First attempt at building my HT (questions)

[cobblepots]

Hello all,
First off I have to say I'm extremely impressed with the amount of information available here and the awesome people who populate these boards. I never knew how intensive speaker building could get!

That aside, I've decided to blow my signing bonus on building my HT as a sort of graduation present and home warming gift to myself. I was originally going to just buy a nice set but there wasn't anything out there that really made me feel like I was getting the most for my money. Plus, after building an electric truck and a mini baja vehicle I got the "build it!" bug. I've tentatively decided on the Statement Mini's and center and the Lineup R4 for my surrounds. I have a few questions about these models.

1. Will the Mini's be sufficient as my mains? I have a town house with a living room that is 12'X19' that is connected to the dining room. There is no divider so lets say for all intensive purposes the room is 16'X19' with a stairwell in the rear. My ceiling is a non-cathedral.

2. Will the Lineup R4 be tonally matched with the mini's? I looked at the charts and the drivers are matched so I figured this should be a non-issue but I'd like clarification.

3. Could I possible go with the D4 or D44? Would the difference between the Ribbon and dome mess up the tonality of the system? I do enjoy 5.1 music so I would like all the speakers to match as best as possible. Saving $80 would make for a nicer Veneer.

4. What subwoofer would you recommend matching these speakers? As of right now I'm tentatively looking at a Dayton RSS315HF-8 12". What amplifier would you recommend for this application?

5. I am looking to use a dark colored veneer but am unsure of what is out there as I have NO experience with it. I've seen some nice ebony stained veneers and I especially love veneers with flakes in them. Could anyone offer suggestions? Would flaked veneer be able to go around a 1/2" curve? I feel that is the maximum round off the Lineup's can handle.

Sorry for all the questions but seeing as I am spending a lot of money on speakers instead of paying down my student loans, (much to my mothers dislike) I want to do this as close to perfectly as I can manage.

For now I am heavily considering the Emotiva XPA-5 and MMC-1 to power these. Thanks in advance for any help!

EDIT
Also, a question on construction. I've been looking over tons of pictures and have never noticed marks from brads or staples being used. Are all the boxes held together with just glue? Probably a dumb question but I had to ask...

[Jim Holtz]

Hello all,
First off I have to say I'm extremely impressed with the amount of information available here and the awesome people who populate these boards. I never knew how intensive speaker building could get!

That aside, I've decided to blow my signing bonus on building my HT as a sort of graduation present and home warming gift to myself. I was originally going to just buy a nice set but there wasn't anything out there that really made me feel like I was getting the most for my money. Plus, after building an electric truck and a mini baja vehicle I got the "build it!" bug. I've tentatively decided on the Statement Mini's and center and the Lineup R4 for my surrounds. I have a few questions about these models. money on speakers instead of paying down my student loans, (much to my mothers dislike) I want to do this as close to perfectly as I can manage.

For now I am heavily considering the Emotiva XPA-5 and MMC-1 to power these. Thanks in advance for any help!

EDIT
Also, a question on construction. I've been looking over tons of pictures and have never noticed marks from brads or staples being used. Are all the boxes held together with just glue? Probably a dumb question but I had to ask...

Hi Cobblepots,

Welcome! I'll address the questions about the Mini's and let someone else talk about the line up series speakers.

The Mini's will have no problem filling your room. Here's a post by Dave HERE
that talks about his new Mini's in a larger room and some listening impressions that you might find of interest.

I'd suggest either the RS315 or even better the RS390. That said, the Mini's have great bass and would probably be fine for anything except for pipe organ or techno.

The Emotiva combination will be great. Exceptional sound quality and great prices.

If you can't come up with surrounds to your liking, The Monitor Statements were just announced and will be a perfect match for the Mini's.

HTH

Jim

[Gir]

4. What subwoofer would you recommend matching these speakers? As of right now I'm tentatively looking at a Dayton RSS315HF-8 12". What amplifier would you recommend for this application?

If you're going for the "bang for your buck", then you might want to look at some others, and possibly some 15" drivers. That being said, the RSS315HF is pretty good from what I hear. I personally have a Mach 5 IXL-18.4 and love it to death.

Also, a question on construction. I've been looking over tons of pictures and have never noticed marks from brads or staples being used. Are all the boxes held together with just glue? Probably a dumb question but I had to ask...

Some people will use brads to hold everything in place, and for those of us without enough big clamps, screws do a nice job. My recommendation is a #8 1.5-2" with a 3/4" shank (so that it pulls the MDF in; no threads can keep them slightly separated). Make sure they're countersunk and filled in. I use Bondo for this, but you could also use wood glue and saw dust mixed together.

Good luck on your adventure!

[cobblepots]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll have to take a look at the Monitor Statements. Any ideas on the dark colored veneer? I was tempted to try the piano finish but I feel like that will cause too much reflection while watching movies.

[dumaresq]

Piano black will work fine if you can put the effort in to making it You might have better luck with blackened ash veneer if you are feeling lazy

[Jim Holtz]

Piano black will work fine if you can put the effort in to making it You might have better luck with blackened ash veneer if you are feeling lazy

Another option is to use regular old red oak or some other inexpensive veneer and stain it with black analyne dye. Fill the pores for the smooth look and shoot clear on it as a top coat. That is what the majority of speaker companies do these days. Piano black is waaaay labor intensive. Veneer hides many "opps".

Jim

[cobblepots]

Thanks again for all the quick replies!

After looking through some more build threads I stumbled across a figured cheery with Linseed oil and Old Dad's Poly on it. I'm sold!

I'm off to go buy some MDF and supplies and start my cutting today, wish me luck! Hopefully I can have my first cabinet finished before I move. On a side note, What would you recommend for the best/cheapest option for foam? I've seen everything from egg crate to the a conglomerate glue together type. Also, What sort of router do you use to flush mount the speakers? I noticed the radius differences are all different, some have a 3/4 thickness and others 9/16 etc. Thanks again for all your help!

[Brian Bunge]

Thanks again for all the quick replies!

After looking through some more build threads I stumbled across a figured cheery with Linseed oil and Old Dad's Poly on it. I'm sold!

Thanks! I'm glad you like the finish! They still look great!