think outside the box

My friends and I once made fun of one of our audio enthusiast buddies for patronizing his brothers wood-shop. He paid 100$$ for a 14"x17"x9" (+/-) rectangle box. It was built similar to a log cabin, out of 3/4"x1-1/4" sticks of oak and hickory. No nails or screws, all glue. We laughed until we heard a single JL 12w3 that he formerly had in a standard enclosure.(the prefabricated kind you'd buy from a shop) The new box had a 150'ft further sound travel as well as better sound quality inside the car. WHY?This is what I do for FUN!

Mass, very good chance that the box is way heavier than the prefab box as well. The more the box resonates the more energy is being lost to make the box resonate that you should be getting out of the speaker in the form of sound.Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

Can I translate that into a fact that those properties are not achievable with a fiberglass enclosure? Neither the prefab, fiberglass nor the oak/hickory enclosures allow expansion. The deadest weight is definitely in the oak. I have never heard any single woofer come even close to the oak box.This is what I do for FUN!

If the fibreglass is glass only and is mainly large flat surfaces, yes. Fibreglass gets it's strength when it curves or has something in it to reinforce it heavily. While it may be light, it is still inherently weak unless reinforced.Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.