My Statement Monitors

[click here]

Probably the longest DIY project ever on this forum.. I originally bought the parts for this build back in May and still don't have a complete set up. HAH

Though, I've learned a lot along the way.

It's a good thing I don't care about appearance because mine look much ugly.

PICS!










So as you can probably see, I'll have to screw the speakers directly to the wood which means I won't ever really be able to remove them...

I have painted them black now but they don't look that good HAH, just black spraypaint on those boxes.

Anyhow, still have some bits to solder and then just assemble the whole works.

I'm thinking I need another 5 hours and I'll be done!

Hopefully over Thanksgiving!

[yzracer14]

Is that placement next to the screen where you intend to keep them when they are finished?

[click here]

Is that placement next to the screen where you intend to keep them when they are finished?

For the most part, yes.

[john trials]

If you've screwed the drivers into the MDF, a good way to strengthen the threads is to remove the drivers and fill the threaded holes with a 1:1 mixture of wood glue and water. I did this on all of my Statements (covered the entire enclosure with 2 to 3 coats prior to veneer), and it made the threads much stronger.

[cjd]

Statements (with the open mid) do not do well right up against a wall like that, from everything I understand...

[Jim Holtz]

Chris is spot on. The Statements (any variety) will not sound as designed up against the wall and with no room to breathe as you have them in the picture. I think you'll be disappointed if you have no other placement options.

Jim

[click here]

Chris is spot on. The Statements (any variety) will not sound as designed up against the wall and with no room to breathe as you have them in the picture. I think you'll be disappointed if you have no other placement options.

Jim

even though I have the switchable cross over?

[Jim Holtz]

even though I have the switchable cross over?

The switchable crossover allows the distance from the back of the speaker to the wall to be as close as 12" but doesn't change any of the other requirements. You still have to have them positioned so the front and back wave can work together.

Sorry!

Jim

[click here]

The switchable crossover allows the distance from the back of the speaker to the wall to be as close as 12" but doesn't change any of the other requirements. You still have to have them positioned so the front and back wave can work together.

Sorry!

Jim

I can pull my desk back/position speakers forward enough for 12 inches

[Jim Holtz]

I can pull my desk back/position speakers forward enough for 12 inches

Based on the picture, one speaker is next to the side wall, there's a computer monitor that blocks the reflected wave in the middle and the things piled on the top of the speakers all prevent the reflected back wave of the mids from blending with the forward sound wave. Also, any speaker other than possibly a studio monitor requires at least 5'-6' distance between them and the listening position should be a similar amount back from the speakers. These are bare minimums. The Statements will sound much, much better with at least 8' distance from the listener to the speakers.

Jim

[click here]

Based on the picture, one speaker is next to the side wall, there's a computer monitor that blocks the reflected wave in the middle and the things piled on the top of the speakers all prevent the reflected back wave of the mids from blending with the forward sound wave. Also, any speaker other than possibly a studio monitor requires at least 5'-6' distance between them and the listening position should be a similar amount back from the speakers. These are bare minimums. The Statements will sound much, much better with at least 8' distance from the listener to the speakers.

Jim

Sounds like I might be better off putting them on stands in the corners of my room? Angling them towards me at my computer?

[Jim Holtz]

Sounds like I might be better off putting them on stands in the corners of my room? Angling them towards me at my computer?

Yes! Without seeing your room, that sounds like a much better solution.

Jim

[click here]

Ok, I FINALLY finished them last week.

They sound great. Have a few minor problems with them and the amp. But a major problem just happened.

My friend came over about an hour ago and put his hand on the 7" woofer and pressed it in a good 1cm or so. Nothing is coming out of it. (Used audacity to generate a tone to check both sides)

I'm like freaking out because I have NO money atm but it's definitely not working. Am I going to have a buy a new one?

[Jim Holtz]

Ok, I FINALLY finished them last week.

They sound great. Have a few minor problems with them and the amp. But a major problem just happened.

My friend came over about an hour ago and put his hand on the 7" woofer and pressed it in a good 1cm or so. Nothing is coming out of it. (Used audacity to generate a tone to check both sides)

I'm like freaking out because I have NO money atm but it's definitely not working. Am I going to have a buy a new one?

Rule #1, check your crossover wiring and all connections.

Dayton drivers have a 5 year warranty through PE if you do find the driver is defective.

Jim

[click here]

Rule #1, check your crossover wiring and all connections.

Dayton drivers have a 5 year warranty through PE if you do find the driver is defective.

Jim

They were functioning fine for a week. It just stopped functioning. The woofer that is, so it's not the crossover.

