Need Help Completing Statements II 5.2 Setup

[CAC3779]

Hi Guys – glad to see this place is still alive and active.

I’m dropping by to get some advice on how to complete my HT setup that I started down the path of building about, 5 or so years ago . I believe my old handle was Jblack03 (I think) but created this new account.

Backstory: Set out to build 5.2 setup with Statements II towers, center channel, and micro statements for the rear channels. The 2 subs were from a different website, now gsgad.com.
5 years later after grad school, new house, kid, global pandemic, memory slightly fading and going mildly insane from being stuck at home :P I need some help wrapping things up.

Here’s what I have and a picture of the room I’m working with - please excuse the mess. The door and audio cutouts in the wall are going to be framed back in to create one large wall:




Statement II Front Channels: Complete and working – they are awesome even though my setup is awful!
Center Channel – painted and just need components
Left Right Rear Channel – painted just need components (Micro-statements)



Denon InCommand X4200W (not upgrading)
2 Full Marty cabinets - never been used – setup not complete
2 Stereo Integrity 18 woofers - never been used
Amp - NXD6000D - never been used

Say hello to my little friends :twisted:



Converting my existing computer to a media center to manage content (any advice for software)
Oculus Rift VR Goggles – just received – these are pretty awesome
Emotiva XPA Gen 3 Amp – on order
Video Source – most likely large 120+ screen projector but this will be the final purchase

What I’m looking to do is complete the audio setup and call everything complete (after 5 years!) without breaking the bank but in a way that gets the most out of what I’ve already built/purchased so I don’t want to cut corners at this point either.

My thoughts:

I love the Statement towers but when I went to look at the component pricing for the microstatements ($650 out the door I believe) it made me stop to look at the other options. For not that much additional money I could just get 2 more full towers (I believe I paid about 1K for my components) and not have to worry about mounting etc etc of the smaller boxes. So the pricing didn’t make sense to me when comparing to the other options (x-over component pricing I assume). Hello Bordeaux Speaker Kit 8O

The only reason I was planning on sticking with the micro and statement II center channel is I’ve already completed the boxes with a nice looking automotive paint finish. Now that CNC flatpacks are available I’m not opposed to trying out a different speaker setup if anyone has some ideas and it makes sense based on what I have on hand. Side note I sneezed in my garage this weekend and some of that MDF devil-dust swirled up and got into my eyes (dust from 5 years ago!!) so cutting more of that sh!t is out of the question but flatpack assembly is fine .

To get an idea of my taste in music here’s the last few artists on my Spotify playlist:

Neil Young (love almost everything from NY especially the older acoustic/live material)
Old MTV unplugged (think Alice in Chains, Nirvana, NY again)
Beatles/Rolling stones (Peter Jackson film sounds awesome on the statements)
Pink Floyd (sound great on the statements)
But also like some rap (Dr. Dre 2001 sounds good even without dedicated subs)

Again thanks for all of the prior help you guys provided and any future advice is welcome!

Jared

[CAC3779]

Reserved for future progress Pics

[1Michael]

Full towers for the surrounds might be overkill but this is coming from someone that used full TriTrix towers for the rear channel lol. YMMV.

[CAC3779]

Full towers for the surrounds might be overkill but this is coming from someone that used full TriTrix towers for the rear channel lol. YMMV.

Completely agree on the overkill part. I'm mainly looking at it from cost/benefit standpoint. For not "that much more money" I can have a project to keep me busy during the winter while completing the setup. I'm also not 100% sure the speakers will install properly on the center channel/micro statement boxes since they've been sitting for a few years and I can't really adjust the cutouts since they are already finished.

And speaking of overkill I'm mildly terrified of the sound that will be produced by those huge sub boxes behind my couch when they are fired up. My 30 year old self thought it seemed like a great idea......now not so sure

[Absinthe]

And speaking of overkill I'm mildly terrified of the sound that will be produced by those huge sub boxes behind my couch when they are fired up. My 30 year old self thought it seemed like a great idea......now not so sure

All in all, an abundance of quality sound doesn't seem like a problem to me, but then again.....

Envious of your setup. My theater space shares duty with the home living room and is in full view of most of the house so everything I put there has to be hidden or masked in some way.

