New Statements II Build

[Jblack1]

Hi Guys,

I've been lurking the board lately trying to find as much information as possible regarding the Statement series of speakers as I believe that is what I'm going to pursue building for my home entertainment room. I've yet to read a bad review online anywhere and the helpful nature of this board seems to make this an easy call.

The plan now is to build the Statements II towers, center channel, and possibly the micro-statements as surrounds. Although the price difference between the micros and monitors is such it may just make sense to upgrade to the monitors.

I have the parts for the towers currently shipping from meniscus audio. I plan to use no subs while listening to music but did build two full size marty subs with 18 inch woofers to use for HT purposes.

I've got a couple questions before we start the speaker build:

1) Wood - we completely used up the MDF on the subs so need to buy more. That stuff is pretty messy so we were thinking maybe getting some plywood instead of MDF for the speakers. Will this make a difference or is it personal preference? Any other good options? The plan is to eventually finish the speakers with high grade automotive paint.

2) I've seen a couple threads (Deewan's) where a MTMWW configuration was used. I like the smaller size of this configuration so if we go that route does anyone have any tips prior to starting? Other than not messing with any of the layouts used in their build threads?

Thanks all for the great site and all the helpful resources provided!

[wkhanna]

Welcome, & good luck with your build.

i will let our resident Pro's here handle it from here.....

[---k---]

I built my Khanspires from high-grade baltic birch plywood. Mostly because of personal preference for less mess. Internet flame wars have been waged over whether plywood or MDF is better (though I haven't seen one in a long while). MDF is more dense, Plywood is stiffer. MDF is easier to route and finish, but is softer and easier to damage and sucks up moisture and can swell. Plywood has exposed edges that are more difficult to conceal when painting, but more stable. -Tradeoffs- I think it is nibbling around the edges. I don't think you will be noticeable different using a high grade plywood (stressing the high grade part. It has been a while, but I was paying ~$50-$60/sheet range. I've ether purchased it from a specificity place like Owl Hardwood or Menards. The plywood at Home Depot and Lowes doesn't seem to be similar void free quality. But, this varies by location). If you're painting, you might need extra effort to prep the edges of plywood.

Jon Marsh has some strong preferences for extremely stiff front baffles and has constructed the last couple of his builds using LBL and other exotic materials.



I'd imagine moving from a WMTMW to a MTMWW would definitely change the bass - you should get more floor bounce reinforcement. But, of course a lot of people would appreciate/enjoy a little extra bass. This kind of extra bass is just level and is pretty easy to EQ these days with automagic receivers or even the tone dial - though some would consider that sacrilegious. I don't recall Deewan's thread if he adjusted the crossover to compensate. Deewan knows what he is doing, so probably following his lead is okay. Could you please link to Deewan's thread. I'm curious to go back in time and see what he did.

[Jblack1]

I built my Khanspires from high-grade baltic birch plywood. Mostly because of personal preference for less mess. Internet flame wars have been waged over whether plywood or MDF is better (though I haven't seen one in a long while). MDF is more dense, Plywood is stiffer. MDF is easier to route and finish, but is softer and easier to damage and sucks up moisture and can swell. Plywood has exposed edges that are more difficult to conceal when painting, but more stable. -Tradeoffs- I think it is nibbling around the edges. I don't think you will be noticeable different using a high grade plywood (stressing the high grade part. It has been a while, but I was paying ~$50-$60/sheet range. I've ether purchased it from a specificity place like Owl Hardwood or Menards. The plywood at Home Depot and Lowes doesn't seem to be similar void free quality. But, this varies by location). If you're painting, you might need extra effort to prep the edges of plywood.

Jon Marsh has some strong preferences for extremely stiff front baffles and has constructed the last couple of his builds using LBL and other exotic materials.



I'd imagine moving from a WMTMW to a MTMWW would definitely change the bass - you should get more floor bounce reinforcement. But, of course a lot of people would appreciate/enjoy a little extra bass. This kind of extra bass is just level and is pretty easy to EQ these days with automagic receivers or even the tone dial - though some would consider that sacrilegious. I don't recall Deewan's thread if he adjusted the crossover to compensate. Deewan knows what he is doing, so probably following his lead is okay. Could you please link to Deewan's thread. I'm curious to go back in time and see what he did.

