How important are the Speaker Cabinets?

Benifits of a thicker cabinet wall. Better bass definition. Less coloration. Better image since drivers not vibrating on baffle as much as thin cab. To me doubled cabinet walls with bracing are the way to go. MDF is a poor choice baltic birch ply is 1 of the best materials.

Thanks Drew. The questions here are not suited for short answers, but you've put it in a nice nutshell.

It's a very complex subject. You can get a reasonably good broad based understanding if you dig for it—lots of resources on the net and in the library.

In another nutshell, material and mass are very important for reducing panel vibrations, which are very detrimental. This is why open baffle or cylinders are far superior. Instead of using brute force to fix a problem, eliminate the problem from the start.

Wow! The information provided does give me more of an insight into speaker cabinets. I did not know it was such a complex issue. The synergy between cabinet, cross-over and drivers determine the level of sound quality if I am correct. However it appears that the cabinets can be as much as 75% of the cost.

I guess I was under the impression that the drivers were the most costly and contributes mostly to how speakers sound. Given that revelation couldn't you use cheaper drivers with a great cabinet to get close to the same sound as better drivers?

Thanks

very important since people generally are influenced(even in audio)by what they see. the merits of exotic materials arguably are more about setting a product apart from the pack and (at the end of day)find an audience with people who just dig 'the look'. nothing wrong with that, but you'll certainly pay for 'the look'.

Jaybo

Interesting so do you believe people are choosing speakers based upon how they look and are willing to pay for that look even if their is a comparable speakers that cost less but doesn't look as good?