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Why are there so many wooden speakers?

I have noticed a problem within the speaker industry. 99% of speakers that come onto the marketplace are wooden, i.e MDF.
 
This is true of old speakers and new speakers. This is true of Dynaudio, B&W, Elac, Kef, revel, PMC, Focal, ATC the list goes on and on. This is a longstanding problem that has been deceiving audiophiles for decades and it requires a solution. 

The problem with a wooden box is that no matter what crossover or drivers you use, it will still sound like a wooden box. 
There is a limit to the sound you can get out of a wooden box so it is not possible to improve the sound just by using different drivers. Despite this, every year or two, the aforementioned companies put new speakers on the market claiming that they sound even better than what came before. In conclusion, we are being misled. 

I have no problem with MDF boxes per se. MDF is a good material to use. But if you want to make an even better speaker then you obviously need to use a better material. You cant use the same material and say you have made a better speaker. Thats false. 

Let's take the B&W 600 series for example. This is a series that has been going on for decades. 

Here is the latest speaker from their current series

https://www.bowerswilkins.com/home-audio/607

There is no mention of what wood is used but I'm pretty sure its MDF. All they talk about is their continuum woofer and dome tweeter that goes up to 38khz. No mention of even improvements to the crossover let alone the cabinet.

I believe that this has gone on for long enough and audiophiles deserve better treatment. I don't know if a class action lawsuit is the answer but something needs to change.
kenjit
richopp
760 posts
 
@kenjit  As I have posted until people are tired of reading it, speakers in a box--ANY BOX--distort music during playback.

This is why people who love music love Magneplaner speakers.  They reproduce what you drive them with.  If your gear is substandard, guess what?  You hear it.

This is what speakers are SUPPOSED to do.  

Look, obviously there are some speakers in boxes that sound OK.  I remember fondly the Fulton 100's from the 1970's.  They were pretty darn good next to the Maggies of the day, and inventors have improved on EVERY aspect of the speaker business...I wonder where they "all of a sudden" got the idea of making tall speakers?  Gee, I have no idea...what a mystery!!

Put some Maggies in your room and see if you like them after a week.  If not, get something you LIKE.  If so, good for you!  You might discover some weak areas in your hardware, etc. that you suddenly notice now that your music is not coming from a box (especially one with a HORN, for goodness sake)!

Cheers!
jon_5912
585 posts
 
I'm guessing most manufacturers don't know that other materials exist.  They don't know about aluminum, concrete, resins, etc. so they haven't considered using them.  If only you'd tell them they could do some tests and decide whether they think these other materials are better.  
baylinor's avatar
baylinor
1,238 posts
 
Ascend acoustic sierra towers use vertical laminated bamboo.
three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
Choosing to focus on one element of speaker design (while ignoring the vast myriad of other variables) is playing to the lowest common denominator of forum membership by dumbing down the plot so much. Well done as always @kenjit
kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
Choosing to focus on one element of speaker design (while ignoring the vast myriad of other variables) is playing to the lowest common denominator of forum membership by dumbing down the plot so much

That's exactly what the speaker companies are doing. They focus on the drivers and use the same old MDF boxes over and over again. They are the ones playing to the lowest common denominator and I'm here to teach the forum that its wrong but it seems nobody agrees.
Its as if they choose to ignore the fact that Dynaudio, B&W, Revel, Kef, ATC and many others use the same old MDF boxes over and over again with no improvements made to the boxes whatsoever all the while claiming that they have produced a better speaker. 

The box is the biggest variable so if you're not upgrading the box, the overall sound is not going to be an upgrade. 
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