Edit: Would pressing a woofer in 1cm kill it?

[Jim Holtz]

They were functioning fine for a week. It just stopped functioning. The woofer that is, so it's not the crossover.

Edit: Would pressing a woofer in 1cm kill it?

No, pressing the woofer in 4/10" would not hurt the woofer. It still sounds like something came loose but the driver could have died. I've not heard of any issues of this nature but anything can happen.

Swap woofers from one cabinet to the other and see what happens.

Jim

[click here]

No, pressing the woofer in 4/10" would not hurt the woofer. It still sounds like something came loose but the driver could have died. I've not heard of any issues of this nature but anything can happen.

Swap woofers from one cabinet to the other and see what happens.

Jim

Ok will do. Btw, I didn't plan too well ahead and all I did was pre-drill and then screw the woofers right into the MDF. So obviously it's not a good idea to be constantly removing and reattaching. That said, since I have to remove them to test them. Any tips?

[Jim Holtz]

Ok will do. Btw, I didn't plan too well ahead and all I did was pre-drill and then screw the woofers right into the MDF. So obviously it's not a good idea to be constantly removing and reattaching. That said, since I have to remove them to test them. Any tips?

That's all I ever do and have never had an issue using #8 deep thread screws.

Jim

[click here]

That's all I ever do and have never had an issue using #8 deep thread screws.

Jim

Good to know. (currently unscrewing) is it safe to try the other woofer(low volume) without actually screwing back into the box?

Win!

Clearly this is "a" problem. Let's hope it was the only one! (friend with good soldering iron still on vacation. Mine's broke :-( )



Should be good soon though!

[Jim Holtz]

Good to know. (currently unscrewing) is it safe to try the other woofer(low volume) without actually screwing back into the box?

Win!

Clearly this is "a" problem. Let's hope it was the only one! (friend with good soldering iron still on vacation. Mine's broke :-( )



Should be good soon though!

I'd suggest you contact PE and get a warranty replacement rather than repair. Unless your friend pushed hard enough to go well past xmax and pull the lead loose, the driver should be replaced under warranty.

I'm glad it was easy to find the solution. :T

Jim

[click here]

Excellent, back in business.

So now my thoughts!

I love these speakers soo soo so much, they are just fantastic for my room. They are everything I thought they would be and more!

One thing that I've noticed is the left speaker is SLIGHTLY quieter then the right one. If I open up audacity and generate a tone and then flip between left and right you can notice a slight change in volume. Also, the bass woofer kicks out a little less visibly. I really don't care too much since it's not really noticeable audibly but I'm still curious as to why this could have happened.

[Jim Holtz]

Excellent, back in business.

So now my thoughts!

I love these speakers soo soo so much, they are just fantastic for my room. They are everything I thought they would be and more!

One thing that I've noticed is the left speaker is SLIGHTLY quieter then the right one. If I open up audacity and generate a tone and then flip between left and right you can notice a slight change in volume. Also, the bass woofer kicks out a little less visibly. I really don't care too much since it's not really noticeable audibly but I'm still curious as to why this could have happened.

Try swapping the speakers from side to side and see if it follows the speaker. If it does, check your wiring and crossover.

Jim

[voxxonline]

Hi

Hello

I have picked up Mini Statements - Monitors as my firs diy project.
Everything seems to be good- price, size, SQ, everything.
But I have a problem with Tang Band drivers here in Europe- the only source to buy from is PE , which with all taxes, customs, postage will cost more than I d like to pay.
Would it be possible to use different driver which is possible to get from Europe without tweaking crossover ?

Thank you in advance

Ivan

[NPE]

Hello

I have picked up Mini Statements - Monitors as my firs diy project.
Everything seems to be good- price, size, SQ, everything.
But I have a problem with Tang Band drivers here in Europe- the only source to buy from is PE , which with all taxes, customs, postage will cost more than I d like to pay.
Would it be possible to use different driver which is possible to get from Europe without tweaking crossover ?

Thank you in advance

Ivan

Nope..

Did you check out their distributor list? They have a lot in Europe, getting yourself shipped a pair shouldn't be too hard... http://www.tb-speaker.com/tbco.htm Norway Italy and Germany.. Or it's that particular driver they can't get? That would be weird.. I'd try to contact the distributors...

[voxxonline]

Thank you very much
I did double check distributors stock- found on german website for good price. It seems I did overlook somehow it.

[voxxonline]

No.. it is different driver - Tang Band W4-1337SDF, instead of Tang Band W4-1337SD

Different ...

