What is your favorite material for loudspeakers?

Sonus is an interesting case. . . rather than constructing speakers with plywood, they layer selected veneers in place with crossing grains into a custom ply pre-molded to the shape of the speaker. I understand that the top models use over 20 layers of veneer.

I use veneer layers for curves.

Higher end Sonus speakers are more/less all curves. .. hence the heavy use of custom plies. According to Sumiko, by using these custom plies Sonus achieves higher rigidity/damping with low mass. G.

walls. A 3 layer composite of: 1/2 in hdf, 3/4 in hardwood ply, 1 inch mdf. Braced with seasoned hardwood.

Wilson benesch has some interesting information on their website wilso-bensch.com If you go to their newsroom and scroll down they show a list of materials and the speed which sound travels through them. Ideally you would want sound waves to travel quickly so the energy is not stored and released slowly. Their speakers are made with carbon fiber which dissipates the waves off the back of the driver much faster than other materials. In addition carbon fiber is very ridged so the cabinet itself does not move around and vibrate. If you play the violin or cello you should really look at the website of louis and clark. They make these instruments from carbon fiber. I believe they are very very good sounding. Most orchestras do not allow them because they want those instruments to have the wood look. As a dealer for wilson benesch I can vouch for benefits of that material, speed lack of coloration, and they disappear.

If you have a dealer near you take a listen.