Speaker box questions
 

Well, since no one at RHC will answer this, here ya go



Here's something thats been puzzling me for years.

Why are boxes made of Press board, rather then plywood, does it make a diff?

Re: Speaker box questions
 

lol, ive done a couple homemade boxes out of plywood...they sound like crap...might have something to do with resonance..

Simple. Plywood is too porous, you need a denser material. That's why most boxes are made out of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF). Actully lead would make a killer speaker box.....but that's not very pratical is it.;)

So, the more dense it is, the better it sounds?! Cool, sign me up for a gold box then please:D

The MDF (multi density fiberboard) is packed together small wood particles. The structure makes it more sound deadening. It doesn't resonate as easily as plywood. Plywood is larger chunks and flakes of wood which can resonate more easily. When I first started building boxes, I used plywood, cause I had a bunch. The boxes sounded bad. Rattled, vibrated buzzed when pushing lots of bass. The MDF sounds deeper and is quieter. Also, pack about 1 lb of polyfil (polyester in bags at wal-mart in crafts section) per cubic foot of your box. This deepens the sound by changing the medium inside the box. Makes the box seem bigger than it is. Leaks, like old, unplugged screw holes in boxes and leaky jopints also degrade sound quality. I always use some type of rtv or silicone caulk to seal all the joints of my boxes. These things can really improve the sound of a sub box.
-wjfawb0

yea, if you going with a sealed box(non-ported) make sure the seal the inside up good with silicon. But make sure to let it dry for 24 hours before installing the sub. The vapors that it lets off while drying can eat away at sub surrounds. Once you have the sub installed, press down on the cone. It should take at least 5 seconds for it to come back up. If it pops back up quickly....you've got a air leak.