Bheinauer Statement and Statement Center builds WIP

[bheinauer]

First, some background information...

Current Environment
15x17 ft daylight basement, with 1 sliding glass door and a couple windows
Mains: Dali VI (a pretty old Dali as far as I can tell)
Center: Audax HT Center
Surrounds: Dayton HT
TV: 55 inch rear projection
AV Receiver: Pioneer VSX-912
Amp: Adcom 545 (for mains)
Movies watched 5.1
Music 2.0

Usage:
HT/TV 70%
Music 30%, but in my mind, music gets equal weight

Price range: 1200 +/- a bit if it makes sense.

Concerns with current setup
1- Mains and Center don’t blend well
2- Desire for general upgrade in sound quality

Previous DIY experience
- Built Audax HT Center, Dayton HT surrounds and Sub

Design/Speaker choice
I read reviews for speakers in roughly my price range and spent some time on audiogon looking at prices. I did only a little of the listening part of speaker research. I visited the speaker room at Best Buy and auditioned speakers at Aperion (very friendly people). I read the build threads (at least most of them) for every speaker in the HTguide Completed Speaker Designs thread that appeared to meet my needs.

I decided to build the Statement and Statement Center. They may be overkill for the room, but I’m hoping they will keep me from wishing I’d picked something just a little bigger/more expensive/etc, at least for a while.

Progress
I’ve cut most of the MDF, glued up the baffles and boxes (leaving the front and back off for now). I still need to glue the pass-thrus and bracing in, but I’m waiting until I’ve routed the holes in the front.

Most of the crossover components have been ordered and are in route. I sourced the capacitors, resistors and Statement inductors from Erse, and the tweeters (and 1 resistor) from Madisound. The rest of the drivers, the ports and Statement Center inductors are sitting on my wish list at PE. I’ll wait a few days before placing the first of the PE orders-don’t want my credit card to overheat. I'll remember to click through HTGuide when I place my PE order.

Questions
-Have I made any obvious errors in design selection or other steps so far?
-The Statement Center was originally spec’d with Jantzen capacitors and Mill’s resistors. I’ve switched these to the Erse equivalents-OK?
- I’ve used some Bondo putty to fill gaps in the passthru and plan to run a bead along all butt joints. In the past I’ve run a bead of tub and tile caulk for the same purpose. Is Bondo OK or should it be kept away from the inside of the cabinet?

Thanks,
Brad

[---k---]

I don't see any issues yet. No issue with swapping parts as long as the specs are the same. I also don't see issue with using Bondo inside. Just let it fully cure before sealing everything up as a precaution.

We always like looking at pictures, so post away.

[Jim Holtz]

Hi Brad,

As usual, Ryan was spot on. ERSE is fine and a good alternative that'll save a few bucks with no down side.

We're looking forward to following your build!

Jim

[bheinauer]

Progress updated

I've made some progress, but also taken a few mis-steps.

Here is the room the new speakers will go into and the current speakers they will replace.

In the next picture, I show a mistake I made in routing the back of the mid-range pass-through. I marked the center of the circle in the correct place, picked exactly the correct size circle to make on my Jasper jig, then drilled the center through the wrong mark and routed right ouside the cabinet. My initial patch tore out when I routed the correct opening. I've since patched with Bondo.

In the next picture, I've routed the recesses. Not shown are the actual cutouts for the drivers. The mid-range recess was a bit tight, but I was able to enlarge it enough by wrapping sandpaper around a dowel and running it around the outside of the recess until the driver would fit.

The final picture shows the woofer placed in the cutout. As you can see, the recess is too big for the driver. I got ahead of myself and made the cutout according to the plans I was working off of, but without the driver on hand to confirm and without referring to the PE specs. I don't know how to fix it and am not sure what I'm going to do about it. I think I'll probably keep this baffle for now and just attach it with screws then build a replacement baffle later. I'm eager to listen to this speaker and move on the towers-the fix can wait.

I'm still waiting after two weeks for my Erse order with almost all of my crossover components. One part is on backorder, holding up the rest.

Progress is slow, but things are coming along. I'm at a point that I could quickly get the center channel running once the crossover parts arrive.

Brad

[bheinauer]

As with many of my projects, this one is inching along-10 minutes on the way to work and 10 minutes on the way back.

My last orders finally shipped, so all parts should be here in a few days.

Today I was routing out the speaker recesses on one of the statements when I realized that the outside of the rs225 recess was at 8 3/4 inches and my Jasper jig did not even go to 8. I would have put the larger Jasper on my PE order if I'd realized. I wonder if I can use 7 3/4 instead of the recommended 7 3/8 cutout and then use a 1/2 inch rabbet bit to do the recess?

[Jim Holtz]

As with many of my projects, this one is inching along-10 minutes on the way to work and 10 minutes on the way back.

My last orders finally shipped, so all parts should be here in a few days.

