FRFR cabinet material

Meaty

New Member
Hi folks

FRFR speakers - what are our thoughts on getting the optimum (whatever our perception of optimum is) performance out of an FRFR speaker cabinet / enclosure made from wood, e.g. birch ply, or an FRFR speaker cabinet / enclosure made from man-made materials, e.g. injection-molded polypropylene ? Appreciate your thoughts
 
That's a wide open question and greatly depends on the design/quality.
There are plenty of wood boxes that sound better than plastic, and plenty of plastic boxes that sound better than wood boxes.

Plastic RCF HD or ART box will sound much better than wooden Kustom powered wedge.
Wooden JBL SRX box will sound much better than plastic Behringer/Alto powered wedge.

There are quality solutions made from both materials, and crappy solutions made from both materials.
Also means if you are leaning towards one material, you can find a great solution made with it.
 
Thanks BBN

I was wondering whether a wooden, say birch, cabinet would colour the sound more than a plastic based cabinet?
 
I was wondering whether a wooden, say birch, cabinet would colour the sound more than a plastic based cabinet?
That really depends on how it's made. The materials a cabinet is made from do affect the sound. But there are things that have a much bigger effect on the sound: cabinet design and dimensions, built-in electronics, the speakers themselves...

Getting optimum performance out of any enclosure (to be honest, I'm not clear on what your question is, but that's how you phrased it) involves a lot of design aspects. For best results, an enclosure should be designed as part of an overall speaker design, not as a starting point.
 
That really depends on how it's made. The materials a cabinet is made from do affect the sound. But there are things that have a much bigger effect on the sound: cabinet design and dimensions, built-in electronics, the speakers themselves...

Getting optimum performance out of any enclosure (to be honest, I'm not clear on what your question is, but that's how you phrased it) involves a lot of design aspects. For best results, an enclosure should be designed as part of an overall speaker design, not as a starting point.

Rex is right on.

If you're looking for a speaker, let your ears be your guide.
Wood or plastic will not color the sound as much as the quality of components and design.
 
So the exact same components made from plastic or quality birch construction vs plastic have zero sonic differences?
 
So the exact same components made from plastic or quality birch construction vs plastic have zero sonic differences?
They will definitely have sonic differences.
But better design and components are more impactful.

Here are simple examples:
JBL PRX512 - wood box with a 12" speaker
RCF ART732 - plastic box with a 12" speaker.
Plastic RCF will walk all over the JBL.

But....
Yamaha DSR112 - wood box with a 12" speaker
Mackie Thump - plastic box with a 12" speaker
Wooden Yamaha destroys that Mackie

In both of those cases, the components and design are what make the speaker more desirable, not the cabinet material.

And the statement - 'you get what you pay for' really applies here.
Cheap cabinets always leave you wanting more.
 
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They will definitely have sonic differences.
But better design and components are more impactful.

Here are simple examples:
JBL PRX512 - wood box with a 12" speaker
RCF ART732 - plastic box with a 12" speaker.
Plastic RCF will walk all over the JBL.

But....
Yamaha DSR112 - wood box with a 12" speaker
Mackie Thump - plastic box with a 12" speaker
Wooden Yamaha destroys that Mackie

In both of those cases, the components and design are what make the speaker more desirable, not the cabinet material.
Let me be more literal perhaps. The exact components made to the exact dimensions and one is wood and one is plastic, sorry I thought I had covered that. My search is for knowledge vs any possible variable, it's mainly for sonic advantages, I do realize there are tons of frf builds to pick from..ideally a quality wooden enclosure has always been what a guitar is plugged into. Never been any advantages to a plastic 4x12 or 2x12. Maybe this does not apply to an axe 3. If the guitar is involved I would imagine it does somehow. If not maybe the enclosure can be made of coconut shells for the sake of my back. Only way is to try both I guess. Thanks anyhoo
 
I believe the same physical cabinet structure, plastic vs. wood - yes, they will sound different. Which is better may depend on if the components were tuned to the plastic or wood enclosure.
The point I'm getting at is - plastic vs. wood are factors, but you can find great solutions in either plastic or wood (in a variety of weights)
You will also find some plastic cabinets that are heavier than wood ones (that look relatively the same size).
JBL PRX512 - really light wood box. Turbosound Iq12 - plastic box, but is heavier.

Me personally, I like wood cabinets. That said - I've never owned a $1500 plastic speaker. I've heard/used them, but never purchased one.
I do have Atomic CLR Neo, RCF NX12, and XiTone 12". They are all light, and they all sound amazing.
 
I believe the same physical cabinet structure, plastic vs. wood - yes, they will sound different. Which is better may depend on if the components were tuned to the plastic or wood enclosure.
The point I'm getting at is - plastic vs. wood are factors, but you can find great solutions in either plastic or wood (in a variety of weights)
You will also find some plastic cabinets that are heavier than wood ones (that look relatively the same size).
JBL PRX512 - really light wood box. Turbosound Iq12 - plastic box, but is heavier.

Me personally, I like wood cabinets. That said - I've never owned a $1500 plastic speaker. I've heard/used them, but never purchased one.
I do have Atomic CLR Neo, RCF NX12, and XiTone 12". They are all light, and they all sound amazing.
Thanks, you make great points. There are tons of great options. It seems some or most the highly regarded ones are birch. It's amazing how great the ax3 sounds thru the lower end one I currently use. I plan to get something else, so much to think about and consider. I actually like both builds for what they can provide, considering at what % is the material noticed sonicly would help me choose. If nothing else, I am thankful it sounds as great as it does period!
 
If they're FRFR cabs, would the designers not take in to account the material, and design around that? I'm sure each cabinet has certain design choices based around other design choices, so it would be hard to compare apples to apples in this case.
 
If they're FRFR cabs, would the designers not take in to account the material, and design around that? I'm sure each cabinet has certain design choices based around other design choices, so it would be hard to compare apples to apples in this case.
Yes, totally agree.
That's the point I was making in regards to components and design are more impactful than the cabinet material.
You can get good/bad versions of speakers in either wood or plastic if they are designed properly and high quality components are used.

That being said - when you hit the $1k+ monitor market, you find most are made out of wood.
Doesn't mean they are automatically better, but it's a what you will see when you start looking at nicer boxes.
 
That being said - when you hit the $1k+ monitor market, you find most are made out of wood.
Doesn't mean they are automatically better, but it's a what you will see when you start looking at nicer boxes.
I would presume that's mostly because wood feels higher-quality and looks more expensive than plastic, you can bet there would be people complaining that their new $1000 cab was made out of plastic regardless of how good it sounds.
Not that that's a bad thing, build quality is certainly important, but I would guess that it has more to do with marketing than sound.
 
I would presume that's mostly because wood feels higher-quality and looks more expensive than plastic, you can bet there would be people complaining that their new $1000 cab was made out of plastic regardless of how good it sounds.
Not that that's a bad thing, build quality is certainly important, but I would guess that it has more to do with marketing than sound.
Agreed.
 
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