs).  I should have kept the 2+2s for my second system.  Can I suppose that your listening to electrostats is for yourself primarily and not for a group of people?   Sanders stats are particularly one person speakers, like giant headphones.   

Uh boy. All of these box enclosures. If you love listening to box speakers it’s just another box speaker. I use dipole electrostats. I couldn’t be happier. 

I would think concrete could work....there are so many thickness you could work with. Thicker for the woofer. There is light weight concrete and you could texture the inside with ie. polystyrene or some media to make it more textured. ...the problem is how the hell are you going to test them....to much work in my view. 

audiotroy2,546 posts08-16-2020 12:26am

Kenjit is wrong concrete. Does not resonate the issiue is weight and ability to ship without damage

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My oh my, I don’t think he is, but I do think you are... CONCRETE is REAL bad.... GROUT mixes on the other hand.. quit good.. Concrete is WAY to heavy because of the rock type and size. Grout on the other hand, less than half the weight (depending on the fluff) and can have a very DEAD signature..

Again NO ONE uses, granite. You cannot use granite. They use synthetic granite, ATH @ Corian... Granite, basite, any igneous rock will ring... It has a very low concentration of silica. The baffle mix has to have a high porosity (bubbles in the mix, but no voids) Igneous rock, is a NO NO..

Some naturally occurring sedimentary, looks good and can work, but has no strength..

Metamorphic, changes under great heat, pressure and TIME. It’s out...
just like Igneous, way to dence, very difficult to work with, without some pretty fancy tools.. The weight, out of sight!! the heaviest of all, ay?

Try cutting 3-20 driver holes, praying the whole time, hole # 10 won’t have a problem, much less # 20..
Now lets add an OOPS or two in the mix... :-)

Regards

I had some Essence speakers in the 80's.  Each driver, 5 per side, were mounted to concrete, then finished on the outside with medite, then walnut, except the bottom, woofer.  Each speaker housing was separate for time alignment and made a nice pyramid.  10k in '82 was a lot of money, but they sounded fantastic. Before and after speakers were Snell Type A and Quad ESLs.

Kenjit is wrong concrete. Does not resonate the issiue is weight and ability to ship without damage


Jim thiel and paul hales had speakers with cconcreate front baffles

Both made great speakers


Just got in cast  ironand graphite speakers from jern they sound unbelievable
http://jernspeakers.com/

0 cabinet resonanance
they sound like 10k speakrs yet cost about 4k

Compleately disssapear speed and articulación are. Off the charts
when used with a good sub willl embarass a lot of extremely expensive speakers

Dave and troy
Audio intellect Nj
Jern dealers

kenjit1,013 posts08-12-2020 10:37am

How will the speaker shaped by kenjit sound?

If I had a speaker company my speakers would have to be perfect. No ringing or resonances. Just pure music.


Me, the dog, the rabbit, and the GOAT, all of our heads, cocked sideways. The chickens didn't though. BOING!

NO RESONANCES, either... hum! At least some ok..
Something gotta come out of the front of the speakers, just saying K!

;-)

Regards

British audio engineer, Gilbert Briggs, who founded Wharfdale in the late 30's wrote a number of interesting books on "loudspeaker" design. He installed speakers into bricked-in corners in a room - must have had a very supportive partner. My takeaway from one of his books was the use of bonded dissimilar materials so that their natural resonances would tend to cancel each other out. Taking his advice, I glued 12" square sheets of mosaic tiles, then grouted them, on the inside surfaces of my cabinets - enjoyed listening to those speakers for 50 years. Probably for the same reason Wharfdale sold loudspeakers with sand-filled voids in their walls in the 50s.

Hello highend666.  Granite/Quartz countertops are frequently broken during transportation and installation. Broken bits can be had for very low prices and the shops that have them will cut them for you. I have made seven cabinets out of broken counter tops. You can make the fronts out of any kind of wood product you like, the backs too. Glue the countertop pieces together with construction adhesive or silicone rubber. Heavy, but acoustically inert.

Millercarbon concrete and extruded polystyrene are sometimes mixed together, so you could end up somewhere in the middle sound wise.

In addition to concrete transmission line speakers, Rauna of Sweden also made a small pair of bookshelf monitors with a front bass reflex port - Rauna Tyr II’s. Picture Vandersteens but only 13” tall weighing 30 Lbs each and going down to 40-45 Hz. 

I first heard them in the mid 80’s and was blown away! I found 2 pairs of them in the last couple of years and refinished the rosewood tops & mdf bottoms and they are Excellent & very fun speakers. If you find a pair, most likely the wrap around foam grills have have disintegrated but that can be purchased and make sure you get the Tyr II, not the original Tyrs. The Tyr II’s had binding posts on the back, original Tyrs underneath.

hdcls
Regarding horns: the room matters. I have had Altec 604Cs for ... 43 years now. They DID sound a little horny (tsk tsk) at first (and I have stayed with these speakers because at my price point, to my ears there is nothing that comes close to their performance), but as the other components improved the condition improved.