Nice builds, love the finishes!

[Steve Manning]

Completely agree on the overkill part. I'm mainly looking at it from cost/benefit standpoint. For not "that much more money" I can have a project to keep me busy during the winter while completing the setup. I'm also not 100% sure the speakers will install properly on the center channel/micro statement boxes since they've been sitting for a few years and I can't really adjust the cutouts since they are already finished.

And speaking of overkill I'm mildly terrified of the sound that will be produced by those huge sub boxes behind my couch when they are fired up. My 30 year old self thought it seemed like a great idea......now not so sure

Actually if you need to remove a small amount of material to get the drivers to fit it can be done. I had a guy paint a set of speakers for me that went rather heavy on the paint, the drivers no longer fit in the cutouts. I built a little sanding jig and with a little work got thing fixed. Just have to tape off areas you don't want sanded accidentally.

[CAC3779]

All in all, an abundance of quality sound doesn't seem like a problem to me, but then again.....

Envious of your setup. My theater space shares duty with the home living room and is in full view of most of the house so everything I put there has to be hidden or masked in some way.

Nice builds, love the finishes!

Thanks! I can't take credit for the finish as they were painted in a body shop spray booth so they came out very nice looking. Some leftover black/metallic specialty paint for BMW's if I recall. Not long after completion the roots of a large tree in my side yard penetrated the drainage pipe for my sump pump. It got blocked up with muck and was a good 20 feet from the tree so I never noticed. Needless to say our next big storm caused the sump pump and the emergency backup to fail and the whole basement flooded. Minor damage on the speaker bases but not too bad.

Anyway some new carpet and fresh paint and back in business. The prior homeowners were using the space the same way but had some best buy type HT system sitting in the recesses in the wall. Once I fill those in I should be able to hide anything I need behind the wall as there is a very large unfinished portion I currently use for storage.

[CAC3779]

Actually if you need to remove a small amount of material to get the drivers to fit it can be done. I had a guy paint a set of speakers for me that went rather heavy on the paint, the drivers no longer fit in the cutouts. I built a little sanding jig and with a little work got thing fixed. Just have to tape off areas you don't want sanded accidentally.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]31527[/ATTACH]

That's pretty neat. I scrapped my very first attempt at a build for that very reason.

[CAC3779]

I was perusing the Bordeaux Speaker Kit Build thread and noticed towards the end they may have been scrapped due to speaker quality issues? However, the flat packs and speaker kits still show available on speaker hardware. Anyone know if they are still a viable build? I'm in the camp of if it sounds good I don't really care what the measurements might be showing.

[Steve Manning]

Painters tape and lots of it are your friend in case you slip.

[Jim Holtz]

I was perusing the Bordeaux Speaker Kit Build thread and noticed towards the end they may have been scrapped due to speaker quality issues? However, the flat packs and speaker kits still show available on speaker hardware. Anyone know if they are still a viable build? I'm in the camp of if it sounds good I don't really care what the measurements might be showing.

Sorry, the inconsistencies of the Aurum Cantus AST2560 caused the Bordeaux plans to be pulled. It's a shame because they were Curt's finest example of sound quality but you've got to have all the drivers working as designed. It was a very sad decision for all of us involved.

So, no, the kit/plans are no longer available. Build at your own risk if you have the plans. BTW, the Statements II also have kick butt sound quality. Enjoy!

Jim

[CAC3779]

Sorry, the inconsistencies of the Aurum Cantus AST2560 caused the Bordeaux plans to be pulled. It's a shame because they were Curt's finest example of sound quality but you've got to have all the drivers working as designed. It was a very sad decision for all of us involved.

So, no, the kit/plans are no longer available. Build at your own risk if you have the plans. BTW, the Statements II also have kick butt sound quality. Enjoy!

Jim

Thanks for the response, Jim! I agree, I do enjoy my statements so far. Looking forward to see how they sound once they are properly setup. It looks like I'll be sticking to the Statement II and Center channel for the front speakers and now just need the rears. I'd say I'll use it 75% for music - and believe you recommended a pair of reasonably priced commercial speakers in the past that would be a close enough match to use as rears - though I can't recall the brand. I could probably find better use for the micro-statements in another room instead of limited surround duty as I have an older Yamaha amp just sitting around collecting dust at the moment.

