one material that seems to be over looked as speaker cabinet material here is solid hardwood . ignoring all the "old wives tales " about it that i've read here , i'd like to hear about it's sonic properties ?
you see , i'm a cabinetmaker by profession of 25 years and most of the things i read here about using solid hardwood concern it's ability to be able to remain intact or how it needs to be slow dried for 50 years in your living room before being milled and built . yup old wives tales . i daily build everything you can imagine from kiln dried hardwoods and most of the time it's just days or weeks from a cold or hot hardwoods suppliers building to a finished product .
my cabinets , tables or whatever are just as nice today as when i built them years ago .
so.... ?
you see , i'm a cabinetmaker by profession of 25 years and most of the things i read here about using solid hardwood concern it's ability to be able to remain intact or how it needs to be slow dried for 50 years in your living room before being milled and built . yup old wives tales . i daily build everything you can imagine from kiln dried hardwoods and most of the time it's just days or weeks from a cold or hot hardwoods suppliers building to a finished product .
my cabinets , tables or whatever are just as nice today as when i built them years ago .
so.... ?
I tend too agree that quite a few things have been built from soli hardwood that have sttod the test of time without opening up or having other problems. Based on what I have been told and the link just posted, I will be trying 3/4" maple ply with 4/4 curly maple front. I will do with and without internal bracing.
after construction but before assembly seal the inside of the hardwood along with the speaker cutouts and at the same time the faces . hardwoods do demand some extra considerations in that they will react to changes in humidity more so than plywoods or composites . however my point is that dismissing them as inappropriate (unless there is some property of them that makes them unsuitable sonically) is just wrong .
mostly i just read here and read alot and appreciate the wealth of knowledge , however on this subject i just have to speak up . maybe some of the other knowledgeable cabinetmakers here will chime in .
cheers Woody
Check out my idea earlier in the thread and see what you think. I think it is in this thread. About groove and screws.
From what i have found, the MOE rating on maple plywood is less than BB and significantly less than Meranti Marine ply. From a purely functional view, i should get meranti and veneer it, but the veneer i want is going to be around $200(curly maple). I would really like a burnt umber finish on curly maple. It should match the driver color almost perfectly and make for a beautiful speaker. The cheap route will be using standard maple veneer on sides and curly just on face. MAy attach a piece of solid curly maple to ply baffle, adding desired wood and strengthening baffle per the article in post #42. Will decide today! Solid black is an option, but i think it looks cheap even though it looks good with the driver. No offense intended
Picked up the plywood today. Decided to get the BB marine grade ply. It has 13 ply's and was lighter than the Meranti that had only 9 ply's. Will fabricate enclosure tomorrow, hopefully. I want to make the baffle thicker and have to decide whether or not to use hardwood/plywood combo or plywood/plywood. Veneer is going to cost between $60-$70 for standard domestic up to $150-$200 for figured types. Given up on the glass idea until this is finished since info is hard to come by. I will try an all glass enclosure soon.
Don't worry. This is just a first attempt. It would be interesting to know what the waves coming off the rear of the driver are doing and how they might be affected by having a more resonant material on front, back, bottom and top with a denser, acoustically dead material on the sides. Exactly how are those waves bouncing around in there and in what direction? On the plans the main interior braces are both offset whixh apparently keeps them from affecting the quarter wave while still bringing about the death of the standing waves. LOts to learn in the days and years ahead
As stated, if 'acoustically dead' is being used as a euphanism for 'non-resonant', then you've set yourself an almost impossible task. Since doubling panel thickness only drops its Fs to 0.707 * that of the original in the same material, and each time you lower its Fs you both widen its resonant BW + increase its amplitude, you will need many inches of a typical sheet material to push panel resonance & its harmonic structure below the gain BW of a bass enclosure.
'Acoustically dead' can however apply with greater validity to the high stiffness - weight ratio box where panel resonance is pushed up, above the functional BW of the cabinet; with little energy being available to excite the panels, they are very easily rendered inaudible. Or 'acoustically dead' if you prefer.
'Acoustically dead' can however apply with greater validity to the high stiffness - weight ratio box where panel resonance is pushed up, above the functional BW of the cabinet; with little energy being available to excite the panels, they are very easily rendered inaudible. Or 'acoustically dead' if you prefer.
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I am just trying to learn. Clearly my terminology and perhaps, thinking, is off. Thanks for pointing that out. Is the functional bandwidth of the cabinet different than that of the driver? Will making the baffle thicker hurt the response? Euphanism could be considered equally offensive.
Thanks for trying to help me understand.
Nope. Its done all the time. And not necessarily with the stiffest materials. I think that the main reason for choosing thicker baffle would be to reduce vibrations from the speaker.I am just trying to learn. Clearly my terminology and perhaps, thinking, is off. Thanks for pointing that out. Is the functional bandwidth of the cabinet different than that of the driver? Will making the baffle thicker hurt the response? Euphanism could be considered equally offensive.
Only insofar as there is a common belief that a dense material is automatically 'unresonant.' You're hardly alone in that.
Depends on the driver & cabinet in question, but typically, yes, very. A driver may go up to 20KHz, but even a back-horn is only going to be useful / functional < ~300Hz.
It may, it may not. Depends on the specific application and material in question. It can help stiffen the front baffle which is usually weakened by the driver cut out, although bracing it it usually just as effective.
Depends on the driver & cabinet in question, but typically, yes, very. A driver may go up to 20KHz, but even a back-horn is only going to be useful / functional < ~300Hz.
It may, it may not. Depends on the specific application and material in question. It can help stiffen the front baffle which is usually weakened by the driver cut out, although bracing it it usually just as effective.
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