# Speaker enclosure construction



## BrianS (Nov 7, 2004)

I know we have a lot of members who have built their own speaker boxes. Is there any recommended material for said construction? These are just going to be enclosures for basic 6x9 auto speakers that will be going in the garage. Finish will just be paint, nothing too fancy.

The common material recommendation I've found so far seems to be MDF. Any particular thickness? Any joinery that is recommended over another? I was planning on a rabbet joint, or perhaps a locking rabbet. I was also reading somewhere that filling the box with fibre insulation is recommended. Is that necessary, or overkill?


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

I would use 3/4" mdf. But if I was building home speakers I'd go with 1" mdf and more internal mdf for bracing .
Insulation is for damping and helping to minimize standing waves . Also used when you want to trick a box into thinking its bigger than it really is if there's space constraints . 
Do not build a square box and you should be ok . That is why most speakers are rectangular . Ideally one sloped wall would be an asset to prevent standing waves , but we're not building a piano here lol.
Build a wedge design if your ambitious


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

A friend works for Car Toys. MDF is what they use. I was surprised to see a SawStop table saw under all of that dust.


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## BrianS (Nov 7, 2004)

RainMan1 said:


> I would use 3/4" mdf. But if I was building home speakers I'd go with 1" mdf and more internal mdf for bracing .
> Insulation is for damping and helping to minimize standing waves . Also used when you want to trick a box into thinking its bigger than it really is if there's space constraints .
> Do not build a square box and you should be ok . That is why most speakers are rectangular . Ideally one sloped wall would be an asset to prevent standing waves , but we're not building a piano here lol.
> Build a wedge design if your ambitious


I read somewhere that suggested 3/4' for the front of it, and 1/2' for the sides and back. These are not going to be fancy, just functional. Had these in my old van and took them out when I sold it. Can't see having another use for them so they will be great for the garage.. powered by the stereo that I also took out of said van. It has everything I need including a remote control. It also takes up less space than what I had in there before.


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