Speaker Asylum

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

Return to Speaker Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

How important is.....

106.203.89.220
Posted on November 16, 2020 at 18:55:29
Bill the K
Audiophile

Posts: 8385
Joined: June 3, 2006
 hand crafted cabinets for speakers? I find these adverts showing hand crafted speakers being made in the factory in the country. Does it have an impact on sound? A friend recently spent five grand on a bookshelf speaker saying it was hand crafted. I thought it was dull sounding and too polite.It had good looks but good looks and a subway token will take you to Bronx.

Bill

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
RE: How important is....., posted on November 17, 2020 at 07:12:52
airtime
Audiophile

Posts: 11287
Location: Arizona
Joined: February 4, 2003
 A cabinet needs to meet only two requirements.

Proper dimensions, port, baffle plate and bracing according to what drivers are being used.

Sturdy solid non resonant material. Like really cheap particle board found at home depot.

the rest is literally "window dressing".

Having it built like a beautiful piece of furniture really is nice, but not cheap. Five grand - depends on size and what it's being made of?

 

RE: Very important, posted on November 17, 2020 at 11:02:37
tketcham
Audiophile

Posts: 6701
Location: East of the 100th meridian USofA
Joined: March 21, 2005
Contributor
  Since: October 1, 2005
 Bill, speaker cabinets are much like fine furniture for many people and they want the speakers to match the quality of the furnishings in the room. So appearance is very important to some people, but I wouldn't criticize them for wanting a really nice looking setup. You seem to be implying that it's a detriment to good sound. It might be, but so is buying the least expensive speaker you can find.

Tom

 

Cabinet is only one (important) part of the recipe, posted on November 17, 2020 at 11:33:55
Brian H P
Audiophile

Posts: 1291
Location: Oregon
Joined: December 18, 2012
 Like Airtime said, it should be proportioned for optimum LF loading of the bass driver, and non-resonant, which means dense and/or well braced. Many different schools of thought on how to achieve this, including "heroic" approaches like Wilson, Magico, YGA, etc. Beyond that, it can be as pretty or plain as the designer wishes -- anything from exotic veneers or lacquers to black vinyl wrap.

But just as important are driver selection AND crossover design. The latter is where science, art, and (sometimes) magic converge. You can put the world's finest drivers in a beautiful, perfectly engineered cabinet, BUT if the crossover is not optimal you'll never get the best out of them.

 

It is not detrimental to good sound. It is not relevant to good sound. , posted on November 17, 2020 at 19:41:35
Kal Rubinson
Reviewer

Posts: 12436
Location: New York
Joined: June 5, 2002
 It only affects appearance and perhaps not even that.

 

RE: Slow night at the K House, Bill?, posted on November 17, 2020 at 20:04:37
B. Scarpia
 Trolling two Asylums at once.

Let's check some more, see if he goes for the Trifecta.

 

RE: Slow night at the K House, Bill?, posted on November 17, 2020 at 20:38:12
Bill the K
Audiophile

Posts: 8385
Joined: June 3, 2006
 Wish you all the best

Cheers

Bill

 

Source and some cables and (hopefully) he's done... N/T, posted on November 17, 2020 at 22:10:26
musetap
Audiophile

Posts: 31879
Location: San Francisco
Joined: July 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since: January 28, 2004
 z
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure



 

Not a slow night....., posted on November 18, 2020 at 03:50:13
Ozzy
Audiophile

Posts: 7594
Joined: September 21, 1999
 .....just another night of sophomoric questions that no one really cares about. Nothing to see here.






Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
- Winston Churchill

 

RE: It is not relevant to good sound. , posted on November 18, 2020 at 04:39:32
tketcham
Audiophile

Posts: 6701
Location: East of the 100th meridian USofA
Joined: March 21, 2005
Contributor
  Since: October 1, 2005
 I wasn't really intending to agree with Bill if that's how you took my reply. I only threw in the "maybe" for his sake because a speaker builder may have had to compromise on sound quality in some way in order to have a beautiful cabinet and still meet a price point. Maybe, a big maybe. :-)

Tom

 

RE: It is not detrimental to good sound. It is not relevant to good sound. , posted on November 18, 2020 at 06:18:27
airtime
Audiophile

Posts: 11287
Location: Arizona
Joined: February 4, 2003
 In my original reply I didn't mention the actual design. I just assumed we were only talking about the box. But a $5K box stuffed with a poorly designed crossover and the wrong choice of drivers is pretty much worthless.

I've also seen a number of "high end?" speakers that selected drivers simply because they looked cool or were "in" at the time.

I've owned a number of commercial speakers over the years, a found that the kit speakers out perform them almost every time. I've been using the Zaph SR71 speakers for about 5 years now and I have NO desire to ever change them out.

My hobby was making furniture. I did build a nice box for the SR71's, but one day I want to build a really snappy looking box.