Just to add a little extra information this is my first foray into HT setups outside of the traditional HTIB setups. The speakers will be in basement with concrete floors covered with carpet. From what I read on Deewan's build thread there was no crossover change. Still thinking at the moment as height wise the statements will be taller than the subs I built and those things are huge.

This is the link from Deewan - https://www.htguide.com/forum/showth...ighlight=remix
Another with a similar setup - https://www.htguide.com/forum/showth...ighlight=MTMWW

[Jblack1]

My apologies if this gets posted twice. I thought I replied directly to your post but I doesn't seem to be showing up. This was my basic reply.

This will be my first foray into HT building outside of your typical HTIB. The speakers will be located in my carpeted basement. From what I read on Deewan's thread there was no cross over change for the MTMWW layout. I'm still tossing around the smaller MTMWW version vs the larger version. I was originally planning the normal sized statements but they are actually going to be taller than the subs I build and those things are huge. As of now I don't believe we will be trying to build a curved version either.

Deewan's build thread - https://www.htguide.com/forum/showth...ighlight=remix
Another similar build thread - https://www.htguide.com/forum/showth...ighlight=MTMWW

[---k---]

Skimmed through Deewans thread. I missed that one the first time around. Enjoyable read.

You you mentioned, no change in crossover was done. He say's Curt, the crossover guru, Campbell blessed it. So, it should be all good. I still suspect there is a little bit more of bass in the redesign from the floor, but again that might be enjoyable. I'm guessing if Curt blessed it, he looked at it and it was very small. You can model it using Jeff Bagby's Baffle Diffraction and Boundary Simulator http://audio.claub.net/software/jbabgy/BDBS.html

The room has so much more to do with bass, so it may be impossible to figure out without measurements.

Edit:
My curiosity got to me, so I tried to quickly modeled it. And I'm not sure if I modeled the dual woofers entirely correct... I used my Khanspire since I have those dimensions. First model is the boundry gain with the assumed center of at the tweeter, which is midpoint. The second is the center of the driver between the woofers in a WWMTM configuration. (I used 15" which is directly below the woofer in my Khans, but it looks like Deewan might have pushed it up a little higher). The model - if I did the dual woofers correctly, shows some big differences around 80 - 100 hz. But again, with as much as the room effect is at these frequencies, can you really hear it? or would it be enjoyable? (Deewan was waxing on and on about the bass. Maybe now we know why. ) Other notes, if you want to try and reproduce, I used 3' from the back wall and 5' from the side wall.

[TEK]

I favour BB over MDF but finishing BB is harder, especially if you are going for paint and not veneer.
You should consider covering the speaker with 2-3mm HDF (or MDF) before making the driver cutouts and starting on the final finishing process.
If not you will have to do something to hide the grains of the BB.

[Jim Holtz]

Welcome to the Statements family. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Now to clarify some things;

1. Curt has never "blessed" converting from a WMTMW configuration to a MTMWW. He has said it probably wouldn't make an audible difference but he's never measured it nor either Curt or myself have had the opportunity to listen to that configuration. Deewan and I are still trying to get together for an A/B listening session. He has built both configurations and he's indicated he was very happy with the bass in the Remix. So, it should be OK but this is the "Y" of DIY.

2. Depending on how you plan to finish them baltic birch would be just fine. I wouldn't suggest any other type of plywood though. I use MDF and have always had satisfactory results. Your choice but skip plain plywood.

If you want to make it simple, use the Anthology cabinet but with the Statements II tunnels and driver spacing for the mids/ribbon and also for the bottom mid to the top woofer. Complete plans are on Curt's website.

Finally, if your subs are as big as you say, placement between the speakers or on either side of them will be a problem. The open back mids have to have room for the backwave of sound to reflect and blend with the front wave. In other words, items between or to the side of the Statements need to be no taller than the bottom of the lower mid for them to sound as designed.

