best wood for speaker cabinets ? oak,cherry, balti

I think Br3098 and I are on the same page with this.

My question again would be has the OP heard the end product as a reference?

Hearing them first would be the first pre-requisite I would think before making any valid decision about how to improve the standard design, or even if that is needed or desirable.

No way does using "the best wood", however one determines that, assure the best sound. There is a lot more to it than that.

One has to expect that the engineers that designed the kit model in a high end line like AN have done the research needed. To take a different approach without doing all the homework needed prior sounds like a risky endeavor if the desired end result is a particular sound.

I guess my theory is that it is possible that baltic birch is used in part for its cost, weight and ease of manufacturing in the cabinet process.

I agree with starting this without being better informed is not the best strategy. I was hoping to hear that cost being no object, baltic birch was the best way to go. I have not heard that yet.

Another question asked was whether I have heard these speakers at all. No, I have not. I tried to find someone with a pair in the Chicago area, and have had no success.

I am willing to take a chance after gathering more info as I can always build the baltic birch cabinets if I need to. Right now, I am not convinced that baltic birch is my best choice although I realize it is my safest.

Again, if anyone in the Chicago area has any Audio Note speakers that I can listen to, I would be most grateful.

"Right now, I am not convinced that baltic birch is my best choice although I realize it is my safest."

Given that it is seemingly the choice of the people who designed the speaker, ie the "experts", I would assert that it is also the best choice for now as well as the safest until someone proves an alternative to be better.

How they would do that short of having done it and allowing you to hear, I do not know.

Plus, Audio Note is not a company known to cut corners with its products as best I can tell. If they know of a way to do it better, they probably will, but you will also have to pay for it if it matters to you, of course.

I suppose the other way to look at it is that if you use any good materials for a good reason, the results should at least also be pretty good.

But to claim "the best", at least to me, there has to be some proof to go along with the claim.

Hearing is believing!

BTW, I am a big fan of companies like Audio Note that stick with a basic good design and attempt to tweak it to the max over time, but also offer lesser versions at different price points along the way.

Layered Birch used in MAGICO MINI 2.

Ebm - That would be a good suggestion if he were building Magico MINI 2 speakers. He claims he isn't - so why push that foolish notion?

The way I interpreted the OP's query is this: He wants to build a pair of speakers because such a project enables him to merge his two hobbies. He has already done some research and is willing to gamble on the Audio Note design he mentioned without the advantage of hearing them first. Not his first choice method but he feels it to be a worthwhile gamble. He posted here in the hope that he could benefit from the knowledge and experience of others. It does not appear that he wants to be steered toward your favorite speaker or distracted by speculative misinformation. I could be wrong about all this though - I'm not him, after all.