Go to…. Introduction Weldon Abarr Ellis Audio Madisound Parts Express Speaker City U.S. Enclsoures Zalytron Comparison tables

Considerations in enclosure selection:

There are a number of factors to be considered in selecting an exclosure supplier. Among these are: Manufacturer. In many instances, this may be all you really need to know. Each enclosure supplier has individual strengths and weaknesses. Knowing these may answer most or all other of the following questions. Materials. Virtually all speaker enclosures are made from MDF, for a variety of good reasons. Subwoofer enclosures may alternatively be made of plywood. Plywood is certainly an option for any enclosure, but it has problems: Most commercial grade plywood has too many voids and structural weak points to be suitable for speaker enclosures. Most commercial grade plywood has a surface which is too irregular and/or porous to accept a high-quality finish. For these reasons, if you must use plywood, use the best grade of marine multi-ply birch you can find. Particle board (also known as chipboard) is popular for lower cost enclosures, but is genearlly inferior to MDF. Try to avoid hardwoods - they look pretty, but hardwoods will change dimensions with changes in temperature and/or humity. Worse yet, their dimensions will shift asymmetrically, resulting in loosened joints and air leaks. Thickness. A really good enclosure will be made of at least 3/4" (19 mm) material on all sides. The baffle will ideally be made of 1.5" (38 mm) material. Beware of thin walls and baffles - their lack of rigidity will color the sound of your system. Bracing. Even with solid MDF sides and baffles, if the enclosure is of any size at all, it should have some additional bracing inside to keep the walls from flexing. Ideally, the braces will be asymmetrically mounted as well to avoid simply breaking up the interior space into equal sized volumes with identical resonance characteristics. Finish. Enclosure vendors differ most in the finish supplied with their standard enclosures. The most common are: Unfnished. Primed. Vinyl overlay. Hardwood veneer. You'll also find some vendors who supply sandwich panels using thin Baltic Birch or other high-quality plywood over an MDF base. Weight. If your enclosure must be shipped over large distances, weight can be crucially important! Aside from simply having to pay the cost of packing and transporting it, heavier enclosures are more likely to be dropped and damaged. Assembly. Enclosures are typically supplied either completely prebuilt, or as a kit of knocked-down flats which you must assemble yourself. The consideration here also relates to weight - the greater the shipping distance, the bettor off you are if you can buy a kits of flats. Cutouts. Many enclosure come with pre-machined cutouts for specific types and/or sizes of drivers. Others come with no driver cutouts, so you must be prepared to cut your own. Before you buy, verify that the enclosure you order is suitable for your project and your woodworking skill level.

Vendor guidelines - Weldon Abarr:

Weldon Abarr is an excellent craftsman who has built some lovely cabinets for friends and is looking to do more such work. Although he has no web page, he may be reached at: Weldon Abarr 707 V Ave. Boone, IA. 50036 (515) 432-8869 Note that he has no "standard" cabinets, but will work with you design and build a custom cabinet. Following are two views of some of his work. unfinished  finished

Vendor guidelines - Ellis Audio:

Ellis Audio is a small manufacturer of semi-custom enclosures as well a a new kit speaker. David Ellis' cabinets are exquisitly crafted, as you can see on his web site. Cabinets are available in oak, cherry, walnut, or raw MDF. Dave takes considerable care with internal bracing and driver recessing. If you want, you can ship your drivers to Dave and he'll measure them to provide a modeled tuning using LspLab. Dave has some standard cabinet sizes used for pricing, but all his work is essentially custom made. typical view  Ellis 1801 kit

Vendor guidelines - Madisound:

Madisound is one of the three largest supplier of DIY speaker building supplies in North America. They also sell a fairly complete line of enclosures under their "Woodstyle" brand name. All of Madisound's kits are made of oak-veneered high-density particle board and supplied assembled with grilles and basic hardware. Approximately half of their enclosures have blank baffles and the rest have cutouts for specific driver combinations. The bottom line on Madisound is that enclosures are quite attractive and easy to use, but generally aren't quite as sturdy as some others. Prices are all moderately low.

Vendor guidelines - Parts Express:

Parts Express is the second of the "big 3" North American DIY speaker building suppliers. Like Madisound, they have their own line of loudspeaker and subwoofer enclosures. All of Parts Express' enclosures feature sturdy 1" MDF construction with 1" (25 mm) baffles. The bottom line on Parts express is that their enclosures are quite sturdy, but their final appearance is up to the builder. Prices are all moderately low.

Vendor guidelines - Speaker City:

Although not one of the "big 3", Speaker City offers a reasonably comprehensive array of standard enclosures, all made from 3/4" (19 mm) MDF with your choice of black, oak, or rosewood stained oak finishes. The bottom line on Speaker City's enclosures is that they offer solid construction, like Parts Express, but with the cosmetic appeal of Madisound's enclosures. Prices are all moderately low.

Vendor guidelines - U.S. Enclosures:

U.S. Enclosures is a small specialty vendor of spherical, ovoid, and other specially shaped enclosures. Their standard line of spherical enclosures come in diameters ranging from 6" to 30". Hard to describe, if you're interested in unconventionally shaped enlcosures for either audible or aesthetic reasons, you should defintely browse their web site. U.S. Enclosure's pricing is moderately low, but I've had some reports of poor quality control.

Vendor guidelines - Zalytron:

Zalytron is that last, and probably the largest, of the "big 3" suppliers. Basically, Zalytron sells an astonishing array of kits, all available with enclosures. In addition, Zalytron will work with their customers to design custom cabinetry in case one of their standard enclosures isn't quite what you want. Built of 3/4" (19 mm) MDF with 1.5" (38 mm) baffles, Zalytron's enclosures are perhaps the sturdiest and best made of all vendors of standardized boxes. The bottom line on Zalytron is they have the best standard boxes, but expect to pay a bit of a premium over most other vendors. This is partially offset by the fact that Zalytron's prices on drivers and parts tend be among the lowest in the business.

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