Goodbye JBL 4343

[analogadikt]

The "go to" material for speaker cabs or baffles, turntable plinths etc is engineered wood. This material is now the top choice of discerning audiophiles in the UK and Europe. Certain grades of this material have a density of 1.3gm/cm³ . More importantly, each ply is laid with the grains at 90° to to the next one , and this has the maximum effect of siphoning away unwanted resonances and vibrations.Tests have shown that this material is far superior to plywoods, birch ply , MDF , natural woods etc in tackling and controlling vibration. The limited edition Linn that is coming out shortly has plinth made of engineered wood.

Regards,

 

[keith_correa]

The "go to" material for speaker cabs or baffles, turntable plinths etc is engineered wood. This material is now the top choice of discerning audiophiles in the UK and Europe. Certain grades of this material have a density of 1.3gm/cm³ . More importantly, each ply is laid with the grains at 90° to to the next one , and this has the maximum effect of siphoning away unwanted resonances and vibrations.Tests have shown that this material is far superior to plywoods, birch ply , MDF , natural woods etc in tackling and controlling vibration. The limited edition Linn that is coming out shortly has plinth made of engineered wood.

Regards,

Plywood is engineered wood. Are you referring to plywood? Am confused because you say:

each ply is laid with the grains at 90° to to the next one

And then also said:

Tests have shown that this material is far superior to plywoods, birch ply

 

[premoddev]

Plywood is engineered wood. Are you referring to plywood? Am confused because you say:

And then also say:

I guess he is referring to Particle board.

 

[analogadikt]

The material is not a ordinary plywood nor a particle board. Even the best quality plywood density does not cross 0.6gm/cm³. Particle board is much less.

The material has one or two brand names , one of them is Permali. If one searches for "Permali Plinth" the search results shall come up with several discussions across various audio forums. Am attaching photos of 2Mx1M sheets and Lenco plinth made of this material.

Regards,

 

[aeroash]

The "go to" material for speaker cabs or baffles, turntable plinths etc is engineered wood. This material is now the top choice of discerning audiophiles in the UK and Europe. Certain grades of this material have a density of 1.3gm/cm³ . More importantly, each ply is laid with the grains at 90° to to the next one , and this has the maximum effect of siphoning away unwanted resonances and vibrations.Tests have shown that this material is far superior to plywoods, birch ply , MDF , natural woods etc in tackling and controlling vibration. The limited edition Linn that is coming out shortly has plinth made of engineered wood.

Regards,

You have completely skipped the product/brand you're discussing while copy-pasting this. Plywood, particle board, and MDF are all engineered wood.

More importantly, each ply is laid with the grains at 90° to to the next one

This is how plywood is made!


Edit: Keith beat me to it.

Edit:
Right. The only difference I see is that Permali is impregnated with resin instead of just glue between the layers in plywood. This works well to make it waterproof. The rest of the process appears to be the same, including the glue.

 

[analogadikt]

You have completely skipped the product/brand you're discussing while copy-pasting this. Plywood, particle board, and MDF are all engineered wood.


This is how plywood is made!


Edit: Keith beat me to it.

Edit:
Right. The only difference I see is that Permali is impregnated with resin instead of just glue between the layers in plywood. This works well to make it waterproof. The rest of the process appears to be the same, including the glue.

It is densified engineered wood.

And my post is not a copy pasting.

Those who are interested in knowing more about the damping factor advantages of Permali and other brand materials of the same type , they can study this link.

https://qualia.webs.com/newdampingfactors.htm

I won't post further in this topic as this is Prem's topic about his newly acquired Goodmans drivers.

I shall open my own topic about this.

Regards

 

[shafic]

Congratulations Prem on joining the Goodmans club.
I have been listening to Goodmans for more than a decade now. They have a very sweet midrange.
I have myself owned a few Goodmans, including the triaxiom 1220 C, Axiom 80, Axiom 301, Axiom 401 and many models. I still have some Goodmans in original condition.
Axiom 80 is a wonderful fullrange driver. I have owned them longtime ago. Asper the specs they should go down to 20hz but actually they don't.
Pairing them with my vintage Phillips tube amp gave a heavenly experience.
Nostalgia.
Regards.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

The "go to" material for speaker cabs or baffles, turntable plinths etc is engineered wood. This material is now the top choice of discerning audiophiles in the UK and Europe. Certain grades of this material have a density of 1.3gm/cm³ . More importantly, each ply is laid with the grains at 90° to to the next one , and this has the maximum effect of siphoning away unwanted resonances and vibrations.Tests have shown that this material is far superior to plywoods, birch ply , MDF , natural woods etc in tackling and controlling vibration. The limited edition Linn that is coming out shortly has plinth made of engineered wood.

Regards,

Is this something similar to Panzerholz, which is very heavy and very expensive. And can we get the material your goodselves are referring to locally.Thanks

 

[Analogous]

Will be going for a box. OB is out. The box will basically be a Goodman designed original one but with some modifications as suggested by Thoress. Am going in for a Thoress F2A integrated amp

Prem, Why not start with the baffles and then do the rest of the box after listening to the open sound for a while?