Hope that helps!

Jim

[Jblack1]

Welcome to the Statements family. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Now to clarify some things;

1. Curt has never "blessed" converting from a WMTMW configuration to a MTMWW. He has said it probably wouldn't make an audible difference but he's never measured it nor either Curt or myself have had the opportunity to listen to that configuration. Deewan and I are still trying to get together for an A/B listening session. He has built both configurations and he's indicated he was very happy with the bass in the Remix. So, it should be OK but this is the "Y" of DIY.

2. Depending on how you plan to finish them baltic birch would be just fine. I wouldn't suggest any other type of plywood though. I use MDF and have always had satisfactory results. Your choice but skip plain plywood.

If you want to make it simple, use the Anthology cabinet but with the Statements II tunnels and driver spacing for the mids/ribbon and also for the bottom mid to the top woofer. Complete plans are on Curt's website.

Finally, if your subs are as big as you say, placement between the speakers or on either side of them will be a problem. The open back mids have to have room for the backwave of sound to reflect and blend with the front wave. In other words, items between or to the side of the Statements need to be no taller than the bottom of the lower mid for them to sound as designed.

Hope that helps!

Jim

Thanks for the reply, Jim.

I hadn't thought about using the Anthology cabinets but I will go ahead and check out the plans. They seem to be about the size I am looking for.

I'm about 95% sure we will be finishing the speakers with automotive paint.

I think we did go a bit overboard with the subs. They are about 4 feet in height if I recall correctly but we had originally planned on laying them on their sides which would put them at about 2 feet high give or take a few inches. I know you say 3 feet clearance from the back wall. Will that apply to side walls/objects also for best performance?

As for the surrounds would the Finalists monitors be a good fit? They are more in line with the cost and size I would like with a surround speaker. If not I will probably just upgrade and go with the normal Statements monitors.

Thanks for your help!

[---k---]

Now to clarify some things;

1. Curt has never "blessed" converting from a WMTMW configuration to a MTMWW. He has said it probably wouldn't make an audible difference but he's never measured it nor either Curt or myself have had the opportunity to listen to that configuration. Deewan and I are still trying to get together for an A/B listening session. He has built both configurations and he's indicated he was very happy with the bass in the Remix. So, it should be OK but this is the "Y" of DIY.

(snip)

Jim

Jim,
Thanks for correcting me. I put my own interpretation on Deewan's statement. I hope you know that there was no agenda there or any disrespect intended.


I would really love to hear the results of a side-by-side listening comparison. I hope that you and Deewan can make it happen sometime.

[Jim Holtz]

Thanks for the reply, Jim.

I hadn't thought about using the Anthology cabinets but I will go ahead and check out the plans. They seem to be about the size I am looking for.

I'm about 95% sure we will be finishing the speakers with automotive paint.

I think we did go a bit overboard with the subs. They are about 4 feet in height if I recall correctly but we had originally planned on laying them on their sides which would put them at about 2 feet high give or take a few inches. I know you say 3 feet clearance from the back wall. Will that apply to side walls/objects also for best performance?

As for the surrounds would the Finalists monitors be a good fit? They are more in line with the cost and size I would like with a surround speaker. If not I will probably just upgrade and go with the normal Statements monitors.

Thanks for your help!

If you're finishing with automotive paint, I'd definitely use MDF. I've done this and its a LOT of work. 8O The surface has to be perfect for the paint to look nice. Just a suggestion, sand the cabinet until the surface and joints are smooth then brush on a product called GuardZ (home store), sand again and then shoot or brush a coat or two of dewaxed shellac. Then the real work begins. Prime and sand, prime and sand, prime and sand (you get the picture) until the surface is perfect.Then it's time to paint. I like base coat/clear coat personally. If you're painter is really good, there'll be very little sanding and buffing to end up with a mirror finish.

Actually the Statements are designed to work great 18"- 3' from the back and side walls. 18" is optimum. If the dabs can lay down they'll be perfect.

