How important are the Speaker Cabinets?

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?

"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?"

Maybe. In practice, most designs have to compromise somewhere in order to provide an affordable yet quality product.

But in the end its how all the component parts of a "speaker system" contribute together to deliver the sound people want that matters.

Lets not forget that they are "speaker systems" after all, comprised of various parts, often but not always including cabinet. Some may have no cabinet at all as pointed out.

Its like making soup. There is margin for error (nothing is perfect) but get any one ingredient in the soup wrong by enough and the taste will suffer.

But also remember the speaker system alone is still not enough to guarantee good sound. There's how well the speaker works located in your listening venue/room and how well the amp is able to drive the speakers. Only once all that is set up well are you in a good position to judge how good your sources (CD, phono, etc.) really are. After that, your entire system is tuned in which is what it takes t get the best sound out of what you can afford.