Can an enclosure be too thick?

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
Member
Joined 2004
Paid Member
Acoustically? ... no.

It might create other problems , such as excessive weight or size, but that´s something else.

In fact, there´s people who built their enclosures out of concrete, go figure.

In fact you could find or build a cave on a mountain side, close its mouth with bricks, concrete, rocks or thick wood, and mount your speaker there.

You will be fine, unless Muhammad is nearby.

And I would build an "enclosure out of concrete" again if given half a chance!
Because m1v1=m2v2 and I like stacking physics in my favor.
 
Free panel size, material, thickness, bracing, dampening, enclosure dimensions and enclosure construction are all factors that impact.
Personally I prefer lightweight enclosures compared to those that need a forklift to be moved.
Too thick? Not if you build it correctly. OTOH IMHO there is nothing to be gained from going super thick. It only adds to cost and weight. Both are negative...
 
okay, well I haven't bought any materials yet. But since I have the MDF lying around, I think I will go ahead and cut a box to mock up.

Planning on building a 4.25"x4.875"x17" ID box from the .75" MDF. (4x 3" full-range speakers,
I'll probably drop all the components into it for the hell of it, just to hear what happens.

At face value, do any issues arise from driver placement? My plan was to have all 4 mounted on the centerline of the face, 1" from each other and from the ends of the box.
 

PRR

Member
Joined 2003
Paid Member
WWJD? A rule of thumb older than Jesus' "Dad" Joseph The Carpenter is that a panel (myrrh shelf) thickness can be 1/20th to 1/30 the distance between supports. You have 5 inch span, so 1/4" to 1/2" should be ample. 3/4" on that box is like making the blessed infant's cradle out of 6 inch thick slabs, which Joe would never do (wood was precious).

I sure would favor 1/4" for the face panel, as said above, for full flow behind the cone.
 
azred - re placement of drivers - is this to be sealed or vented? If the former, placement would be less important than if the latter, in which due to the aspect ratio of CSA to length / height there could be some unaccounted for quarter wave effects.

And FWIW, I'd try to avoid an almost perfectly square CSA - if possible to stretch wider, consider offsetting from centerline by a golden ratio factor ( i.e .618 / 1 /1.618)
 
Just for ***** and giggles...
My bass cabinets (closed w. 15" AE drivers) are built from 2x1/4" ply sandwiched with a layer of viscoelastic glue, and I've only received positive comments about my cubes.
There is more than one way to skin a cat...

(The front panel has double thickness for proper mounting.)
 
Do you apply that with a notched trowel, and leave gaps between edge joints to decouple layers for a constrained layer application?



That’s probably the right name for it. To be honest, I don’t remember exactly how it was done. Having done it myself in the past, this time I had a pro do it for me. (I don’t have access to a wood workshop anymore...)
I do remember that it was a very sticky and messy affair. The carpenter is a DIY hifi-nut as well, so he was just as interested in a perfect result as I was. Thanks to internal bracing in combination with this, the boxes are solid (and light weight).
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.