New Statements II Build

[---k---]

Making progress.
If you're going to the trouble of autobody paint, I'd recut (depending on how bad it is). If you have low quality expectations and are going to roll on paint or whatever like I do, I'd just live with it. But, that approach won't win any ooh and ahhs.

Those subs are monsters. Standing next to your speakers really puts them into prospective. They should really shake your room and impress your friends. Forgive me if you mentioned it previously somewhere, but What are they and how big are those boxes?

[Jblack1]

Thanks for the feedback Ron.

While cleaning up I came across the 1/4 inch router bit I used to make most of the recesses. I completely forgot it broke while cutting out the right woofer on the center channel. I'm sure when I swapped it out I grabbed a larger bit and didn't even think to adjust my circle jig. That probbaly explains why half out my cutouts fit snug and the other half are off by the exact same amount. Are you recommending I physically try to remove the baffle and reuse the cabinet? Would there be a good way to do this after it's all glued up?

As for the subs the original plan was to just use a couple coats of Duratex to help hide the imperfections and cover the bare MDF. They will most likely go behind a yet unbuilt false wall for the projector screen to keep them out of sight. The high quality paint was more of me wishing. The wife is not a big fan of those so I'm thinking hiding them may be in my own best interest

Again thanks for the help.

[Jblack1]

Making progress.
If you're going to the trouble of autobody paint, I'd recut (depending on how bad it is). If you have low quality expectations and are going to roll on paint or whatever like I do, I'd just live with it. But, that approach won't win any ooh and ahhs.

Those subs are monsters. Standing next to your speakers really puts them into prospective. They should really shake your room and impress your friends. Forgive me if you mentioned it previously somewhere, but What are they and how big are those boxes?

Apparently the sub is named after a guy named Marty on the AVS forum. I found them while searching for subs that had a relatively simple design (size notwithstanding). The size of this full version is 2' x 25.2" x 4'. There are 3 smaller versions, of which I'm sure one is plenty, but I had the exact amount of wood on hand at the time to make exactly two full versions with limited wasted wood so that's what I ended up with

[Jblack1]

Thanks for the feedback Ron.

While cleaning up I came across the 1/4 inch router bit I used to make most of the recesses. I completely forgot it broke while cutting out the right woofer on the center channel. I'm sure when I swapped it out I grabbed a larger bit and didn't even think to adjust my circle jig. That probbaly explains why half out my cutouts fit snug and the other half are off by the exact same amount. Are you recommending I physically try to remove the baffle and reuse the cabinet? Would there be a good way to do this after it's all glued up?

As for the subs the original plan was to just use a couple coats of Duratex to help hide the imperfections and cover the bare MDF. They will most likely go behind a yet unbuilt false wall for the projector screen to keep them out of sight. The high quality paint was more of me wishing. The wife is not a big fan of those so I'm thinking hiding them may be in my own best interest

Again thanks for the help.

[Philzeemon]

jblack1....Had a similar situation when building the monitors..Did my cutting before I had any drivers..It was a Goldylox problem (This ones too big, This ones too small, this ones too deep, this ones not deep enough) Too big is easier to fix than too small. For too big a hole, I have wrapped clear packing tape on the outer frame of the driver then positioned it in the existing hole. Once in position, It's Bondo time..Works pretty well, but I ultimately re-built my baffles, I have this problem with trying to be perfect...A blessing and a Curse that I live with. Good luck

[Jblack1]

jblack1....Had a similar situation when building the monitors..Did my cutting before I had any drivers..It was a Goldylox problem (This ones too big, This ones too small, this ones too deep, this ones not deep enough) Too big is easier to fix than too small. For too big a hole, I have wrapped clear packing tape on the outer frame of the driver then positioned it in the existing hole. Once in position, It's Bondo time..Works pretty well, but I ultimately re-built my baffles, I have this problem with trying to be perfect...A blessing and a Curse that I live with. Good luck

Hi Philzeemon,

It's funny you mention bondo because if you squint hard enough you can see a pinkish substance on the right tower. Once I realized I screwed up the first thing I grabbed was the bondo to try to correct the mistake. Unfortunately it was more of a half a$$ed attempt as in the back of my mind I knid of figured I would have to start over to get everything to fit right.

