US source of Panzerholtz?

pryso

... apparently Corian includes flakes of aluminum in the compound.  But there is no specification for size or quantity of those flakes, so the resonance characteristic can vary from one brand to another.

That can't be correct, because DuPont is the sole manufacturer of Corian and has trademarked the name.

Corian does not have flakes of aluminum in it. It is alumina trihydrate and an acrylic polymer. The different manufacturers of solid surface material use different polymers. Alumina trihydrate is a byproduct of bauxite as is aluminum ore. There are now about 20 different manufacturers of solid surface material now including the quartz versions. All of it is very heavy and stiff. Laminated to MDF it makes a marvelous plinth or baffle board. You just have to have the tools and knowledge to work with it. It is also extremely messy. The dust sticks to everything. You have to vacuum your ceilings after a project. You have to use special adhesives that require special guns which are different for any given manufacturer and the adhesives are color specific. For the usual home crafts person it is just plain hard to deal with it all.

I know this thread has been sleeping for a while now. I am discussions with my former employer about building his latest designed speaker in USA.
He was the one who suggested Panzerholz (Panzerholtz) to me.

When I worked for him, we were building out of HD3, made from New Zealand hardwoods with a resin. HD3 is 1.6 times as dense as HDF,
however it is not made anymore. I'm looking for something like that again, to laminate 4mm steel plate to, for our enclosures.

Thank you, this is a very informative thread. Materials are so much cheaper here than back home. I'm excited to get going on this.

Rix, 4 mm steel plate? For a speaker enclosure? Do you have any idea of how much that would weight? How big is the speaker? Another issue is that steel rings, aluminum does not. My buddy's Magico S7s are aluminum and they weight 300lb each!

@mijostyn
yes I do know how much it weighs, every time I am foolish enough to move my stand mount speakers. You can barely see the steel plates affixed in my system page, and I'm guessing your eyes will roll when I mention two of the four cross braces are inch and a half solid cast iron rod.

Using the same epoxy used to build Maxi racing yachts, the steel plates do not ring when laminated to HD3, or HDF, or MDF. What they do accomplish is change the resonant frequency, moving them out of audible range (well, mostly where they will least impact overall sound). My speakers with a rap of the knuckles sound somewhat like a dinner plate, but much more inert.

I think my grey pair of speakers weigh something like 98lbs each. About the same as my welded steel stands.

Aluminum absolutely rings. https://www.lessloss.com/page.html?id=80
Of course geometry is as important as materials used, the Magico have a reputation of engineering prowess.