Matt's Statement Thread

[snmhanson]

I am finishing up the finish on the speakers and thought I would post a pic of one of the Monitors. I am very happy with how they are turning out. I didn't use any stains or colors and only a satin oil-based finish. I think I may put one more coat on for a total of four coats and call it good. The finish really brought out the character of the curly maple and also the beauty of the Jatoba. I guess I am at the point of having to build the crossovers. I am really dreading this task as it all looks very foreign to me. I can still call my brother-in-law to help but I am very impatient and it will likely be a while before he could get over. Anyone live near the Columbia Gorge in Oregon/Washington and feel like jetting out to build a few crossovers :B ?

[peepaj]

WOW, nice

[richnen]

Those look great!

[dar47]

Love the solid front baffle. If you have some extra cash invest in a soldering station and just practice no problem.

[snmhanson]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I am so amped to get them finished but still a bit hesitant on the crossover. I am not so worried about the soldering anymore, but more about just laying them out correctly and making sure the polarity and everything else is correct. I am sure if I just got going on it everything would be fine.

Other than the crossovers, I just have to install the binding posts, drill my hole for the wires going into the mid-channel, install the dampening material, and screw the drivers in. Actually sounds like a bit of work when I list it all out. Hopefully I will be able to get them finished up this weekend.

Matt

[peepaj]

Matt, If unsure about the crossovers, lay them out and post pics before soldering. I'm sure somebody will let you know if their right or what changes to make.

[snmhanson]

Matt, If unsure about the crossovers, lay them out and post pics before soldering. I'm sure somebody will let you know if their right or what changes to make.

I'll do that. I hope to start on them tonight but I may not be able to until this weekend. Does anyone know if an 8"x7" piece of MDF is large enough for the entire crossover? Or should I split it up? I like the simplicity of keeping it on one piece if possible.

Also, I like the idea of using a hot glue gun to fasten all of the parts down but I thought I read somewhere that there could be an issue with heat build up in using that method. Is that correct? Should I just use zip ties and holes in the wood to fasten it?

Thanks,

Matt

[Jim Holtz]

I'll do that. I hope to start on them tonight but I may not be able to until this weekend. Does anyone know if an 8"x7" piece of MDF is large enough for the entire crossover? Or should I split it up? I like the simplicity of keeping it on one piece if possible.

Also, I like the idea of using a hot glue gun to fasten all of the parts down but I thought I read somewhere that there could be an issue with heat build up in using that method. Is that correct? Should I just use zip ties and holes in the wood to fasten it?

Thanks,

Matt

Hi Matt,

Here's what I'd suggest. Cut pegboard just wide enough to get it through the woofer cutout and make it as long as necessary to fit everything on the board. I forget how long mine was. Sorry!

Do use zip ties to fasten the components to the pegboard and attach the board to the floor of the cabinet with a couple 3/4" screws. If you feel the need to use hot glue, use it sparingly. Place foam or fiberglass around the board but don't worry about covering it. It won't hurt a thing.

That won't be the prettiest crossover on the block but it'll work great and no one will see it inside the cabinet.

My $.02...

Jim

[john trials]

I'll do that. I hope to start on them tonight but I may not be able to until this weekend. Does anyone know if an 8"x7" piece of MDF is large enough for the entire crossover? Or should I split it up? I like the simplicity of keeping it on one piece if possible.

Also, I like the idea of using a hot glue gun to fasten all of the parts down but I thought I read somewhere that there could be an issue with heat build up in using that method. Is that correct? Should I just use zip ties and holes in the wood to fasten it?

Thanks,

Matt

I agree with you that one board would simplify things (that's what I did for my full-sized Statements). For Monitors, I found it was easier to make the crossover as two boards (I just couldn't fit a single-board crossover in there)...but I made the switchable, so there were a few more components. You may be able to reduce the size a bit more than I did.

https://www.htguide.com/forum/showpost.php?p=508063&postcount=13

You can see that I held the components in place with cable ties, but I also used a dab of silicone RTV under the components to reduce any vibrations that may occur. Use hot glue or silicone sparingly, and give the resistors plenty of room to dissipate heat (see my crossovers...they are not pretty, but the resistors are all separated, which is important).

