Why are there so many wooden speakers?


I have noticed a problem within the speaker industry. 99% of speakers that come onto the marketplace are wooden, i.e MDF.
 
This is true of old speakers and new speakers. This is true of Dynaudio, B&W, Elac, Kef, revel, PMC, Focal, ATC the list goes on and on. This is a longstanding problem that has been deceiving audiophiles for decades and it requires a solution. 

The problem with a wooden box is that no matter what crossover or drivers you use, it will still sound like a wooden box. 
There is a limit to the sound you can get out of a wooden box so it is not possible to improve the sound just by using different drivers. Despite this, every year or two, the aforementioned companies put new speakers on the market claiming that they sound even better than what came before. In conclusion, we are being misled. 

I have no problem with MDF boxes per se. MDF is a good material to use. But if you want to make an even better speaker then you obviously need to use a better material. You cant use the same material and say you have made a better speaker. Thats false. 

Let's take the B&W 600 series for example. This is a series that has been going on for decades. 

Here is the latest speaker from their current series

https://www.bowerswilkins.com/home-audio/607

There is no mention of what wood is used but I'm pretty sure its MDF. All they talk about is their continuum woofer and dome tweeter that goes up to 38khz. No mention of even improvements to the crossover let alone the cabinet.

I believe that this has gone on for long enough and audiophiles deserve better treatment. I don't know if a class action lawsuit is the answer but something needs to change.
kenjit
Can you post some photos of your system? Just curious about the speakers you have chosen for yourself right now.

Harder than it sounds. He is still working with the National Park Service on getting a permit to install his speakers in the only wall big and thick enough to meet his requirements, El Capitan. 

My Celestion SL700s used a rigid honeycomb sandwich alloy called Aerolam. Great material, but very very expensive when they were made in the 1980s.
Perhaps this is why they make string instruments out of wood.  Ever hear of the word resonance.  What would you make them out of?  What are the best materials you can use to make speakers.
If anyone was really curious about vibration control it'd be easy to add rigidity to a box.  Go to Home Depot, but a pack of ceramic or porcelain floor tiles, and attach them to the flat spots on the speakers.  Some double sided carpet tape might be enough to test with as long as the tile is completely flat.  Those tiles are extremely stiff and would definitely take any flex out of the box when attached adequately.  You could also embed metal in the MDF the way Merlin did to reduce box flex.  

I've been working on a concrete baffle kit for a while, I posted about it a couple of weeks ago.  I've got it to the point where there's something to show but it's not done yet, too many other higher priorities.

https://imgur.com/fzHUooF