real wood and speakers
anyone here feel that using real wood ie... solid hard wood for a speaker cabinet would be a bad idea. the thing i was thinking of doing is repairing my fxi a6's due to corner damage. i thought if i took the top and bottoms off and replaced those with a sturdy oak they would look pretty cool, but i've also heard there is a reason for not using wood.
thanx
thanx
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cabinet resonance is one reasone some prefer not to, but for surround speakers, I don't think that would be much concern, but I could be wrong as my wife is fond of pointing out...The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Resonance from wooden caps? But what about a bunch of the awesome SDA's like 2B and 1C and SRS? I don't think wooden caps are that worrisome.SDA 1C, SDA 2A, SDA SRS 2, CMT-340SE, Swan M200MKII, Swan D1080MKII, Behringer MS40
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There's a reason that speaker manufacturers don't use hard wood. The construction of MDF is ideal for speaker cabinets. The glue that's used in the manufacturing, and the fact that it's not a solid piece of wood make's it a lot more absorbent to cabinet resonance. Solid wood doesn't have these properties.
Regarding the wood caps on the SDA's, I don't think they're actually part of the internal cabinet. IIRC they're just caps that mount on top of the MDF. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong on that though.
If you want the real wood finish, use veneer.The nirvana inducer-
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the wooden caps are attached to a fully enclosed MDF cabinet and are there for nothing more than appearance. When I restored my 1c's appearance, I was able to listen to them just fine without the endcaps in place. What the OP appears to be asknig is replacing the top and bottom MDF pieces with real wood. I don't think this will pose a problem for him as they are surrounds.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
anyone here feel that using real wood ie... solid hard wood for a speaker cabinet would be a bad idea. the thing i was thinking of doing is repairing my fxi a6's due to corner damage. i thought if i took the top and bottoms off and replaced those with a sturdy oak they would look pretty cool, but i've also heard there is a reason for not using wood.
thanx
You could replace the top and bottom end cap with real wood without much hassle since the cubic ft area you are using real wood is small.
Real wood and hard wood has been tried as materials for large floor standing speaker cabinets before but end results varies. 1.) Resonance varies with the type of woods and the thickness 2.) the cabinet structure is prone to the wood checks / cracks over time (due to moisture and temperature and the stability of the wood) and high maintenance, etc.Trying out Different Audio Cables is a Religious Affair. You don't discuss it with anyone. :redface::biggrin: -
MDF or cabinet grade Baltic Birch, nothing else."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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Why am I haveing such a hard time finding 1" thick MDF?
Sorry to thread jack, but this question is related. I went to Lowes and Home Depot with no success. -
People have made cabinets out of solid wood, some with good results. Not easy, however.
My vote goes to Baltic Birch ply. Void free, many layers, solid as hell, and looks pretty decent, IMO. Downside is the cost, a 5'x5' sheet cost me 2.5 times what the same size thickness of MDF (in a 4'x8' sheet, nonetheless) did.Wristwatch--->Crisco -
Conradicles wrote: »Why am I haveing such a hard time finding 1" thick MDF?
Sorry to thread jack, but this question is related. I went to Lowes and Home Depot with no success.
Need to go to a wood supply store, or just laminate two pieces of 1/2".Wristwatch--->Crisco -
I was able to find 1" and 1.25" locally, but at almost $100 a sheet, I'll stick with 3/4" from HD instead.Conradicles wrote: »Why am I haveing such a hard time finding 1" thick MDF?
Sorry to thread jack, but this question is related. I went to Lowes and Home Depot with no success."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche -
I was able to find 1" and 1.25" locally, but at almost $100 a sheet, I'll stick with 3/4" from HD instead.
:eek: What, is it difficult to find MDF trees of any usuable thickness? Damn loggers....Wristwatch--->Crisco -
There is little argument that MDF and plywood do sound different. There is no general consensus on which is better. I happen to fall in the plywood camp. In all my speaker building, I use plywood exclusively. Partly due to my sonic preference, partly due to the greater hazards posed by MDF dust (due to the glue used in MDF.)
Real wood can sound very good, but it's tricky to use, and, as was mentioned earlier, there is a danger of splitting/cracking. If you do want to use real wood, look for wood that is at least 30 years old, preferably 50 yrs old, which has shown that it is stable. Many are the tales in the DIY world of folks who built beautiful cabinets w/ real wood, only to have their cabinets crack after a few months (or even years.) Then you're left w/ a cabinet that's good for nothing but kindling.
Cheers, JimA day without music is like a day without food. -
thank you for all the great replies, I was leaning toward the wood top/bottoms mostly due to the edge appearance, where ply or mdf won't give the sculpted look I wan't. if you look at an fxi it has a beveled top and thats what i wanted to achieve. now this birch sounds like it may work, if i can find it. but, like ender and noosh said, surrounds don't get a lot of action so i doubt the solids would have much effect, i just don't want to go through all the work and have an unusable speaker.Samsung pn64f8500
Sonus faber venere 2.5
Sf venere center
Oppo 105d
Squeezebox touch
Parasound hca1500a
Apc power filter
Audioquest cables asst
Polk rtia3 SB
Polk fxia6 sl,sr
Dual hsu vtf3 mk3 -
You could make a beveled top out of MDF, it's easy with a router."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