[CAC3779]

Hi All -

Dropping back in to give an update and ask a few questions moving forward.

I ended up purchasing the Micro Statement and Statement II Center Channel components from meniscus to complete my 5 channel setup. I received them over the weekend and should get around to putting everything together in the next couple of weeks. Highly recommend the kits from meniscus. I had them assemble the crossovers for me and everything from ordering to texting a few questions back and forth was seamless and the guys there are very easy to work with. I'm just hoping the size of those crossovers fit in my box holes (snicker snicker).

I also have an order in for 2 amps > preamp > DAC combo from Schiit audio (based on favorable reviews) to replace my Denon receiver for 2 channel listening for the time being. Should be receiving those....<checks order confirmation>....sometime this year

Anyway, a few questions for you guys as this will be my first time listening to the Statements with higher quality equipment. I'll likely use the Micro Statements as 2 channel for a bit prior to placing them in the room as rear surround speakers to just compare and contrast to the statement towers.

1) I'm assuming the difference will be noticeable right off the bat but what specifically would you be listening for?
2) What are some of you using as a source? Streamers? I was going to reconfig an older PC as a media center but might go a different route
3) Once I have everything for my HT setup I'd like to setup everything with a HT bypass (at least that's what I've gathered so far). Any advice for going this route? I was thinking of adding a separate 3 channel amp for the center and surrounds once I know what I need to create that setup but admittedly am a bit confused on how this works.
4) Any other advice on equipment to consider or anything else I may be missing (subs will be added at a later point)

As always I appreciate all the advice and time you guys dedicate to helping me and others out getting in to and enjoying this hobby.

Jared

[technodanvan]

Hi Jared,

I'm a big fan of Meniscus as well, and their crossovers are very well done - especially for the cost!

1) You're changing several things at once so it might be hard to attribute any changes to one particular device, but from what I hear of Schiit equipment I'm sure it'll be noticeable. Just listen to your favorite tracks, you might find yourself hearing things that weren't there before and the noise floor (background hiss) may be near nonexistent at loud volumes now. I don't really have any experience with any of your equipment and don't want to say negative things about the Denon, but I would say in general it is probably not up to the quality of Schiit.

2) I started using Roon about a year ago and have no complaints. Next year I'll probably purchase the lifetime license. It's a little pricey but it works without flaw and it's absolutely fantastic for better known bands and such as it'll show all kinds of history of the band and individual albums. This is less useful if you listen to a lot of obscure bands. I already had a Plex server so installing Roon was simple. I believe some receivers may natively support Roon now, otherwise you'll need a small device connected to your equipment. I have one based on a Raspberry Pi (~$150 or so) and one built into my NAD ($$$$), so you have a range of things available out there. Check out the Roon website, I think they show what's compatible on there. You might already have something. A nice option I was looking at was the Cambridge Audio CXN, but you probably don't need everything it can do which makes it a pricey option just for Roon use.

3) I'm not sure what you're trying to do here, but I'll take a guess. You want a multichannel receiver (or preamp) to sit in front of everything, then use the preouts for your amps. Except in the case of the mains, you would have the preouts first go through the Schiit preamp? I think in general that would work, with the only obvious issue being volume matching the mains to the rest of the home theater, which you would probably do by controlling the Schiit volume. In order to switch to stereo, just switch inputs on your Schiit preamp back to the DAC and whatever you have plugged into that is your source. You shouldn't need the multichannel receiver on for that.

4) Which amps did you get from Schiit? The Statements can use a lot of power, depending on your listening preferences. While I'm sure they're fantastic amps, I don't think I'd personally select them for use with the Statements (or for home theater use in general) - but my listening preferences are probably on the 'loud' side. Even the Ragnarok is only 100 watts/channel @ 4 ohms. Just a thought, not an indictment!

[CAC3779]

Hi Jared,

I'm a big fan of Meniscus as well, and their crossovers are very well done - especially for the cost!

