[MarvinTheMartian]

Valchromat ,  definitely interested at a price in NA.   Anyone with personal experience?
https://www.investwood.pt/en/valchromat/

Present Day Production demonstrate how they build their three-way MUM 8 monitor.
BlieSMa  Be dome tweet and mid + Purifi 8” woof +  Hypex DSP amp = pretty cool

Somewhat interesting youtube if you have 2 hours to kill listening to a trio of Wankers : )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYY1V4Ya5rI

They missed the interior baffle round over on the Purifi woofer hole,
and really need a truckload of No Rez.

Shawn

[Hobbsmeerkat]

I've heard good things about Valchromat, but I believe in the video they said it was quite expensive though, even vs higher grades of MDF I'm not sure about US pricing though.

The MUM-8 is a cool speaker, & I've been following PDP since the release of their 2nd video a year ago, initially showing off the test cabinet with the Bliesma drivers & Dayton woofer.
I do agree that they could use a bit more bracing though, along with some NoRez and polyfill/fiberglass.

I'm actually working on a personal project using the Bliesma silk mids and tweeters, inspired by the MUM-8 of course but it'll be smaller, paired with our M165 NQ in a sealed box rather than a Purifi woofer.
I'm just waiting on the test cabinet to get finished so I can start design the network and see if I need to make any changes to the cabinet.

[jmimac351]

I've heard good things about Valchromat, but I believe in the video they said it was quite expensive though, even vs higher grades of MDF I'm not sure about US pricing though.

The MUM-8 is a cool speaker, & I've been following PDP since the release of their 2nd video a year ago, initially showing off the test cabinet with the Bliesma drivers & Dayton woofer.
I do agree that they could use a bit more bracing though, along with some NoRez and polyfill/fiberglass.

I'm actually working on a personal project using the Bliesma silk mids and tweeters, inspired by the MUM-8 of course but it'll be smaller, paired with our M165 NQ in a sealed box rather than a Purifi woofer.
I'm just waiting on the test cabinet to get finished so I can start design the network and see if I need to make any changes to the cabinet.

Very Cool!  I saw your post referencing your project and wondered what you were doing. I'm probably going to end up with a "spare pair" of Dynaudio Esotar tweeters and have wondered how they would pair up with NQ165 drivers...

Be sure to share more when you get it going!

[FullRangeMan]

They say No Toxic. 
Would be interesting to know if its hard and water resist as the HDF 30mm I had used. Looks great stuff for DIYers so far.

[MarvinTheMartian]

valchromat : data sheet
https://www.investwood.pt/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/EN_Valchromat_Technical_Data_Sheet_2020.1.pdf

USA distribution: west coast  ( also sells partial sheets : )
https://trinityinnovations.net/

USA distribution: eastern 
https://www.atlanticplywood.com/brand/valchromat/

Still has to be cheaper than Panzerholz unobtanium or my last full sheet of premium sapele marine plywood.
If your already spending thousands of dollars on drivers and crossover parts why not spend $500 on your project's foundation?

And it is easy to finish if you like the color you bought. 
Shawn
 

[Rikard Ekval]

Shawn,
Unnecessary comment to PDP.
Followers of ASR use these terms.


But they did recognise you and your NicName and AudioCircle. 15 seconds of fame.

[Letitroll98]

Looks a lot like Plastiwood with perhaps different polymers.  Developed in North Philly in the late 80s early 90s by a guy using the plastic found in recycled bread wrappers with waste sawdust he extruded the mix into 2x4s and other sizes.  He even had a mold with a wood grained finish.  When he got a contract from Disneyland to supply enough for all of their outdoor table and benches he sold the company for a reported $10 million.

[Peter J]

Folks, there is no magic here. It's colored MDF. I've held a sample in my hand at a Vectric seminar.
 The coloring of particles prior to manufacture is kind of unique, but waterproof MDF has been around for a long time. My shop exterior is trimmed in MiraTEC trim boards which has a sheet counterpart called Extira.
 Seams will still be seams. The core is less dense than the surface. I just don't see the advantage, especially if you consider price. The quality high density MDF available now, sometimes referred to as HDF, is every bit as good or better from a sonic perspective.

[mlundy57]

Folks, there is no magic here. It's colored MDF. I've held a sample in my hand at a Vectric seminar.
 The coloring of particles prior to manufacture is kind of unique, but waterproof MDF has been around for a long time. My shop exterior is trimmed in MiraTEC trim boards which has a sheet counterpart called Extira.
 Seams will still be seams. The core is less dense than the surface. I just don't see the advantage, especially if you consider price. The quality high density MDF available now, sometimes referred to as HDF, is every bit as good or better from a sonic perspective.

Peter,

I've always equated HDF with hardboard. Is there a difference between this, which usually comes in 1/8" sheets around here, and what you are referring to?

Mike

[Peter J]

Mike, you're right. HDF is technically hardboard, what I know as Masonite, but that's an old brand name. But some folks, including those in the supply industry, have taken to calling high density MDF HDF. It's a misnomer that's probably going to continue, and I tire of trying to change the world on such matters

[planet10]

Before we abandoned MDF for loudspeakers we used HDF. Very dense MDF, the stuff we got had metal bits in it. Ate saw blades. And i lined the inside with “aborite” to further stiffen it.

Now quality plywood, stranded bamboo the best we have tried, but one also hears of pazerholz. I have some Richlite boards to play with, it looks very good. Nevr seen Valcromat, i imagine it similar in concept to Richlite.

dave

[Peter J]

Nevr seen Valcromat, i imagine it similar in concept to Richlite.

dave

It's really not. Richlite is paper compressed with phenolic resin. Also extremely tough on tooling. Valcromat is more akin to garden variety MDF. I'd be curious to know what brand MDF had metal in it. If that's a feature it's unknown to me. Typically, it's the resin (glue) in composite panels that dulls tooling.

[WGH]

I have some Richlite boards to play with, it looks very good.

I have played with Richlite but instead of building speaker cabinets I used the material as a variation on Albert Von Schweikert's triple wall laminate construction. Richlite is tough, heave material, I cut it with a 5hp Powermatic table saw with a 12" triple chip blade and it was still slow going. I laminated the inside of my old Von Schweikert VR2 speakers, bass and male voices became tighter because the laminated speakers were basically inert.

How to design a low distortion speaker cabinet by Albert Von Schweikert
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=70291.0




Richlite resonance control panels
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=92198.msg914854#msg914854




Von Schweikert VR2 Modifications - Richlite
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=72808.0