Appleply or Maple Plywood?

bwbass · 20th January 2005, 07:54 PM

I'm building a couple of very small (.225 ft^3) vented boxes for my TB W4-1052sa's and I'd like to try plywood instead of MDF, for weight as well as looks. I'll be carrying these to and from my office occasionally for use as t-amp powered computer speakers, so I thought 1/2" hardwood ply would be a good weight-saving alternative to 3/4" MDF.

I work for a commercial woodworking shop, and one of our suppliers carries appleply, which I have read good things about for speakers, but they also have some A-1 maple plywood which would probably look even nicer. I haven't heard of anyone using that for speakers, though, and I wonder if there are any drawbacks I'm not seeing.

What do you think: 1/2" Appleply, 1/2" Maple Ply, or maybe something else I'm not thinking of...?

wigginjs · 20th January 2005, 11:08 PM

I think the basic rule here is "denser is better". So, unfortunately, at least with respect to acoustics, the heavier the material is the better it's suited for cabinet construction. This is not to say it is impossible to make good sounding speakers out of light materials, it's more of a general statement.

bwbass · 20th January 2005, 11:39 PM

I did search, and here: Baltic Birch and MDF? and in other threads, good things were said about hardwood plywood (like baltic birch). Hard maple veneers are similar to birch in stiffness and density, so I think furniture-grade maple ply would be equivalent mechanically, but look better.

The main complaint seems to be panel resonance, but since my panels will be pretty small and therefore stiff, I think I could take care of most of the panel ringing with some damping sheet on the inside.

fmeynert · 21st January 2005, 12:42 AM

Hi:
I've used 1/2 inch Appleply for building bookshelves. It is a very ridgid strong(but reasonably light) plywood, which has a nice finish veneer. It may need some carefull internal bracing to ensure that there are no lower frequency resonances. I'm planning a similar portable battery operated system. What are you thinking of for driver protection? Grills?
Franz

bwbass · 21st January 2005, 03:22 AM

Good idea about the bracing. I think I could get away with a single brace... this would make the largest unsupported span in a wall about 5 1/2", so that should help quite a bit.

I hadn't thought about driver protection... these Tang Bands have a phase plug that's about even with the frame of the drivers, so it should be fairly resistant to blunt impacts. Beyond that, I'd rather not cover them up, cause they look so cool!

20th January 2005, 07:54 PM	#1
bwbass diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2004	Appleply or Maple Plywood? I'm building a couple of very small (.225 ft^3) vented boxes for my TB W4-1052sa's and I'd like to try plywood instead of MDF, for weight as well as looks. I'll be carrying these to and from my office occasionally for use as t-amp powered computer speakers, so I thought 1/2" hardwood ply would be a good weight-saving alternative to 3/4" MDF. I work for a commercial woodworking shop, and one of our suppliers carries appleply, which I have read good things about for speakers, but they also have some A-1 maple plywood which would probably look even nicer. I haven't heard of anyone using that for speakers, though, and I wonder if there are any drawbacks I'm not seeing. What do you think: 1/2" Appleply, 1/2" Maple Ply, or maybe something else I'm not thinking of...?

20th January 2005, 11:08 PM	#2
wigginjs diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, SC	I think the basic rule here is "denser is better". So, unfortunately, at least with respect to acoustics, the heavier the material is the better it's suited for cabinet construction. This is not to say it is impossible to make good sounding speakers out of light materials, it's more of a general statement. __________________ The Four Chairs DIY Home Theater

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20th January 2005, 11:39 PM	#3
bwbass diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2004	I did search, and here: Baltic Birch and MDF? and in other threads, good things were said about hardwood plywood (like baltic birch). Hard maple veneers are similar to birch in stiffness and density, so I think furniture-grade maple ply would be equivalent mechanically, but look better. The main complaint seems to be panel resonance, but since my panels will be pretty small and therefore stiff, I think I could take care of most of the panel ringing with some damping sheet on the inside.

21st January 2005, 12:42 AM	#4
fmeynert diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Vancouver, B.C.	Hi: I've used 1/2 inch Appleply for building bookshelves. It is a very ridgid strong(but reasonably light) plywood, which has a nice finish veneer. It may need some carefull internal bracing to ensure that there are no lower frequency resonances. I'm planning a similar portable battery operated system. What are you thinking of for driver protection? Grills? Franz

21st January 2005, 03:22 AM	#5
bwbass diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2004	Good idea about the bracing. I think I could get away with a single brace... this would make the largest unsupported span in a wall about 5 1/2", so that should help quite a bit. I hadn't thought about driver protection... these Tang Bands have a phase plug that's about even with the frame of the drivers, so it should be fairly resistant to blunt impacts. Beyond that, I'd rather not cover them up, cause they look so cool!

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