No time to find it but there is a long thread in which we beat this to death and there is lots of support.
Unfortunatly in Oz decent plywood is not easy to come by, the hoop pine stuff made “locally” has been used successfully. So for your own piece of mind i expect that defence of MDF may stem from it being all you can get
dave
That opinion is dominated by American and European posters, in Australia the plywood available is different.
The locally produced hoop pine marine ply is excellent, AA faces to Australian Standard.
It's not inexpensive of course, but not too bad.
There is some less expensive Asian marine ply, supposedly to British Standard.
That standard doesn't have the force of law in Australia but the ply is pretty decent, looks A on both faces.
There are several different tropical wood species available, I used Meranti, it's cheaper than the others and denser.
No point to pay a price premium when a bit heavier is fine for speakers, not like a boat.
It comes in 4' x 8' (1220 x 2440 mm) sheets rather than 1200 x 2400, that came in handy when I wanted a cabinet with just a tiny bit more volume.
Leave Baltic Birch to countries closer to the Baltic, makes no sense to pay a premium for it in Australia.
Best wishes
David
Where are you in Oz?
That will affect your options a bit.
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I found the thread that i mentioned… Discussion on what materials to build speakers out of … note that it spans 2007-2016 so far).
Stiffness-wise, 15mm quality ply is about the same, but has the advantage of being lighter and having more useful damping characteristics.
One thing that i understand can be had in Oz that is harder to get here is bamboo plywood. The commonly used vertical surface is OK, but the stranded/fossilized variations are outstanding. Unfortunatly the stiffness comes with high density. Given the high price of ply in Oz this might not be that much more and like solid wood needs no veneer, just care and attention to the way you cut the pieces.Taking advantage of its natural beauty can lead to a very pretty speaker.
If i were you i would pay attention to what others are saying about driver choice … myself, i’d be looking at a WAW.
dave
Stiffness-wise, 15mm quality ply is about the same, but has the advantage of being lighter and having more useful damping characteristics.
One thing that i understand can be had in Oz that is harder to get here is bamboo plywood. The commonly used vertical surface is OK, but the stranded/fossilized variations are outstanding. Unfortunatly the stiffness comes with high density. Given the high price of ply in Oz this might not be that much more and like solid wood needs no veneer, just care and attention to the way you cut the pieces.Taking advantage of its natural beauty can lead to a very pretty speaker.
If i were you i would pay attention to what others are saying about driver choice … myself, i’d be looking at a WAW.
dave
Support, you mean other opinions that support yours?
Then you would be wrong, as I suggest you might be on other things.
I know you have a commercial interest, and I believe it comes close and sometimes crosses the line, but I ask you to please refrain. The OP can get a suitable material in Australia, as Dave Zan has posted.
What sort of price range do you pay for a sheet of the Meranti? I've had a look online but nobody wants to divulge their prices it seems..
It depends where you are of course but Marine Ply. Australia's widest range. Hoop, Gaboon, Pacific Maple is probably a reasonable place to start.
I don't even remember what I paid for my sheets but <$200 for 18 mm thick.
Best wishes
David
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I only find laminated bamboo sheet here.(Only vertical,not horizontal ply)
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Do you think it is good to build pensil type box from that bamboo sheet ?
I don’t know… that is more like a butvher block.
This is what we really like: PlybooStrand Bamboo Plywood and Veneer | Plyboo
dave
This is what we really like: PlybooStrand Bamboo Plywood and Veneer | Plyboo
dave
Not here to stir the pot but I am one of the plywood supporters.
I have done a few A/B comparisons. Did we swap the drivers from A and B to confirm? No, but did the experiments continue to point my ears toward the plywood? Yes. Was it a colouration of sound or a lack of colouration that lead me to the plywood? I don't know. All I say is that in each case the plywood was more pleasing to the ears. And I don't even bother with the fancy dancey ply. I have and I'm not sure there's that much of a difference, but I do know ply is more pleasing to me.
That said, are we talking about 6.5" woofers here? I say, make it out of whatever your heart desires as they won't move enough air to make a difference, IMHO.
The bias was created by those very tests.
I find building with MDF easier. It's also cheaper. Neither of those will allow me to build with it anymore though.
I find building with MDF easier. It's also cheaper. Neither of those will allow me to build with it anymore though.
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