Placing speakers in a cabinet

[NickBull]

I want to build a room wide cabinet at the fron of my homecinema to house PC, AMP, SUB and Speakers.

My idea is to utilise my existing Target Equipment stand for the centre speaker and to hold the Amp. this will be spiked directly onto the floor with cabinet built around it.

The other speakers which are Monitor Audio Silve 7i Flor standers and the REL sub will all be places directly on the floor too. This seems the best way to isolate them, but I'm worried that even with fairly large areas around the speakers, the cabinet may alter the sound and they become muddled or boomy. Do I need some sound deadening material around each one?

I'm I asking for trouble enclosong everything and be better off leaving it looking a mess at the front of my room, but sounding good?

Hope someone has had some experiance of this and can help.

Finally, what about materials, should i go for internal walls in MDF to stop resonance etc or would plain pine do?


Thanks

Nick

[Dennis Erskine]

There are several considerations for mounting speakers in cabinets. In your case, the preferred material would be MDF. If the cabinet is enclosed around the speaker, then you must fill all the open space with fiberglass or an open cell foam to prevent resonances. With the face of the speaker flush with the cabinet, you must also cover the face of the cabinet with a 1" fiberglass product to prevent boundary effects (similar to cupping your hands over your mouth...it changes the tonal qualities.

[NickBull]

Thanks Dennis,

I know this is going to be the neatest solution, but I don't want to compromise the sound. Your advice should help a lot.

What would happen if I left the space more open behind the fascia of the cabinate, i.e. had no internal partitions so that there was more air flow throughout the cabinet? The whole thing will be about 10 feet wide.

Thanks

Nick

[Dennis Erskine]

If you have a larger open space behind the speaker (as one would have with a proscenium), then you should cover all the surfaces behind the speakers with 1" of fiberglass. I'd suggest the Johns-Manville Coated Insul-Shield Black or the similar product from Knauf (easier to obtain on your side of the Atlantic pond).

[NickBull]

Dennis,

once again thanks for your help. If i build an open type and try it, I can guage how it sounds and if I'm not happy then maybe go for the more enclosed route by fitting internal partitions of MDF and packing with foam.

It's always good yo get advice form an Expert. I took the liberty of having a quick look at your Web site. My cinema is going to bea lot more modest than some of the pictures you featured, but hopefully just as fullfilling!

Thanks

Nick