A (late) Statements Build.

[john trials]

I'd be interested in seeing some build photos of your diffusers. I'm tempted to build a few.

[AdelaaR]

The plan is to build folded N7's ... they are easier to build, less deep and lighter.
All of this will be of major importance since I plan to install them in the doors of the cabinets in the walls.
I'm thinking of ordering CNC pre-cut 9mm black MDF for this, since if the MDF is already black to begin with ... the only thing I would need to do is glue the pieces together and spray some finisher on it.
I'm still contemplating and calculating the exact design though, but I will certainly keep you posted if progress is made

[cjd]

That room looks like it will recommend putting your Statements about 3 feet apart from each-other... Hope it works out for you still, but it seems a bad match to me.

Love the wall drawings!

[AdelaaR]

They should be about 175 centimeters apart ... maybe a bit more depending on how well the bass absorbtion behind them works ... I'll have to measure it once it's in place.

[AdelaaR]

I just recalculated the dimensions of the center channel and it appears I miscalculated the first time because I did not include the mid tunnel taking up space inside the cabinet. (silly me)
According to my new model the original CC with the RS180S-8's had an internal volume of 32,5 liter tuned at 36 Hz ... the white line in this graph:

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Now I'm confused about which approach I should take.

RED: I can go for a 24l volume with higher 44Hz tuning and come very close to the original response till about 50Hz and then dropping faster.

GREEN: I can go for a 26l volume with the same tuning of 36Hz and mimic the curve of the original, but I'll already be 1dB below original at 100Hz

YELLOW: I can go for something in between.

Any thoughts anyone? (am I overthinking this?)

[AdelaaR]

I made the final blueprint for my custom Statement Center Channel using the RS180-8's:

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The extra panel at the end of the port is there to be able to make a flange with a rasp.
The crossover compartment should be just large enough to fit all the components.
The front baffle is slightly bigger to compensate for rounding it over, like in my custom Statements.

[AdelaaR]

I made the blueprints for my diffusers today:

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They are specifically designed to be used as the doors for my in-wall cabinets.
The calculations aren't perfect ... but compromises have to be made.
The main material will be black 9mm MDF and the back plate will be 10mm multiplex.
The black pieces at the sides are solid wood to strengthen the sides of the doors and to be able to securely attach the hinges.
The little black piece in the middle is a strip of 18mm MDF to strengthen the overlapping part.

[AdelaaR]

I just ordered all the MDF for:

-2 custom Statements
-1 custom Statement center channel
-10 periods of custom diffusers on 8 doors
-4 in-wall cabinets

In total I estimate around 300 yards of cutting will be done by the CNC machine ... yay

[AdelaaR]

My MDF has arrived!

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In total the machine cut 327 meters with an accuracy of about 0,1mm.
I could have never achieved this kind of perfection with my simple circular saw unless it would have taken me ages to complete.
Notice how they even stickered every panel, indicating the dimensions.
The plain MDF in the foreground and standing up in the back is for the Statements, the CC and the cabinets while the enormous quantity of black MDF, which is neatly ordened in little piles for each size panel, will be used for the diffusers.
They didn't sticker those, probably because there are nearly two hundred of them.

Obviously I couldn't restrain myself and so I already almost finished one diffuser the same day:

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I took the picture before gluing the top and bottom panels on, to be able to see the internal structure.
10 of these will have to be made (6 single and 2 double), but with the pre-cut panels it's actually relatively easy and fast to assemble.
The length of the panels is 1220mm, partly because that is a perfect height for my diffusers, but mainly because an MDF panel is 1220mm wide and that way I could greatly reduce cutting costs.

[BeerParty]

My MDF has arrived!

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Now there is a 'wood pile' to drool over! I am looking forward to these going together.

[CADman_ks]

My MDF has arrived!

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The plain MDF in the foreground and standing up in the back is for the Statements, the CC and the cabinets while the enormous quantity of black MDF, which is neatly ordened in little piles for each size panel, will be used for the diffusers.

I'm with BeerParty, nice pile.