[snmhanson]

It's always great getting advice from the Jim. Kind of like getting guitar tips from Carlos Santana. Plus, getting input from the real world people who had to stumble through their build like I am is invaluable as well. I stayed up late last night to play around with the layout a bit and I am getting comfortable reading the diagrams. Once I started breaking each network down and looking at them individually things really started to click. It's hard to tell on some of the build photos which components are connected to which components so reading the wiring diagrams is essential. I have no idea what each part does or why it's located where it is but at least I feel relatively comfortable that I can get everything in the right place.

I have a couple more questions before I start fastening everything into place. First, the major thing is to keep the inductors isolated from each other, right? I always see one laying flat and the other on it's edge and I assume that is to keep the magnetic fields from interfering with each other. Second, the direction of the electrical current coming into each component doesn't matter, right? In other words, there's no positive or negative on any of the caps, resistors or inductors, correct? Finally, aside from giving the resistors room, can everything else pretty much be crammed together? And for the resistors, can I put two of them touching side by side as long as they have plenty of breathing room around them on their other sides?

Thanks for all of the help. Without this site I would have spent double the price on speakers that are half as good (from what I've been told at least).

Matt

[BOBinGA]

Here is a link to the inductor layout guide most of us use:

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/coils.htm

The rule of thumb is that if you look through the hole in the inductor, you should not see any other inductor unless it is at least six inches away.

You are correct - there is no positive or negative polarity for crossover components. We are dealing with AC here, so the components see voltages and currents in alternating polarity.

I tend to provide some space between components, but normally, only the resistors get warm. You should provide space around those for cooling. The inductors follow the rules in the link. Capacitors can be put close together if you want, but I still give them a little room unless I'm tying several together to create a substitute for a single capacitor of a different value.

-Bob

[snmhanson]

Here is a link to the inductor layout guide most of us use:

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/coils.htm

The rule of thumb is that if you look through the hole in the inductor, you should not see any other inductor unless it is at least six inches away.

You are correct - there is no positive or negative polarity for crossover components. We are dealing with AC here, so the components see voltages and currents in alternating polarity.

I tend to provide some space between components, but normally, only the resistors get warm. You should provide space around those for cooling. The inductors follow the rules in the link. Capacitors can be put close together if you want, but I still give them a little room unless I'm tying several together to create a substitute for a single capacitor of a different value.

-Bob

Thanks for the reply and link. I took a look at the link and think I understand it. Just to make sure though, are we looking for measurements that are as close to the measured value of 1.144 as possible? A measurement that is too high is just as bad as too low, right? So it appears that the orientation of the coils can be both laid flat on the board as long as they are far enough apart, right? If they have to be closer than that I should orient it similar to figure 5 at the top of the link (6 at the bottom), correct? As I begin to understand them a bit I'm actually getting excited to work on the crossovers.

Thanks,

Matt

[john trials]

And for the resistors, can I put two of them touching side by side as long as they have plenty of breathing room around them on their other sides?

You can, but I wouldn't. Having their sides touching blocks a large portion of their surface area. About 1/4 of their surface area will be blocked by the crossover board that they are mounted to. If you mate two together, you've blocked another 1/4 of their surface area (so 1/2 of their total surface area will be blocked, unable to dissipate heat...assuming the surface area at the ends is negligible).

Make a little space between them just to be safe.

[BOBinGA]

Matt,
Correct. Electrified inductors will affect the measured value of nearby inductors. If they have to be close together the least change in value is when they are oriented as in figure 5. They can lie flat, stand upright going north-south or upright going east-west. If you have several inductors on one crossover board, use your imagination and orient them so that they follow the guidelines for all the inductors on the board. With five or six inductors and ten other components, this can be tricky, but it can also be fun like a jigsaw puzzle.

-Bob

[snmhanson]

Matt,
Correct. Electrified inductors will affect the measured value of nearby inductors. If they have to be close together the least change in value is when they are oriented as in figure 5. They can lie flat, stand upright going north-south or upright going east-west. If you have several inductors on one crossover board, use your imagination and orient them so that they follow the guidelines for all the inductors on the board. With five or six inductors and ten other components, this can be tricky, but it can also be fun like a jigsaw puzzle.

