This seems as good a time as any to give a quick review of my new solid pine bookshelf speakers
After regular listening for the last two weeks or so (app. 60 hours of burn in) I would highly recommend that anyone contemplating building their own speakers - to REJECT the straight and perfect sterility of MDF! and instead, embrace the wobbly , crooked, imperfect natural warmth and depth of thick solid wood .
The midrange is so thick, juicy and natural, that I have to keep a handkerchief with me while listening -it's like salivating when you smell a BBQ cooking!
It cant be the drivers alone - midprice at best -VIFA XT 25 tweeter, Peerless 150mm HDS mid/woofer
When I decided to build these, I chose function over form, the sound has priority - and I'm so glad I did
While many will say these are ugly speakers (personally, I can't stop looking at,and smelling! them)no 19mm MDF box of any design could come close to the naturalness of these pine beauties!!!

Cool! I agree with your mdf comment. I have designed/built my own speakers since 1974 and used mdf in only one design. I didn't like it and you can hear the difference. Designing your own is a blast and you can achieve the sound you like if you know what you're doing. Top grade Birch ply is a great wood to use as well.

Thanks for your comment,I chose pine because of the low cost, and actually settled on the cabinet dimensions, based on the width of boards available at my local hardware shop