Do we get black MDF in the states? Has anyone here every seen that? Wouldn't it be ideal for front baffles? Then you wouldn't have to paint the rebates, because they would be black already...

CADman_ks

[AdelaaR]

They mix the color in the fabrication process and so the color is very consistent throughout the panel.
It's not entirely deep black but more of an "antracite" kind of dark grey, which I like a lot because it'll be slightly different from the walls, which should be black and this'll make the diffusers come out a bit.
Where I got my panels they've got multiple colors actually, but black is the only one they had in stock ... other colors were available on request.

[AdelaaR]

The second diffuser is coming together:

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It takes a long time because I don't have more clamps than that.

I started a bit of the work on the center channel already too and I was amazed at how immense that thing is!
It looks pretty big on a picture ... but one has to actually see it before him to understand how big it actually is.

[AdelaaR]

Construction of the cabinet for the center channel is nearing completion:

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The space on the left will be the crossover compartment.
The port is a simple plastic tube and I made a flange by rounding over the hole.

[JonMarsh]

Steady progress gets the job done. At this stage, it's sometimes hard to see that, but you're getting there!

[AdelaaR]

A final picture before I glued the top on:

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I used quite a lot of glue to securely route the cabling.
In the end I went for a 25 liter box with a port tuning of just under 39Hz to mimic the original CC's curve, be it with a little less deep bass.

[AdelaaR]

Being this close ... I couldn't restrain myself and mounted the crossover and speakers late last night and I stayed up way past bedtime to give it a thorough listen.
It's only mono, but still I had the most analytic music experience of my life ... maybe partly because it is mono.
I must have done something right ... because it sounds perfect

[AdelaaR]

Finally, after more than a year since the start of this project, the actual building of the statements has commenced.

Mid tunnels:

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[AdelaaR]

This is how I've got my stuff set up at the time being:

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I play with an old laptop and an old Yamaha DSP-A1 I got for free from some guy because the DSP itself in it doesn't work anymore after a lightning strike.
I hooked up an external decoder to it's specific decoder inputs and the amp still works
The center channel is suspended by simple cord for now ... I'm still on the lookout for a nice small black chain of some sort to hang it up with.

Gluing of the statements and their custom base with double bottom plate and crossover compartment:

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[AdelaaR]

Further gluing of the Statements:

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Inside:

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[BeerParty]

Big, aren't they?

You are making good progress, love the pictures.

[AdelaaR]

They are indeed BIG!
As with the center channel ... I was expecting big ... but still I stood in awe

I try to post pictures from many of the building steps to hopefully help others with their builds.
If it wasn't for this forum and it's many build-threads and helpful people, I would probably never have succesfully completed this or any such project and so I feel obliged to return the favor.

[AdelaaR]

I Routed the cables through the cabinets and into the crossover compartments ... using a lot of TEC7 glue to make sure they won't vibrate.
Around the mid tunnels it got pretty messy, but nobody will know once they're sealed (except you guys)

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I made little labels for the cables by combining paper tape and regular adhesive tape.
The speakers are suspended by beer crates at this point, because I need the specific "workmates" in the kitchen where I'm laying the floor.

[AdelaaR]

Major progress this weekend ... once I'm nearly done I go berserk

Dampening with rockwool:

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Applying a lot of glue:

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I used regular white glue for the sides and PU glue for the inside to make sure small differences in height would be compensated.

A bunch of clamps:

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Pressurising the top plate using full crates of beer:

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Soldering the wires to the crossover:

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... and then finally ... victory at last!:

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This is how I've got the Statements set up as of yesterday evening, with my newly arrived Yamaha RX-V771 receiver.
The bare MDF on the sides will be finished once I paint the rest of the room.
Since today I also have 2 of the F4's set up at the sides as surrounds, but I still have to install the cabling for the remaining 2.

I gave them a listen for a while and so far I am very impressed ;x(
I didn't get a chance to really thoroughly listen to them yet since I had many other things to do, like making a kitchen floor and such, but a full review will follow as soon as possible.