-Bob

But if they are father apart - say at least 20 cm from any other inductor - can they be oriented without regard to the other inductors? I am thinking of splitting the crossovers up and locating one of the three networks at the opposite end of the speaker. And since we are talking about inductors, the different inductors that I received each have some sort of wrapping or plastic casing they came in. Was this just for transport purposes and meant to be removed or should I leave it? In the other crossover pictures it looks like it was removed but I can't tell for sure.

Thanks,

Matt

[Jim Holtz]

It's always great getting advice from the Jim. Kind of like getting guitar tips from Carlos Santana.

Matt

WOW! Have I got you fooled! :rofl: Any credit for the Statements designs goes to Curt. He's the wizard with the magic to make speakers sing. I just do the heavy lifting. :B

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that you are nearing the end of the road. You'll soon hear beautiful music!

Jim

[BOBinGA]

Matt,
For inductors over 20 cm apart, don't worrry about the orientation. They would be far anough apart that the values would not be affected. Maybe a picture will help. Here is a photo of the crossover in the speaker I am working on now.



The board on the bottom is the mid-tweeter crossover and the one attahed to the back of the cabinet is the woofer low pass. I tried to orient all the inductors so they were at right angles to the ones closest to themselves. If they had to be oriented the same direction, I tried to keep them as far apart as I could. This even includes inductors located on different boards. The woofer inductor was moved as far as I could get it from the left most inductor on the mid-tweet board since they are in the same orientation. (The woofer inductor is cored, so it's longer than it is tall, but the orientation is still up as is the one on the other board.)

I'm not sure what you mean by "some sort of wrapping", but you just need the bare inductor plus any spool or core that is built in.

-Bob

[snmhanson]

I have yet to get going on my crossovers. I am trying to find terminal strips but didn't have any luck at Home Depot yesterday. They only had one option and it wan't what I was looking for. I'll check Radio Shack tomorrow. Is there a certain rating I should look for in the terminal strips or will pretty much anything work fine? I am also kind of holding out for help from my brother-in-law. I thought we were going to connect today and get going on them but it is looking less likely that it is going to happen today.

In the meantime I figure I may as well start on the internal foam. I have the 1" thick foam from PE but from what I understand, the internal foam needs to be 2" thick. Do I double up on the foam or is only one layer of the 1" PE foam acceptable? Also, is it only located on the walls in the woofer area? Finally, I think I remember reading that it should be held back about 1" from the baffle. Is all of that accurate?

Thanks,

Matt

[snmhanson]

In addition to my above questions, I thought I would post pics of what I've got so far for the crossovers. I have the parts twisted together for the Monitors but still have to add the wire. The first pic is the woofer and tweeter crossovers and the second in the mid. On a few of the junctions it seems like I am going to end up with a huge bundle of wire once I add the wires going to the drivers or binding posts. Should I twist those wires into the junctions or just hold the wire in place while I solder. Also, the inductors in the pictures are on a clear plastic spool and have a black nylon tape wrapped around them. Do I take the tape off or leave it on? Any other comments on what I've got so far?

Thanks,

Matt

[BOBinGA]

Matt,
Your wiring looks fine. I compared it to the schematics on Curt's site and they are correct. (I assume your are using a 5 ohm resistor on the tweeter to get something between a far wall and close wall tuning.)

When you add the speaker wires, it usually helps to wrap them into the juction as well. It's kind of hard to get the wire to stay in place by just holding it against the rest of the wires. Twisting it in helps keep it in place while soldering.

The black tape should be left on the inductors. Its to keep them from unraveling.

You are so close. I don't know how you've resisted temptation and not at least twisted the speaker wires in place for a quick listen.

-Bob

[snmhanson]

Matt,
Your wiring looks fine. I compared it to the schematics on Curt's site and they are correct. (I assume your are using a 5 ohm resistor on the tweeter to get something between a far wall and close wall tuning.)

When you add the speaker wires, it usually helps to wrap them into the juction as well. It's kind of hard to get the wire to stay in place by just holding it against the rest of the wires. Twisting it in helps keep it in place while soldering.

The black tape should be left on the inductors. Its to keep them from unraveling.

