Why not MDF?

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#42
Re: Re: Re: Re: Ply the music out..

blumenco said:
If you make a speaker, you make a musical instrument. to try to separate the two concepts is retarded.
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Your speakers maybe, not mine. Nicely politically correct, BTW with that comment.

planet10 said:


here a 4x8 MDF is ~$20. 5x5 BB about $24

How much time do you put into the box. How much on drivers?

dave
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Here we go again...
All of my earlier efforts as far as speakers go are long gone. Even some of my recent ones are burned. I keep the drivers, but if I'm not satisfied with the box, I trash it.
The first time builder should practice on cheaper materials, not break the budget on over-priced plywood.
Buy better drivers with the money saved.
 
#44
planet10 said:


John never had a chance with his measurements. (there may have been data buried in the impulse but all he could get out was gross FR.

The nuances we are talking about are 20-40 dB down from the main signal.

dave
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That would be your slanted take on it Dave. My tests were very revealing and executed as I originally preposed. I will redo these tests at some point in the future (months) with ARTA as the measurement suite and revamped setup/equipment.

See here:http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=98834&perpage=25&highlight=&pagenumber=14
 
#45
You guys are lucky.

Around here a sheet of MDF is around $25, cheap grade 7-layer ply with lots of voids is $40-$50 at Lowes/Home Depot, cabinet grade ply is around $80-$100 and the premium 21-layer baltic birch is over $200 for a 4x8 sheet.

Most of my projects are done in MDF, with the cabinet grade ply reserved for "special" projects. I have yet to buy a sheet of BB.

I have no problems with MDF sonically, but the dust sucks and it's much harder to finish than just slapping a coat of tung oil on some nice ply.
 
#47
preiter said:
You guys are lucky.

Around here a sheet of MDF is around $25, cheap grade 7-layer ply with lots of voids is $40-$50 at Lowes/Home Depot, cabinet grade ply is around $80-$100 and the premium 21-layer baltic birch is over $200 for a 4x8 sheet.

Most of my projects are done in MDF, with the cabinet grade ply reserved for "special" projects. I have yet to buy a sheet of BB.

I have no problems with MDF sonically, but the dust sucks and it's much harder to finish than just slapping a coat of tung oil on some nice ply.
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Prices reflect my area as well...only reason why i use MDF. Being a college student, I can't justify spending double the price for 7-layer ply, let alone over 100 for void free ply...

Especially with my next project, BIBs for the BOFU which will require 4 sheets...
 
#48
Variac said:
I've been using OSB (flake board) Seems to act mostly like softwood plywood, but a bit more like hardwood ply. $16 a sheet
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#49
germpod said:
Having a mortgage and being on a very limited budget, if I want to build for the fun of it and just to see which enclosures I like best MDF is all I can afford. A 4' by 8' sheet of cabinet grade birch plywood is $40 while MDF is $12 for the same sized sheet. If you need two sheets of wood than it is a total cost of $80 compared to $24, more than 3 times the cost of MDF. Also, cabinet grade is not even close to the quality of the stuff Dave is using, the only places I have found that use that quality of plywood in my part of Washington charge $70 per sheet, which would be $140 for two vs. $24.
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I live in Washington state as well, and cabinet grade plywood is indeed, three times as much as MDF. And your right, wearing a mask during the cutting is going to reduce any health risk, as well as hearing protection too!

I tend to recycle old cabinets from pawn shops (if they're in decent shape) and most of the ones I find are double sided veneered, high density particle board, not MDF, or plywood. They sound fine to me. If I could find a good deal on quality plywood, I'd use it, just because it looks good, but until then, I'll use whatever's handy.
 
#53
I would always use good quality ply for PA and MI cabs, it certainly wears much better and is lighter than MDF. However, I re-iterate what I said in the earlier threads, for home use with bigger horn type boxes with unsupported large panels, then the resonances of MDF may be troublesome, but, in my experience, for more conventional well braced boxes then there is no difference.
 
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