It's probably a good thing I'm obsessed with speakers. It goes way beyond personal need, so I think you can safely assume it will contiune. I purposely didn't narrate the GoPro stuff because I knew I was going to speed it up and have little experience with dubbing in narration. For those interested, assembly was 1.3 times actual, routing and sanding 1.7.

No plans to offer the X-SLS at this point. We'll see what the future holds.

A comparison to De Niro? That's a good thing, right?

Any way you can finish MDF, you can also do with Birch. The big difference is that one can expose the edges in finished product, which some find appealing. The photo mid-video was done by chamfering edges on table saw after assembly.

Honestly Don, durability wouldn't seem like a concern for either, they are speakers after all. I guess some of that would be up to user. MDF is weightier and is more consistent in density because of how it's made. In theory, the resonant characteristics of Baltic Birch could offer an advantage to a speaker builder, but that's likely hair splitting. I'd recommend folks choose based on personal preference, desired result and perhaps cost.

Baltic Birch consists of more, thinner all hardwood plys. Typical hardwood veneer plywood has fewer softwood plys. Fewer internal ply voids is also a notable characteristic of Baltic Birch. There are a number of plywood variants, but suffice to say Baltic Birch is considered by many to be superior structurally and sonically. Pricing questions are kinda nebulous. In USA, I imagine pro shops would be charging somewhere between $60 and $150 per hour.

I'd suggest you contact CSS Audio, maybe they could provide what you're after. It's not a speaker I've made.

Chris, I think I can sum it up with a single word...stability. Composites are more stable and thus more user friendly and adaptable to varying conditions. Sonically, solid wood could be viable, but from a construction standpoint, it introduces variables that are hard to incorporate into loudspeaker design. It's a big subject with no pat answers, but if it were easily implemented, I think we'd see it more in commercial designs. Baltic Birch is made up of solid hardwood plys, but mitigates the fickle nature of sawn boards by utilizing the self-stabilizing qualities of alternating grain lamination. For many, it exhibits the best of both worlds.

Indeed, it has be a while. Life changes have temporarily taken my focus elsewhere. Not to worry though, I'll be back in the saddle soon. I've got a headful of video ideas...perhaps too many!

I wouldn't recommend it. Solid timber is actually more resonant than both plywood and MDF. In addition, the resonant frequencies vary with species. Not impossible but would theoretically require additional and specific panel damping just to equal what composite panels naturally exhibit. Not to mention accommodation for wood movement within the structure which is significantly greater with solid timber.

Here's what I can tell you for sure. In percussive resonance tests, Baltic Birch fares a little better than MDF. There’s a school of thought which says that would translate into superior sound quality of finished speaker. I honestly can’t say if that’s something the average listener will hear. The high density MDF I use machines crisply, has a very dense core and stays flatter which is why I use it. Does that alone make any given speaker sound better than garden variety MDF? I doubt it. Baltic Birch is lighter than MDF and some folks just dislike working with MDF. Both can be veneered or painted, although MDF probably paints a little easier. The Baltic Birch I use is graded BB/BB, often known as 4B. It allows for plugging defects in veneer on both faces and differs from North American plywood in both grading and intended usage. If you like the look of exposed plys or don’t love the idea of working with MDF, Baltic Birch might be an option for you. Damping of cabinet is going to remain the same regardless.

First, let’s clarify the products you’ve mentioned. All are engineered sheet products. Plywood is as the name implies. Wood veneer plys, glued and compressed to form a panel. Typically, the plys are oriented so the grain of each is perpendicular to adjacent plys. MDF (medium density fiberboard) is made from wood dust and glue, also compressed to form a panel. “HDF” (high density fiberboard) as I understand industry nomenclature, describes a different product which uses similar ingredients in differing ratios. A well-known brand name is Masonite and typically available in thicknesses of .125 and .250. It gets confusing because much of what is actually high-density MDF is marketed as HDF. Suffice to say MDF is available in varying densities. Now to your question. In general, the greater the MDF density, the higher the inherent resonant frequency. Sonically, this is a good thing. It also machines much better and is easier to finish exposed edges…a practical consideration if painting. Some has a pithy core and thus the least desirable for things like speaker building, but it does cost less. To further this, Baltic Birch plywood has unique properties because the core plys are hardwood where most other plywood uses softwood plys even though the outermost plys might be hardwood. Many feel the sonic qualities of Baltic Birch are superior to that of MDF, but I can’t personally substantiate that.

@@carbidetooth Thanks and that is pretty much similar to what I have read. I enjoy your presentations and explanations. It’s exactly the spot on answers many of us are looking far. 8 months ago Hurricane Ida caused damage to my home from wind damage to roofing materials allowing water intrusion down walls and ceilings. My kitchen cabinets had to to removed to get to the drywall and insulation that all had to be removed due to mold mitigation. Getting new cabinets turned to be a problem because of the substantial damage done to the region, the supply & distribution issues, the insurance industry causing delays in offering financial assistance to rebuild , yada, yada, yada. Because of the issues with lack of obtaining quality hardwood plywood for cabinet construction some builders were trying to get MDF and HDF for things like cabinet doors and inside shelves. I did some research on those materials. There are some benefits to using those types of materials in many types of projects and I could see how they might be advantageous in speaker construction. Luckily on our case my cabinet builder managed to get hold of a shipment of the quality wood he needed to rebuild our cabinets but we had to wait until almost March for the finished product. Ida hit at a bad time for the stock of building supply availability and an inflated increased cost which insurance would not cover. Appreciate your detailed response. Take care.

Omar, that would be a swingin' deal, but sadly, no. The internals and drivers are sourced from GR Research www.gr-research.com/

Ohh. Thank you.

Thomas, my email address is in the video description as well. carbidewing@gmail.com I don't know why KZfaq won't make that a hot link, so you get to cut an paste.

Heresy! C'mon Ron, everyone knows silver corners faster while blue is the straight line king.