 

RE: It is not detrimental to good sound. It is not relevant to good sound. , posted on November 18, 2020 at 06:19:02
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 37666
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 It is not detrimental to good sound.

With my chosen speaker brand, there is some truth to that. Each Sound Lab model as determined by panel size is available in three configurations: a basic wooden frame, a furniture quality frame and a tubular steel frame.

I chose the latter and it is superior to the *nicest* looking one.

 

RE: It is not relevant to good sound. , posted on November 18, 2020 at 06:47:11
Kal Rubinson
Reviewer

Posts: 12436
Location: New York
Joined: June 5, 2002
 OK. I was not commenting on the design or appearance, per se. I was referring to hand-crafted construction as opposed to machine-made or automated assembly line construction. The functional outcome can be the same and, if so, will not matter in regard to sound quality.

The only reason for hand-crafting, imho, is to make something that is visually unique and pleasing. It can be functionally superior to factory-made, equal to factory-made or inferior to factory-made.

 

RE: Very important, posted on November 18, 2020 at 06:57:45
Bill the K
Audiophile

Posts: 8385
Joined: June 3, 2006
 Sorry if I gave the wrong impression but what I meant was that the 'handcrafted' cabinet is not very important except for the lovers of Interior Decoration. A hardcore audiophile wont care how the speaker looks or the finish of it except when the shape is a sloping back baffle or an egg shape or a combination of three boxes like the Wilson Alexia which follows certain laws of Physics for sound improvement.

Bill

 

None....unless, posted on November 18, 2020 at 07:27:43
Tom
Audiophile

Posts: 2081
Location: Arizona
Joined: February 27, 2000
Contributor
  Since: March 16, 2002
 they're

 

better than foot crafted cabinets, I would think..., posted on November 18, 2020 at 08:55:23
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 although,that said, I used my hands to craft this (these -- yes, there were two).


diy from heck front

No, I am not bragging.

;)

diy from heck rear



all the best,
mrh

 

RE: How important is....., posted on November 19, 2020 at 14:59:58
itolduso1000timesb4
Audiophile

Posts: 235
Location: Canada
Joined: March 7, 2018
 I tried ugly speakers in my room and felt terribly demeaned.

So many unaesthetic speakers out there it can make one cry.

 

RE: How important is....., posted on November 20, 2020 at 19:29:22
Bill the K
Audiophile

Posts: 8385
Joined: June 3, 2006
 But good music coming out of them can compensate for the ugliness.

Cheers

Bill

 

Harbeth, posted on November 20, 2020 at 21:50:08
Bill the K
Audiophile

Posts: 8385
Joined: June 3, 2006
 My friend bought Harbeths after seeing their ad which said 'handcrafted' on the highlighted heading. Of course he had auditioned the speakers but was impressed by that ad. Harbeth doesnt look annything special.

Bill

 

RE: better than foot crafted cabinets, I would think..., posted on November 21, 2020 at 09:02:48
Don Reid
Audiophile

Posts: 890
Location: Rural NW Georgia
Joined: February 2, 2001
Contributor
  Since: April 1, 2010



When I planned to build a pair of fully horn loaded speakers I wanted first of all that they sound like real music, but I also wanted them to have a distinctive and pleasing look. This is what I came up with.
I dream of an America where a chicken can cross the road without having it's motives questioned.

 

Handcrafted doesnt mean vibration free cabinet, posted on November 21, 2020 at 11:56:58
3db
Audiophile

Posts: 1514
Joined: July 22, 2003
 Cabinet vibration colors sound coming from the speaker. As long as handcrafted cabinets are vibration free, awesome.

 

RE: Handcrafted doesnt mean vibration free cabinet, posted on November 22, 2020 at 09:01:33
Don Reid
Audiophile

Posts: 890
Location: Rural NW Georgia
Joined: February 2, 2001
Contributor
  Since: April 1, 2010



Vibration is not a problem. The teak truncated pyramid which is the base of the horn stand contains 105 pounds of fine white sand. The 2" diameter tube which supports the horn is thick walled bronze pipe also filled with sand and a 1/2" steel threaded rod runs from the top of it to the the constrained layer (marine plywood +neoprene + aluminum)bottom of the truncated pyramid keeping things tightly together. A vibration damping device is bolted to the threaded rod inside the sand filled truncated pyramid. Neoprene gaskets separate metal parts and wooden parts. The Baltic birch folded corner horn boxes sit in sand boxes containing 100 pounds of sand and the burgundy pillow cases on top of the boxes contain another 50 pounds of sand. Numerous other vibration damping measures were also incorporated.
I dream of an America where a chicken can cross the road without having it's motives questioned.

 

Cool looking speakers, posted on November 25, 2020 at 06:39:25
3db
Audiophile

Posts: 1514
Joined: July 22, 2003
 Im glad you figured out any or all of your vibration problems. Im just saying that handcrafted isnt a guarantee that cabinets are vibration free.

 

Page processed in 0.032 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]