Building cornerhorns

[hetmann]

What material(s) are best? Plywood? MDF? Something else?

[WMcD]

I used plywood and based the dimensions on the Speakerlab plans. And in fact proceded under the misconception that 3/4 inch was used in the real K Horn. That required adjusting dimensions which was a real pain. Nope, sorry, I didn't save any of the modified drawings.

Later I learned that the K Horn, for the internal parts of the bass horn, uses 1/2 inch ply, and in recent days MDF. People have strong opinions on whether 3/4 inch is best, and which material to use.

One reason you might avoid MDF is that you'll be putting screws into the edge. It is reported to have a tendancy to split and flake. I can't say, never having used it.

It is a heck of a project.

Gil

[Malcolm]

I've never built a Klipschorn, but have built a number of speaker cabinets over the years.

I would recommend baltic birch plywood for the main cabinet. Unlike most plywood, all plys are made of the same species and it is void free. The main advantages are that consistent, relatively dense, and very stable.

MDF is a great substrate for veneering to. And it will also help minimize problems with cabinet resonances. But I don't think much of it structurally and wouldn't recommend it for the main cabinet, maybe just the inside parts that are protected by the main cabinet.

I'd use whatever thickness material Klipsch used.

Of course, there is also concrete...

[bigdnfay]

This is a paragraph i scanned from the booklet that came with my 1976 model k-horns.

The front panel of the bass cabinet and the upper horn section is made of 3/4 inch plywood. The rest of the bass cabinet is built from 1/2 inch plywood. hope this helps.

This message has been edited by bigdnfay on 12-23-2001 at 10:29 AM