[voxxonline]

Apparently problem is with price - neodymium driver price is inadequate and this is why companies do not stock it now. And I assume if I order it shipped specially price will go even more up...

[voxxonline]

Question.
I badly want to build statement monitors, but I ve found it is critical to evaluate placement.
I will use close wall placement 12 " from back, but right speaker will be standing close to the side wall. Will it kill good sound ?

[Jim Holtz]

Question.
I badly want to build statement monitors, but I ve found it is critical to evaluate placement.
I will use close wall placement 12 " from back, but right speaker will be standing close to the side wall. Will it kill good sound ?

What will be between the speakers and how far apart will they be?

Jim

[voxxonline]

Thank you for reply.
Room is a living room with open plan kitchen.
I ve attached plan as jpeg.

[voxxonline]

I don't want to believe what such well documented, well reviewed and attractive first time project is unable to deliver due the positioning

[Jim Holtz]

I don't want to believe what such well documented, well reviewed and attractive first time project is unable to deliver due the positioning

I'm afraid you won't like my response. All of the Statements series speakers are designed to be away from the back and side walls so that the front and back wave from the open back mid will blend. Most builders can accommodate the position requirements since they are very similar to most commercial speakers.

The positioning you've shown in your diagram will not allow the Statements to function as designed. I'd suggest you look at the close or in-wall designs available that should work better in your situation.

Good luck!

Jim

[voxxonline]

What about Invictus ?

[voxxonline]

I m so disappointed it is rented flat though, so I could risk making them with idea of moving later to better place. but how sound would suffer...

[impala454]

I'm a little curious if it might be possible to build a sealed version of the Monitors, as someone did with the full sized (forgot who, but the guy built those beautiful sealed Statements with bass bins).

[voxxonline]

Ray of hope. I ll look for sealed statements..

[voxxonline]

Front ported speakers wont help either ?

[Jim Holtz]

Front ported speakers wont help either ?

Sealed or ported cabinets are not the problem with Statements. It's the open back mid that requires the room to breathe. If they're not positioned properly, they'll sound recessed with a flat sound stage.

Jim

[impala454]

Oh sorry to get your hopes up. That's what I was thinking with the sealed full sized Statements I saw. Perhaps some kind of mod a la the R2CC center? (not a suggestion necessarily to Jim but to "anyone" )

[impala454]

Actually here you go, good thread about that very subject here (see post #8 by Jed)

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=39248&highlight=statements+sealed

[voxxonline]

Would anybody suggest solution ?

[technodanvan]

I m so disappointed it is rented flat though, so I could risk making them with idea of moving later to better place. but how sound would suffer...

I probably wouldn't make the decision to move based solely on getting a set of Statements to sound correct. If there are other circumstances leading you in this direction then I wouldn't see a problem. It's also going to take some time - probably a couple months, at least - to put the speakers together so keep that in mind.

One thing I would look at is re-evaluating your place as a whole. You may have other rooms that may better support music/movies that you don't normally consider. You may have another room or wall that would support the Statement series better.

If you saw impala454's last post you'll see that Jed says it may be possible to use the Frodaddy center channel on end for the mains.

But honestly you may just want to reevaluate the Statements altogether. There are a boatload of good designs out there and getting hung up on one and trying to shoehorn it into the wrong place can just suck the life out of your hobby. Your room isn't ideal, but most of ours aren't either - we always have to work around something.

The Invictus is a nice looking design and uses some very expensive parts, I'm sure it sounds fantastic! I would probably only choose the design if you mostly listen to music though, while I'm sure it would preform fine for movies I doubt that was Curt's primary intent when designing them. If you go this route please be sure to read the placement guidelines for them as well:

I did not design a near wall version of the Invictus, and suggested placement is to have their front baffles between 2 and 3 feet from the front wall. This doesn't mean they can't be placed
closer. The sealed versions will be more tolerant of near wall placement than the MLTL, although the bass in the MLTL doesn't sound too out of proportion. Certainly stuffing the ports with foam is an alternate solution, and provides more design placement flexibility.

All DIY speakers are going to be designed with some sort of room constraints in mind. If you don't abide by them, or at least get close, you might not care for the results.

I don't really have any suggestions right now, but will think on it at home. You might consider starting your own thread though, I feel like you might get more attention and feedback that way. Hope this helps!

[voxxonline]

Thanks to all of you.
I am mostly into the music, but any speakers would be hooked up to tv as well. I ve chosen this thread and forum because it has something good, and people really nice.

Will move to new thread.