Hi Ed,
That's a good question, but I think some background is warranted.... a quick search of the B&W website show their Matrix technology to be two-fold: 1- The Kevlar cones used in the driver which B&W attribute reduction of standing waves to and second: The actual matrix itself which is an interlocking set of panels that reduce unwanted flexing of the actual cabinet. A link that describes the matrix is:
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=2393 To quote them:
"Matrix is the internal bracing system that keeps a cabinet as steady as a rock, from the inside, even when the speaker is at full stretch. The interlocking panels add strength, like ribs in a ship’s hull, and divide the internal space into a set of low-resonance chambers. Any flaw in their installation, though, could weaken the cabinet and undermine the system. The Matrix assembly fits into a series of grooves inside the cabinet shell, which, for accuracy, can only be cut once the plywood or MDF layers have been formed into the shell shape. Routing the grooves by hand on this concave surface to the necessary level of precision would be impossible, so an advanced five-axis routing machine is used to trim the shell and then cut the slots for the Matrix to be inserted and glued into place. Once the remaining cabinet panels have been fitted, all but one of the holes for the drive units are sealed and a vacuum is applied to tighten the structure into its permanent state while the various glued joints are curing."
Needless to say, this is not trivial construction, especially for the DIY community, unless you're main profession is wood-working and you happen to have some very high-tech machinery. I also think it might be a bit beyond the average DIYer to calculate the internal bracing and ensure you don't restrict the driver and create additional problems inside the enclosure while trying to ensure it doesn't flex.
Applying the Matrix concept to a single driver (enclosure) may prove a challenge and/or reward, hard to say. From a high-level view (mine at least), the matrix would seem best suited for either a sealed or ported enclosure, moving beyond this to either a horn or TL might not be applicable depending on how you implement the horn or TL and the matrix pattern. Internal bracing adds strength but also adds more surfaces for internals reflections and subtracts from the available cubic space.
For the DIYer, I think everyone should go back to middle-school and take up the balsa-wood bridge-building science project. Pretty amazing what you can do with a minimal amount of wood sticks to make a structure hold up under large amounts of weight and reduction of flex and distributed forces. Bottom line, if you can't make a strong balsa bridge, chances are you're not going to make a strong speaker enclosure either.
Regards, KM
