[rohrej]

The one-piece baffle is standard on the SCST, whether you get bamboo or MDF.  Personally I would not get bamboo if it wasn't going to be visible, since it doesn't seem to improve the sound.  I wonder if the result would be lighter than the 3/4" MDF with veneer though?

[tknx]

The one-piece baffle is standard on the SCST, whether you get bamboo or MDF.  Personally I would not get bamboo if it wasn't going to be visible, since it doesn't seem to improve the sound.  I wonder if the result would be lighter than the 3/4" MDF with veneer though?

But even you went with 1" despite being told there wasn't much of a difference in sound. My view is I would rather keep the svelte dimensions and get the benefits of higher rigidity using bamboo.

I still wonder how bamboo compares to the currently trendy Baltic Birch or marine ply or whatever. I suppose Corian or poured concrete would be even more rigid, but the weight penalty would be brutal. Alu is what Magico is using, but they have ridiculously complicated skeletons to support all that, and I can't think that is worth it...

[ricardojoa]

The one-piece baffle is standard on the SCST, whether you get bamboo or MDF.  Personally I would not get bamboo if it wasn't going to be visible, since it doesn't seem to improve the sound.  I wonder if the result would be lighter than the 3/4" MDF with veneer though?

The SCST comes with full front baffle not one piece baffle. The baffle are built with wood trim.
I cant tell for sure from the pic of the bamboo SCST, but it does look to me to be a one piece baffle.

[rohrej]

But even you went with 1" despite being told there wasn't much of a difference in sound. My view is I would rather keep the svelte dimensions and get the benefits of higher rigidity using bamboo.

I still wonder how bamboo compares to the currently trendy Baltic Birch or marine ply or whatever. I suppose Corian or poured concrete would be even more rigid, but the weight penalty would be brutal. Alu is what Magico is using, but they have ridiculously complicated skeletons to support all that, and I can't think that is worth it...

That is true, but there is no price difference between the 3/4" and 1" MDF, while the bamboo is $300 extra.  Saving the extra depth by going with the bamboo is also a good point.

[rohrej]

The SCST comes with full front baffle not one piece baffle. The baffle are built with wood trim.
I cant tell for sure from the pic of the bamboo SCST, but it does look to me to be a one piece baffle.

Interesting, I was not aware of this distinction between a one-piece baffle and the full-front baffle.

[tknx]

Okay...

So where I stand is:

Bamboo upgrade

W16 instead of W15 maybe

Veneer list is long:

• spalted bee's wing makore is bad ass
• walnut italian burl
• dark amboyna burl
• myrtle burl
• maidou burl
• olivewood
• imbuya

[rick_reynolds40]

Just curious...what are the Cabinet dimensions for the SCST with the W16 woofers?

[tknx]

Also, how is the crossover set up? Does the move up half an inch alter things? If one is set as mid-woofer and the other as woofer, would it be better to have one 15 and one 16?

[rick_reynolds40]

Also, how is the crossover set up? Does the move up half an inch alter things? If one is set as mid-woofer and the other as woofer, would it be better to have one 15 and one 16?

It is an MTM config and they run in parallel.  I imagine Dennis tweaked the crossover slightly but I wouldn't think it would be a major change.

[ricardojoa]

Also, how is the crossover set up? Does the move up half an inch alter things? If one is set as mid-woofer and the other as woofer, would it be better to have one 15 and one 16?

Complicating the design. End up with a three way which means is going to be a new design and should be thought thourougly before doing.

[ricardojoa]

Okay...

So where I stand is:

Bamboo upgrade

W16 instead of W15 maybe

Veneer list is long:

• spalted bee's wing makore is bad ass
• walnut italian burl
• dark amboyna burl
• myrtle burl
• maidou burl
• olivewood
• imbuya

Good luck with the veneer choice, it is going to drive you crazy.

[JerryLove]

I still wonder how bamboo compares to the currently trendy Baltic Birch or marine ply or whatever. I suppose Corian or poured concrete would be even more rigid, but the weight penalty would be brutal. Alu is what Magico is using, but they have ridiculously complicated skeletons to support all that, and I can't think that is worth it...

"Rigid" is not necessarily the goal. A steel bell is quite rigid and rings. The goal is to dampen sound (and obviously be rigid enough to not deform under the pressures involved).

I have a pair (not my Salks) that's MDF attached to concrete via a visco-elastic layer so that each absorbs the resonance frequencies of the other. Though honestly: I don't notice any real cabinet issues on my SCSTs.

