Agreed. When I built my sub a couple of years ago, I wanted something with a nice finish. I took the time to do the groove-cuts for each seam, fill with bondo, sand smooth, skim coat the whole thing with a thin layer of bondo, and made that smooth as glass. Primed and painted all with HVLP and the finish was great. Looking back, an automotive finish would have been a touch nicer, but I have something that doesn't look like a $20 sub box from Radio Shack like the Duratex stuff looks like (to me). Then again, a lot of the Duratex coated speakers you can still see where the person building it didn't line things up, sand imperfections, etc. They still show through. People just want to get it built, but are too lazy on the fit/finish.

I would only even remotely consider something like Duratex if the speakers/subs were going to always be hidden, but even then you would be limited in never wanting to change them to be visible down the road. That is why when I upgraded my VP150 to a VP180 I still got the wood finished to match the other speakers even though I could have gotten one that didn't match for a little less in the outlet store. Mine are all behind my screen/false wall, but who knows what the future holds. That may not always be the case.

Farewell - June 4, 2020