BBC style thin wall enclosure - how thin can one go?

[xrk971]

A point of contention:

European Beech was used for its combination of attributes, strength and flexibility can indeed be approximated In other woods - but its stability is one of the less obvious reasons it was used, and the real reason that Euro Beech is priced so highly.

I cannot speak for the stability of US white oak in comparison, but yellow oak is IIRC less stable, especially with humidity changes.

Maple would likely be a better choice, but it may not matter, if you don't experience any change in humidity (this side of the pond, it might be an issue)

I have heard that beech was selected by the BBC because of its local availability and low cost, yet is sufficiently stiff. The Young’s modulus and density for white oak and beech are quite similar.

Wood Strengths

I couldn’t find “yellow” oak anywhere.

Stability may not be such as issue as the battens are semi “floating” as they are secured with compliant latex. The oak I used came from an 1860’s barn that was being torn down.

 

[turk 182]

Agreed 100% they don't, largely because the hype has little to do with the purposes of the design. The LS3/5 & LS3/5a were developed for use as nearfield monitors in small permanent studios and mobile broadcast vans, and the primary goal of that design was natural voice reproduction in those kinds of spaces. For that purpose, IMO they're still good. Not the best -they have the weight of mythology to support. But good. And within that particular design remit (minimal voice colouration in a sub-compact monitor), they were one of the first of their kind, so they are historically important for that, if nothing else.

umm i was just thinking this reminds of the hype/controversy that surrounds the Auratone 5C and that doesn't have a x-over....

on the panel thickness and box resonance issue i just recently took a stab at old pair of JVC bookshelf speakers that where constructed with 5/16 ply thinking that inerting the box would help....it did make them better in terms of more accurate detailed sound but they lost a certain subjective warmth that i now sort of miss.

sometimes i think there's a point of diminishing returns when it comes to obsessiveness over details.

 

[mondogenerator]

White Oak is AFAIK, US oak.

European Oak is Yellow Oak. The market is flooded with US white Oak 😀 There is also Red Oak. My floor is a mix of the Red and Yellow Oak types.

European Beech has been used for hundreds of years for is dimensional stability, it is one of the properties it is renowned for. Cherry Beech, US Beech, is not the same wood.

It's a bit like comparing temperate grown Birch, with Baltic grown birch