My Statements Build (How to... hopefully)

[deewan]

After months of reading online about DIY speakers and building my first "kit" speaker (the Madisound Recession Buster) I decided I wanted to upgrade my HT speakers. After reading all the great reviews of Curt and Jim's Statements the only thing I had to decide was if I wanted to build the mini's or the full Statements. I decided on the full.

This build might be slow going since golf and sand volleyball season is about to start here in Iowa. So bare with me. I know there are many great threads already on this and other forums about Statement builds, but hopefully this thread will add to the great population of Statement threads already posted.

I plan to always use this first post in the thread to have an up-to-date picture of where in the build I am. So if you see finished speakers below, I'M DONE! If you see a bunch of saw dust and bare mdf, well... In the end I hope to be able to provide a word document with nearly each step by step direction I took so others can follow. I know board cutting and cabinet assembly can sometimes be overwhelming and who doesn't like directions. (Wait, most men never read the direction booklets). Oh well.

CURRENT PHOTO

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[deewan]

I will be using the cut sheet from Curt's web page. I have 3 sheets of 3/4" mdf and 1 sheet of 1/2" mdf. I'm not certain I am going to use the original design base plate yet, so I will not be cutting those pieces. I began by cutting each of the three sheets of 3/4" mdf and the one sheet of ½” mdf down to 55 inches for the tower. Since they were to large to cut using the table saw I used my circular saw an a poor man’s fence.

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I then tried to plan all my table saw cuts which would have the same measurements so that if I was off by a small fraction here or there, it would hopefully transfer to the other cuts and balance out. Details of the order of all the cuts will be well documented in the word document (diary) I am keeping.

With all the cuts made, I glued the front baffle together. One sheet of ¾” and one sheet of ½” to get the required 1 ¼” needed. With the help of a few clamps and some full paint cans, I joined the two pieces.

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Next I turned my attention of the midrange tunnels. I began gluing them all together paying extra attention to make sure they were square. I used both glue and a brad nail gun to make quick work of these. Later I regretting using the nail gun since I had planned on rounding over the outside edges of the tunnels. Oh well. Hopefully someone reading this will remember.

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[Jim Holtz]

They look great! :T

Jim

[deewan]

Thanks Jim. I need to catch this thread up a little with where I am at in the build process, but since the weather is looking great again today and not so hot this weekend I am going to get out and build more and write later.

On another note, I have decided to make external crossovers houses in their own box with a glass top. I'll keep the crossover's near the speakers, but I figure since I am going to spend time on them, I might as well show them off.

[FroDaddy]

...Since they were to large to cut using the table saw I used my circular saw an a poor man’s fence.

I then tried to plan all my table saw cuts which would have the same measurements so that if I was off by a small fraction here or there, it would hopefully transfer to the other cuts and balance out...

Good thinking! I've used the homegrown fence method a few times myself 8)

[jyqureshi]

Hey man,

I guess I can use this thread when I start my Statement builds, I'm still working on the center channel thoughops:

J

[deewan]

Hey man,

I guess I can use this thread when I start my Statement builds, I'm still working on the center channel thoughops:

J

You and I are on different schedules. I have my center channel on tap for the nexty project and plan on doing the same sort of thing with the thread. Like I said, I hope to have a very detailed process and "how-to" for these speakers when I am finished.

Now... back to work with.

[jyqureshi]

You and I are on different schedules. I have my center channel on tap for the nexty project and plan on doing the same sort of thing with the thread. Like I said, I hope to have a very detailed process and "how-to" for these speakers when I am finished.

Now... back to work with.

By the time I finish my center, you'll have your word document for The Statement towers ready for me :B and I'll just follow it like a robot.