You are so close. I don't know how you've resisted temptation and not at least twisted the speaker wires in place for a quick listen.

-Bob

Thanks for the reply. Good to know everything appears correct. The resistors on the tweeter circuit are all 6 ohm. Took the pictures with my phone so they didn't come out super clear. I am still a bit overwhelmed about getting the wiring finished up. Maybe once everything gets mounted on the board I will think about a trial run. I've still got the foam and drivers to install as well. Soon though...

Matt

[snmhanson]

I went ahead and mounted the components to pegboards. I used silicone cement for almost everything and then zip tied a lot of them as well. I may take the zip ties off once everything dries just to clean things up a bit. Still need to add the wire and solder everything together but thought I would post pics to see if I need to change anything or get the all clear. First pic is one of the Monitors and the second in the 2RCC. I probably should have mounted one of the two smaller inductors on it's side, as the inductors on the two different boards are going to be parallel to each other. I could look at an alternate mounting location for one of the boards in the Monitor to make sure they end up perpendicular. However, as it is planned right now, the boards are going to be mounted across from each other on the Monitors so I think they should be more than 20 cm apart from each other. In the 2RCC I am going to mount them on completely opposite sides of the speaker so it should surely be fine there. My crossovers seem like such a jumbled mess compared to some of the others that were posted but I guess they should still work. Anyway, feel free to comment.

Thanks,

Matt

[snmhanson]

OK, I have been diligently working on the crossovers. I soldered everything up on the Monitors and got started on the 2RCC but I think I need to stop for the night. I have a few questions I am hoping I can get some help with.

First, I am including pictures of the finished Monitor crossovers. I think they are ok but it would be great to get someone to confirm that for me. One thing I am not sure on is that rather than going to the ground terminal on the woofer circuit I hooked into the ground on the tweeter circuit so I wouldn't have to have two wires going into the ground in the terminal strip. That's ok, right?

Second, I am new at soldering and some of the components heated up a bit when I was soldering. Nothing got too hot but some of the capacitors in particular got a bit warm to the touch. Is there a chance I did any damage or are they likely ok? Also, Some of the 14 gauge wire I was soldering got very hot and the plastic melted a bit but I assume as long as it is still in one piece it should be fine.

Third, looking at the 2RCC crossover diagram, it almost looks like I could just jump each speaker to the ground on my terminal blocks rather than solder a separate wire from another to the ground. Is that correct? I am attaching a picture of the crossover diagram for reference. Of course, I would need to keep the polarity reversed and jump the positive to ground on the tweeter and mid.

Finally, as I am new to soldering I ended up with big globs of solder wherever I had to solder the speaker wire. Other than aesthetics that really shouldn't have any negative effects, right?

I will also add that after this experience I think I would definitely use the thinnest wire I can for crossovers. The 14 gauge wire I used did not twist on to the thin leads from the components very well at all. It also took quite a while to heat up enough to melt the solder. If I was doing it again I think I would use 16 or maybe even 18 gauge wire on the boards and save the 14 gauge for going from the crossover to the drivers.

Thanks for any advice,

Matt

[BOBinGA]

1. Your pictures are a little too fuzzy to check your connections. In general, you can tie the grounds together, but be careful. I don't remember the Monitor's tweeter polarity but ground could actually be its positive terminal like in the 2RCC diagram you attached. You won't hurt anything if you get it backward, but the tweeter will not be in the correct phase with the woofer and it will affect the sound. Look carefully at the circuit diagram and you will see the + terminal marked on the drivers. Make sure they are connected like in the diagram.

2. Soldering 14 gauge wire is indeed very difficult. (I learned that the hard way, too ) Most components will take a lot of heat and are probably OK, but check the capacitor with a multimeter if you have one. If its a complete short (zero ohms), it probably needs to be replaced or at least taken out of the circuit and tested separately. If it starts at zero ohms and then slowly goes up over the next ten seconds or so, its probably OK.

