Which comm. speaker mfgr. makes the best cabinet?

John_1 made a good case for R. Vandersteen's 2C/3A speakers. R. Vandersteen is a very innovative and practical guy, and I would also nominate the Vand. 5s. Why? Well, they have built-in subs that are freq. flat to about 22 HZ, they have internal 400 wpc amps to drive them, and the upper drivers are housed in milled out cavities in something like 22 layers of laminated and inert high density fibreboard.

With these speakers, you dont have to look for places to put your subs, and on top of all this, the bass from 125 HZ down is 11 band adjustable. And being very heavy (185 lbs each, net) they are even less prone to resonance. Did I just write ad copy for the V5s or what? Sorry for the unseemly gushing;>). I just think that the V5s are very functional yet still attractive. Cheers. Craig.

Its alright Craig we all have our overly passionate moments about our own gear-hell why would we have bought it other wise!!!

1) The Thiel cabinets. The cabinet fronts slope outward to improve timing and the fronts curve away to mitigate corner effects. They are very well braced and heavy to reduce flexing. Downsides: Passive radiator (doesn't bother me much most of the time but a lot of people are not crazy about that), terminals are hard to work with (you need to tilt the speaker up which requires a second person for the larger units), and you have to be careful about the relatively flimsy wood skirt at the bottom (don't use even a padded dolly on the larger units). They are attractive with excellent fit and finish.
2) The Montana cabinets are built like a brick &%@#house. Very, very heavy with a sextagonal (sp?)vs. rectangular design to help reduce standing waves. Woofers are moved outward from the tweeters in a less elegant fashion than the Thiels, but the effect is the same. Felt is used around the tweeters to reduce reflection effects. Did I mention that they are very, very heavy to reduce resonance? Their larger speakers have wheels for easy moving (at least on hardwood) and allow for spikes so the wheels can be lifted from the surface. Very easy access to terminals.

If you are considering cabinets that's are innert you would have to include Sony's top of the line. They are pyramid shaped and if my memory is correct Stereophile demonstrated little to no peaks in the cabinet throughout the frequency range. Now, I have never heard a pair, nor their super duper new variant but on this variable alone it is worth mentioning.

I wouldn't rule out Soliolquy..........