Today I was routing out the speaker recesses on one of the statements when I realized that the outside of the rs225 recess was at 8 3/4 inches and my Jasper jig did not even go to 8. I would have put the larger Jasper on my PE order if I'd realized. I wonder if I can use 7 3/4 instead of the recommended 7 3/8 cutout and then use a 1/2 inch rabbet bit to do the recess?

IIRC, 8 3/4" is the exact size of the RS225 frame so you'll need to oversize it a small amount depending on how you're finishing the speaker. Paint requires more "build" area than veneer does. I would strongly suggest you measure the RS225 and rabbet the holes appropriately.

I'm a reluctant cabinet builder so others with much more skill than I should chime in.

Jim

[BeerParty]

I wonder if I can use 7 3/4 instead of the recommended 7 3/8 cutout and then use a 1/2 inch rabbet bit to do the recess?

Yes, you can cut the hole 1 inch smaller and use a 1/2 inch rabbit bit in your router to cut the recess. I did this on my Statement Monitor build.

[numberoneoppa]

Yes, you can cut the hole 1 inch smaller and use a 1/2 inch rabbit bit in your router to cut the recess. I did this on my Statement Monitor build.

A lot of people seem to do this, and I've been considering it myself. I suppose the only disadvantage is that your initial hole must be 100% perfect. I have bad luck with measurements, somehow, I always end up 1/16th of an inch off here or there, so I like to start small and work my way up.

[soundemon]

I did each cutout and rabbit individually, using a scrap board and trying the actual driver for size. I ended up trying alot of scrap pieces, but ended up with an absolutely perfect front baffle.

[DeanP]

Hey! What are you going to do with the Audax HT Center?

My dog thought she could eat the mid range driver(the 130) and now it has a few holes in it? Can't seem to find one anywhere...

[bheinauer]

Right now I think I'll move the old center to one of the rooms in the barn and use it with an integrated amp (Kenwood KA-701) that has one channel out. But, I'll keep you in mind if plans change. I might be more willing to part it out if I ever saw myself designing speakers (better chance of using components I'm left with), but too much of design still seems like magic to me.

With regard to sizing cutouts based upon finish choice, I've been trying to push out the finishing decision as long as possible. The leading candidates for finish are a basic cherry veneer (never done veneering before) and my usual black with white flecks stone finish. Neither should have much buildup in the driver cutout, so I guess I can make the fit as close as possible.

[BeerParty]

With regard to sizing cutouts based upon finish choice, I've been trying to push out the finishing decision as long as possible. The leading candidates for finish are a basic cherry veneer (never done veneering before) and my usual black with white flecks stone finish. Neither should have much buildup in the driver cutout, so I guess I can make the fit as close as possible.

If you are going to use the 1/2inch rabbiting bit to cut the rabbit for flush mounting your drivers, you should wait to cut them until after you decide. If you are going to veneer the cabinets, it is safer to attach the veneer to the baffle before cutting out the rabbit. I cut the rabbit before attaching the veneer, and I had to patch up a few spots in the veneer where it cracked. I also had to cut some pieces of veneer to put in the bottom of the rabbit because my cuts were too deep (I decided to veneer after cutting the rabbits).

[1Michael]

And it does not hurt to put some finish on the baffle before doing the cutouts, then just do a final coat when your done. It keeps the cutouts from filling up with finish from all the coats.

[bheinauer]

I got the center channel assembled enough to have a listen. A 5.1 mixed k.d. Lang concert sounded pretty good-better than expected actually since I have not closed all wiring holes, rounded the back of the mid-range cutout or lined the pass-through with foam.

I'll add the usual cross-over and cabinet lining pics when I get a chance.

[bheinauer]

Slow motion build

After nearly a year off doing other things, I got around to finishing my Statement center. I built some Overnight Sensations as well, for veneering practice. The other two Statements I'm building are still in the shop, cut and mostly glued up. I hope to get those completed before another year passes.

The veneer is Sapele, fastened with PVAC glue. I lined the cabinets with fiberglass-I recall seeing somewhere that's acceptable.

The first set of pictures are old ones of the Statement Center being built.

[bheinauer]

more on the Statement Center build

More pictures of the Statement Center...

[bheinauer]

Overnight Sensations

While I'm at it, I might as well post the Overnight Sensation pictures as well. My wife asked, "and what are those for?" I had no good answer. I built them for practice. They are now being used as decorations on my current main speakers, but they sound good enough to find a home.

[BeerParty]

Welcome back! It looks like the time you took was worth it, that is a very nice looking Statement Center channel, and the Overnights aren't too bad either!

[BeerParty]

The first set of pictures are old ones of the Statement Center being built.

Is the foam in the mid tunnel in this picture in the final product? That foam looks way too thick and could be choking the mid range.

[Jim Holtz]

Agreed... The foam looks thicker than the 1" speced.

Jim

[bheinauer]

The foam lining is not implemented exactly like in the picture, but its something I should revisit anyway. I'm pretty sure what I'm using is not 1 inch.

My plan has been to use only approved variations. At some point I must have convinced myself I had the right thickness and did not go back to validate...easy enough to fix.
Brad