-Bob

[snmhanson]

Thanks to all who have helped so far. After a long night of work I was able to listen to the Monitors early this morning. Even though I have a few things to finish up (stuffing, mid-tunnel foam, and moving one of the crossovers), they still put my Def Tech Mythos to shame. I was afraid they weren't going to work at first as there was only complete dead silence when I powered everything up - usually I can hear a slight hiss coming though my speakers. Never the less, when I put in a Nina Simone CD it sounded like she was right there singing in person. I also samples Nora Jones and watched the opening battle scene of Terminator Salvation. Everything sounded great! They especially seemed to meld well with the sub that I had previously built (Titanic 15" in a 3cf sealed box). I can't wait to get these completely finished as well as the 2RCC. I listened to them mostly in stereo but when I did switch to surround mode the Mythos center sounded comparatively muddled and, well, just bad. I was wondering if all of the work was going to be worth it at around 10:00 last night but now that I have heard them I can honestly say I would (and probably will) do it again.

Quick crossover question. After getting the two boards installed I noticed that the cores in the woofer inductor and mid inductor were aligned parallel and fairly close to each other. It is probably very similar to figure two in the coil placement guide: http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/coils.htm. However, I didn't hear any obvious signs of interference. If they are interfering with each other would it be obvious? Should I go ahead and reposition the board for good measure?

Thanks again for all of the help and getting me to this point. I'll follow up with pictures and more detail once I get the 2RCC done.

Matt

[snmhanson]

Last question. In addition to my crossover question above, can anyone give me an idea of how much Acousta Stuf I should put in each speaker (Monitors and 2RCC) and where it should be located? I could experiment with it but I don't have the time to keep taking the drivers off and on and my listening skills and memory aren't acute enough to tell me when I have the right amount. Also, it can press up against the crossovers, right?

Thanks,

Matt

[Jim Holtz]

Last question. In addition to my crossover question above, can anyone give me an idea of how much Acousta Stuf I should put in each speaker (Monitors and 2RCC) and where it should be located? I could experiment with it but I don't have the time to keep taking the drivers off and on and my listening skills and memory aren't acute enough to tell me when I have the right amount. Also, it can press up against the crossovers, right?

Thanks,

Matt

Hi Matt,

Forget about the Accustuff and line the cabinet with 2" of foam or fiberglass. That's what they were designed with.

Jim

[snmhanson]

I already lined the woofer area with 3/4" sonic barrier. However, I can see clearly in many threads that 2" foam is what is spec'ed. I think I am getting the 2RCC mixed up with the Monitor in the dampening department. The 3/4" barrier and the Acusta Stuff is used in the 2RCC builds, not the Monitors. Should I replace the sonic barrier already in the Monitors with 2" foam or will the sonic barrier work? I have to order foam for the tunnel so it wouldn't be a big deal to order some 2" foam at the same time if I would notice a difference.

Thanks,

Matt

[Jim Holtz]

I already lined the woofer area with 3/4" sonic barrier. However, I can see clearly in many threads that 2" foam is what is spec'ed. I think I am getting the 2RCC mixed up with the Monitor in the dampening department. The 3/4" barrier and the Acusta Stuff is used in the 2RCC builds, not the Monitors. Should I replace the sonic barrier already in the Monitors with 2" foam or will the sonic barrier work? I have to order foam for the tunnel so it wouldn't be a big deal to order some 2" foam at the same time if I would notice a difference.

Thanks,

Matt

Hi Matt,

I've never used Sonic Barrier so I really can't comment on it's acoustic properties. I do know the 2" wedge works very well and what the original design was based on. If you want to follow the original design, pick some up. If you'd like to experiment, give the Sonic Barrier a try. It won't hurt anything that you can't easily fix. :B

Jim

[snmhanson]

So, here they all are up and running. Hopefully the pics come out ok. I am quite pleased with the results. The pictures don't really do them justice. Had some questions on the 2RCC that I made a separate post for but I think I've got them worked out. We watched Prince of Persia last night as our first formal listening and it was great. Very crisp and clear with absolutely no undesired background noises. I've also watched parts of Terminator Salvation and Star Trek and all of the movies sounded spectacular. Finally, the dialog comes through nice and clear and isn't drowned out by all of the other noise. As good as these are for HT, where they really shine IMO is music. The music I have played so far has sounded so much better than what I'm used to it's almost hard to believe. I can now understand what everyone is talking about when they say that the music is only going to be as good as the recording. In both music and HT these are very revealing and I am hearing all sorts of effects that I haven't heard before.