[CADman_ks]

Either the Statements are really big or you have a really small TV.

Looks great!!!!

[cjd]

Those look great! Attention to detail is clear. I'm especially interested in how the room turns out after you're all done.

C

[Coconutout]

wow they turned out excellent.

[AdelaaR]

Thanks for the encouragements, guys

I haven't watched TV for 15 years and I don't own an actual TV.
I did, however, have to install a tiny little TV I had lying around to my receiver to make adjustments to the speaker setup because those menu's can only be seen "on screen" and I haven't installed my projector yet.

Today I was home late from work at around 8pm and since my 2 year old son went to sleep by that time I only had time to listen to one song
I did choose a pretty lengthy song, namely the "Atom Heart Mother suite" by Pink Floyd.
I'm somewhat of a Pink Floyd nut and so I own the new remasters but I hadn't had the time to really listen to them yet due to work, family, house, etc...

I have actually seen "Atom Heart Mother" performed live.
Since I'm only 32 years old not in the original ... but still: I went to a live performance of an interpretation of it with an actual choir consisting of about a hundred voices, a whole bunch of live horns and trumpets and even a man baking an omelet live on stage!
To sum it up: I know what "Atom Heart Mother" should sound like.

Listening to it in the unlit darkness of my studio with the Statements ...
I was blown away immediately.
Well ... "mesmerized" describes it better I suppose.
I'm not known to be an emotional type ... but I was almost brought to tears ... or at least emotivated in a way that I thought I could only be when going to live concerts.
With the center channel and the F4's in surround DTS:NEO6 ... it seemed as if the whole width of the room and even beyond were full of people playing instruments or singing.

So far I'm seriously impressed

[Jim Holtz]

Excellent! :T

Jim

[AdelaaR]

I'm in the process of making my projection screen.
The screen is supposed to drop from the ceiling automatically, suspended by two bands. The projector is, at some point, supposed to lower with the screen, but first things first.
I already made a system comprising of a plastic tube and an electric motor for roller shutters, but it needs some tweaking to make it work properly and not damage the screen in the rolling.
The screen on this picture is just for testing purposes and to be able to already watch some movies

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A view of the side wall, where I made some in-wall shelves:

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[AdelaaR]

Yesterday was sunday and I had some time to listen to my speakers and fiddle with the settings of the receiver, like the DPLIIx fine tuning and such
At some point I cranked up the speakers to a very loud level ... I don't know how many dB's but the receiver was at -0,0dB so it was pretty loud.
I was amazed at how good it kept sounding!
I'm used to speakers that sound okay when played normally, start sounding worse as volume increases and completely break up when playing loud, but not so with these babies
I listened to "Nothing else matters" by Metallica and the sound was simply superb ... I never knew the bass in that song was that good untill then.
These speakers have been great for all my music listening so far from blues and jazz to classical and rock ... they simply make it all sound fantastic.

[Jim Holtz]

Excellent! I'm really pleased you're enjoying your Statements. :T

Jim

[agrippa]

These look very nice. Congratulations. How was the beer? I love Belgium and German beer... :^x ahhh 2 of my favorite hobbies. DIY audio and Brewing Beer. I have a Belgium Wheat as well as German Bock aging in my closet right now. Can't wait.
Well, I got to back to researching and planning my next DIY project...

[AdelaaR]

Thanks and nice one on brewing yourself.
I might get into that one day, when I'm retired or something
The beer in the pictures is actually one of the finest beers in the world (according to me at least) ... I drive to the small local family brewery just to get that.
It's called "Arend Tripel".
I was actually drinking one a few hours ago, after work, while listening to my now perfectly tweaked 7.1 music setup

[AdelaaR]

For those interested in my DIY diffusers, here's a picture of the gluing process of one of my larger panels:

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The weird clamp construction is needed to apply pressure in the middle without having to place weights on it.
These things take a lot of time, because I have to wait to let the glue dry before I can continue.

