Concrete speaker cabinets

I used to be a concrete repair specialist.....maybe there is a new job opportunity for me:eyebrows:

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Originally Posted by sq225917

Patrick Handscombe made concrete speakers for years in the UK under the Electrofluidics brand. They were vibra moulded foamed concrete with some particulate filler. I spoke to him when building a composite loudspeaker cabinet during my degree. I ended up using an epoxy resin base loaded with rubber dust, wood flour and powdered glass. I literally made and NDT'd hundreds of sample tiles before arriving at a mix with high self damping, high mass and stiffness and available to take a great surface finish. Happy days...

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Always fancied trying some Electrofluidics speakers from the decsription of their sound.

Any photos of the end product Simon (bet would need some scanning in)?

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Originally Posted by nat8808

Always fancied trying some Electrofluidics speakers from the decsription of their sound.

Any photos of the end product Simon (bet would need some scanning in)?

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I'd be very interested too Simon. Sounds like a really interesting project.

Some mad fools used to build boats in reinforced concrete (Ferro Cement)!

I built a set of concrete lined loudspeaker cabinets myself in my youth. These were very successful in reducing colouration, but I hadn't really planned ahead properly, and the concrete reduced the cabinet volume rather more than I had expected, reducing bass response.

However, concrete loudspeaker cabinets are not really a viable commercial proposition. Apart from any other consideration, most loudspeakers are now manufactured in China. so the cost of transporting them back to Europe in one piece would be prohibitive.

What does surprise me is that nobody has built commercial loudspeaker cabinets in FRP composite. Sandwich structures are incredibly stiff yet light in weight. There would be very little in the way of colouration, and any cabinet resonance that did arise would be easily damped with self adhesive sound deadening sheets (as used in motor vehicles).

Nigel.

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Originally Posted by nat8808

Always fancied trying some Electrofluidics speakers from the decsription of their sound.

Any photos of the end product Simon (bet would need some scanning in)?

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I've got nothing left from my degree, it was 16 years ago. Lost in the last house move.

Sorry Chaps, this project was put on the back burner but am now about to start finishing the cabinets as all drivers are ready to be re-installed. I have also been working on another pair or concrete loudspeakers from Sweden, Rauna Leira's but these will have a modified driver type.

Craig

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Originally Posted by Rare Bird

Only concrete speakers i remember were from Avance yonks ago, i think they were Danish..

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Shan Acoustics also had a speaker on the market that was made from a blend of concrete and some kind of additive (I don't know what) and they were very fragile, drop them and bang nothing but a pile of dust and bits.

They sounded great but way too fragile and finish was inconsistent.


Regards Neil

The Avance and Rauna cabinets I am working on are very solid and well constructed, nothing fragile here. But then when does dropping a speaker become a concern for most buyers, surely that's not something us owners are in the habit of doing?! Hehe

Breeze/cinder blocks make a great speaker enclosure.
Cheap and easy to construct just add baffle and rear panel.

The Electrofluidics with Jordan drive units sounded very good, they were made from a blend of polymer concrete from memory, apparently the same kind of material that is used on oil rig platforms.
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