Are exotic speaker cabinet materials overrated?

@george_r   I started my first build using the 'North Creek Handbook'. Excellent read for anyone interested in building their own.

@foggyus91  Concrete speakers are not a new idea. Same as solid granite or Corian. I dont see any new, space aged materials outperforming properly designed MDF. What your trying to achieve is a 'dead' cabinet that doesn't ring or turn vibrations into un-wanted sound. MDF also machines well and in most cases dampens better than most plywood. In this application it's hard to beat.

Very dense, thin, ridgid panels still flex/ring. Even Baltic birch plywood rings more than MDF in the same thickness, even though it's stiffer.

A great combination is bonding two or three layers. Oddly the glue joints adds lots of strength. One layer MDF and the other layer Baltic birch. Better yet would be inner layer of 3/4" MDF glued to another 1/2" panel MDF with 3/4" baltic birch on the outer layer. 

Then the interior of the cabinet gets a coating of high density "Glop" to further dampen. Like 'No rez".  I use a non-hardening blend of clear silicon mixed with play sand and coat the entire interior of the cabinet. This yields a cabinet that's dead. There are NO new materials that are more inert. 

FYI... years ago someone made a concrete filled sandwich between two layers of marine plywood.Pretty high mass design probably really good but difficult to build.

@bartsw  the wood used in a violin or cello should resonate and adds a sound characterist but you want the opposite in a speaker cabinet. Speaker Cabinet should have NO sound/ringing and only have sound from the drivers and that's why MDF is widely used.

Hope this helps.

Another armchair audio engineer and speaker designer. YAWWWNNNNNN

The subject of the post is about exotic materials. Sorry, nothing new to see. Inert boxes have been built for years.

A more interesting subject would be looking at exotic shapes. That's where the round concrete speakers can excel. Not because they're concrete but because they're round with no edges. The use of concrete allows for molded shapes.

@gdaddy1 up to a point beyond mass produced MDF, it becomes subjective. Speakers are instruments. Some will resonate and should resonate like a cello when you hear the cello. I personally do not believe I want a dead inert speaker. I also don't want to hear the hollowness of a cheap 1/4" thick MDF.

2 cello where the first chair gets in right and the 2nd chair plays every note late and somewhat out of phase….