anything better then mdf??

[cyn 10+ year member]

Ive seen a custom box for home audio made from some sort of granite / marble and lined on the inside with some sort of japanese hardwood can't remember the name of it. I think the granite / marble was more for the look to fit into the fireplace that it sat by tho more than anything else. Was about 3x3 and the top was made to look like a table .. wierdest one i've seen tho in person.

 

[pr-festiva 10+ year member]

im actually really curious about metal boxes iv always wonderd how they would sound i feel like theyll flex alot but bounce sound off amazingly but im just a newb :3 you gonna have a build log for it or anything? id like to know how itll turn out

metal wont flex like people think it will unless some one builds a box with sheet metal insted of plate.i'll be using 3/4'' plate as a shell with 1X1.5'' ribs on the out side then i'll work in from there till i get it loud.I'll be doing a build log so every one can see the pain in the *** its gonna be.

 

[groundpound4200 5,000+ posts]

Everything >>> MDF

I hate that **** except it does roundover nice.

 

[pr-festiva 10+ year member]

metal wouldnt sound good i remember somebody saying something about the response wouldnt come out right and as far as anything beig better than that would be birch wood but i think mdf sounds better as someone else in another forum compared both of those materials..

im going for pure SPL so sounding good isnt going to happen any way.I dont think a box made out of the right metal would make it sound bad but who knows

 

[SikFly 10+ year member]

sounds heavy. *** gas mileage right.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

bamboo

glass

stone

all in the top 5 materials for box building. Also the heaviest and most expensive.

 

---------- Post added at 11:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:12 AM ----------

 

and metal may not flex but is sure as hell resonates.

 

[thehardknoxlife 10+ year member]

bambooglass

stone

all in the top 5 materials for box building. Also the heaviest and most expensive.

 

---------- Post added at 11:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:12 AM ----------

 

and metal may not flex but is sure as hell resonates.

^ this. A metal box is the worst thing you could do.
There is a reason almost everyone uses MDF. It's cheap, very dense, and easy to cut.

 

[05trailblazer 10+ year member]

sounds just about right^^

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

I think you could have ended that post after ''it's cheap''

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

Fiber glass

 

[pr-festiva 10+ year member]

bambooglass

stone

all in the top 5 materials for box building. Also the heaviest and most expensive.

 

---------- Post added at 11:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:12 AM ----------

 

and metal may not flex but is sure as hell resonates.

so i take it youve been in a car that used 3/4'' mic 6 plate aluminum for a box? im guessing that most people on here are going off of some guy that built a box out of sheet material not plate. If it fails i'll just scrap the box,,, try that with ply wood //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

Baltic Birch baby, and no MDF boogers the day after you cut it!

 

[thehardknoxlife 10+ year member]

so i take it youve been in a car that used 3/4'' mic 6 plate aluminum for a box? im guessing that most people on here are going off of some guy that built a box out of sheet material not plate. If it fails i'll just scrap the box,,, try that with ply wood //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I don't think he was basing his post on anyone. It's pretty common knowledge that metal resonates very easily, which is why no one makes enclosures out if. When making a system for SPL or SQ the idea is to stop the vibrations, not create them.
MIC 6 Aluminum is a cast metal. It would be better than hardened aluminum as far as resonance goes, but is still not very practical. It's easy to crack and screw holes strip extremely easily. On top of that it cost $100 for a 12"x 12" x 3/4" piece, which would bring less than $10 at a scrap yard.

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

Concrete would make the "best" box probably.

 

[J31Rob 5,000+ posts]

13-ply plywood.

Juuust about unpossible in 3/4". I however did have some 17 or 18 ply 1" Chinese Poplar recently.

Birch Plywood (not sure if thats the same as 13ply)

Ply = layer

Birch is the only other main one i'm aware of that is commonly used

..but isn't somehow the best. Any AA/AB/BA/BB even BC grade plywood would do fine. There are better priceerformance ratios out there than birch. It's not some God species.

You can use the cabinet grade ply at lowes (aka Arauco ply, costs around $30 a sheet). For higher quality stuff you want to use birch ply which costs around $45 a sheet, and for absolute quality you want true baltic birch which iirc only comes in 5x5 sheets and costs an upwards of $100.

Chaching. This guy knows. Baltic still isn't somehow God wood either, but it's definitely proven to be a good choice.

Birch ply ftw. Slightly higher price than mdf (~$6/sheet) but around 1/2 to 2/3 the weight, much stiffer, and a whole lot less sawdust mess.

Yeah not true.

I recall seeing a build on here once where a guy built a normal MDF box and lined it with 1" marble.

snoopdan. I saw it in person @ MECA Finals in 06 or 07. It was for a neo TC Sounds 5200 on an Adassa Warlord IIRC. Did amazing numbers for a no wall / stock class.

I bet that was nice and light.

No different than people putting walls in their vehicles. I don't think it was 1" either. I could be wrong though.

Concrete would make the "best" box probably.

Whatever resonates bro.