[Rclark]

anybody ever apply metallic veneer to mdf or wood enclosures ? Wanna try maybe metallic sides and back with wood veneer front on n3 kit. Or even entirely in metallic veneer front too.

http://www.chemetalco.com/finishes.htm

[sts9fan]

There are some real cool ones.  I think I might try some out.

[Rclark]

There are some real cool ones. 

 I know, many of them look simply amazing. I'd like to do all metallic or maybe (click on that link to TreeFrog) face the front in some nice wood and have a metallic pattern on the back and sides.

[richidoo]

Neato! Thanks for sharing your discovery!

[low.pfile]

RClark,
My Blue Sky Audio speakers and sub have metal finish laminate over MDF. The Front baffle is painted MDF. I'll snap some shots later tonight.

[low.pfile]

OK, now I think its just a metallic paint finish as I inspected the seams and there are no edges between the faces with the metal finish! hmm. macro shot shows this better than my eyes can see.






all my bluesky pics [here]

Anyway, these show metal finish on the cabinets. It's really difficult to photograph without some decent lighting.

[Rclark]

Those do look nice. Do you find that a metallic surface adds a strange or noticeable coloration to the sound?

Oh I see the front is not metallic. In fact, the front baffle is so large as though to force the front wave from wrapping around and reflecting strongly from the metallic side. Am I wrong? I'm really just a noob guessing.

 I'd like to know that wrapping an enclosure in essentially metal isn't a bad idea. Or at least the sides with a wooden front could be ok.

[low.pfile]

Those do look nice. Do you find that a metallic surface adds a strange or noticeable coloration to the sound?

Oh I see the front is not metallic. In fact, the front baffle is so large as though to force the front wave from wrapping around and reflecting strongly from the metallic side. Am I wrong? I'm really just a noob guessing.

 I'd like to know that wrapping an enclosure in essentially metal isn't a bad idea. Or at least the sides with a wooden front could be ok.

R

I really can't comment if the "metal" on my small monitors affect the sound as I haven't heard them without and I listen at fairly low levels at my desk. Yes, you are correct, the front painted MDF baffles are wider on all sides.

Metal on speakers:

These popped to mind having mostly metal enclosures--not just thin veneer skins.

Sonicweld is machined billet aluminum

KEF Muon has a formed and machined aluminum enclosure

RAAL Eternity speaker has a cast bronze base enclosure

ORB satellites and my little Morel satellites (cast) are metal spheres.

I'd say it all depends on the cabinet design/drivers.

Just found this via google Piega has fully aluminum veneered speakers: http://www.piega.ch/review_archiv/stereophile-01-2004.htm & http://www.hometheatersound.com/equipment/piega_p4_speakersystem.htm

Good luck.

[richidoo]

Metal is stiff, so it resonates at high frequency with high Q, which is easier to damp than a low Q, low frequency resonance like MDF. This aluminum veneer is very thin to make it easy to conform to odd shapes, so it should have a minimal stiffening effect and not effect the sound very much. But everything makes a difference to some degree.

I really like the rusty corroded look on some of them.

[Construct]

Basically, you can get a variety of "coverings"  that look like metal or whatever surface.  There are places like jamminsam.com and other that sell material used to re-wrap drum sets.  The same coverings would be applied to speakers.  Many would look absurd, but some resemble brushed aluminum, mirror chrome and even wood grains.  They are plastic, not metal. 
Didn't Krell learn  the hard way with some billet aluminum speakers that sounded harsh enough to drill your brain out?

[Rclark]

I guess i'll see what they want for em. If not super expensive I might use it on my project.