The Finalists are certainly over kill for surrounds but they will sound great and blend with the Statements II perfectly.

It sounds like you'll be good to go with the build.

We love pictures! :W

Jim

[Jim Holtz]

Jim,
Thanks for correcting me. I put my own interpretation on Deewan's statement. I hope you know that there was no agenda there or any disrespect intended.


I would really love to hear the results of a side-by-side listening comparison. I hope that you and Deewan can make it happen sometime.

Hi Ryan,

An agenda or disrespect didn't enter my head and would be the last thing I would ever think about. We've been audio friends too long for that kind of silly stuff.

I hope Deewan can work it out before he moves. That would be fun!

Jim

[Jblack1]

If you're finishing with automotive paint, I'd definitely use MDF. I've done this and its a LOT of work. 8O The surface has to be perfect for the paint to look nice. Just a suggestion, sand the cabinet until the surface and joints are smooth then brush on a product called GuardZ (home store), sand again and then shoot or brush a coat or two of dewaxed shellac. Then the real work begins. Prime and sand, prime and sand, prime and sand (you get the picture) until the surface is perfect.Then it's time to paint. I like base coat/clear coat personally. If you're painter is really good, there'll be very little sanding and buffing to end up with a mirror finish.

Actually the Statements are designed to work great 18"- 3' from the back and side walls. 18" is optimum. If the dabs can lay down they'll be perfect.

The Finalists are certainly over kill for surrounds but they will sound great and blend with the Statements II perfectly.

It sounds like you'll be good to go with the build.

We love pictures! :W

Jim

MDF seems the way to go then. I'm fortunate in that my in-laws own a body shop so the finish should be top notch, not to mention significantly easier than doing it myself.

I'm also a fan of the high gloss finish. My 5% hesitation is I also plan to purchase a projector to use with the setup. From what I read on high gloss, or automotive paint in general, can cause problems with refelctions. I've never owned a projector so don't know how pronounced the reflections could get or how much of an issue it really is. I imagine we would have to use a dulled satin clear coat or something similar if it really is much of a problem.

I will absolutely try to take some pictures during the build.

Thanks for the ideas!

[TEK]

I'm using a projector, but my soeakers are satin.
However, I cannot imagine the shine to be of any issue if they very shiny as for example piano black.
I actually think that you would get more issues with reflections from a TV. There is not very mutch light beeing reflected from a projector screen

[JonMarsh]

One comment- find a shop that sells cabinet grade MDF- don't go with the big box store stuff if you can avoid it. there IS a difference... it will make your life much easier, and the final results more durable.

[Jblack1]

I'm using a projector, but my soeakers are satin.
However, I cannot imagine the shine to be of any issue if they very shiny as for example piano black.
I actually think that you would get more issues with reflections from a TV. There is not very mutch light beeing reflected from a projector screen

Perhaps I confused myself while researching then. I thought I read somewhere that shiny speakers could be an issue with projectors. If not that's great as it opens up all finishing options to me.

Thanks for the input.

[Carl V]

Perhaps I confused myself while researching then. I thought I read somewhere that shiny speakers could be an issue with projectors. If not that's great as it opens up all finishing options to me.

Thanks for the input.

Always remember there's always compromises.
Yes, in a perfect world you don't want a lot
of reflections.
Paraphrasing..."perfect is the enemy of the good"

[Renron]

JBlack1,
Call around and ask for HDF from your hardwood suppliers where you live. It's about 2 times as heavy as MDF and is much stiffer. I used it in my Ardent builds. If you have to order it and wait , it's worth the trouble. Don't forget a gallon of Titebond glue. Which ever # you like working with.
Ron

[Jblack1]

If you're finishing with automotive paint, I'd definitely use MDF. I've done this and its a LOT of work. 8O The surface has to be perfect for the paint to look nice. Just a suggestion, sand the cabinet until the surface and joints are smooth then brush on a product called GuardZ (home store), sand again and then shoot or brush a coat or two of dewaxed shellac. Then the real work begins. Prime and sand, prime and sand, prime and sand (you get the picture) until the surface is perfect.Then it's time to paint. I like base coat/clear coat personally. If you're painter is really good, there'll be very little sanding and buffing to end up with a mirror finish.

