Why is mdf the wood used for enclosures, what makes it better than other types of wood?

And if i was to use something else what would be the difference?

 

MDF is medium Density Fiberboard. It's made from Sawdust and Glue; and is very strong, very dense and air-tight. That is what makes it great for enclosures.

As for other woods, most are a lot weaker than MDF and more expensive. Normal plywood is very crappy for enclosures if that's what's you're thinking, not to mention the price difference is nill.

The only other wood that I use for either home or automotive enlcousres is Birch Plywood, which is more expensive and hard to find, but it works well for high-end enclosures.

As for what the difference would be, the primary one would be deflection of the matrial. Plywood is fairly flexible along with most other woods, MDF is very in-flexible due to the resin/glue used in it's manufacturing.

 

Will building a box out of some other kind of wood hurt the sub?

 

The quality of the enclosure's build is more important than the type of material it is made from. It makes no difference to the sub if the enclosure is made of MDF or wood.

 

Won't physically hurt the sub, but it can hurt the sound quality.

For very small enclosures, where individual panels are kept small, and power levels are kept down, using a good plywood in place of MDF might not make a big difference in sound quality. However, for larger enclosures or panels that are large, the plywood will deflect, or give, more and probably cause a loss of sound quality as a result.