Why are there so many wooden box speakers out there?


I understand that wood is cheap and a box is easier to make than a sphere but when the speaker companies charge tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars for their speakers, shouldnt consumers expect more than just a typical box? Are consumers being duped?

Back in the 70’s a speaker engineer found that a sphere was best for a speaker. A square box was the worst and a rectangular box was marginally better.

The speaker engineers have surely known about this research so why has it been ignored?

Cabasse is the only company doing spheres. Should wooden boxes be made illegal

kenjit

@kenjit  I would love to hear if you have left the sidelines and purchased your first system. Tell us what you own please.

Baffle shape, size, rounded edges, etc. are all things done by many manufacturers.

Forget the sphere as the front of it is doing most of the work here.

 


@o_holter @budjoe @schwantner … good points.

K

some think outside “the box,” but with a keen eye on making a living.  Bose 901 with its novel driver array and extruded final form comes to mind, as does Ohm with essentially no box at all.  A marketplace doesn’t always reward the crazy ones, but we’re lucky to have those willing to take the risk.  I recall a round speaker from the ‘70’s that were affectionately referred to among my crowd as “the orbs.”  They were fun to listen to, but I suppose not enough demand led to their demise.  The B&W line is reminiscent of these old speakers with their spherical upper driver enclosures.  Perhaps an evolution?