x-statik build

slosjo · « **Reply #40 on:** 17 Jan 2014, 04:00 am »

All smooth. Primer tomorrow, paint this weekend. Hopefully my joints don't reappear.

slosjo · « **Reply #41 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 12:58 pm »

All done. Here are some photos.
Thanks for all the advice.

Nick77 · « **Reply #42 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 01:00 pm »

They look great, nice work. How do they sound?

slosjo · « **Reply #43 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 01:15 pm »

Oh right, I forgot to mention the most important part.
The sound is amazing. I've never heard anything like it.
I've never owned a nice speaker. I've never really heard a good quality speaker. With that in mind, these are the adjectives that come to mind:

Open
Big
Clear
Enveloping

Put it this way:
My wife and I never just sit and listen to music. We put it on and go about our business around the house. On Saturday night, we sat on the couch for over 2 hours just listening to these speakers. The sound is very enjoyable.

One thing that was amazing to me is that the speakers seems to disappear.

Ron · « **Reply #44 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 03:15 pm »

Your new pair of X-Statik's look great. Excellent job!

Glad they sound great too.

Guy 13 · « **Reply #45 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 03:18 pm »

Hi slosjo and all Audio Circle members.
Nice work.
After taking the pictures,
you will pull them off the back wall, yes?
3 feet minimum.

Guy 13

slosjo · « **Reply #46 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 04:01 pm »

Quote from: Guy 13 on 27 Jan 2014, 03:18 pm

Hi slosjo and all Audio Circle members.
Nice work.
After taking the pictures,
you will pull them off the back wall, yes?
3 feet minimum.

Guy 13

Guy, they are in front of windows. They are probably only about 25" from the curtains, but closer to 32" from the window. I have listened to them anywhere from 32" to 48" away from the windows. I don't notice much difference, if any.
Regardless, they must stay where they are as their current location was one of the conditions set forth by my significant other.

Captainhemo · « **Reply #47 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 06:16 pm »

Slosjo, glad to see you've got your Statiks all finished up, they look good

I know when I ffirst listened to my OB7's, I was also very impressed with the transparancy, they just seem to disappear into the sound stage, very cool.
I'm sure those curtains behind your Statiks are providing some absorbtion (especially if they are a heavy material), bet they wouldn't sound as good if you opened the curtains and had a listen, have you tried that yet ?
I've got a couple panels behind mine right now but am building a cople poly diffusers to try... if I like the diffusion , I may order a couple of the P.I. Audio "Mr. T" diffusers to go behind the 7's.

Good to hear you're enjoying them so much

-jay

corndog71 · « **Reply #48 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 10:23 pm »

I recommend ATS Acoustic panels for behind the Statiks as well as for the first reflection points if possible.

slosjo · « **Reply #49 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 01:28 am »

Opening the curtains does make a noticeable difference in the clarity. Probably due to the delayed reflections Danny talks about causing a slurring effect.
Has anyone seen an acoustic liner for curtains? That's about my only option at this point; however I'm pretty happy with the sound with the curtains closed. They are a heavy fabric with a blackout material on the back. I think they probably have some dampening qualities.

Guy 13 · « **Reply #50 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 06:02 am »

Quote from: slosjo on 28 Jan 2014, 01:28 am

Opening the curtains does make a noticeable difference in the clarity. Probably due to the delayed reflections Danny talks about causing a slurring effect.
Has anyone seen an acoustic liner for curtains? That's about my only option at this point; however I'm pretty happy with the sound with the curtains closed. They are a heavy fabric with a blackout material on the back. I think they probably have some dampening qualities.

Hi slosjo and all Audio Circle members.
I have a pair of V1 (OB dipole) and I did not hear
much difference between 2, 3 and 5 feet away from the back wall.
My back wall is cement without any acoustic treatment.
As usual, it does not mean there was no difference in sound,
it's just that I did not hear any difference with my 65 years old ears.

Guy 13

mcgsxr · « **Reply #51 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 01:16 pm »

I like the cosmetics of these a lot. The combo of white body and varnished baffle is a nice modern vibe.

I wonder if they would sound better about a foot further away from the fireplace in the middle? IE moving the right speaker right a foot out, and the left a foot out. A wider spacing from the fireplace may allow for a different sound of the mids.

In any case, a great build, and happy that you're loving the tunes!

slosjo · « **Reply #52 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 07:42 pm »

Quote from: mcgsxr on 28 Jan 2014, 01:16 pm

I like the cosmetics of these a lot. The combo of white body and varnished baffle is a nice modern vibe.

I wonder if they would sound better about a foot further away from the fireplace in the middle? IE moving the right speaker right a foot out, and the left a foot out. A wider spacing from the fireplace may allow for a different sound of the mids.

In any case, a great build, and happy that you're loving the tunes!

Thanks for the kind words.
I think the speakers will have to stay where they are for now. They are relatively safe from the vacuum cleaner tucked in close as they are.

Now on to the next project...a speaker that will fill in the void in the 20-50hz region that I have with the statiks.
Perhaps that 8" sub would be a good fit. I see that it is coming along in another post.
I wonder if a sealed servo 8" would be a good match?
Where would the crossover point be though, and would I have to worry about localization? (I want to put it off to the side, opposite side of the bookcase)
It would be a hard sell to my wife to get two of them.

WhereitsAT · « **Reply #53 on:** 30 Jan 2014, 01:58 am »

Really nicely done. You have inspired me, this just might be my next build. Congratulations on the new speakers.

Danny Richie · « **Reply #54 on:** 30 Jan 2014, 04:06 pm »

Quote from: WhereitsAT on 30 Jan 2014, 01:58 am

Really nicely done. You have inspired me, this just might be my next build. Congratulations on the new speakers.

Welcome to AC.

slosjo · « **Reply #55 on:** 9 Feb 2014, 03:22 am »

Update: the method I used in this thread to hide mdf joints was a total failure. Don't do it this way.

mlundy57 · « **Reply #56 on:** 9 Feb 2014, 03:43 am »

Sorry to hear that. At least it is something that can be fixed without having to build new cabinets. Some of the folks on here use epoxy to stabilize the cabinet and keep the joints from showing. Haven't tried it myself so I don't know how far you would have to take the finish back for the epoxy to bond to the cabinet.

On the up side, it doesn't affect the sound so you can continue to enjoy the music until you get around to refinishing them.

Mike

slosjo · « **Reply #57 on:** 9 Feb 2014, 04:02 am »

Well Mike I'm trying the trenching method with bondo on this pair of x-subs to go with my statiks. I'll let you know how it goes in a new forthcoming thread.

S Clark · « **Reply #58 on:** 9 Feb 2014, 04:14 am »

Bondo works great and is made for sanding. It's my favorite to seal edges and joints.

mlundy57 · « **Reply #59 on:** 9 Feb 2014, 05:46 am »

Quote from: slosjo on 9 Feb 2014, 04:02 am

Well Mike I'm trying the trenching method with bondo on this pair of x-subs to go with my statiks. I'll let you know how it goes in a new forthcoming thread.

Those are looking good. What did you use for the feet?

What amp are you planning to use?

Mike