I am now in a semi-anechoic room, and the condition has largely disappeared.

Kenjit

Read what they say about these Betonart Arrivato Concrete speakers
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://www.lowbeats.de/test-betonart-arrivato-standbox-mit-perfektem-gehaeuse/

Match these speakers with the $20K Audio Note 300B Meishu Tonmeister amp and your be in Audio Heaven.......

If it was so good most companies would do it. Those companies that have done it haven’t been successful.

A concrete wall could be used but not a box.

I am not talking about these speakers specifically but rather concrete enclosures in general. Are you suggesting that any thickness of concrete will ring? Hard for me to think of a better, relatively inexpensive material to use in a speaker. I will await your solution and response. 

Because they are not thick enough and they are too resonant. You want something that doesn't ring when you tap it. 

Why wouldnt concrete enclosures be excellent? 

Wow,guys here are talking about Bose 901s here...what do they have to do with these speakers  ,other than a different idea.

"The enclosure was poured in the basement and the drivers mounted in the floor."

Didn't kenjit already propose something similar?

YUK!!! It's a squished Tekton Moab! 21st century Bose 901?

I have heard of concrete subwoofers. The enclosure was poured in the basement and the drivers mounted in the floor. It was an infinite baffle design. Theoretically it should work! 

Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete ..... 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRJZTITp15Q

How will the speaker shaped by kenjit sound?

If I had a speaker company my speakers would have to be perfect. No ringing or resonances. Just pure music. 

So if a speaker is shaped like a bell it will ring like a bell?

It IS a bell. Its a bell with drivers in them. Not a good idea. 

"Does that imply a speaker shaped like a tuna fish will sound in tuna?"

How will the speaker shaped by kenjit sound?

Kenjit

So if a speaker is shaped like a bell it will ring like a bell?
Does that imply a speaker shaped like a tuna fish will sound in tuna? 

"I don't take anything for granite..."  (Sorry, and Yes, too easy...)

I made a pair of ceramic speakers (porcelain) a long while ago....fun concept, lousy in use....*shrug*  Resonates...but they were small....

Fibre concrete will allow thinner walls, saving weight.  Flip side requires very careful design as the stronger structure will start to resonate.

Foamed concrete hasn't been tried to my knowledge.  But may have the same issues as ceramics.  The mass reduces, the weight as well....allowing for the excitation of the enclosure.....

...and foamed materials generally require casting.....big$....

You would think aluminium billets would ring like a bell but they are used often. Concrete is a too general term for a number of different mixes which obviously have different characteristics. Which would be best for speakers, I don't know. As previously stated concrete has been used in transmission line speakers. I still rate concrete as a great idea for speaker plinths and equipment stands, as for speakers I think it certainly would be worth investigating further

Rauna Concrete speakers with a tube amp... LIVE
  

 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbt8moHmvZ4

I did not know those Acora speakers were granite, but they did sound fine.

StoneBjelk Concrete speakers... Sounds LIVE
  

  

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB6V9yxW4P8

I’ve spent time listening to Acora’s granite enclosed speakers at the 2019 CAF and they sounded great, even in the minimally treated hotel room. 

Kenjit Not having heard them your blather is one of ignorance.... naturally.

I have  a system of CNC’d aluminium billets incorporating 6 x 2” full range speakers in each module, 6 modules per channel. Custom amplifiers drive them and I dare anyone to say they ring. The sound is top quality! I compare these to my other system (250k) and yes there is a difference naturally but the solid aluminium speakers are in the high quality sound range.

@jpwarren58 ha! 
@roxy54 ha! 

If you wanted to make big concrete speakers, the way to do it would be to make them modular.  Stack 6" high sections on top of each other separated by thick gaskets. They need to be something that is assembled in place.  You don't want to try to move 500lbs of concrete in one piece.  I don't know if concrete by itself is great idea but it could certainly be a big part of a great box.  It's incredibly dense and won't resonate at low frequencies.  Maybe some high frequency damping is in order but that's certainly doable.

WE ARE WAITING FOR SAMPLES FROM JERN JERN http://jernspeakers.com/jern12-xf-loudspeaker/ 

They are unfortunately made of iron so they will ring like a bell. The speaker is even shaped like a bell so not very good design. 
Theres no response curve provided on their site, they have -6db @65 hz which is terrible and are overpriced. Best to be avoided. 

