 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Car Audio / October 2007why solid wood is not common for car subwoofer box use?
Why do they use MDF instead of real solid wood in small sub boxes -- pernilong Its cheape -- forj it's cost alot mor -- kom >Why do they use MDF instead of real solid wood in small sub boxes? It has very good audio qualities. You want a quiet cabinet. They use it on larger cabinets also. Traditional speakers use mostly particle board. Plywood and synthetics are good for portable equipment. Particle board was also very cheap, but when I just looked at it at The Home Depot, it was not cheap like it used to be. I looked at some MDF and I chose not to carry that heavy board home. Solid wood is also very pretty and easy to work with. It tends to be lighter though, and need more bracing to reduce flex. I had a home cabinet made solid oak. The planks were cut from raw wood, and cut to demensions for my project, and then put together. The guy only charged me about $165 for the pair. greg It's easier to maintain consistent quality in engineered wood than i solid wood. This means you either get a better or cheaper box, or both -- Ian > It's easier to maintain consistent quality in engineered wood than in > solid wood. This means you either get a better or cheaper box, or both. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Ian F's Profile:http://www.zerohurtz.com/member.php?userid=380 > View this thread:http://www.zerohurtz.com/showthread.php?t=46943 Price may be a factor for some individuals, but it certainly won't be a reason for anyone to choose MDF. Particle board is cheaper, plywood is cheapest, solid wood looks better/best. MDF is the correct choice because it's more dense than either of the other options, and when building a (subwoofer) enclosure, a dense material is what you want to use. Using plywood or particle board will actually provide flex in the building material, thus decreasing the efficiency of the enclosure. Solid wood simply doesn't provide the (interior) sound/vibration deadening required for a decent box. ~Mister.Lull Solid wood resonates and changes shape and resonance frequency wit humidity and temperature changes. MDF, OSB and high quality plywood ar used because of their stability with changes in temperature an humidity and resistance to resonance -- lawagonee solid wood costs alot more and is much heavier -- chook >solid wood costs alot more and is much heavier. Lighter. The actual weight is going to also vary according to wood type and moisture content. greg Although I do agree with some of the previous answers, (except for th weight idea) MDF is a much denser material and lends well to shapin using one solid piece, where as wood would have to be jointed and glue to come up with the same dimensions and that joint would be cause fo concern over time. MDF being a more dense material has better acousti qualities and due to being more dense weighs more than the equivalen size dimensional lumber, and in most cases is cheaper than it dimensional counterpart -- alk9 MDF is denser -- THE_SILENT_LIN MDF is more dense, and reduces resonances better than solid wood. Acoustically it's consistent throughout, without knots or rot. It doesn't absorb and hold moisture. It's cheaper to buy and easier to machine in large volumes. Chris > Why do they use MDF instead of real solid wood in small sub boxes? On Oct 24, 11:31 am, "Christopher \"Torroid\" Ott" <spamtrap at ottelectronics dot com> wrote: > It doesn't absorb and hold moisture. O RLY?? A few months ago I had a 4x8' sheet of MDF in my basement standing up against a wall, my water softener leaker a 1/4" of water on the floor near it. Not only did the MDF soak up water, but it wicked up the sheet to about a foot off the floor. The 3/4" mdf expanded to about 1.25", and when it dried out, it was still that thick, and it was all warped and totally un-usable. IME MDF absorbs and holds water like a friggin sponge! OK, how about it doesn't absorb and hold moisture from humidity. When I was (much) younger I worked at a Weyerhaeuser plant, and among many other products we made particle board and MDF. The main difference between the two is the MDF has more resin, smaller particulate and is made under higher pressure. The resin also helps prevent some absorption of moisture. It would not prevent it from being turned into a sponge when soaked in standing water in your basement though. > On Oct 24, 11:31 am, "Christopher \"Torroid\" Ott" <spamtrap at > ottelectronics dot com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > thick, and it was all warped and totally un-usable. IME MDF absorbs > and holds water like a friggin sponge! > On Oct 24, 11:31 am, "Christopher \"Torroid\" Ott" <spamtrap at > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > thick, and it was all warped and totally un-usable. IME MDF absorbs > and holds water like a friggin sponge! correct me if I'm wrong... isn't this what a fiberglass coating is for (or some other coating)? To protect the MDF wood from moisture? >Christopher Torroid Ott - OK, how about it doesn't absorb and hold >moisture from humidity. Ok, that's true, wasnt really thinking in that context cuz Im still in pain from having to buy another new water softener.... > correct me if I'm wrong... isn't this what a fiberglass coating is for > (or some other coating)? To protect the MDF wood from moisture? That'd be a great idea, too bad 99% of all sub boxes are just mdf and carpet. I've never had any fiberglass in my trunk, I've never seen any fiberglass in any of my friend's trunks, and I don't recall ever seeing any fiberglass coated sub boxes in any store, even install shops. Nobody stocks prefab boxes coated in fiberglass. I think it's totally custom, not to mention very expensive. > Why do they use MDF instead of real solid wood in small sub boxes? Actually some of the best sub boxes are made with birch marine plywood. Very dense, no voids, extremely stiff (most important for subs). Most sub box panels don't have resonant fequencies in the sub 100Hz range so low resonance isn't a prime concern. What you don't want is for the box walls to flex due to the force cause by the pressure in the box. Good quality plywood is better at this than MDF. Plywood is more expensive though. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.