[johnathanwinter]

Next I turned my attention of the midrange tunnels. I began gluing them all together paying extra attention to make sure they were square. I used both glue and a brad nail gun to make quick work of these. Later I regretting using the nail gun since I had planned on rounding over the outside edges of the tunnels. Oh well. Hopefully someone reading this will remember.

depending on how deep the brads went you could probably still round the corners. if they are not that deep you could use a nail set and drive the brads deeper. then round the corners a bit. then drive the brads in a little more. etc. or you could just mark where you have the brads and round between them. how many brads did you use along one length? you could also just use a rasp and round the corners off then sand it smooth. it wouldnt have to be perfect as nobody is going to see the interior anyway. (well except everyone on the forum. LOL)

doing a good job, keep it up.


nevermind about the build ideas. i just checked out your home theater build. you have skills and dont need any ideas from me.

[deewan]

johnathanwinter - thanks for the kind remarks about the theater. I'm not an expert by any means, I just try to learn as much as I can with little projects then execute on bigger projects.

After I had the first tunnels glued in place, I just decided to bench the roundover. I did however roundover the pass-thur brace and hope to do the same on the top and bottom rear braces.

jyqureshi - I'll send you an autographed copy of the first edition of "The Statements - A how-to Story". :W

[deewan]

I made some progress today but had a few non-speaker related sidetracks (yard work yada yada yada). I was able to install all the internal bracing and along with the midrange tunnels. It might just be me, but I really get a kick out of seeing all these small pieces of mdf glued together into this huge cabinet.
Midrange Tunnels

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Internal Braces

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I did use a roundover on the pass-thur brace. All other braces I neglected. I blame my excite of getting the cabients put together, also on the Zaph BAMTM and TriTrix TL cabinets I am also trying to complete. Just to give an idea of the size of the Statement cabinet size (as if anyone reading this doesn't know). If you look behind and to the left you will see a modified 40 inch TriTrix TL cabinet almost ready for finishing. Behind and to the right (and leaning against my workbench) you see Zaph's tower BAMTM's.

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Tomorrow I hope to figure out what design I will use for the base and begin working on the crossovers. I picked up some 8x10 glass tonight at Micheals’s for $3.99 each. I plan on constructing the crossover box out of mdf (painted) and mounted the crossover underneath glass on a blacked stained piece of oak.

[jeffc]

looking good!

[deewan]

Right now I have two possible crossover layouts. Remember, I am going to have viewable external crossovers so how the crossover looks does count for a little.

For the first layout I basically just groups all the pieces together on this board.

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For the second layout I tried to put the components on the board in rows for each speaker class (tweeter, midrange, woofer)

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The last option is a mix between the two. Components are kind of grouped together but for ease of wiring have been also grouped by network (midrange, tweeter, woofer).

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I'm pretty sure I have followed the crossover layout guidelines I've read. Anyone care to confirm or give any suggestions?

[1Michael]

The inductors should be 20 centimeters apart so the last picture would probably be your best bet.

[ThomasW]

The inductors should be 20 centimeters apart so the last picture would probably be your best bet.

No I don't think so....

[deewan]

buggers - Thanks for the info I have the crossover board ready to start, but now am second guessing my choice of an external crossover. Wit the added binding posts due to bi-amping and the external crossover, there is an added $90 in cost. I think I might sleep on it tonight and then decide what to do.

[deewan]

Well, a slight change in plans. Since I am unsure of the future layout of my home theater and the additional $90+ in cost for the external crossovers, I have decided to put the crossovers inside the cabinets. Feels kind of good knowing I can just solder away now and don't have to put the components in a pleasing order.

I think I am moving along the same speed as jyqureshi since we both ordering foam to the cabinets and mid-tunnels. Thanks to a post on jyqureshi thread from Jim, I made sure to order the 1" open celled foam for the mid tunnels and the 2" thick wedge foam to line the cabinets.

One question I am hoping someone can answer for me. I am planning to port my cabinets out the rear. I know I want to keep the port away from being directly behind the bottom woofer, but with the internal brace almost have way up from the bottom and the bottom woofer it doesn't leave many options. Is the port okay if the diameter of the port does not fall directly behind any part of the cone of the bottom woofer, or do I need a certain amount of space to offset the two?

