The sound of OSB

Tyimo · 18th October 2005, 04:09 PM

Hi!

I know thet the best material to build loudspeaker enclosures is real wood and plywood, but I see very often in diy audio magazines enclosures built with OSB.
Has somebody any experiences with OSB? How it's acoustics?

Greets:

Tyimo

Cal Weldon · 18th October 2005, 04:46 PM

Tyimo,

There is no best material to build a box from, but I would suggest that only test boxes be made from OSB. It's not a very sturdy board and tends to have a swelling problem at the cuts. Sealing is also difficult.

Besides I only see it in 7/16" or about 12mm thicknesses here. Too thin for most applications. If it's being used for diy, then it must be they can't afford or don't have access to better materials.

What are you planning to build?

Cal

Tyimo · 18th October 2005, 07:03 PM

Hi Cal!

I would build a BLH speaker. I can buy here 15-18-21mm thicknesses and the price is also very good.
I know it could have swelling problem at the cuts, but the main question is the acoustic properties. Could it be near to the plywood's?

Tyimo

Tyimo · 18th October 2005, 07:12 PM

I used and know the "sound" of particleboard(19mm), MDF(19mm), Plywood(18mm) and real wood (cherry 25mm).
I could imagine that the OSB's sound is something between Plywood and particleboard....
Basicaly, I don't like particleboard's acoustics...

Tyimo

Cal Weldon · 18th October 2005, 08:44 PM

Is this really oriented strand board? Available in those thicknesses?

If so why not get a piece of the 21 mm, make sure it is well braced including corner blocking and let us know what you think. It may be fine and it's not too expensive. I would still worry about the swelling though as it does seem tough to seal.

Cal

mwmkravchenko · 19th October 2005, 12:41 AM

It comes in 3/4" for flooring. And for headers it comes in much thicker sections over 2". But the header sizes would really limit your box size unles you felt like joining up sections with a spline or cookies.

Mark

Tyimo · 19th October 2005, 01:30 PM

Hi!

Quote:

Is this really oriented strand board? Available in those thicknesses?

Yes, and I could buy even thicker.... O.K. I think I will try it.

Greets:

Tyimo

GM · 19th October 2005, 03:01 PM

Greets!

Ideally, speakers should be constructed with a material that either resonates above or below its passband. If this isn't practical, then greater rigidity (its MOE spec) requires less damping due to acoustic energy decreasing with increasing frequency. The OSB available near me would have to be ~2.44" thick to match 19mm Baltic Birch's MOE, so totally unsuitable for typical alignments unless it's a built-in IMO.

That said, a highly underdamped (resonant) alignment can benefit from using such a lossy material, so it may work fine if you can keep it airtight and don't create too many 'hot spots' such as occurs with a lot of bracing or horn folds. Frankly though, having tried this, I find them too 'dead' sounding unless designed with theoretically excessive gain, which isn't the case with every on-line published BLH design I've reverse engineered.

As always though, YMMV.

GM

Tyimo · 21st October 2005, 02:13 PM

Hi GM!

Thanks for your detailed answer!

Greets:

Tyimo

18th October 2005, 04:09 PM	#1
Tyimo diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Hungary	The sound of OSB Hi! I know thet the best material to build loudspeaker enclosures is real wood and plywood, but I see very often in diy audio magazines enclosures built with OSB. Has somebody any experiences with OSB? How it's acoustics? Greets: Tyimo

18th October 2005, 04:46 PM	#2
Cal Weldon Speakerholic diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: British Columbia	Tyimo, There is no best material to build a box from, but I would suggest that only test boxes be made from OSB. It's not a very sturdy board and tends to have a swelling problem at the cuts. Sealing is also difficult. Besides I only see it in 7/16" or about 12mm thicknesses here. Too thin for most applications. If it's being used for diy, then it must be they can't afford or don't have access to better materials. What are you planning to build? Cal __________________ Next stop: Margaritaville Some of Cal's stuff \| Cal Weldon Consulting

18th October 2005, 08:44 PM	#5
Cal Weldon Speakerholic diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: British Columbia	Is this really oriented strand board? Available in those thicknesses? If so why not get a piece of the 21 mm, make sure it is well braced including corner blocking and let us know what you think. It may be fine and it's not too expensive. I would still worry about the swelling though as it does seem tough to seal. Cal __________________ Next stop: Margaritaville Some of Cal's stuff \| Cal Weldon Consulting

19th October 2005, 12:41 AM	#6
mwmkravchenko diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Perth Canada	OSB It comes in 3/4" for flooring. And for headers it comes in much thicker sections over 2". But the header sizes would really limit your box size unles you felt like joining up sections with a spline or cookies. Mark __________________ Mark

19th October 2005, 03:01 PM	#8
GM diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Chamblee, Ga.	Greets! Ideally, speakers should be constructed with a material that either resonates above or below its passband. If this isn't practical, then greater rigidity (its MOE spec) requires less damping due to acoustic energy decreasing with increasing frequency. The OSB available near me would have to be ~2.44" thick to match 19mm Baltic Birch's MOE, so totally unsuitable for typical alignments unless it's a built-in IMO. That said, a highly underdamped (resonant) alignment can benefit from using such a lossy material, so it may work fine if you can keep it airtight and don't create too many 'hot spots' such as occurs with a lot of bracing or horn folds. Frankly though, having tried this, I find them too 'dead' sounding unless designed with theoretically excessive gain, which isn't the case with every on-line published BLH design I've reverse engineered. As always though, YMMV. GM __________________ Loud is Beautiful if it's Clean! As always though, the usual disclaimers apply to this post's contents.


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18th October 2005, 07:03 PM	#3
Tyimo diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Hungary	Hi Cal! I would build a BLH speaker. I can buy here 15-18-21mm thicknesses and the price is also very good. I know it could have swelling problem at the cuts, but the main question is the acoustic properties. Could it be near to the plywood's? Tyimo

18th October 2005, 07:12 PM	#4
Tyimo diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Hungary	I used and know the "sound" of particleboard(19mm), MDF(19mm), Plywood(18mm) and real wood (cherry 25mm). I could imagine that the OSB's sound is something between Plywood and particleboard.... Basicaly, I don't like particleboard's acoustics... Tyimo

21st October 2005, 02:13 PM	#9
Tyimo diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Hungary	Hi GM! Thanks for your detailed answer! Greets: Tyimo

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