[Jblack1]

Reading back through my thread I don't think I ever mentioned that the reason I am using automotive paint is my inlaws own their own auotmotive body shop and can make quick work of it. I was trying to build everything myself, just to say I did, but in talking to the FIL tonight he said he had some tricks to use automotive filler to fill in the recess and re-route if need be to keep from cutting additional wood. Since I've seen a couple replies saying to use bondo and in searching online Ive seen several others asking the same question we figured we would give that a shot. Worst case we can report back if it looks horrible or if it fails in the near future and have to rebuild a new tower. Best case we can share the technique used to make it come out looking decent. If horrible is the outcome then new tower it is, dust and all

[---k---]

Apparently the sub is named after a guy named Marty on the AVS forum.

Ahh. That is the Full Marty. I've seen the threads a while back. I'm sure I've seen photos too. But I've never seen photos that put the size into perspective like that. Those are huge.

[Renron]

Giant subs for sure, WOOF! Wish my wife unit would let me build those, but that's not going to happen. Ever.

I don't think bondo will work how/ where you need it. Bondo tends to crack if flexed at all and shrinks a little. Evercoat is a better brand, I'm sure your Father in Law knows that.
If it were me, I'd plop them on the table saw and just cut the baffles off and rebuild the baffles with the correct size cutouts. The cabinet volume lost from the cut is almost zero. Pre testing the new driver holes on scrap obviously. Easy Peasy. Not much mess either. If they are going to be painted, and why not, make the extra effort and fix your mistakes. It's only a mistake if you walk away from it. (Carpenter lesson #2)
We all want the accolades that come from a well crafted completed build.
My best compliment was from a friend who asked me where I bought them and how much they cost.
Ron

[JaxLax]

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>?

YAY! SOMEONE ELSE BUILDING THEM!
My Micro build is here.

As to the questions:
A) Me too, I've also got an email in to Curt.
B) I will be and possibly adding some polyfill I have around the garage.
C) No clue, I did one to each side personally.

I've also emailed Curt about whether to turn them upside down (tweeter to the bottom) since I'm mounting them near the roof of my room.

[Jblack1]

I don't think bondo will work how/ where you need it. Bondo tends to crack if flexed at all and shrinks a little. Evercoat is a better brand, I'm sure your Father in Law knows that.

Yep, bondo in this area is used by a lot of people to refer to any type of body filler regardless of brand. Similar to how Coke is used in some parts of the country to refer to any type of soft drink. I know they don't use the 3M brand actually called Bondo. That was his concern also about it failing/cracking over time.

I didn't even think about using a table saw. Would you just run a cut down each seam of the baffle and pull it off from there? I think I may also be confused by the term baffle. Does that just refer to to 1/2 inch top piece or the entire combined 1/2 inch plus 3/4 inch piece underneath?

I probably need carpenter lesson #1 also. Is that measure twice cut once?

[Jblack1]

C) No clue, I did one to each side personally.

I did hear back from Curt and it should be one on each side. However, since I'm just using them as surrounds he said it probably wouldn't be a huge deal if I left them as is.

[JaxLax]

Jblack: did you notice that the microstatement cabinet sheets show a od of 4" for the tweet and id of 3"; when all the other statement designs have the tweeter as od 4+3/8 and id 3+5/16?

[Jblack1]

Jblack: did you notice that the microstatement cabinet sheets show a od of 4" for the tweet and id of 3"; when all the other statement designs have the tweeter as od 4+3/8 and id 3+5/16?

I did notice that but not until after I already cut the 3" internal hole. If you look at the picture on Curt's website you will see a notch cut out on the top and bottom of the hole. The tweeter I have won't actually fit until those notches were cut. But the tweeter will actually fit the 3 5/16 holes I cut on all of my other cabinets. (Edit: let me clarify, they fit without cutting the notches, but it is a tight fit.) I have no idea what the differences are.

I didn't have any issues with my internal diameter cuts but outside diameter is where I messed up on a lot of the recesses. I would wait to cut that until you have the speaker to measure. It could save you a lot of headache in case the speaker doesn't fit as snug as you are wanting. Hope that helps.

[JaxLax]

I did notice that but not until after I already cut the 3" internal hole. If you look at the picture on Curt's website you will see a notch cut out on the top and bottom of the hole. The tweeter I have won't actually fit until those notches were cut. But the tweeter will actually fit the 3 5/16 holes I cut on all of my other cabinets. (Edit: let me clarify, they fit without cutting the notches, but it is a tight fit.) I have no idea what the differences are.

