I came across the following chart on cabinet materials - carbon fiber vs all others (CFRP = Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic) - on Wilson Benesch's web site, by following the Magico Q7 thread on computeraudiophile.com
Some interesting claims:
This is the PDF which makes for very interesting reading: http://wilson-benesch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/cardinal-white-paper-1.pdf
Enjoy
Some interesting claims:
It is possible to see that the performance of most metals, including titanium and steel, falls between a glass fibre structure and a carbon fibre structure. It should also be noted that the Phenolics that are used by some manufacturers under the guise of exotic names falls considerably below both. These basic and quite fundamental physical laws, explain why we see carbon fibre structures in F1 racing cars, advanced passenger aircraft, BMW high performance car design, and in fact almost every other application, where performance is a key goal of the design.
Replacing MDF with aluminium is only a marginal benefit, one that is largely offset by zero self damping and problems of self resonance. Even elaborate and complex bracing will only shift the resonance marginally higher, whilst robbing the internal volume of air.
ALL CABINET STRUCTURES RESONATE & EMIT SOUND.
HIGH MASS = LOW RESONANT FREQUENCY = MORE CABINET NOISE
LOW MASS = HIGH RESONANT FREQUENCY = LESS CABINET NOISE
LOW MASS STRUCTURES ARE EASILY DAMPED
HIGH MASS STRUCTURES ARE DIFFICULT TO DAMP
This is the PDF which makes for very interesting reading: http://wilson-benesch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/cardinal-white-paper-1.pdf
Enjoy