doing research

[STEELHEART]

Hi,

I Am A New Guy Here, Iv'e Been Doing Research Checking Out Speaker's In The Sound And Vision Magazine And Going To My Local Tweeter Store And Iv'e Decided To Build My Own Speakers, My Question Is When I Do Take On This Project I Want To Use Maple Plywood Instead Of The Crappy Mdf Stuff That Most People Use For This Kind Of Project Is This A Good Idea Or Do I Have To Use The Mdf Particle Board?

[mtrycrafts]

Hi,

I Am A New Guy Here, Iv'e Been Doing Research Checking Out Speaker's In The Sound And Vision Magazine And Going To My Local Tweeter Store And Iv'e Decided To Build My Own Speakers, My Question Is When I Do Take On This Project I Want To Use Maple Plywood Instead Of The Crappy Mdf Stuff That Most People Use For This Kind Of Project Is This A Good Idea Or Do I Have To Use The Mdf Particle Board?


Yes, it is a good idea. You just have to allow for internal bracing, not a real issue if you are a handy person ;)

[STEELHEART]

Ok My Next Question Is Since I Want To Eventually
Have Surround Sound Do I Have To Build Them Also
Rears- Wall Surrounds- Center- And A Sub?

[warnerwh]

You better go over to the madisound or partsexpress forum before you get started and ask questions there. You don't want to use plywood except maybe marine plywood. MDF works great and is easy to veneer. Designing and building a speaker can be quite complex and you can spend alot of time and money and end up with speakers that sound like crap. Please take my advice and ask over at the boards I mentioned above where experienced speaker builders will help you. You should do more research also at other boards like audiocircle.com and audioasylum in the speaker area. There's alot of good quality speakers and you can get them used off of audiogon.com for much less than retail. By the time you try to design and build your own speakers you would probably be much better off unless you're going with a small two way that has been done before. Good Luck

[Tex-amp]

There is a DIY board here at Audioholics. http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22

[Nick250]

Ok My Next Question Is Since I Want To Eventually
Have Surround Sound Do I Have To Build Them Also
Rears- Wall Surrounds- Center- And A Sub?

When you capitalize every word it makes it hard to read. At least for me it does.

[STEELHEART]

Thanx for the advice on those speaker forums i'm still doing rsearch so it will be awhile before i attempt anything serious, i'm thinking of going with a tall tower somthing similiar to the paradigm 90'ps except with four 8 inch woofers instead of subs. and i still think using a good quality plywood is better than the standard mdf stuff.

[warnerwh]

If you still think plywood is better than mdf then please go read and ask questions. Plywood can have voids in it. MDF doesn't and is more inert. There's alot to building a system and let me assure you I thought of it and spent many hours researching it. I"ve been in the hobby for over thirty years and had a clue but after calculating everything decided I'm better off letting someone else do the engineering. As I stated before you can end up spending alot of money for two speakers that sound like crap. Then spend more money trying to get them to sound right. It's not just putting some drivers and a crossover in a box. Even the theoretical crossover needs to be tweaked.

ASk at the other forums these questions. There's alot of helpful and much more knowledgeable speaker builders there. DIY audio is another good site. You will no doubt be recommended to build a two way and a separate sub. They'll explain why.

[jaxvon]

Almost every speaker company uses MDF or HDF for their speakers...there must be a reason for that. Pro speakers are often built with birch plywood because it offers the best performance and strength for the weight of the product.

[annunaki]

If weight is not an issue, use MDF. Plywood has a much higher resonant frequency and can cause coloration of sound in midrange, upper-midrange, and treble frequencies. Laminate your cabinet in a nice veneer if you are worried about any looks. Look into B&W's matrix cabinets for ideas on bracing.
http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.techfeatures/ObjectID/3A7556CF%2D4779%2D11D4%2DA67F00D0B7473B37

[Tex-amp]

MDF and HDF are the "deader" materials that is whay they are used with a veneer. The density is what you want for a "dead" box.