[AiboPet]

Medium Density Fiber (MDF) is by NO means light anyway. The switch to this was purely a cost saving measure...since there really is no "grade" or attention paid to appearance. Put veneer on it, formica, or contact paper with PICTURES of wood...and be done with it. Most of my flat is stuff I got from IKEA or wherever.....That stuff is SUPER heavy, and almost ALL of it MDF.

I would imagine there has to be SOME actual real wood in these cabinets. MDF doesn't stand stress in any ONE location for very long without sagging. I would think they can't mount something like the CRT in an MDF panel. I used to build speaker boxes for high-end car stereo stuff (in the '80's)...and had to be careful of speaker mounting points for this reason if you mounted BIG speakers (I mean REALLY BIG)...and/or amps to the box itself.

My guess on the very small chassis was to save on an actual big metal chassis...and possibly to make this chassis VERY versatile as to where and what could be built around it. Since I have NEVER owned a big console like this....I have never really had the chance to work on any since the early '80s in school. I always dream of being in a place so big I could have one of those big LONG Curtis Mathis or Maggie consoles with the turntable and BIG 'ol paper speaker cones on each side, and the space AROUND me to not bug the neighbors if I wanna ENJOY that console :-)