Actually the Statements are designed to work great 18"- 3' from the back and side walls. 18" is optimum. If the dabs can lay down they'll be perfect.

The Finalists are certainly over kill for surrounds but they will sound great and blend with the Statements II perfectly.

It sounds like you'll be good to go with the build.

We love pictures! :W

Jim

Hey Jim, just curious. Do you happen to have a picture available of the speakers you finished with automotive paint?

[Jblack1]

JBlack1,
Call around and ask for HDF from your hardwood suppliers where you live. It's about 2 times as heavy as MDF and is much stiffer. I used it in my Ardent builds. If you have to order it and wait , it's worth the trouble. Don't forget a gallon of Titebond glue. Which ever # you like working with.
Ron

Thanks for the advice, Ron. I sent out a couple inquiries so I will see what I come up with. If that stuff gets much heavier I'm not going to be able to move it around myself any lonnger

[Jblack1]

Skimmed through Deewans thread. I missed that one the first time around. Enjoyable read.

You you mentioned, no change in crossover was done. He say's Curt, the crossover guru, Campbell blessed it. So, it should be all good. I still suspect there is a little bit more of bass in the redesign from the floor, but again that might be enjoyable. I'm guessing if Curt blessed it, he looked at it and it was very small. You can model it using Jeff Bagby's Baffle Diffraction and Boundary Simulator http://audio.claub.net/software/jbabgy/BDBS.html

The room has so much more to do with bass, so it may be impossible to figure out without measurements.

Edit:
My curiosity got to me, so I tried to quickly modeled it. And I'm not sure if I modeled the dual woofers entirely correct... I used my Khanspire since I have those dimensions. First model is the boundry gain with the assumed center of at the tweeter, which is midpoint. The second is the center of the driver between the woofers in a WWMTM configuration. (I used 15" which is directly below the woofer in my Khans, but it looks like Deewan might have pushed it up a little higher). The model - if I did the dual woofers correctly, shows some big differences around 80 - 100 hz. But again, with as much as the room effect is at these frequencies, can you really hear it? or would it be enjoyable? (Deewan was waxing on and on about the bass. Maybe now we know why. ) Other notes, if you want to try and reproduce, I used 3' from the back wall and 5' from the side wall.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26814[/ATTACH]

Hi Ryan,

What type of veneer (I guess it's a sub) in the center of your picture finished with? I have two large subs I've yet to finish. I don't think I'm going to go the automotive route with those so I'm always looking for options.

[Jim Holtz]

Hey Jim, just curious. Do you happen to have a picture available of the speakers you finished with automotive paint?

Wow! This was from many years ago. One of my son's was a bodyman at that point in his life and he painted the subs, monitors and center for me in automotive gloss black.

I think I burned him out. He moved to California and switched careers. :E He did beautiful work! They were flawless.

Jim

[Jblack1]

Wow! This was from many years ago. One of my son's was a bodyman at that point in his life and he painted the subs, monitors and center for me in automotive gloss black.

I think I burned him out. He moved to California and switched careers. :E He did beautiful work! They were flawless.

Jim

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26816[/ATTACH]

Very Nice!!! I know what you mean about all of the hard work that goes into finishing speakers to look this nice. I feel bad about wheeling these things in to the inlaws to paint so I'm trying to do as much of the pre-work as possible to make the painting quick and flawless.

Forgive me if I don't know the rules of the forum but I'm going to link to an outside source, Salksound. I believe these will be the color I ultimately go for, if not a bit deeper gray.

http://www.salksound.com/gallery/SoundScape%208/SS8-GalaxyGrayMica.jpg

[wkhanna]

link is ok.

[---k---]

Hi Ryan,

What type of veneer (I guess it's a sub) in the center of your picture finished with? I have two large subs I've yet to finish. I don't think I'm going to go the automotive route with those so I'm always looking for options.

