Opera Speakers

[SiB]

Yep definitely no good for rock or big orchestral, but as I mainly listen to Jazz & acoustic singer songwriter stuff that's not a problem for me.

 

[uzzy]

So, whilst solid wood might be a good choice of material for musical instruments, for precisely the same reasons, something more inert is a better choice for loudspeaker cabinets, especially larger cabinets more prone to bending mode resonances.

All down to design .. Art have moved from very thick MDF as used on my Impressions to using Birch Ply and some sort of synthetic material for the baffle boards. They found that using Birch Ply (with the inside sculpted) has improved the sound quality being accoustically inert in their design (mind you the thickness of the birch ply is mind blowing do not think 15mm sheets).

At the end of the day the design (thickness, internal sculpting, bracing etc) is the key and it is a bit of a vague generalisation to say MDF is better than Birch Ply or Solid Wood.

The interesting thing about solid wood and musical instruments acoustic guitars are interesting. Some are made of solid woods all over, others with solid tops and backs but ply sides, and lastly others all ply. All I do know is a guitar made with ply will sound the same the day you bought it as it will in 20 years time. On the other hand when made with solid woods (top or all solid wood) the sound will change over time as the wood ages but on top of that you have to take care of humidity as they can be prone to cracking and subject to more movement than a ply bodied guitar. My Takomine EAN20C has a solid cedar top and solid mahogany back and I think mahogany ply sides .... it is getting on now and touch wood no cracks to date.

As for me I never really take a lot of notice of what it looks like or how it is made but all about how it sounds.

 

[fredbatch]

Yes, it’s certainly not black and white, although the physical properties of solid wood are inherently less consistent than MDF. Birch ply, being a manufactured composite comprising laminate layers of wood and adhesive, has physical properties more akin to MDF than natural wood and is therefore more predictable too.

Today, combining the application of materials science with various CAE and FEA modal and optimisation analysis tools, it is possible to predict the behaviour of a multiplicity of cabinet structures and material combinations to help obtain the “best” results. Typically, this aims at shifting or minimising resonance frequencies.

Yet, no doubt because there is still a huge subjective element, both aesthetically and aurally, many combinations of materials other than good old woody bits have appeared - carbon fibre, aluminium, titanium, steel, marble, granite, concrete, glass, polymers, resins, composites and so on.

It seems coated MDF remains one of best material compromises and is still (perhaps questionably) used in loudspeakers costing tens of thousands of pounds.