There is still a few things I need to finish up. I need to redo the dampening and reposition one of the crossovers in the Monitors. I want to find black screws for the drivers. I need to make grilles for them (three kids - the youngest turns three is February). We're eventually going to get a projector/screen but until then I need to make a riser for the TV so that I can put the center up on the console. Finally, I think I am going to make a second sub to match the first and put it on the left side of the console and then move the monitors so that they are on top of each sub. Finally, as I mentioned in my '2RCC Questions' thread, I am kicking around the idea of building the sealed Statements and moving my Monitors to surround duty or to another room. Sonically, the Monitors are awesome, however, visually, the sealed Statements would sure make a, um, statement. Thanks to everyone for their help throughout this process. If anyone lives near the Columbia Gorge and wants to give them a listen just let me know.

Matt

[peepaj]

very nice build

[richnen]

They look great.

They will only get better as the drivers break in a bit.

I love the sound of my monitors!

Most definitely get some grills on there, the kids will have a hard time ignoring the call of the silver cones! The cones of the tangbands are very,very sensitive!

[LoveDoctor]

If anyone lives near the Columbia Gorge and wants to give them a listen just let me know.

Matt

I might take you up on that, Matt. You might remember you pointed me to some bamboo sources here in Portland in another thread. I finished some Aviatrixes a few months ago and my next build might be some Statement Monitors for another room. But with a 6 month old, it might be a while though...

[snmhanson]

Thanks for the compliments. I think they actually look a little more impressive in person. I always get a little impatient at the end of a project like this and it usually results in a not so perfect finish. If you look closely at the speakers in person you can see some hairline scratches from the last sanding. I should have put another coat or two of finish on but I was just too excited to hear them. I also should have done a final wet sanding with a high grit paper. Oh well...

I might take you up on that, Matt. You might remember you pointed me to some bamboo sources here in Portland in another thread. I finished some Aviatrixes a few months ago and my next build might be some Statement Monitors for another room. But with a 6 month old, it might be a while though...

Just send me a PM if you want to stop by some time. Where in Portland do you live? Did you ever find the bamboo? I stopped at bamboo revolution when looking for baffle material but it looked like it would have been kind of a pain to get something thick enough. I like the Jatoba that I went with but I may switch to cherry someday - my local lumber store can get some really nice looking 1-1/4" cherry countertop for a decent price.

Matt

[LoveDoctor]

Just send me a PM if you want to stop by some time. Where in Portland do you live? Did you ever find the bamboo? I stopped at bamboo revolution when looking for baffle material but it looked like it would have been kind of a pain to get something thick enough. I like the Jatoba that I went with but I may switch to cherry someday - my local lumber store can get some really nice looking 1-1/4" cherry countertop for a decent price.

Matt

Yep, Bamboo Revolution had several ripped sections of bamboo ply that worked quite well, and I got some bamboo laminate for a set of TriTrix MTs I built. Friendly guys that helped me search through their pile of leftovers for what I needed. I keep meaning to post pics but I'm too lazy! I'm in SW PDX, but it might be a while before I get out to your neck o' the woods.

[zephyrtear]

Wow congratulations! they look very nice!! I was wondering if you could do me a favor! Im in doubt if i should build a pair of statement monitors or minis, but since i live in Brazil there is no way i can visit someone to listen to these Do you think you could record theem playing a song or two and upload it for me to listen to it??
I will be going to the US in January and plan on buying the parts

[snmhanson]

I could try to do that but there are two issues we would be facing. First, I don't have anything to record them with, other than using my cell phone to record it as a voice memo. Second, no matter how good the speakers are, the quality you hear would be constrained by the quality of every component used in the recording and playback process (my cell phone recording ability, the transfer from my phone to a computer file, the bit rate and quality of the computer file and finally, the quality of the speakers you would be playing it on). I am happy to give it a try, but I seriously doubt listening to them in that manner would give you a reliable sample of the sound from them, and could actually be a misleading representation of the sound. Let me know if you would still like me to do that for you and I will try to PM or e-mail you a sound file or two.

