Goods and Services
Improve the Sound of Speakers with Cabinet Fill
November 28, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
For people who have a habit of turning everything into a DIY project, building your own set of speakers is one of the more advanced projects that can be taken on. There are numerous potential designs for speaker cabinets, some of which can make a speaker sound terrific, while other designs, though attractive and cool in concept, can make a great speaker sound terrible. But once you’ve designed an acoustically proper cabinet and selected your horns carefully, one easy way anybody can improve their setup is with polyester batting speaker cabinet lining.
One of the reasons speakers are housed in cabinets is to reduce the bouncing, echoing sound waves that are generated from rearward sound waves. This can’t always do the trick however, and sometimes secondary sound waves escape and detract from the sound. Adding fiberfill upholstery batting helps scatter the sound waves and break up air movement, helping the speaker to perform like it is in a bigger box; generating deeper, crisper bass. More typically used to fill pillows or throw cushions, the fibrous polyfill is an excellent sound insulator because the material’s fine strands provide enough resistance to diffuse the bouncing sound waves without reducing the airflow within the cabinet too much. Polyester fiber batting is easily ripped apart by hand into clumps for a loose filling, or left in sheets and attached to the inside of the box for a tidier design.
The general rule of thumb when using fiberfill stuffing is to add a pound of material for every cubic foot of airspace the cabinet possesses. Even with that, trial and error is often the easiest way to find the point where sound is at its best. Some individuals use fiberglass in the same way, but in ported boxes, the movement of air from the speakers can blow fibers into the room. Polyester fiberfill stuffing is nontoxic and won’t degrade over time either, making it a smart and affordable addition to your speakers, whether they’re made at home or in a store.