Which material sounds better for speakers construction? Wood, Ply or MDF?

Slightly off topic - but Martin Logan CLX have no cabinets and they certainly sound fine -  i think HDF makes the most sense if you are looking for consistency - eapecially when cut and prepared with CNC machinery - i dont see how they can match the left and right cabinet properties if you are using plywood or natural wood regardless of the wood type or mumber of layers - it is impossible to build two cabinets with identical sound absorbtion / reflection properties with anything other than MDF or HDF.  PMC speakers - widely used in most recording studios use nothing but HDF or MDF - although they baffle the cabinets with a proprietary insulation material -  but i would think natural wood would be the worste choice for cabinets because of the tendency to change properties with the climate and humidity - as well as the impossible task of trying to have two cabinets with exactly the same charactiristics 

@soundsrealaudio

Harbeth seeks to control resonance by lowering its frequency to levels below the midband where our hearing is less sensitive. The difference is they’re not trying to reduce the amplitude as many manufacturers attempt (yet fail to do). Your argument was that plywood is a superior material to MDF, well won’t you be surprised to learn that Harbeth uses thin MDF panels combined with bitumen sheets.

You assumed that heavier MDF cabinets will have a lower resonance frequency. The reality is that it’s stiffer and will have a higher resonant frequency - toward the midband and often above 400Hz - not the best approach IMO as this is closer to a "ringing" as you might find in metal cabinets.

I happen to prefer the BBC/Harbeth/Spendor/Stirling Broadcast/Graham approach - whether it’s MDF or birch plywood, they all make excellent speakers. However, all alse being equal, for a given mass, MDF is less prone to resonance than solid wood and plywood.

Twisted login helomech....where do you get this Schiit.

Another illogical argument based on lack of knowelege of material resonance. Thick and highly braced MDF cabinets have a higher resonance point than thin walled designs like a Harbeth - usually in the >400Hz range.

In the late 1970's we made some stands (solid red oak) for the Mark Levinson HQD system in our factory.  He then asked us to make a couple of woofer cabs for the Hartely 24" woofers he recommended for this system.  They were made from 1" particle board rather than MDF, glued and splined, I believe.  It was so long ago I kind of forget, but I believe I remember the looser composition of the particle board when viewed on end.  All internal corners were braced with 4x4 fence posts using glue.  They were then covered with a light wood-grain Formica for looks--remember, it was the 1970's (!). 

The cabs (@ 5'H x 3'W x 3'D I think) weighed enough that a fork lift was needed to lift them once the woofer and hook-ups were installed.  I remember we went to 4" casters so we could move them around the shop.  I would guess the casters came off once they were in place in the listening room.  In this instance, the spec was for particle board as I remember.  Anyone remember these?

As for speakers, sorry to be grinch, but there is no way a cone speaker (except possibly these woofers) in any cabinet made from any material sounds as accurate as speakers that don't use cabinets regardless of the materials or design parameters.  Do not take my word for it.  Put speakers in cabs side-by-side with non-cab speakers and see for yourself, please.

Cheers!

As for speakers, sorry to be grinch, but there is no way a cone speaker (except possibly these woofers) in any cabinet made from any material sounds as accurate as speakers that don’t use cabinets regardless of the materials or design parameters. Do not take my word for it. Put speakers in cabs side-by-side with non-cab speakers and see for yourself, please.

I was under the impression that the purpose of the cabinet was to add to the richness of the sound, versus just the speaker itself. Just as the body of violin or bass fiddle adds to the richness of the sound it produces.  Is this not true?