Aluminum Cabinets

[BrettMendes]

I've been perusing the websites and reviews of some "ultra high end" speaker manufacturers and am curious about the aluminum enclosures being used in speakers from Magico and YG acoustics. Wouldn't aluminum cause huge resonance within the cabinet? What benefits would it provide that would make it the cabinet of choice for these $100k+ speakers?

 

[Irvrobinson]

The sheer mass of the aluminum panels makes resonance a non-issue. YG publishes measurements on their web site regarding their supposed superiority, though many people question if the magnitude of the superiority is either audible or justifies the breathtaking cost. The YGs certainly are beautiful, and make all wooden and laminate cabinetry look cheap by comparison. If money is no object and looks count, many people are taken in by the jewelry-like appearance of the YG products. YG used to claim that the aluminum cabinets allowed them to forego stuffing their cabinets, which made them "lower loss" than wooden designs, but I admit that I don't understand the theory here, or why YG can avoiding stuffing.

I've heard the $100K Anat III, and it is very, very good, but I found it no better in any audible way than the $22K Revel Salon 2.

 

[Rickster71]

Another suggestion for aluminum boxes:
I was amazed at how good the Paradigm Signature S1's sounded. Their aluminum cabinet is heavily braced.
The review below is a few years old, but it has pics of the box construction.
SoundStage! Equipment Review -Paradigm Reference Signature S1 v.2 Loudspeakers (12/2007)
Paired with a good sub, they're unreal sounding for their size.

 

[ImcLoud]

I think they figure at 100K, you should at least be able to junk it when you are done with them, wood you have to pay to get rid of at least aluminum is worth .60 a lb or so...

I want to see someone do a blind audio test, with everything from $500K system down to one of them 3 speaker TDK boomboxes, plus a few in the middle maybe a set of ascend towers, the new Pioneers, ect... , play them all at a specific db level say 92, same material and same listener position in the same room, and see what people pick... Im guessing blind testing would shock everyone...

But anyway, Aluminum enclosures look really cool... But I bet you could just glue on some thin aluminum veneer and look just as good...

I would rather have carbon fiber, wasnt kef giong to make some cf enclosures...

 

[Adam]

I don't get aluminum as "bling" for speakers. It's shiny, sure, but not precious. Hundreds of years ago, yeah...but it's pretty cheap these days. Now, platinum - that would make me grin pretty much every time I'd look at them.

 

[slipperybidness]

I don't get aluminum as "bling" for speakers. It's shiny, sure, but not precious. Hundreds of years ago, yeah...but it's pretty cheap these days. Now, platinum - that would make me grin pretty much every time I'd look at them.

Until you scratched and/or dented them. Platinum is one of the softest metals

 

[Adam]

Until you scratched and/or dented them. Platinum is one of the softest metals

Scratch them? Dent them?! Well, you're no longer invited over.

Fine, I'll go with a platinum-iridium alloy.

 

[fuzz092888]

I think they figure at 100K, you should at least be able to junk it when you are done with them, wood you have to pay to get rid of at least aluminum is worth .60 a lb or so...

I want to see someone do a blind audio test, with everything from $500K system down to one of them 3 speaker TDK boomboxes, plus a few in the middle maybe a set of ascend towers, the new Pioneers, ect... , play them all at a specific db level say 92, same material and same listener position in the same room, and see what people pick... Im guessing blind testing would shock everyone...

But anyway, Aluminum enclosures look really cool... But I bet you could just glue on some thin aluminum veneer and look just as good...

I would rather have carbon fiber, wasnt kef giong to make some cf enclosures...

There have been controlled blind tests done by Harman and Sean Olive with speakers from many different price points and every time they have done a study like that they have sean an extremely strong correlation between speakers that measure well and which one's people pick regardless of price or listening experience.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I bet you could just glue on some thin aluminum veneer and look just as good...

In the case of the YGs, not even close.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I don't get aluminum as "bling" for speakers. It's shiny, sure, but not precious. Hundreds of years ago, yeah...but it's pretty cheap these days. Now, platinum - that would make me grin pretty much every time I'd look at them.

