 Re: Ideas? I wish Axiom would make a.....
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 578
aficionado
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aficionado
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 578 |
Bamboo isn't quite as green as they would like us to believe.... Third world countries are clear cutting natural growth to grow it,or just cultivating so much bamboo, it kills the natural growth based on demand and depeleting the soils with repeated harvests. Not a call either way ... just some facts I came by from our in house "wood guru" . This guy travels all over the world, and locally selecting veneers and sources. Ascend Acoustics is using Bamboo which is a break from traditional MDF. It is more expensive than MDF. Here is what they have to say about it.
Exclusive V-LAM™ Cabinet Construction
In order to greatly reduce cabinet resonance and energy loss common with MDF enclosures, the Sierra-1 cabinet is made from vertically oriented laminated bamboo. There are over 200 individual sheets of ¼" thick bamboo, each laminated to another and arranged such that each panel is vertical forming a baffle that is 3/4" thick. This cabinet has extremely low resonance... Warning, perform knuckle-rap test at your own risk!
The inside walls are lined with top-grade damping material and each joint is well braced. We custom tooled a high-flow flared port tube which is flush mounted into the rear of the cabinet. All drivers are flush mounted to reduce baffle reflections and the front baffle vertical edges have a beautiful radius which aids in the reduction of diffraction.
V-LAM™
Construction
Bamboo is an environmentally friendly renewable resource. Ecologically, the harvesting of bamboo does not affect the world's dwindling timber resources. Technically considered a grass, bamboo has the ability to grow to maturity in only 3-6 years. The intricate root system remains unharmed upon harvesting and allows for sustainable future growth.
Bamboo is incredibly strong and considered one of the most durable hardwoods. It has a tensile strength that is stronger than steel and the vertical orientation of the panels we use take full advantage of this.
The bamboo we use is completely moisture resistant. MDF will swell when exposed to moisture and this is often the cause for the cracking and peeling of the various finishes applied to MDF loudspeakers over a period of time.
All joints are well braced.
All drivers are flush mounted to reduce reflections.
Last edited by wordgasm; 07/18/10 09:10 PM.
Fronts/Wides:M22s in/on
Center:VP150/VP100 in/on
Hghts,SS,SR:QS8s
Sub:EP500
AVR:Onkyo 3008
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Re: Ideas? I wish Axiom would make a.....
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,116
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,116 |
3rd world or 1st world, when humans find something that is profitable they will exploit it to whatever degree and costs necessary.
I’m armed and I’m drinking. You don’t want to listen to advice from me, amigo.
-Max Payne
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Re: Ideas? I wish Axiom would make a.....
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 578
aficionado
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aficionado
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 578 |
I deal with "Green" all the time. GREENGUARD certified, FSC, you name it.
Corps don't want it for the right reasons.. they want it for the bragging rights ... on a big job they will tear down a couple forests to "get the right look" , but it has to be FSC .. so much waste .. or trucking the "right wood/Veneer" across country because it is certified and they get their LEED credits, Great thought out the gate, but will actually hurt in the long (short) run.
Eventually this will all be a good thing. 20 years?
Fronts/Wides:M22s in/on
Center:VP150/VP100 in/on
Hghts,SS,SR:QS8s
Sub:EP500
AVR:Onkyo 3008
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Re: Ideas? I wish Axiom would make a.....
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,444 Likes: 16
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,444 Likes: 16 |
Charles - MDF is incredibly dense and stable. It’s basically just fine wood dust and glue compressed. It doesn’t have terrific structural rigidity though, which is why internal bracing is needed if the individual pieces are longer than about 16”. One area where Axiom might be able to improve upon is going with thicker stock, like 1” or 1.25”. I suspect it isn’t necessary though and the extra width will just make things heavier and more expensive to ship. One advantage bamboo might have over MDF is weight. I’m pretty sure that by volume, MDF is heavier. If I were to build a speaker cabinet, my first choice would be MDF and cost has nothing to do with that choice. Another advantage MDF has over other sheet goods is that it is about as close to perfectly flat as you can get. This makes it great for laminate, veneer or vinyl. It is also very easy to work with if you use carbide tooling. Miserably dusty though. It takes a great dust collection system to make the work area tolerable. The dust gets everywhere and is horrid to breath.
BTW – keep the ideas coming. I’m keeping track of them, even if no one else is.
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Re: Ideas? I wish Axiom would make a.....
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,344 Likes: 1
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,344 Likes: 1 |
I'd be curious to see what Axiom could do with a soundbar.
As for cabinet materials I've always liked the look of nOrh's marble, both real and synthetic.
Getting to 2,000 posts; one year at a time vp160/qs8/qs4/SVS 2000/m60/Monolith 3x200 amp
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Re: Ideas? I wish Axiom would make a.....
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786 |
As soon as you get away from MDF you add a lot of cost to a procution speaker.
Fred
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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
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Re: Ideas? I wish Axiom would make a.....
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,211
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,211 |
I used MDF for the sliding pull out shelves in our A/V equipment closet with the mind that they were going to be only temporary because the closet was built with the dimensions for a Middle Atlantic rack system that I was eventually going to install. After five years the 'temporary' MDF shelves are holding up extremely well, they haven't bowed or sagged at all which surprised me because I truly didn't expect them to last this long before being replaced. I thought for sure they would have sagged with the weight of the equipment, at least a little ... but they haven't so far.
Those speakers look wild Wayne.
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Re: Ideas? I wish Axiom would make a.....
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 463
devotee
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devotee
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 463 |
I don't really wish Axiom could make something, technically speaking I do. Wish the trade up program could be back! 
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.
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Re: Ideas? I wish Axiom would make a.....
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 6,928
axiomite
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OP
axiomite
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 6,928 |
MDF is very stable compared to most other materials.
Bamboo when compressed with a lot of glue makes for a very dense material. Lift a piece of 3/4 bamboo flooring at Home Cheapo, and you'll see how dense and heavy it is...probably make a good speaker cabinet material for those reasons.
Half of communication is listening. You can't listen with your mouth.
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Re: Ideas? I wish Axiom would make a.....
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,116
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,116 |
In theory, the benefits of the structural integrity of bamboo should do a better job at controlling cabinet ressonance over MDF. However, it comes at a greater cost of being more expensive and more difficult to work with. Just the simple task of drilling holes can become problematic/more difficult when assembling the loudspeaker. Economics is simply the reason you don't see it too often used.
I’m armed and I’m drinking. You don’t want to listen to advice from me, amigo.
-Max Payne
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