Wooden chassis vs. metal

[Thomas B]

Hi,

Anyone got any opinions on wooden chassis versus metal chassis regarding sound quality?

Thomas B

[Austin]

with a chassis that beautiful, the amp must sound good! i'm sure some people have their preferences, but i seriously doubt there would be noticeable sonic differences in chassis made out of metal or wood, as long as both were good quality construction. I do like the looks of wood though.

Austin

[2Bak]

Those fine monos, could we see some more pictures of them, also from the inside.

[BrianGT]

Originally posted by Austin
with a chassis that beautiful, the amp must sound good! i'm sure some people have their preferences, but i seriously doubt there would be noticeable sonic differences in chassis made out of metal or wood, as long as both were good quality construction. I do like the looks of wood though.

Austin

I would be willing to bet that some people here would disagree with this. With a high resolution system, everything seems to come into play for sonics. I don't know how much, but I remember Peter commenting on how his cd player sounded better when he removed the wooden panel from one side of his cd player (the other side wouldn't come off) and also he commented on how the sound changes when he stacks more then 3 cd cases on top of his cd player...

With my system, the only thing that I can tell a difference with is if I swap my cd players entirely. I like my sony scd-ce775 better.

--
Brian

[Peter Daniel]

I wouldn't be surprised if a wooden case sounded better. I'll be investigating it myself. Just use good quality wood, like maple.

Imagine, if shelving makes so much difference (at least in my setup), the chassis material has to influence the sound as well.

That's what they say, aluminum sounds like an empty Coke can.

[Orgonom]

Hallo all,it`s my amp.
Look here Link
Wood isn`t magnetic.
Microphonie is much better then 2mm aluminium.
Wood is cheap also.
It looks nice also.
And most important --- you can work it easily!!!!
Andreas.

[peranders]

Originally posted by Thomas B
Anyone got any opinions on wooden chassis versus metal chassis regarding sound quality?

Very beautiful! You haven't got a real closeup of your wood work? Are they nice inside?

It's usually a good idea to have a metal cage around electronics, especially these days with mobile phones, remote controls etc. The best technically is to metal around but it's no harm to have something else outside (wood, marble, concrete etc.).

[Austin]

Shelving does make a big difference! I believe it was my acoustics professor who said, "the acoustics of a bookshelf are unknown to man." He was refering to the unpredictable nature of shelving in relation to room acoustics.

If you do not isolate your equipment from the sound field, it very well could have an effect on the sound in the room. However, in a listening test of two identical amps varying only in chassis material and which are not in the listening area, there should be no audible difference.

If you have it on display in your listening room, I agree that wood would sound better. Probably because it absorbs more of the sound than the metal would. The reflections from the metal could slightly color the sound. The more sturdy the metal chassis, the less effect it would probably have. It would take some serious SPL to vibrate 1/2" think aluminum like Brian is using on his new project! I still prefer wood, just for the looks though!

Austin

[Thomas B]

Unfortunately I am not the builder of these beautiful amps. You can find more photos on www.passdiy.com in the gallery.

Thomas B

[peranders]

Originally posted by Orgonom
Hallo all,it`s my amp.
Look here Link
Wood isn`t magnetic.
Microphonie is much better then 2mm aluminium.
Wood is cheap also.
It looks nice also.
And most important --- you can work it easily!!!!
Andreas.

Wood has advantages: Non-conducting and easy to drill holes and attach things.

Microphonie??? I came in contact with tube tranciever RA200 in the military service, this apparatus had microphonie! Just knock on the case.

Do we talk about the same thing. Knock on the case and you can actually hear it in the loudspeakers???

I think a magnetic case has advantage: Can sheild against low frequency magnetic fields.

I looked at the pictures in the other thread. Nice inside, very! I like it. Have you publish it at www.passdiy.com?