Believe it or not, that is regular baltic birch plywood from Menards stained with Minwax oil based stain and a couple coats of Minwax Tung Oil satin finish. No veneer except what came on the plywood.

It has exposed plywood edges, but I don't mind those. It was the translam look. It looks better and worse in person then the photos. The sides have a very pretty burl grain and took the stain nicely. The sides would look at home on a fine piece of furniture. The front, I evidently installed the baffle backwards without realizing the plywood had a nice veneered side and a not as nice veneer side. The front soaked up the stain more and is just darker and rougher looking, but not bad but not gorgeous. My wife was happy enough with the finish that she let it live prominently in our living room for almost 10 years until we moved - at which point I wasn't willing to move the box and put it on the curb without the drivers.


I've yet to go all out on veneering a cabinet and doing fine finishing. I probably should, because what I've done so far with finishing plywood has always been easier and gone better than I expected.
If you look through some my other threads, you can see more examples of this type of finish. I did it on my LineUps, my own Ochocinoco TM, and to some extent my brothers Ochocincos, but I didn't put in half the effort there. And again, they always look better in the person than my photos. ... But I'm not claiming they come anywhere close to the finish of some of the projects around here.

[Jblack1]

I've got a few quick questions while I'm in the middle of cutting my wood. Hope to have a view pictures added soon.

I took Jim's advice and and going to build the Anthology cabinet with the driver tunnels and spacing of the Statements II design.

1) First question is I should still retain the 1 1/4 inch baffle depth of the Statements instead of the 1 1/2 inch baffle of the Anthology correct?

2) Does anyone know the actual distance between the two bottom woofers I should use?

3) What's a good substance to use for filling minor gaps in the edges? I was thinking of using bondo but wanted to try other ideas. Maybe a mix of glue and mdf dust?

[Jim Holtz]

I've got a few quick questions while I'm in the middle of cutting my wood. Hope to have a view pictures added soon.

I took Jim's advice and and going to build the Anthology cabinet with the driver tunnels and spacing of the Statements II design.

1) First question is I should still retain the 1 1/4 inch baffle depth of the Statements instead of the 1 1/2 inch baffle of the Anthology correct?

2) Does anyone know the actual distance between the two bottom woofers I should use?

3) What's a good substance to use for filling minor gaps in the edges? I was thinking of using bondo but wanted to try other ideas. Maybe a mix of glue and mdf dust?

Answers;

1. Yes the NE123's work better with the 1/2" front baffle so the overall depth of the Anthology cabinet will be 1/4" less.

2. The spacing dimensions including a cut list and everything else you may run into building the cabinet are on Curt's website

http://speakerdesignworks.com/Anthology_3.html

http://speakerdesignworks.com/Statement_II_3.html

3. I use bondo but others may have a better idea.

HTH

Jim

[Jblack1]

The build is slowly coming along and both cabinets are starting to take shape.

I do have a question about recessing the drivers. Do you guys typically glue the 3/4 and 1/2 MDF together prior to cuttting the holes out? I have a jasper jig that makes cutting holes a breeze so thats not a problem. I'm just not sure which bit I should be using on the router to try to get the driver to recess properly.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Jim Holtz]

The build is slowly coming along and both cabinets are starting to take shape.

I do have a question about recessing the drivers. Do you guys typically glue the 3/4 and 1/2 MDF together prior to cuttting the holes out? I have a jasper jig that makes cutting holes a breeze so thats not a problem. I'm just not sure which bit I should be using on the router to try to get the driver to recess properly.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Everyone seems to do this differently. Personally, I cut the recesses in the 1/2" front baffle and the driver cutout separate from the driver cutout in the 3/4" inner baffle. They usually don't require much fitting to make them match up well when I glue them. I do the recesses with a 3/4" straight bit and do the cutouts with a 3/8" bit. You have to adjust when using a Jasper Jig to get the actual cutout and recess correct since the jig is based on a 1/4" bit size.