1) You're changing several things at once so it might be hard to attribute any changes to one particular device, but from what I hear of Schiit equipment I'm sure it'll be noticeable. Just listen to your favorite tracks, you might find yourself hearing things that weren't there before and the noise floor (background hiss) may be near nonexistent at loud volumes now. I don't really have any experience with any of your equipment and don't want to say negative things about the Denon, but I would say in general it is probably not up to the quality of Schiit.

2) I started using Roon about a year ago and have no complaints. Next year I'll probably purchase the lifetime license. It's a little pricey but it works without flaw and it's absolutely fantastic for better known bands and such as it'll show all kinds of history of the band and individual albums. This is less useful if you listen to a lot of obscure bands. I already had a Plex server so installing Roon was simple. I believe some receivers may natively support Roon now, otherwise you'll need a small device connected to your equipment. I have one based on a Raspberry Pi (~$150 or so) and one built into my NAD ($$$$), so you have a range of things available out there. Check out the Roon website, I think they show what's compatible on there. You might already have something. A nice option I was looking at was the Cambridge Audio CXN, but you probably don't need everything it can do which makes it a pricey option just for Roon use.

3) I'm not sure what you're trying to do here, but I'll take a guess. You want a multichannel receiver (or preamp) to sit in front of everything, then use the preouts for your amps. Except in the case of the mains, you would have the preouts first go through the Schiit preamp? I think in general that would work, with the only obvious issue being volume matching the mains to the rest of the home theater, which you would probably do by controlling the Schiit volume. In order to switch to stereo, just switch inputs on your Schiit preamp back to the DAC and whatever you have plugged into that is your source. You shouldn't need the multichannel receiver on for that.

4) Which amps did you get from Schiit? The Statements can use a lot of power, depending on your listening preferences. While I'm sure they're fantastic amps, I don't think I'd personally select them for use with the Statements (or for home theater use in general) - but my listening preferences are probably on the 'loud' side. Even the Ragnarok is only 100 watts/channel @ 4 ohms. Just a thought, not an indictment!

Thanks for all of the information! You basically nailed what I was attempting to accomplish with your responses.

1) So with this what I was trying to do is actually be able to hear the difference when I change a component. Since I've had a few lengthy delays in this process, and I do find it interesting how many different and strongly held opinions are out there, I'd like to add one (or as few as possible) piece of equipment at a time and listen for a bit to appreciate the change in sound. I'm purchasing all at once so I don't have to deal with everything due to the ongoing chip/logistic issues.

2) I've heard of Roon but haven't checked it out yet. Briefly looking at the website its looks like it does exactly what I was wanting to accomplish converting my computer to a music server. Thanks for that recommendation I'll check it out further.

3) That's exactly what I'm trying to do. I'll likely build one additional set of tower speakers at some point and maybe a smaller set of bookshelf speakers. Not with the goal of better/worse than what I have but something ''different sounding'' if that makes sense. Move the statements for a bit and plug in XYZ speakers just for 2 channel (won't be building center/surrounds) and want to keep the component setup as simple as possible to switch from 2 channel back to surround processing. For context my listening partners will mainly be my 4 year old son and my wife who, god bless her for putting up with me building these, asked me where the batteries went the other day. So yeah, need to keep things simple.

4) For the amps I ordered 2 Vidar's to use for the front Left and Right channels. I went back and forth between them and Emotiva since that is highly recommended around here but decided to try something a bit different. I'd also considered Odyssey if/when I break things out to 2 systems (one basement surround system and one 2 channel upstairs listening). In my head at least that lets me mix and match speakers and components while taking as much of the complexity out of the process as possible. I want to keep it as a hobby and not turn it into a headache in other words.

[CAC3779]

Question for those of you using the Statement towers with a projector. Are you using an acoustically transparent screen and if so do you have a brand you are happy with? I was able to pick up a good deal on an UST projector so I went ahead and placed an order for it. The speakers will be about 36 inches or so away from the back wall and screen.

[oneplustwo]

Just a thought in case you haven't already considered it... since you have the space behind the wall, have you considered an infinite baffle setup for the subs? (I think I have the same SI 18" subs as you.) I mounted them in double thick BB ply boxes and bolted them to my foundation and them open behind the front wall to my garage.

Some pictures here: https://www.diyaudio.com/community/t...290677/page-29