Enclosure (speaker cabinet)

A speaker enclosure (also called cabinet or box) is a critical part of speaker design. It:

• Houses and mounts drivers
• Prevents rear-wave cancellation of the woofer
• Loads the driver (sealed, ported, transmission line, horn)
• Must be rigid enough not to add its own resonances

Cabinet materials

• MDF – dominant material for budget-to-mid-tier speakers. Dense, easily worked, damps well
• Plywood (Baltic birch) – lighter, potentially better resonance profile with proper bracing
• Aluminum/composite – premium high-end (Wilson Audio, Magico) – much more expensive

Signs of a good enclosure

Solid feel (heavy for size), internal bracing (thumping on the cabinet gives dull dead sound not resonant ring), tight driver mounting.