BillFitzmaurice.info

"Wood for enclosure should be MDF as it does not resonate like a pressed plywood. You would have greater output and more accurate detail with MDF"


thanks

5meohd wrote:"Wood for enclosure should be MDF as it does not resonate like a pressed plywood. You would have greater output and more accurate detail with MDF"

"Bullshit." Paul Klipsch.

thanks! but seriously.. any links or long winded discussion would be great, I actually don't know much about material resonances and stuff, curious.

5meohd wrote:thanks! but seriously.. any links or long winded discussion would be great, I actually don't know much about material resonances and stuff, curious.

Why waste your time arguing with an idiot? You won't win and it brings you down to their level.

Instead, just turn the tables and ask if he can prove his statement. Let him do the research. And other than his own opinion, I doubt he'll find much else to back up a statement like that.

While MDF is described as suitable for some of Bill's designs, it's a PITA in lots of ways.

It's heavy, hates water and the high strength aldehyde glues used to manufacturer it are a problem when cutting it. I hate the stuff.

Bill's bracing in ply made cabs takes out cab resonance...

"Speaking from a strictly sound quality standpoint, mdf will absolutely sound better"

Grant Bunter wrote:While MDF is described as suitable for some of Bill's designs, it's a PITA in lots of ways.

It's heavy, hates water and the high strength aldehyde glues used to manufacturer it are a problem when cutting it. I hate the stuff.

Bill's bracing in ply made cabs takes out cab resonance...

I was going to post a very similar reply, so I'll just second Grant's. As long as a cabinet is air-tight AND has the right bracing, that's all that matters.

5meohd wrote:"Speaking from a strictly sound quality standpoint, mdf will absolutely sound better"

Good grief!
Same old same old, just opinion and seemingly not proven.
If it's not a measured increase, it's just subjective opinion.
It would make the same sonic difference as $2000 RCA interconnects and $500/metre/yard speaker cable.
I mention these because the people who buy them swear it makes a difference to SQ.

If MDF is so good for cabs, why isn't every cab in the world (since MDF was invented) made from MDF?

Surely all those people who don't build from MDF are in the majority, and that should tell you something...

5meohd wrote:"Speaking from a strictly sound quality standpoint, mdf will absolutely sound better"

No, it won't, but as others have said there's nothing to be gained in arguing with an idiot. As for the actual benefits of MDF, it's cheap and it veneers well. That's it.

I heard MDF is so good for cabs, you can turn it to 11.

If the wood of your speaker cabinet is resonating, something must be amiss. The transducer should make the air move, not the wood....

can someone please give me some examples. this dude is actually trolling hard enough to post directly on my facebook wall which is currently a MEGA networking engine for this new "business" I just invested in. I actually tried to look into it and it does seem that a LOT of super hi fi loudspeakers are indeed MDF.

Here is an example of a well respected (within it's market) loudspeaker using plywood. http://www.prosoundweb.com/product/topi ... e_powered/
See the electrovoice live-x series.
Also, if you look into actual high end subs/cabs where the cabinet is already massive the reason they would go MDF is for price, when it's lifted by a forklift they can get away with 1 inch thick mdf panels. Regardless, +1 to what bill said, proper bracing eliminates cabinet vibration, not thicker wood... Example : my mfw-15 vibrates a heck of a lot more than my T39 (mdf vs ply).

5meohd wrote:can someone please give me some examples. this dude is actually trolling hard enough to post directly on my facebook wall which is currently a MEGA networking engine for this new "business" I just invested in. I actually tried to look into it and it does seem that a LOT of super hi fi loudspeakers are indeed MDF.

Yes, a lot of hifi speakers are indeed MDF, but the only reason why that is so, is that its very easy to sculpt and it paints and veneers very easy.. The weight of it is just a trick to make people believe its much better quality because it weighs a ton and also, the very thickness of it is to make up for bad and faulty speaker design with inadequate bracing..

There's a reason professional and high performance speakers from pretty much all brands are made out of plywood - its much much more durable and weighs way less, albeit at a cost, because good quality plywood is way more expensive than MDF..

MDF is ok to use in a speaker that is put in a living room and never moves, for all other purposes I wouldnt hesitate to say that plywood is in any way superior..

I was gonna say what Michael did ^^