I didn't have any issues with my internal diameter cuts but outside diameter is where I messed up on a lot of the recesses. I would wait to cut that until you have the speaker to measure. It could save you a lot of headache in case the speaker doesn't fit as snug as you are wanting. Hope that helps.

I have 3 of the Founteks in my current statement setup. So I was using one of them to mock it up and noticed that the numbers seemed to be too 'perfect'.
The notches just help with airflow and heat dissipation. You can see here on one of my mini statements where I went as far as to take off some of the tunnel to free it up.



as for the vifa, I'll just use the spec sheet as my go-by. They don't have to be perfect as no one will be getting THAT close to them and anything up to a 1/8th of an inch won't show a shadow or anything.

[Renron]

Would you just run a cut down each seam of the baffle and pull it off from there? I think I may also be confused by the term baffle. Does that just refer to to 1/2 inch top piece or the entire combined 1/2 inch plus 3/4 inch piece underneath?

I probably need carpenter lesson #1 also. Is that measure twice cut once?

JBlack,
Yep, cut the entire baffle free from the speaker box. If you glued the 1/2 to the 3/4 I don't think you could separate them. So yes, cut both of them off. R&R (remove and replace)
Go to the head of the class, Lesson #3: Always measure the driver itself for the cutout size, never ASSUME that manufacturers (or anyone else) measurements are correct.
Practice the cut outs on scrap first. Write down the #'s because it's easy to forget which hole on the Jasper Jig fits best.
Your comment about lesson 1 made me laugh. thanks
Ron

[Philzeemon]

Rebuilding the baffle will give you true satisfaction versus a "fix"... Before cutting recesses or holes in the actual baffle, my technique is to cut using sacrificial material (3/16" HDF or masonite, or even luan underlayment).. From there you have someting to physically confirm the cut size against the actual drivers... Then the only issue is depth for the resesses, (Also testable using scraps)

[Philzeemon]

[B]Jblack1,

Am not well acquainted with how to post an image, but I'm going to give it a go...[IMG]D:\L30 Nikon-Burgundy Camera\102NIKON[/IMG]

[Renron]

Phil,
click the "Go Advanced" button below the quick reply bar.
click "Manage Attachemts"
click "Add Files"
click "select files"
Browse to the location of the file you want to upload
click "open"
click "upload"
click "done"

click "submit reply" then your picture / file will show up in your post.
Ron

[audiophil]

statements II build questions

Hi all,
I am just joining the statements II club. This is my first speaker build (2 of my friends who have done speaker builds earlier are helping me out) and i am following all the advises (thank you all for that) on these forums as much as possible. I have the wood almost cut. I have a few questions and any help is appreciated.

1. I read that the mid range tunnel can be circular (cylinder?) instead of square. I prefer circular as it makes the wood working simpler. I couldn't find 5" tubes and I found 6" concrete form tube. Is it ok to use 6 inch tube and pad the inner wall with ~1inch of foam?
2. Even if i have to use a square, is there any padding needed on the inner wall of the tunnel?
3. I am going to use the port on the rear panel and I read that it can be placed just below the bracing. I have ordered the precision port from meniscus. Should I just place it below the bracing with the flare flush with the back panel?


Hope this is the right place to post this.

Thank you very much.

[Pknaz]

Hi all,
I am just joining the statements II club. This is my first speaker build (2 of my friends who have done speaker builds earlier are helping me out) and i am following all the advises (thank you all for that) on these forums as much as possible. I have the wood almost cut. I have a few questions and any help is appreciated.

1. I read that the mid range tunnel can be circular (cylinder?) instead of square. I prefer circular as it makes the wood working simpler. I couldn't find 5" tubes and I found 6" concrete form tube. Is it ok to use 6 inch tube and pad the inner wall with ~1inch of foam?
2. Even if i have to use a square, is there any padding needed on the inner wall of the tunnel?
3. I am going to use the port on the rear panel and I read that it can be placed just below the bracing. I have ordered the precision port from meniscus. Should I just place it below the bracing with the flare flush with the back panel?


Hope this is the right place to post this.

Thank you very much.

