Sountrek's Mini Statements Build

[soundtrek]

After almost 2 years of acquiring parts, I have finally started my Mini Statements build. I have attached a couple photos of my early progress.

I am doing a curved side version. I have the front baffles rough cut and the holes for the round drivers cutout. I decided to go with the rectangular version of the Fountek ribbon tweeter. I have the recess cut for the ribbon but not the through hole. I have the internal braces cutout but and have the parts cut for the mid-tunnels. I still need to cut relief openings on the tops and bottoms of the mid-tunnel to access the volume above the tunnel.

I was pleased with the progress I made but still have a long way to go.

[JimAckley]

I can't wait to see how these turn out! I almost did the rectangular myself but decided to go with a round, silver model instead.

How do you make the sides curved? I've done some woodwork here and there, but I have never done anything quite like that. If you wouldn't mind, point me toward a good tutorial, or just write it here if you have a moment or two to explain.

Jim

[Jim Holtz]

Here are some photo's of a curved side Statements build.

Jim

[soundtrek]

Update on build progress. I have the carcasses built and glued up ready for the sides to be applied. I am going to apply a layer of 1/8 HDF first then overlay with a piece of kerfed 3/4 inch MDF. By doing this, my baffle width will be within an 1/16 inch of the spec'd width of 10". My volume will be within a 1/2 liter of the spec'd volume. The only dimension that is out of spec will be the depth. The depth will be about 3/4 deeper at 14 3/8. I compensated for the volume loss of the curved sides by incorporating the base height into the cabinet and porting out the front. I hope to be applying the sides the first week of January. I am also working on a single board crossover based on Drew V's diagram posted in his thread here http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...ini+statements . I will post pics of that soon.

[soundtrek]

The crossovers are done. I used the single board option. They fit through the woofer hole and will mount on the bottom of the cabinet. I am in the process of gluing up the curved sides on the cabinets now. I will post pictures of that process soon. Getting closer to being able to listen to them and can't wait.

[john trials]

Those are the neatest/tidiest DIY crossovers I've ever seen. Those look great!

[joeybutts]

Beautiful boards!!! What did you use for the boards?

[soundtrek]

Thank you for the compliments! The boards are G10/FR4 circuit board material with solder eyelets for the connection points and tinned solid copper wire for the making the connections between components when needed. I have a buddy that restores vintage electric guitars and amplifiers. I got the idea from watching him do repairs/restorations on vintage tube guitar amps. If a cap or resistor fails, you heat up the solder in the eyelets and pull the component and reverse to install the new one. I copied the layout from Drew V with some minor routing changes to minimize the number of circuits crossing each other. There are some wires soldered on the underside as well, that is an advantage of using the eyelets.

[john trials]

Is there some kind of rivet-like tool for inserting the solder eyelets? Your method looks like a really inexpensive alternative to making really nice boards (I've designed printed circuit boards at previous jobs, but it's too expensive...or I'm too cheap...for a speaker crossover).

[Tieftoener]

Looking great! I'm getting a bug under my butt to start another project...

[soundtrek]

John, I used on of these - http://weronthenet.com/bigbite. My wife is a scrapbooker and they use colored eyelets for decorating pages and she had one of these. This tool worked very well - drill the hole, insert the eyelet and squeeze. The tool flanges the back side of the eyelet. Each board has 30 eyelets and it took me about 10 minutes to set both boards.

[soundtrek]

Cabinet construction has been very productive this last week due to the very mild January weather in northern Indiana. Photos of the sides being glued on, first the HDF layer then the kerfed MDF layer.

[soundtrek]

Basic cabinet construction is done, ready for the next step. I will be installing the crossovers, sound absorption and drivers for some test listening while I make my decision on veneer species and grain style I want to use.

[soundtrek]

I have the driver's loaded in the cabinets and have been listening for a few days. I must say they sound amazing. The mids and highs are crystal clear, and vocals sound very accurate. The imaging is incredible and the sound stage is wide and deep. I was expecting a little more bass output however. The cabinets are front ported and I used 2" fiberglass for the entire cabinet below the mid-tunnel. To loosen up the woofer surrounds, I ran a 40Hz test tone at an audible volume for 6 hours.

I am wondering if I should remove the insulation from the section below the woofers, keeping it just behind the woofers, or if I should go with a thinner material. Since the cabinets have curved sides the backwave is minimized and maybe a thinner material will still be just as effective.

This is my first build and I am new to DIY speaker building so I am looking for ideas or suggestions on how to get a little more bass output. Don't get me wrong the bass is there but I prefer to listen to music without a subwoofer.

I will post pictures of the driver loaded cabinets soon, I am still deciding in a veneer.

Thanks to Jim and Curt for an outstanding design! I will be enjoying these for years to come even if I have to use a sub for music.

[Jim Holtz]

I was expecting a little more bass output however. The cabinets are front ported and I used 2" fiberglass for the entire cabinet below the mid-tunnel. To loosen up the woofer surrounds, I ran a 40Hz test tone at an audible volume for 6 hours.

