Which material sounds better for speakers construction? Wood, Ply or MDF?


Im guessing they use mdf these days because its cheaper.

vinny55

Showing 8 responses by invictus005

MDF and plywood are okay. HDF is better. Wilson uses variants of quartz and Corian countertop material. 

All sorts of composites and plastics can be ordered in sheet form from McMaster in various thickness. Methacrylate acrylic and phenol works great.

Bracing is very important. Isodamp is amazing stuff.

I would stay away from aluminum. Goldmund, Magico, and YG lost their minds. It's the worst material for a speaker enclosure.
@ebm You better believe it they ring like a bell! No matter the bracing. You can't just knock on them as a test. You need a tone generator and vibration measuring tools. 

Take a look at Stereophile, every review of Magico omits this test, but all other speakers have it. There's a reason for it. 
@bukirob I clearly know all about the musical instruments. However, I have a hard time comprehending your backwards logic. It’s clear you don’t have the slightest idea on how good speakers are and should be built.
Lively Harbeth cabinets color the sound. Not the way I would build. 

Best materials are composite polymers. And this is not debatable. 

As far as I'm concerned, Wilson has this nailed. Goldmund used to use composite methacrylate in the Dialogues. 

Anyone building DIY cabinets can use Corian at the very least. It's not too expensive. Or anything from McMaster's catalogue.