 

[shafic]

Prem, Why not start with the baffles and then do the rest of the box after listening to the open sound for a while?

Even I have suggested the same to him.

 

[prem]

Thanks for the all the advice.

I normally take my time, read a lot and speak to a lot of people. I go with the inputs of people who have a lot more experience than mine. I have spoken to people who have had several years of experience with the Axiom.

I even requested Hari to do the simulations. It gave me some idea of what to expect. Thanks Hari.

I have owned OB before. So I have some idea of how a OB sounds.

With all the inputs I have got, at this point I just feel the original designed Axiom box will give me more of what i want.

I am still seeking out more people who have had experience with Axiom 80. So I might still change my mind

 

[Analogous]

I haven’t enjoyed a video so much in weeks!

 

[prem]

Regarding speaker cabinet material, I am still doing my research. The older JBL, WE horns, etc used Douglas fir ply and poplar ply. I have been speaking to some veteran speaker builder speakers. I checked with them why they used those woods. They measure velocity of sound through these cabinets. Stuff like Birch and other newer types of inert material sound smoother but rob the excitement.

I am definitely not going in for inert material. Chances are I might go for some different kind of wood.

 

[Analogous]

Regarding speaker cabinet material, I am still doing my research. The older JBL, WE horns, etc used Douglas fir ply and poplar ply. I have been speaking to some veteran speaker builder speakers. I checked with them why they used those woods. They measure velocity of sound through these cabinets. Stuff like Birch and other newer types of inert material sound smoother but rob the excitement.

I am definitely not going in for inert material. Chances are I might go for some different kind of wood.

Do you know what material was originally used to build cabinets for these drivers? And of course, how they sounded…

 

[prem]

Analogous, I thought I had mentioned douglas fir ply. WE horns were made of poplar ply. Birch ply was also used in a few but was not as popular as douglas fir ply. Also typical thickness was more like 15-19 mm. Not the 25 and 32 mm thickness that many use today.

How they sound is something you have to hear yourself and figure if you like it.

“Unlike the previous Soul models, the Soul VI is manufactured from okoume instead of MDF. Okoume is a hard natural wood and is one of many changes that brought the Soul from upper entry level in Zu's line to a line leading product, only bettered by the Druid VI. “

Analogous, above is FYI

 

[Analogous]

“Unlike the previous Soul models, the Soul VI is manufactured from okoume instead of MDF. Okoume is a hard natural wood and is one of many changes that brought the Soul from upper entry level in Zu's line to a line leading product, only bettered by the Druid VI. “

Analogous, above is FYI

Prem, I am still trying to come to terms with my current situation!!!!
The Zu Dirty weekends are still infatuating (new term?) 6 months on. I love the way she looks, love the way she moves, love the way she sounds…this might be true ……..I will not be tempted. I will not be tempted

 

[Rajiv]

Regarding speaker cabinet material, I am still doing my research. The older JBL, WE horns, etc used Douglas fir ply and poplar ply. I have been speaking to some veteran speaker builder speakers. I checked with them why they used those woods. They measure velocity of sound through these cabinets. Stuff like Birch and other newer types of inert material sound smoother but rob the excitement.

I am definitely not going in for inert material. Chances are I might go for some different kind of wood.

Hello Prem,

Jackfruit wood is a tone wood and is used to make musical instruments, like the veena and mridangam.



Regards
Rajiv

 

[prem]

Rajiv, where do you get jackfruit wood?

 

[Analogous]

Some thoughts on wood selection for cabinet build.

Most online searches on the topic seem to come up with birch ply or MDF; most commercially produced speakers seem to use it because of easy availability, numbers for production and economics of cost and sale price.

The big decision is on resonant or not resonant walls. (egBBC monitor resonant approach vs Wilson Audio, inert)

Thin walled resonance can be further dampened internally and tuned (no idea how this is calculated)

Since yours is a one off build you can consider old seasoned wood (?teak) as well. Seasoned wood does not warp or bend much during periods of humidity. This is also stronger and lighter. The final polishing and finishing can bring out fabulous grain and texture effects.

A hunt in the old wood and used furniture sale areas in your city might be worth a look. I think most Indian cities have such. Be prepared to explore at the back of little dark shops and get your hands dirty. Old doors can be repurposed.
You would need to know the dimensions of the planned speaker cabinet first.

old seasoned teak sells for 1500-9000 / CuFt I think for grade A. Your special drivers deserve the best.

Online? Eg: A likely candidate:
Antique Burma Teak Wardrobe 100yrs old
https://www.olx.in/item/antique-burma-teak-wardrobe-100yrs-old-iid-1740819341

 

[Hari Iyer]

Hello Prem,

Jackfruit wood



Regards
Rajiv

Took my memories 45 years back where in my natives home at Kerala my mother use to point her hand to a fully grown Jackfruit tree and tell us how she planted that tree.