1) needs to be 5" if circular. I recommend going square, as I anecdotally think it provides better cabinet bracing.
2) Yup, 1" open cell foam, bevel the front of the foam (the side closest to the mid) and leave about 2" gap between the inside of the baffle and where the foam starts.
3) This is cosmetic, and up to you - will you peak around the back of yours speakers to admire your handy work? Or will you forget what the back looks like after listening?

See my build thread for additional info

[Jim Holtz]

Thanks Nate! :T

Jim

[wkhanna]

welcome to the forum, audiophil!

:welcome:

i would encourage you to start your own thread on your build.
it will make it easier for others to help, & all to follow & learn. :W

[Renron]

Is it possible for Audiophil to use 1/2" CLOSED cell foam to line the 6" tube then line that with the one inch foam?
Just thinking outside the box. Working with what he has on hand.
You could also look for a cardboard mailing tube to reduce the diameter of the concrete form tube.

Start your own thread and put a link in this thread so we can find it / you easier.
Ron

[Jim Holtz]

Is it possible for Audiophil to use 1/2" CLOSED cell foam to line the 6" tube then line that with the one inch foam?
Just thinking outside the box. Working with what he has on hand.
You could also look for a cardboard mailing tube to reduce the diameter of the concrete form tube.

Start your own thread and put a link in this thread so we can find it / you easier.
Ron

Hi Ron,

Here's the problem with using larger than 5" PVC which isn't commonly available and really expensive when it can be found is, the spacing on the MTM is tight enough and the Fountek NeoCD3.0 requires notches cut into the top of the lower mid enclosure and the bottom of the top mid enclosure. That works fine with the MDF square enclosures and can be easily done with a rasp. I just don't see how that could be accomplished with 6" PVC. 5" should be perfect if it can be found.

Jim

[Renron]

Jim,
Thank you for that concise explanation. I had not considered the proximity to the Tweeter / spacing. Once again proving why you are the Granddaddy of this design.
Your continuing contributions are greatly appreciated by all.
Ron

[audiophil]

Thank you for the feedback so far and for tolerating me bumping into this thread.
I have created the following thread and added some more information.

https://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php?43758-Another-statement-II-build&p=623140#post623140

[samkearby]

Jim, I have started to build your Statement II speakers and am looking for some directions. By directions I mean, step 1 = do this first etc. I have spent countless hours reading thru endless posts and I am yet to find any real directions. If there are some directions somewhere could you please send me a link? I bought the full kit from Meniscus Audio and was hoping the kit would include directions but it did not. I'm simply trying to avoid making mistakes. Thank you and the guys for providing this awesome speaker design. I can't wait to hear them. Sam

[Jim Holtz]

Jim, I have started to build your Statement II speakers and am looking for some directions. By directions I mean, step 1 = do this first etc. I have spent countless hours reading thru endless posts and I am yet to find any real directions. If there are some directions somewhere could you please send me a link? I bought the full kit from Meniscus Audio and was hoping the kit would include directions but it did not. I'm simply trying to avoid making mistakes. Thank you and the guys for providing this awesome speaker design. I can't wait to hear them. Sam

Hi Sam,

I think you'll find it all worth the effort once you have them playing music. That's the good news. The bad news is there aren't any step by step instructions for building the cabinet. Meniscus should have supplied a CAD drawing complete with all dimensions and cut list with the kit. If not, send me an email and I'll attach the drawing. The original Statements and Statements II's used the same cabinet with only a very slight recess diameter change with the Statement II NE123's. All else is the same.

I'd strongly suggest you start your own build thread with a request for cabinet assistance. I'm not the greatest cabinet builder in the world but there are many master craftsmen here that are always willing to help. I learn from them regularly. The only tip I can give you is that I build from the side up which works for me.

Good luck with the build!

Jim

[Renron]

SamK.
Start a new thread, post a link to it in this thread and we (Collectively), will help you through all the steps.
One by one until your satisfied with the results and all your questions are answered.
Ron

[samkearby]

I've never posted to a thread before asking the previous question to Jim. If I can figure out how to start a new thread I will give it a try.

[BobEllis]

Near the upper left corner of the forum page - there's a "Post a new Thread" button

[samkearby]

Thanks Bob, I think I found the button on the " Forum: Mission Possible DIY " page. I will give it a try. Sam

[samkearby]

Link to my Statement II thread. https://www.htguide.com/forum/showth...r-2001-in-2017