marcb515 Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 My old speakers are some type of wood (pressboard I guess), but the newer speakers look like plastic? I would think wood would have a better sound than plastic? Thank you,....marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay L Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 the material is MDF (medium density fiberboard) a very good material for speaker cabinets the plastic you see is the motorboard overlay which on new speakers has the horn built into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6foot8 Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Wood IS better than mdf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnyholiday Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Baltic Birch is good stuff, holds up well to abuse,a cab out of MDF, on the road would be corn flakes in a week,life's a journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6foot8 Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 is to[6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 I guess I'll be sure not to take my Klipschorns on the road. C'mon guys, from an acoustics standpoint MDF is a much better material to make a speaker out of. I mean, there is something to be said for keeping cabinet resonances to a minimum. You also get some serious built in mass loading with the stuff. With the newer Klipschorns, only the veneered sections are MDF, the rest of the speaker is still made using 9 - 13 ply birch / hardwood center plywood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6foot8 Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 My opinion here Dean but if PWK thought his cabinets needed insulation or exhibited poor sonic resonances then he would have fixed anything he was uncomfortable with for sure. MDF is junk made from waste by product and I'll have none of it in my speakers. Maybe my predjudice is unwarranted Dean but I prefer good quality wood for structural bracing and longevity. If you are right about the resonance thing then I'll stand corrected there, but I don't want my cabinets comming apart at 115db because the mdf gave way. I believe the use of mdf is primarily driven by economics in most cases, but when I plunk down the kind of money I did recently (an have in the past many times when visiting my Klipsch dealer) then I want real wood and will gladly pay extra if cost is the primary factor....but then again I am not buying junk at some large discount consumer electronics superstore where most of that stuff is made overseas somewhere for pennies on the buck. I am one of those wierd people that is still willing to pay more, a lot more, if necessary to get a high quality product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6foot8 Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Dean...please don't misinterpret my comments as argumentative. I, like most people on this forum, respect and value your opinion. I beleive my position on the quality issue has been soured by my most recent purchase which has been to some extent a dissapointment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 My opinion here Dean but if PWK thought his cabinets needed insulation or exhibited poor sonic resonances then he would have fixed anything he was uncomfortable with for sure. MDF is junk made from waste by product and I'll have none of it in my speakers. Maybe my predjudice is unwarranted Dean but I prefer good quality wood for structural bracing and longevity. If you are right about the resonance thing then I'll stand corrected there, but I don't want my cabinets comming apart at 115db because the mdf gave way. I believe the use of mdf is primarily driven by economics in most cases, but when I plunk down the kind of money I did recently (an have in the past many times when visiting my Klipsch dealer) then I want real wood and will gladly pay extra if cost is the primary factor....but then again I am not buying junk at some large discount consumer electronics superstore where most of that stuff is made overseas somewhere for pennies on the buck. I am one of those wierd people that is still willing to pay more, a lot more, if necessary to get a high quality product. PWK went with what was cheapest and easiest at the time. Manufacturing with MDF has improved over the years and has some sonic advantages over plywood - and yes the khorn has resonances (in fact evey speaker does). But the khorn has more issues with this due to the number of large face panels in the design (as each panel is going to vibrate in its own way). Now that I think about it....I've seen a lot of portable PA equipment built out of MDF. When done correctly it is as roadworthy as any of the plywood counterparts, but exhibits way way less resonance issues (which are very annoying when they cause feedback). Besides, you're gonna want the plastic/metal corner and edge guards with either design anyway. I've seen speakers dropped down stairs, falling out of the trucks/vans, getting knocked over by idiot crowds...yet to see something actually break though. (I know Carvin drop tests all their speakers from 10 feet - guaranteed not to break). The only problem with MDF is if it gets wet....it swells up and basically destroys the speaker [] (had it happen once on a very sunny outdoor concert that turned into pooring rain in a matter of minutes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 tell my 10 inch dewalt 13 amp circular saw blade that 1.5 inches of mdf is weak! tell my 3 hp dewalt 15 amp router that too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Plywood cabinet dropped on edge does nothing, unless you are a UPS man, and heave it over your head. Drop an MDF cab on edge, and you have mush. That being said, I'd still want to build cabinets for the home out of MDF, for several reasons. Anything that was going to be beaten with load in, load out all the time, baltic birch ply is a better bet. That said, I have moved MDF cabinets quite a bit, and as long as you are careful, you won't hurt them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6foot8 Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 ok ok already, I stand corrected, I was wrong about the sonic thing...but we'll see whose speakers are still lookin' good and sounding good when I'm old and grey and listining to Deep Purple at 120 db with my hearing aid turned all the way up in my rockin chair at the nursing home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6foot8 Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 tell my 10 inch dewalt 13 amp circular saw blade that 1.5 inches of mdf is weak! tell my 3 hp dewalt 15 amp router that too get a new blade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Seems to me that Ive seen resonance tests for vibration isolation platforms somewhere that showed that because of its different type of layers on top of each other, that ¾ MDF has as little resonance as 1 of Maple (which was slightly better than other common hard woods).[H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 6foot8 -- no problem here, I'm fine with what you are saying. Who -- I hate the word "cheap". I just immediately associate that word with 'junk'. Something that is well done yet made to be affordable for most is simply a good value. There is a good balance between performance and cost with all the Klipsch products, and I especially think PWK did a bang up job of finding that balance. He could easily have built in ways that cost him even less -- but he didn't. I prefer to think of them as value driven designs which in some cases exceed the perfomance of "cost no object" designs. No speaker gracefully endures exposure to excessive moisture or continuous abuse -- regardless of what it's built out of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 I dunno, those plastic JBL EON speakers handle the rain pretty well...where's the barf bag? lol Ya, I don't usually associate cheap with how it can often be meant - I suppose inexpensive would be a better choice of words. One of the coolest things I saw at the klipsch tour was how well they engineer everything to work together. Klipsch is very cohesive and creative with their use of everything - something I really really enjoy seeing (and doing myself whenever I get the chance to setup stuff). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 umm yeah i brought brand new blades at a nice 45 dollars. 40 teeth due to the fact I like finished edges over the 24 teeth blades that leave rough edges... I don't use dull shit blades. I take very good care, I even clean all the blades after every use. The Kerf lining that's yellow tends to be dragged onto the mdf when cutting. Probably not good. My router blades are very nice and basically brand new, I dare you to run your fingers across the blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 ok ok already, I stand corrected, I was wrong about the sonic thing...but we'll see whose speakers are still lookin' good and sounding good when I'm old and grey and listening to Deep Purple at 120 db with my hearing aid turned all the way up in my rockin chair at the nursing home Yeah but by then the nursing home will make you use the newest version of an IPOD like device with a docking station, steal your hearing aid batteries and just tell you its pushin120 dB! [] And they will also lie about the Deep Purple.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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