HTH

Jim

[Jblack1]

So I have the baffles cutout but since I followed the Anthology cabinet construction I completely forgot about the base and down firing port. Is there a minimum clearance from the ground I would need to keep the port down firing instead of placing the port on the back of the box?

[Jim Holtz]

So I have the baffles cutout but since I followed the Anthology cabinet construction I completely forgot about the base and down firing port. Is there a minimum clearance from the ground I would need to keep the port down firing instead of placing the port on the back of the box?

I'd suggest you follow the Anthology cabinet and port it out the back. The ribbon needs to be positioned at seated ear height for best performance so the driver configuration spacing (other than the top woofer moving below per Anthology spacing) should remain the same.

Jim

[Jblack1]

I'd suggest you follow the Anthology cabinet and port it out the back. The ribbon needs to be positioned at seated ear height for best performance so the driver configuration spacing (other than the top woofer moving below per Anthology spacing) should remain the same.

Jim

10-4, out the back it is then. Thanks for all of the quick replies.

[Renron]

down firing port. Is there a minimum clearance from the ground I would need to keep the port down firing instead of placing the port on the back of the box?

1/2 the wavelength size of the frequency of the tuning port.
Ron

[KramerTC]

If building the Statements II on the Anthology cabinet, would it be a good/bad/neutral idea to keep the 6'' PVC mid range tunnels for the mids? Or stay with the original rectangular tunnels of the Statements design?

[Renron]

6 of one , 1/2 dozen of the other. Which ever you prefer.

[Jim Holtz]

If building the Statements II on the Anthology cabinet, would it be a good/bad/neutral idea to keep the 6'' PVC mid range tunnels for the mids? Or stay with the original rectangular tunnels of the Statements design?

I'd suggest you use build the original tunnel for the Statements II's and adjust for length in the Anthology cabinet. Be sure and keep the driver spacing the same except for the top woofer moving into the bottom of the cabinet. The crossover was designed for tunnels that size with the speced amount of foam.

HTH

Jim

[Renron]

Straight from the "Man Himself". Thanks Jim

I did not check to see if the volume or diameter of the PVC was the same/close to the original design when I posted the "6 of one" comment. I (perhaps mistakenly) assumed Kramer had done the math. ?
Ron

[Jblack1]

If building the Statements II on the Anthology cabinet, would it be a good/bad/neutral idea to keep the 6'' PVC mid range tunnels for the mids? Or stay with the original rectangular tunnels of the Statements design?

For what it's worth I built the tunnels used for the Statements design. A few clamps, wood glue, and brad nail gun and these were probably the quickest part of the build.

[Jim Holtz]

Straight from the "Man Himself". Thanks Jim

I did not check to see if the volume or diameter of the PVC was the same/close to the original design when I posted the "6 of one" comment. I (perhaps mistakenly) assumed Kramer had done the math. ?
Ron

Hi Ron,

The 6" PVC would probably work with the NE123's but the crossover was designed with a 5" tunnel and 1" of flat foam so I've been reluctant to use it or suggest it. The 6" PVC works great for larger drivers though.

Jim

[Jim Holtz]

For what it's worth I built the tunnels used for the Statements design. A few clamps, wood glue, and brad nail gun and these were probably the quickest part of the build.

Perfect! :T

Jim

[KramerTC]

I'd suggest you use build the original tunnel for the Statements II's and adjust for length in the Anthology cabinet. Be sure and keep the driver spacing the same except for the top woofer moving into the bottom of the cabinet. The crossover was designed for tunnels that size with the speced amount of foam.

HTH

Jim

Understood. Thank you, Jim.

[Jblack1]

After 3 months of on and off work on my build I thought I would drop by with some observations of a first time builder along with some additional questions I have.

1) The dust. Holy sh!t the dust. This is not my first time cutting wood but is my first time with MDF. I severely underestimated the mess that this would create in my garage. If I had to do it all over again I would either use Baltic Birch or most likely have the cuts CNC'd and I would perform the final assembly myself.