Matt

[zephyrtear]

Hi Matt,

Thank you for the offer! You are right, the quality of a recording will never sound like them in real life... But I think that if you record them as a voicenote the quality will be even worst than with a digital camera hehe. So no worries.

Are you using them as your mains? that is what i plan on doing since it will stay in my room. How do they sound?? Do you recomend them or should i build minis as my mains? BTW my room is 3,52 meters by 4,15m. This is a sketchup of the room... Thanks!

Image not available

[snmhanson]

I am using them as my mains in a rather large fully enclosed room that is roughly 22x28' (~7.0 by 8.5 meters). They sound great and are only sounding better as I listen to them more. I don't find them underpowered at all, although I don't listen to extremely loud music. I also prefer to run my sub with them, as they don't quite make it down to the lower notes in movies (explosions) and some music with heavy bass - not that they don't still sound great without the sub. They are complimented by the 2RCC and my Dayton Titanic 15" sub which both seem to blend in very well with them. I do sometimes listen to the Monitors in stereo mode, with and without the sub, and like everyone says, the speakers are extremely revealing and you certainly benefit from a good source/recording. Overall, I am finding them quite forward (especially when using the 2RCC), however, I still need to put the foam in the mid tunnels which I hear can have a significant effect on the brightness of the speaker.

I have never heard the Minis, but based on my perception of what I have read, the main reason to go with the minis (or even the full sized statements) over the Monitors is if you need it loud or if you want speakers that go deeper than the Monitors. As a matter of fact, I remember reading that Jim and Curt both felt that the sound quality of the Monitors is every bit as good and maybe even better than that of the other two models. I think with your size room (~11.5x13.5 feet), and because you already have a sub (based on your sketch) the Monitors would be a great fit.

The only other idea I might throw out is the sealed version of the statements. The sealed statements are 40" tall but have the same driver configuration of the statements. There have been a few people who have built them and seem to be happy with the results. I am considering them for my next major build - although I don't see how much of a step up they could be over the Monitors. I do like that they have two RS225s and two Tang Bands in them - just like the 2RCC. Curt has the cabinet design on his website and you can do a search to find the build threads.

Hope this helped!

Matt

[zephyrtear]

Thanks for the advice Matt! That definately helped!! I guess ill start with the monitors and a the center channel and if that doest work out i can build minis, or fulls! hehe But im sure that for the size of my room the monitors would be perfect!

Now i just have to wait till january to go to the US and buy all the materials :S So much anxiety!!

[snmhanson]

No problem. Another thing I will add is that the Monitors give you the near wall placement option while the Mini and full-sized Statements prefer to be pulled away from the wall a bit more. Looks like the Monitor will also be a good fit for you in that regard.

The only issue I can see with the Monitors is that the RS180-4 has been redesigned. There is a thread that discusses whether the new RS180-4 is a drop in replacement. I think the concensus is that they are fine, but I'm not sure as I haven't paid too much attention to it since I already have them. You may want to check it out though. Other than that, I think it is a great decision to go with the Monitors.

Matt

[snmhanson]

I finally got the correct foam for my speakers. The speakers are now in pieces spread across my poker table and pool table while I fix/finish up a few things on them. Can anyone tell me the best way to glue the 2" wedge foam into place? Does spray on adhesive work best or is there something else?

Thanks,

Matt

[FroDaddy]

I used 3M super 77 spray adhesive.

[snmhanson]

I used 3M super 77 spray adhesive.

Thanks - I'll go with that.

Matt

[snmhanson]

OK, a couple more foam questions. First, is there a recommended way to cut the 1" tunnel foam at a 45 degree angle other than a sharp razor? Seems like kind of a stupid question but I am a bit of a perfectionist and I will drive myself nuts trying to get a clean and accurate cut. Also, I mounted a crossover panel on each side of each Monitor and they take up a fair amount of space, as in the majority of the sides in front of the brace. Will foam on the top/bottom and brace area be enough or should I look into moving my crossovers? Finally, I could look this up but since I am asking other questions here I will ask this one as well. How far back do I hold the wedge foam from the baffle? How about the tunnel foam?

Thanks for all of the help. Hopefully this will be the last time I have to work on them - with the exception of finishing the grilles.

Matt