The YGs and the Krells are anodized, not shiny. I'm pretty sure that the aluminum billets YG uses is more expensive than any laminated wood or MDF. I very much doubt aluminum billet is worth it, sound-wise, but cheap it ain't.

 

[Irvrobinson]

A different sort of aluminum enclosure was the Celestion SL700, which used Aerolam. Taking the opposite approach of the YGs, the SL700 attempted to make the enclosure as light as possible.

 

[Adam]

The YGs and the Krells are anodized, not shiny. I'm pretty sure that the aluminum billets YG uses is more expensive than any laminated wood or MDF. I very much doubt aluminum billet is worth it, sound-wise, but cheap it ain't.

Anodized makes sense. I just did a quick check online and found some that were just gleaming. The YGs that I saw weren't, though.

You wouldn't happen to know how they make them, would you? Do they machine them from billets?

 

[Irvrobinson]

Anodized makes sense. I just did a quick check online and found some that were just gleaming. The YGs that I saw weren't, though.

You wouldn't happen to know how they make them, would you? Do they machine them from billets?

Yup, they do it the hard way, from billets with massive CNC machines. It's on their web site: http://www.ygacoustics.com/UploadFiles/file/PDF/YG Acoustics Cabinet Technology Brochure.pdf

 

[Adam]

That's cool, thanks. They show the face plates. I wonder if the enclosures are big hog outs.

One of my first thoughts since this thread began was that the designer just wants to raise the fundamental mode of the enclosure above the audible range, or keep its effects low enough that it doesn't matter. The graphs in that PDF seem to show that the cabinets have modes in the audible range. I don't know or forget why the (at least top) enclosures are rectangular...maybe one day I'll look into one of those speaker design software packages.

 

[Irvrobinson]

That's cool, thanks. They show the face plates. I wonder if the enclosures are big hog outs.

One of my first thoughts since this thread began was that the designer just wants to raise the fundamental mode of the enclosure above the audible range, or keep its effects low enough that it doesn't matter. The graphs in that PDF seem to show that the cabinets have modes in the audible range. I don't know or forget why the (at least top) enclosures are rectangular...maybe one day I'll look into one of those speaker design software packages.

I've only seen assembled speakers, but the YG back panels are machined like the fronts. The sides have some sort of machined grooves on the inside for inter-panel fitment. I understand the assembly involves heating the panels and pressure fitment, no fasteners or glue. The original series had straight panel cabinets, but I read that the latest models use side panels with curvature. YGs are true jewelry. If $100K meant no more to me than $1K does now I'd have a pair. Since $100K does mean something a lot to me, I'd rather keep the Salon 2s and put the money towards a new 911 GT3 (which isn't happening either).

 

[Send Margaritas]

...and make all wooden and laminate cabinetry look cheap by comparison.

That's a strong statement. Wood has a beauty all it's own. Acoustically, what's the advantage of Aluminum as a cabinet material?

 

[Irvrobinson]

That's a strong statement. Wood has a beauty all it's own. Acoustically, what's the advantage of Aluminum as a cabinet material?

Yes, it is a strong statement, but the YGs are built with a precision of a Hublot watch case. I've owned very expensive, custom-veneered wood speakers (one pair was exquisite rosewood), but IMO they don't compare to the look and feel of the fully machined and anodized billet aluminum cabinets of the YGs.

As for the advantages of the YG cabinets, you can read their web site and judge for yourself. Frankly, I'm not convinced billet aluminum has a sonic advantage over the over the laminated wood in speakers like the Revels, no less a heroic cabinet like the Titus 8T has that Gene uses.

 

[Bryceo]

Scratch them? Dent them?! Well, you're no longer invited over.

Fine, I'll go with a platinum-iridium alloy.

Adam, don't be so nasty he wouldn't do it on purpouse,
I would but

Only because you watched me in the barthroom

 

[fmw]

YG used to claim that the aluminum cabinets allowed them to forego stuffing their cabinets, which made them "lower loss" than wooden designs, but I admit that I don't understand the theory here, or why YG can avoiding stuffing.

Because it is marketing rather than science?

 

[Bryceo]

Adam I allways figured you'd be more of a staleto kinda guy like this