2) The dust. See above. I planned on taking pictures of my entire build but on day 3 I tossed my blue jeans into the washing machine without realizing my phone was still in my pocket. Womp womp ops: Speakers 1, Jblack1 0. That was the last time I took my phone out while cutting the wood.

3) Router - probably my favorite tool I've used during the build. However, somehow I got way off while cutting the recess for my baffle in my second tower (right tower in the picture). The depth seems OK but there is a fairly large gap on the sides when I put the speaker in place. Does anyone have any insight on how to correct this? Re-cutting is not an option as my better half has deemed it's time for the project to come to an end. It is what it is but I would like the speaker to fit a bit more snug if the is anything I could do. Gasket tape perhaps?

4) Micro Statements - I went ahead and built the micro Statements for surrounds but probably won't get around to getting the parts until later this year. A couple things I noticed:
A) I seem to have much more space between my speakers than Curt's picture show on his website. My box also appears to be bigger. Not sure why.
B) Does anyone know if the walls need to be lined with foam?
C) Both of my tweeters are offset to the left. Should one of them be offset to the right>?

5) Subs - These things are beasts. To give extra stability we used a brad nailer with about 75 - 100 nails in each enclosure. I still plan on finishing the 5 speakers with automotive paint, and I would like to do the same with the subs, but I don't know how realistic it will be to sand these bad boys down to the smoothness that will be required for auto paint.

All in all I very much enjoyed myself. Now that the weather is turning its time to wrap up. I would say I probably have at least one weekend left of sanding and priming before these are ready to be painted. Multiple weekends if I try to include the subs. I very much appreciate all of the help that has been thrown my way. Now that the dust has been removed from the garage I should be able to start taking additional pictures to share as I move forward.

Thanks for all of the help!

[Jim Holtz]

The only question I can answer is #5. Curt designed the Micro Statements with test cabinets that were smaller than optimum which is what the pictures are showing. Curt is the only one with hands on developing the Micros. I'd suggerst you email him. I'd answer if I could but I don't want to tell you incorrect info.

Hopefully someone with much greater cabinet building skills than I can give you tips to correct the cutouts on the front baffle.

Jim

[doubleTrouble]

The depth seems ok but there is a fairly large gap on the sides when I put the speaker in place. Does anyone have any insight on how to correct this?

I made this mistake too. I just took thick paper and glued it to the internal side of the recess, making sure the wood glue penetrates into the paper very well. Then sanded it with the sandpaper on round piece of wood, inserting the speaker from time to time in order to see any imperfections. Good luck with it.

[Renron]

1) "The dust. Holy sh!t the dust. This is not my first time cutting wood but is my first time with MDF. I severly underestimated the mess that this would create in my garage. If I had to do it all over again I would either use Baltic Birch or most likey have the cuts CNC'd and I would perform the final assembly myself."

Yep. MDF = MicroFine Dust Fkingeverywhere! Most of us prefer to use Baltic Birch, dust is one of the many reasons why. MDF used to contain formaldehyde not sure if it does anymore. Always wear a dust mask, preferably a N95 with a purge valve.

2) It was time for a new phone anyway right?

3) Router, always test the hole first on scrap wood. Hindsight I know, but now you do too. Next time will be better. I promise. Buy new baffles, bribe the wife, do it correctly this time, you'll be glad you did. If you don't you'll kick yourself later, after all your hard work and effort only to see your mistake EVERYTIME you look at the speakers. It's not worth the risk. You want to be proud of what you've built and show your friends. Bribe the Wife!
Take the time to set up the vacuum near the router to catch most of the dust, wear a mask.

4)A: see above
B: Can't hurt to dampen internal reflections
C: Yes, should be mirror images (see #3)
5) If you were thinking of painting your speakers high gloss, remember everything, I do mean everything will show. High gloss is perfection of the sub structure before priming the cabinets. Perfection! Attention to details is paramount. I'm trying to be polite here. You've made the same mistakes all of us have when we started building speakers. Don't settle for "C" grade work if you can do better. In 2 years you'll be happy you corrected the errors and learned what not to do. Been there done that.
Ron