More info on the Jern speakers
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuPaobyfjLM
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUTk3Jw7Yvg

ACTUALLY BOTH PAUL HALES AND JIMTHIEL MADE CONCRETE FRONT BAFLES FOR THEIR SPEAKERS

BOTH SPEAKERS SOUNDED VERY GOOD

THE ISSUE IS WEIGHT AND ABILITY
TO CHIP

WE ARE WAITING FOR SAMPLES FROM JERN JERN http://jernspeakers.com/jern12-xf-loudspeaker/ ARE REVOLOUTIONARY COMPACT MONITORS EITH PROBABLY THE MOST NON RESONANT CABINET ON THE MARKET SO THE SPEAKERS JUST DISSAPEAR


THEIR NEW LOUDSPEAKERS ARE MADE OUT OT CAST IRON AND GRAPHENECOMPOSITE

https://www.tonepublications.com/review/jern-14eh-speakers/

BASICCALLY WHEN USED WITH A PAIR OF SUBS YOU HAVE A MODULAR MAGICO KILLER AT A FRACTION OF THE PRICE

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=jern+speakers&docid=608022865000202871&mid=6C69E90ADD95EBE4B2D96C69E90ADD95EBE4B2D9&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

LRM is our technology flagship and one of the most important factors when it comes to reducing vibrations within the cabinet. The cabinet of JERN14 has an ability to reduce vibrations 50 times better than other conventional speaker materials.

Sandcasting by the Cronig method makes it possible to craft the cabinet in one piece with no assembled parts. The one piece cast cabinet made from our low resonance material gives the speaker a stiffness that conventional cabinets, assembled from several parts will never achieve. The cabinet of JERN14 is so strong that it can withstand a load of 5 ton. The toughness and durability of the cabinet make it impossible for even a heavy metal track to generate any vibrations in the cabinet. This means that there will never be any vibrations from the cabinet that can interrupt the output quality.

Jern14 is prepared and shaped in one piece before the casting. A CNC machined model is used for producing a sand mold which is assembled around a core that provides the inner geometry. Gray iron is melted at 1450 degrees celcius before it is cast into the mould. The quality of the casting is checked with a spectrometer. After cooling, the cabinet is cleaned and its dimensions and tolerances checked. After checking, the cabinet is ready for processing.
The cast iron cabinet makes it possible to mount the drive units solid to the cabinet which is very important for the ability of the speakers to deliver clean audio, free of vibration

THE JERNS ALSO USE VERY GOOD DRIVERS AN TOP OF THE LINE MUNDORF CROSSOVERS

EVERY REVEW HAS STATED THE JERNS ARE RAMARKABLE AND CONSIDERING WE PRIDE OURSELVES IN FINDING UNIQUE CLASS LEADING PRODUCTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WE HAD TO GET THE JERNS

DAVE AND TROY

AUDIO INTELLECT JERN DEALERS

I seem to recall Jamo and Thiel using concrete in some of their products.

The easy way to do this is use a router and cut out very large slots into the wood at a depth of 32 millimetres and fill them with concrete.. 

For some inexplicable reason, Jern has not ventured yet into making 3-way floor-standing speakers.
http://jernspeakers.com/

Huh???

I've heard a round (actually grout) underground vault. It had 4 18" pipe intersections. It was bell shaped. Two were blocked, top was a manhole cover. No bottom, just sat in the sand. This was not concrete, no rock, just fiberglass strands about 4-6" long and an epoxy/grout mix.

2 pro 15" drivers. It had an interior of 20 CF and 1500 pounds or so. It rang so bad, I had to spray the interior with expanding foam.  It bassed  up the whole 2 acre yard. 

A column of Corian at 5/8 thick 18" x 20 x 72" with little bracing will hit a 1/2 ton.. pretty quick. Just a front baffle of @Corian and sides of MDF 550-600 lbs

I'm dealing with 410 lb each, NOW.. With HDF/MDF 

Concrete is the heaviest because of the BIG rock, a lot of weight. Also tough to pump. Light grout mixes that are made with accelerators, can fluff to about HALF concretes weight. Fiberglass, Stainless all kinds of stuff go in the mixes.

Regards

I don't know how concrete enclosures sound. I do know that cinder blocks make decent speaker stands. I used some, back in college, for my large Advents. Cheap, minimal resonance and meets a certain post-industrial chic.

There are marble speakers also.
Find a statue of Cicero or Demosthenes.  

Patented array-technique of the Fraunhofer IDMT – 41 electrodynamic mini-speakers act like one large membrane, allowing for a total depth of only 32 millimetres and giving a convincing performance.

But do they sound Tektonical?

I don't know, I am sure someone said pre 1939, "don't underestimate the skill of a German's engineering" - maybe?

Another concrete speaker build 
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1ZaGwqJ9i4

"They do sound quite bad to me."

Get better headphones.