I am wondering if I should remove the insulation from the section below the woofers, keeping it just behind the woofers, or if I should go with a thinner material. Since the cabinets have curved sides the backwave is minimized and maybe a thinner material will still be just as effective.

This is my first build and I am new to DIY speaker building so I am looking for ideas or suggestions on how to get a little more bass output. Don't get me wrong the bass is there but I prefer to listen to music without a subwoofer.

I'm glad you're enjoying most of what the Mini's offer.

The Mini's actually are a touch "fat" in the bass so your comment leads me to believe that you should check your build and crossover. This is a 3.5 design so the woofer wiring is critical that it follows the schematic exactly. Also, the path from woofers should not be blocked in anyway by the insulation. It should line the walls only and hold back from the back of the front baffle about 2". I'd also double check the polarity on all of the drivers.

The only other thought I have is that you like really big bass and are used to less than accurate bass which is often the case in commercial speakers until you get into high dollar varieties. If you're used to listening with a sub, bass is usually exaggerated as well. I'd suggest you use a live acoustic performance CD as a reference rather than concert or amplified recordings. No disrespect meant with that comment. I'm just trying to figure out what you're hearing and what you're used to.

Let us know what you find.

Jim

[soundtrek]

Jim, I checked the polarity of the woofers with a battery and they are wired correctly and I have double and triple checked my crossovers and they are wired correctly. My cabinet insulation is held back from the front baffle about 2" and is only on the side walls and the back of the cabinet as well as the bottom of the mid-tunnel. But, I also lined the cabinet walls and the back in the area below the woofer section, should I remove this?

My cabinet volume may be a liter to a liter and a half larger than the spec'd volume due to the change to curved sides, would I need to adjust the port length? I have no way of modeling this, I am a Mac user and not many modeling programs work on a Mac.

I will say the speakers I was using before (Epicure Model 3) had an exceptional amount of bass output for a single 8" woofer, I didn't need to use a subwoofer.

Like I said, don't get me wrong, the Mini's sound excellent and I may just be used to the big bass of the Epicures. I do have a couple live albums Alison Kraus Live with Union Station (SACD), and Celtic Women and they do sound fantastic.

Thanks for the reply Jim!

[Jim Holtz]

Jim, I checked the polarity of the woofers with a battery and they are wired correctly and I have double and triple checked my crossovers and they are wired correctly. My cabinet insulation is held back from the front baffle about 2" and is only on the side walls and the back of the cabinet as well as the bottom of the mid-tunnel. But, I also lined the cabinet walls and the back in the area below the woofer section, should I remove this?

My cabinet volume may be a liter to a liter and a half larger than the spec'd volume due to the change to curved sides, would I need to adjust the port length? I have no way of modeling this, I am a Mac user and not many modeling programs work on a Mac.

I will say the speakers I was using before (Epicure Model 3) had an exceptional amount of bass output for a single 8" woofer, I didn't need to use a subwoofer.

Like I said, don't get me wrong, the Mini's sound excellent and I may just be used to the big bass of the Epicures. I do have a couple live albums Alison Kraus Live with Union Station (SACD), and Celtic Women and they do sound fantastic.

Thanks for the reply Jim!

The insulation below the woofer won't hurt a thing and I usually do the same thing. As long as the port is unobstructed it should be fine too.

I really think you're experiencing a difference in bass between your old speakers and the Mini's. FWIW, the Mini's are probably closer to the original performance but that won't mean you'll like it better.

Jim

[soundtrek]

Jim, I totally agree. The Epicures were given to me by a friend who blew out the surrounds. I re-foamed the woofs and mids and started listening to them and was immediately blown away with the bass output compared to my Polk LS 50s. No need for a subwoofer at all.

I did make an improvement tonight. I hadn't put the 1" foam in the mid tunnels yet, and I did that tonight. The foam tamed the mids ever so slightly and evened out the sound/response which improved my perception of how I hear the bass.

This is not a complaint at all. I love the sound of the Mini's, the imaging the sound stage, the accuracy and clarity of the vocals. I will have to get used to the difference in sound but I am dedicated to the Mini's and it is totally worth it for everything else they bring to the table. And if I need more base I can always use my subwoofer.

Thanks again for helping me work through this and kudos again to the design team!

[AdelaaR]

Those crossover boars are simply stunning!
You should mount those under a transparant piece of plexiglass at the top of the speakers ... it would be a shame to not see them anymore

[soundtrek]

AdelaaR, thanks for the compliments. Once you get the layout figured out the process is pretty quick. And, hopefully it is not necessary, but repairs are very easy as well.

[soundtrek]

Been a while since I have been on the sight and I realized I never put photos of the Mini's with the drivers installed. The only problem now is, I am enjoying them so much I don't want to take the apart to veneer them, but I am going to have to pry myself away from them so I can finish the cabinets.

[Jim Holtz]

Excellent! :T

Jim

[JonMarsh]

Looking very nice-

Yeah, getting them in listenable condition BEFORE finishing them can create a bit of a quandary- I'm in a similar situation myself with just one cabinet!

Happy listening and finishing!

[AdelaaR]

Sweet looking.
I have the same problem ... drivers mounted and enjoying them so much I can't get myself to finish them.
One day :-)