Are exotic speaker cabinet materials overrated?

Some interesting answers & opinions. Like everything in audio, there’s many ways to achieve realistic sound. I think most agree that the better quality crossover components used ( wire, inductors, capacitors, resistors, connectors) the better potential sound quality can be. Beyond that, the driver choices & materials & cabinet design & materials are all over the place with very good sounding examples of every style. For example, like many others, I’ve enjoyed Harbeth speakers w/ their very mediocre not too solid cabinets as well as Acoras w/ their literally rock hard stone cabinets. I’ve also really enjoyed Quad electrostatics w/ minimal cabinets & even enjoyed speakers w/ no cabinets as well as big, old Western Electric metal horns that had dynamics & sound stage like no other modern speaker could match. I think most everyone here has experienced this. It all depends on what you prefer & enjoy listening to. 

@jonwolfpell

There is not time limit on deleting your posts... so, if you inadvertently post twice, you can delete the second. 

Great question. And one with a thousand answers. The cabinet material does make a significant difference. But only when used purposefully.  Naturally, you want the drivers to talk and not the cabinet.  Easier said than done. Of the many theories, weight/mass, heavy damping, selected resonance, rigidity/stiffness, etc., I have found most effective, is what Vivid Audio is doing.  Their drivers are isolated from the enclosure. And sonically it really works. The mids and highs are the cleanest and most undistorted I've ever heard, and the bass is articulate and powerful.  

I agree there is some benefit to these exotic materials but they can also add resonance to the sound too. Aluminum can cause ringing (brightness) no matter what manufacturers say that use it and Wilson’s exotic materials can overly deaden the sound to a point where they lose their musical properties. Carbon fiber enclosures are the best but are they worth the cost? Focal still uses MDF but with heavy bracing and will argue MDF does have some advantages over these exotic materials. If you look at most of these companies that place a lot of emphasis on cabinet structure they don’t develop their own drivers and generally use sourced drivers in their products. Focal makes all their own drivers placing more emphasis on this than an exotic housing.