[Jim Holtz]

One question I am hoping someone can answer for me. I am planning to port my cabinets out the rear. I know I want to keep the port away from being directly behind the bottom woofer, but with the internal brace almost have way up from the bottom and the bottom woofer it doesn't leave many options. Is the port okay if the diameter of the port does not fall directly behind any part of the cone of the bottom woofer, or do I need a certain amount of space to offset the two?

Hi deewan,

Adjust the brace as necessary to make room for the port down low. The further away from the bottom woofer the better, IMHO. I'd suggest you move the brace up a bit and modify it as necessary to make room for the port below it. Do make sure that there is a clear an unobstructed path between the woofers and the port.

Jim

[deewan]

After spending the day at the first golf tourney of the year, I came home and decided to work on the crossovers. As I stated before, I decided not to go with external crossovers because of the added cost. So I decided to make the crossovers as pain free as possible and make a crossover "board" for each network (tweeter, midrange, woofer). 3 hours later.... here is the end result.

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Woofer network:

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Tweeter Network:

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And finally, the midrange network. But I am scared I may have made a mistake. If you look at the midrange network (seen here as network 2)



It appears I may have made a mistake where I hooked up the 9.1 uF cap.

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Can someone please let me know if I need to make any corrections? Thanks!

[john trials]

Yes, that cap is in the wrong place. It should be in series with the 1 ohm resistor.

Also, with your label scheme, "amp-" should be connected to "mid+" directly, without anything in between. They are at the same potential in the schematic (if you follow "amp-" in the schematic, it goes directly to "mid+"....the mids are wired out of phase with the other drivers).

Some of your solder joints look like they are not very well done (mostly where you connect the stranded wire to the components). A bad solder joint can result in some added resistance. Get the stranded wire good and hot so the solder flows completely throughout the strands (the stranded wire should be fully covered with solder...the solder just wicks into the strands when the wire is hot enough). Heat the wires so that the solder melts when you touch the solder to the wires...the solder will just flow into the joint...don't melt the solder with the iron and then apply it to the wires).

[deewan]

Thanks. I was pretty sure that was wrong, but I just wanted to make sure before I made any changes. I'll also add some solder to the speaker wire connections.

[deewan]

Ok, here is the updated crossover. I believe this to be right (fingers crossed).

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I am using industrial strength velrco to attach the crossovers to the bracing in side the cabinets. That velrco is stronger than an other velcro I've ever used. One crossover after attaching it I had to use a screwdriver to peal back off.

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To put some finishing touches on the cabinets, I routed the midtunnels

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Finally, last night I began cutting the holes in the baffles for the drivers and added all sides to the cabinets (except the front baffle of course). For the driver holes, I used the router as much as I could to keep a perfect circle then cut the last little bit with a jigsaw.

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[jeffc]

Getting closer! Why not just put a back brace on and use the router for the whole deal?

[deewan]

I could, but then the last plunge I would be removing mdf from the back brace and after already plunging 1.25 inches, I didn't want more mdf flying around in the air. I think my neighbor downwind is going to have to dust their house unless the recent rains took care of it. Plus this way I know when I made it through without having to measure it out on my router.

[jeffc]

I hear ya on the dust! I start the plunge on the back ~halfway then add the brace and flip and finish. Looking good!

[deewan]

I need to get some updating done to this thread, but first I have a question. I am currently working on the baffles and I am wondering how much or which router bit I need to use on the back of the baffles to prevent a tunneling effect for the midrange and woofers? I have already used a 5/8 inch roundover bit but just guessing that 5/8 inch is not enough. Should I get a larger 45 degree bit?

[Jim Holtz]

I need to get some updating done to this thread, but first I have a question. I am currently working on the baffles and I am wondering how much or which router bit I need to use on the back of the baffles to prevent a tunneling effect for the midrange and woofers? I have already used a 5/8 inch roundover bit but just guessing that 5/8 inch is not enough. Should I get a larger 45 degree bit?

I have used both a 45 degree and a 3/4" roundover bit and I think I prefer the 3/4" roundover. It seems to open it up and make a nice smooth transition.

