Better drivers would be wasted in a "buzz box"

Posted by Brian H P (A) on December 15, 2023 at 15:00:45

In Reply to: Better drivers and crossovers posted by Bill the K on December 11, 2023 at 23:06:12:

Because boxes want to sing along with the drivers, but they carry a lousy tune. Put a better midwoofer in an undamped 1/4" MDF enclosure and it will certainly not sound its best -- maybe not even better than a cheaper driver in the same box. Box resonances have to be suppressed somehow, and there are several approaches to achieving this:

1) Make the box out of thicker, denser material.

2) Brace the crap out of it internally. B&W's "matrix" cabinets took this to an extreme, as do some of Magico's aluminum enclosures.

3) Use constrained layer damping, making the inner and outer shells of the box of different materials and adhering them with a soft glue.

4) Take the BBC approach -- allow the large, thin, unbraced panels to resonate at a lower frequency and damp them with a lining of dense, nonresonant material. Also, mount the front and rear panels with removable screws instead of gluing them in place, to interrupt the transmission of resonances between panels.

Good "affordable" brands like Elac, Polk, Boston, and others already try to use the best drivers they can at a designated price point, so cabinets are where they must compromise. I'll always remember Herb Reichert's comment about the little Elacs "vibrating like sex toys" -- the funniest thing I've read in Stereophile since the days of Corey Greenberg.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Better drivers and crossovers - Bill the K 23:06:12 12/11/23 (18)

Charles Hansen's Painted Avalon Eclipse - M-dB 08:20:56 12/16/23 (0)

Better drivers would be wasted in a "buzz box" - Brian H P 12/15/2315:00:45 12/15/23 (5)

Nice reminder of the front back screw baffles - Edp 22:54:18 12/15/23 (0)

Thanks for the comments - Bill the K 22:38:10 12/15/23 (3)

RE: Thanks for the comments - hahax@verizon.net 20:39:23 12/17/23 (1)

RE: Thanks for the comments - cawson@onetel.com 02:09:04 12/18/23 (0)

IIRC, the Tweeter/mid module on Aerial's 10T was rotomolded out of some composite - John Marks 04:56:10 12/16/23 (0)

RE: Better drivers and crossovers - Bill the K 20:20:34 12/13/23 (3)

RE: Better drivers and crossovers - cawson@onetel.com 03:54:18 12/14/23 (2)

I once installed my Rogers LS 3/5A in place of my $200 PSB Alpha Speakers, - alaskahiatt 11:23:53 12/14/23 (0)

RE: Better drivers and crossovers - Bill the K 04:39:12 12/14/23 (0)

Easily.. - bare 09:14:14 12/13/23 (0)

RE: Better drivers and crossovers - hahax@verizon.net 20:44:25 12/12/23 (0)

RE: Better drivers and crossovers - tomservo 13:28:59 12/12/23 (0)

Absolutely Not! - cawson@onetel.com 02:39:57 12/12/23 (3)

From concrete columns to aluminium cabinets.... - andy evans 10:55:23 12/12/23 (2)

RE: From concrete columns to aluminium cabinets.... - cawson@onetel.com 12:52:40 12/12/23 (0)

To tubular steel frames... - E-Stat 12:38:20 12/12/23 (0)

Follow Ups

Better drivers would be wasted in a "buzz box" - Brian H P 12/15/2315:00:45 12/15/23 (5)

Nice reminder of the front back screw baffles - Edp 22:54:18 12/15/23 (0)

Thanks for the comments - Bill the K 22:38:10 12/15/23 (3)

RE: Thanks for the comments - hahax@verizon.net 20:39:23 12/17/23 (1)

RE: Thanks for the comments - cawson@onetel.com 02:09:04 12/18/23 (0)

IIRC, the Tweeter/mid module on Aerial's 10T was rotomolded out of some composite - John Marks 04:56:10 12/16/23 (0)

Better drivers would be wasted in a "buzz box"

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