[roamer]

Hi all, I jump it to this thread beacuse I am goig to build my own Statements in late summer and have a question or two to AdelaaR. I am from Sweden and will as you order my stuff from europe-audio. The question I have is, wath inductor did you order to the bass xover. It should bee a 7.0 mH but I can only find 6.8 mH iductors. And thanks for the convertion from inch to metric. :T

[AdelaaR]

Hi Roamer and welcome
Note that my plans with metric units are not the original plans but rather my custom plans without wider base, with front port and with crossover compartment.
Also note that if you order the 8 inch woofers ... you will receive the new unshielded drivers, which might make you consider lowering the cabinet volume and slightly increasing the port tuning. It's best to talk to Curt about these things.
I used the original shielded drivers for this version.
As for the crossover ... I simply used the 6,8mH inductor with ferro core.
6,8 is less than 5% different from 7,0 ... and 5% is the tolerance of the component ... so it should be fine.
Take a look at the pictures I posted of the crossovers and you should be able to see the parts I used.
Have fun and make a build thread with pictures

[AdelaaR]

A quick update.
I'm currently designing my projection screen and how it automaticly lowers from the ceiling and such.
In fact, the whole "screen" system has been scrapped ... I tried for a long time to make it work properly but I couldn't achieve it. The screen, due to the special rolling system used, was floppy and bulgy (do you say "bulgy"?) and it wasn't pleasant to look at such a distorted image.
It was a difficult decision to scrap a week's work, but I finally decided upon it and completely scrapped the whole system.

I'm now in the process of making a projection "plate" rather than a screen.
I used a sheet of 9mm MDF and a metal frame for it and painted it with white primer paint. The result is very good thus far and I'm now conceiving a system with steel wires to make it fold into the ceiling.

I have also installed electricity and lighting in the whole room, which turned out very nice.

Pics will follow whenever the automization of the projection plate is complete

[AdelaaR]

Picture time!

Current state of the speaker setup:

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Side wall with diffusers and lights:

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The projection plate, suspended in the ceiling, with the motor:

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The projection plate, while being lowered:

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System with springs to allow the cable to loosen while the plate reaches it's
highest position:

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The projection plate, lowered position:

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I'm still contemplating the exact details of a secondary system that will make the cables, which hang at the sides now, retract into the ceiling after the screen has been lowered.

[technodanvan]

Looks like it's really shaping up nicely, once the drywall goes up it's going to look really clean. As you mentioned though, you gotta figure out that cable situation!

[AdelaaR]

Today I started working on my soon-to-be QRD diffuser, which will reside in the middle of the room behind the suspended Statement center channel.

Here I am ... cutting nearly 400 bits of wood

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A mitre saw isn't a luxury for this sort of work, believe me.
They're all neatly stacked by size, of course.

After they were all cut, I quickly made a sort of jig to aid me in sanding them:

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This is a diagram of how they will be glued together:

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More pics soon.

[AdelaaR]

The blocks are all 5x5 cm ... which is close to 2 by 2 inches.
Here's a diagram of how they will be positioned to reach the final size of 165x65 cm, which is the space I have on the wall:

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It's basicly 3 "periods" of N13 2D diffusers, centered to be symmetric and with the sides cut off to fit.
I know this means the diffusion won't be mathematically perfect ... but definitely good enough

[AdelaaR]

Pictures as promised:

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It took a LONG time to sand all of those.
Half of the depth will end up "inside" the wall and the longest blocks will stick out.
I drilled a little hole in the middle of the diffuser in one of the deeper wells to be able to pass the speaker wire that will drive the center channel.
That way, the wire will hang behind the speaker and won't be visible from the front.

[sorue]

Stunning work, AdelaaR. Thanks for sharing! Look forward to hearing and seeing more of your project progress! That is ALOT of work on the diffusers, nice job man

[AdelaaR]

Thanks

... and I almost forgot:

A big thanks to Bill "collo" Collison ... the guy who made "QRdude" ... a free tool for calculating QR diffusers.
You can get it here: http://www.subwoofer-builder.com/qrdude.htm