[Nuance]

Stanley Lipshitz and John Vanderkooy at the University of Waterloo conducted a test a while back that concluded you could get away with loudspeaker cabinets that were relatively light-weight and flimsy as long as you had adequate bracing judiciously placed etc to make the resonances fall below their detection threshold.  So, will the affects of bamboo really make an audible difference over 1" MDF if the cabinet is already braced properly?  I doubt anyone would notice a difference, so don't get too caught up in trying to decide which is best.  With that said, if you have the money then why not go with bamboo?

To quote Sean Olive:

"As long as the speaker enclosure is designed in way that its resonances are below the masked detection threshold (as Lipshitz and Vanderkooy found), you are throwing money at something that falls in the category of what Toole calls "audio jewelry." It may have no audible benefit, but being able to afford it makes you feel good about yourself."

Don't get me wrong, though - I love speaker porn!  Sean is just saying you don't need a riduculously inert cabinet to prevent audible resonances, and I think it is safe to say Jim's cabinets are well made and braced. 

[Saturn94]

Stanley Lipshitz and John Vanderkooy at the University of Waterloo conducted a test a while back that concluded you could get away with loudspeaker cabinets that were relatively light-weight and flimsy as long as you had adequate bracing judiciously placed etc to make the resonances fall below their detection threshold.  So, will the affects of bamboo really make an audible difference over 1" MDF if the cabinet is already braced properly?  I doubt anyone would notice a difference, so don't get too caught up in trying to decide which is best.  With that said, if you have the money then why not go with bamboo?

To quote Sean Olive:

"As long as the speaker enclosure is designed in way that its resonances are below the masked detection threshold (as Lipshitz and Vanderkooy found), you are throwing money at something that falls in the category of what Toole calls "audio jewelry." It may have no audible benefit, but being able to afford it makes you feel good about yourself."

Don't get me wrong, though - I love speaker porn!  Sean is just saying you don't need a riduculously inert cabinet to prevent audible resonances, and I think it is safe to say Jim's cabinets are well made and braced. 

 

[Todd_A]

Just curious...what are the Cabinet dimensions for the SCST with the W16 woofers?

Don't know yet.  It's still in the design/crossover design stage from what I can tell.  I only finalized the order a couple weeks ago.  I am patient.  I am using a regular SCST until I get the new ones.

[fsimms]

I may be fooling myself, but I hear a quality of solidity of sound that I can hear from speakers like the Vandersteen 7s and my own SoundScapes that I attribute to their inert cabinets.  I think it is due to no vibration on the tweeter mount.  That seems to impart a magical quality to the sound.  I am just guessing though.  Jim Salk works extremely hard on doing crazy stuff with his speaker cabinets to reduce vibration.  I would think he wouldn’t have to work as hard if it didn’t make a difference.

Bob

[Nuance]

I may be fooling myself, but I hear a quality of solidity of sound that I can hear from speakers like the Vandersteen 7s and my own SoundScapes that I attribute to their inert cabinets.  I think it is due to no vibration on the tweeter mount.  That seems to impart a magical quality to the sound.  I am just guessing though.  Jim Salk works extremely hard on doing crazy stuff with his speaker cabinets to reduce vibration.  I would think he wouldn’t have to work as hard if it didn’t make a difference.

Bob

Inert cabinets matter, but as the research has shown, there is such thing as overkill.  Vandersteen and Salk caution on the side of overkill, so you don't have anything to worry about regarding cabinet construction.   That is what I meant with my above post.

[tknx]

Just talked to Jim and made some choices easy - Amboyna Burl is was too expensive, so that comes off the list.

Will wait to see how those W16 speakers turn out, and then go with bamboo construction, not bother with upgrading the caps, and call it done.

Now the only thing that would make these better would be if they were active.

[slowturn]

I'm considering the SCST in black satin with 3/4 bamboo, does it mean there will be no veneer and the bamboo would be dyed black?

Would you be able to see visually it was bamboo since it's black?

[rohrej]

I'm considering the SCST in black satin with 3/4 bamboo, does it mean there will be no veneer and the bamboo would be dyed black?

Would you be able to see visually it was bamboo since it's black?

I believe both are possible.  Jim does dyes where the color is changed but the grain is still visible, and paints, which are opaque and no grain is visible.  This is probably a question you want to email him about for more specifics and cost.