Either will work fine.

Jim

[deewan]

Thanks Jim. I'll try to pick up a bit tonight while doing some other shopping.

[deewan]

While reading another Statement (mini) thread, a question came up and I realized I have the same question. The Build pdf lists a four inch long 3 inch port. I'm assuming the 4 inches is of straight port length since port flares vary. I have this possible port cut and wondering if it will work.

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[Jim Holtz]

While reading another Statement (mini) thread, a question came up and I realized I have the same question. The Build pdf lists a four inch long 3 inch port. I'm assuming the 4 inches is of straight port length since port flares vary. I have this possible port cut and wondering if it will work.

The 4" long port tube spec is ONLY for the PE make a port parts spec'ed on Curt's website in the Statements listing. If you use a Precision port, the tube length will have to be adjusted to achieve the correct overall length which escapes me at the moment. I believe it was supposed to be 7" but that should be verified by Curt.

Jim

[Curt C]

While reading another Statement (mini) thread, a question came up and I realized I have the same question. The Build pdf lists a four inch long 3 inch port. I'm assuming the 4 inches is of straight port length since port flares vary. I have this possible port cut and wondering if it will work.

Looks good :T
At these low tunings a quarter of an inch either way will make no audible, and likely an unmeasureable difference in the result.

C

[deewan]

Thanks Curt and Jim. I'm placing myu final order for parts this week and hope to have them up and running no later than 14 days from now. I can't wait!

[deewan]

Well, I have the cabinets nearly complete. I have started to paint the front baffles, but I don't have any of the photos with me. However, tonight I did decide to hook up the crossovers to make sure everything worked fine. THEY DID!!! :T

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I also got my veneer today. I choose Exotic African Masonia for a different look than the standard oak or painted cabinets I have done in the past.

Pictures of the cabinets hopefully tomorrow.

[deewan]

After spending the morning on the golf course, I spent the afternoon working on the speakers. Got the backs primed and ready for paint.

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Painted the front baffles with black textured paint. I loved the way they turned out.

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And got the veneer on the sides and top. Don't pay any attention to the clamp attaching the front baffle. I just wanted to see what the speakers would look like if I didn't stain the veneer at all. I think I will just use a stain sealer and call it good.

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Tomorrow I hope to finish the bases and then start putting them together. Hopefully by Sunday I can fire them up.

[jeffc]

Looking good. Curious about your ribbon opening. I did some experimenting today and the 3 5/16 (as the diagrams indicate) would not allow the tweeter to drop in, hit on the corners and way off on the heat sink. The next hole I did was 3.5 and the tweeter just fit and but the screw holes are very close to the edge. curious on your thoughts.

Looking forward to a listen!

Jeff

[dawg1161]

Those are looking very good...You are doing a great write-up on your project......Very nice choice on the laminate.............:T

[deewan]

Hey Jeff. Yeah, I first routed a 3 5/16 hole as well, and tried to line up the tweeter to see if it would work after I measured it with a tape measure and came up with something like 3 11/32. I can't remember, but I think I ended up routing 3 3/8 and found the tweeter to fit fine.

Are you working on your surround or your mains with those ribbons?

[deewan]

Thanks dawg. The word document I have writing has A LOT of the details I am sort of skipping on this thread. I hated the thoughtof writing everything twice. I'm trying not to rush, but with the finish line so close it is difficult not to sprinit to the finish. I need to make sure the contact glue on the veneer completely dries before I poly the cabinets. I remember rushing once before and the veneer begining to bubble up. I want to avoid that at all costs this time.

Since tomorrow I plan on stuffing the cabinets and installing the crossovers, what guidelines should I follow on the insulation. I am using standard pink stuff wall insulation. I've seen a few conflicting reports about where I do and do not need to cover with the insulation. Anyone here with some experience that can speak to the matter?

[jeffc]

Hey Jeff. Yeah, I first routed a 3 5/16 hole as well, and tried to line up the tweeter to see if it would work after I measured it with a tape measure and came up with something like 3 11/32. I can't remember, but I think I ended up routing 3 3/8 and found the tweeter to fit fine.

Are you working on your surround or your mains with those ribbons?

thanks D but I doubt 3/8 fit .5 took a press. Glad to hear they fit nice! now get them done so I cn bring my amps over and listen

[Jim Holtz]

Since tomorrow I plan on stuffing the cabinets and installing the crossovers, what guidelines should I follow on the insulation. I am using standard pink stuff wall insulation. I've seen a few conflicting reports about where I do and do not need to cover with the insulation. Anyone here with some experience that can speak to the matter?

The fiberglass should only go in the woofer sections of the cabinet. 3 1/2" fiberglass is thicker than recommended but lets see how it works. Hold it back from the front baffle a couple inches and use an electric knife or something to taper at a 45 degree angle so it doesn't crowd the RS225's. I would also suggest peeling the paper back off and use 3M #77 spray contact cement to attach the fiberglass to the cabinet. Place the fiberglass everywhere you can see when looking in the driver cut out.

The mid tunnels must have 1" foam to work as designed.

HTH

Jim

[Jim Holtz]

thanks D but I doubt 3/8 fit .5 took a press. Glad to hear they fit nice! now get them done so I cn bring my amps over and listen

Hi Jeff,

Try 3 3/8" and then use a rasp to notch the opening slightly for the clearance you need. The ribbon just sits there and doesn't have the stress a cone driver has on the mounting. I drill pilot holes and angle the screws slightly when attaching them. They'll be fine.

I also seal all of the drivers with closed cell weather stripping from the home store. I doubt that it's real important to do that on a ported cabinet but it's cheap and makes sure there aren't air leaks.

HTH

Jim

[deewan]

The fiberglass should only go in the woofer sections of the cabinet. 3 1/2" fiberglass is thicker than recommended but lets see how it works. Hold it back from the front baffle a couple inches and use an electric knife or something to taper at a 45 degree angle so it doesn't crowd the RS225's. I would also suggest peeling the paper back off and use 3M #77 spray contact cement to attach the fiberglass to the cabinet. Place the fiberglass everywhere you can see when looking in the driver cut out.

The mid tunnels must have 1" foam to work as designed.

HTH

Jim

Thanks Jim. I'm was going to visit some craft/hobby/fabric stores today to look for some 1 inch open celled foan for the mid tunnels. So if I run across some 2 inch foam, I'll make sure I buy some for inside the cabinets.

Jeff, I'll meausre my tweeter openings today. I was guessing about the measurements I stated above.

[Jim Holtz]

Thanks Jim. I'm was going to visit some craft/hobby/fabric stores today to look for some 1 inch open celled foan for the mid tunnels. So if I run across some 2 inch foam, I'll make sure I buy some for inside the cabinets.

Jeff, I'll meausre my tweeter openings today. I was guessing about the measurements I stated above.

Hobby Lobby has the 1" foam in the upholstery section and Home Depot carries 2" unbacked fiberglass to wrap pipes with. Both work great!

Jim

[jeffc]

Thanks Jim. I'm was going to visit some craft/hobby/fabric stores today to look for some 1 inch open celled foan for the mid tunnels. So if I run across some 2 inch foam, I'll make sure I buy some for inside the cabinets.

Jeff, I'll meausre my tweeter openings today. I was guessing about the measurements I stated above.

Thanks Darren no need to I tried a bunch of openings and have it!

Jim Yep that is what I will end up dong! Thanks for help fellas
Jeff

[deewan]

Well, I got a lot done today, including somehow disabling the PTO on my lawn tractor. Maybe I'll just bring back prairie grass in my yard. I was able to put 3 costs of poly on my veneer today. Also installed the binding posts, made and finished the base plates including speaker spikes, and began making the internal wires with quick connects. I’m hoping that by Monday night I’ll be enjoying these speakers.


FYI Jim - the in wall insulation I have is 2 inches think, so I should be safe. I was able to find some foam at Hancock’s for $10.