Refinishing Statement Speakers - Adding Depth to Front Baffle - Will This Be An Issue

[mcl]

Many many years ago I built a set of Statement speakers.

http://speakerdesignworks.com/Statements.html

Love em to death but I am getting tired of how they look and want to give them a facelift.

Currently, the front baffles are painted black and the sides are dark mahogany stain. That was kind of the in style back then. I would like to now do a nice wood front baffle and paint the sides and back white. More European looking which seems to be the new in thing. And, I like the look.

So, hear is my main question.

I can get a really nice sheet of 1/4" hardwood plywood. I was thinking of "veneering" the front baffle with the 1/4" and then trimming that in matching hardwood flush to the sides of the speakers. I would then do a round over or 45 chamfer in the hardwood edge.

I know I would have to recess the drivers into the new 1/4" veneer, which I am cool with doing. I am just nervous that adding that depth will negatively impact the speakers.

Would adding 1/4" depth to the front baffles negatively effect the acoustics of the speakers?

Any thoughts and/or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[jhollander]

If your flush mount the drivers in the new baffle you would be good. An overlay would not be good. I'd be concerned about how thin the driver mounting would be in 1/4 inch so I'd want to do a full 3/4 inch thick baffle. An alternative would be to do a vertical only round over and wrap the front and sides with 10 mil paper backed veneer.

[mcl]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am not quite following your comment about your concern of a 1/4" baffle and you rather suggest doing a 3/4" baffle.

Currently, the Statements have a 1.25" thick baffle. If I were to veneer on the 1/4" plywood, the baffle would now be 1.5" thick.

My main concern is if this extra 1/4" depth to the speaker cut outs in the baffles will introduce any negative audible issues?

Thanks!

[billfitzmaurice]

Assuming the drivers are surface mounted now adding a 1/4" layer that in effect makes them flush mounted won't hurt, and may help. As I recall Acoustic Research speakers, or maybe it was Advent, did essentially the same thing, but the 1/4" layer was also the grille cloth frame.

[mcl]

The current drivers are flush mount and I would keep them flush mount if / when I add the 1/4" plywood.

My main concern is the new "depth" of the baffle and if it will introduce any sort of "tunneling" effect with the drivers? I thought I read somewhere that you have to be careful with the driver cutouts in some baffles because the thickness of the baffle can hinder the speaker's breathing / resonance / acoustics?

[djg]

Why not just a piece of regular thin veneer? Shim the speakers out to flush with the added 1/32" or so of thickness. Do your edge treatment, done.

[mcl]

Basccially because I have a ready source of some really cool looking 1/4" plywood.

My original plan was to veneer with 10mil. But, then a buddy of mine turned me on to this source of 1/4" hardwood ply that is pretty neat and readily available.

So, I just wanted to see if this was doable or a really bad idea.

[jhollander]

The RS225 flange is about 1/4 inch thick so what's going to be under the 1/4 inch veneer at the driver cut outs?

[mcl]

I was going to cut out "rings" and insert them into the current speaker flange rabbits.

[djg]

You'll have to weigh the extra work involved with your friends wood source against the cost of a sheet of veneer. 1/4" more baffle thickness won't hurt anything, I would just veneer it myself. I'm sure you could find equal or better visuals to your friends plywood in the vast veneer world.

[Wolf]

If able, you could slice 1/4" thickness off by using the table saw and 2 passes, one on each side. This preserves the depth, and apply plywood, rebate, and done.

Wolf

[mcl]

Unfortunately, my table saw is no where near big enough to cut 1/4" off the current baffle.

[mcl]

Yeah. I am going to have to weigh up the effort and if it is worth it or not. I agree there are some cool veneers out there. Just wanted to see what my options were with the possibility of using the 1/4" on hand.

[Wolf]

How deep are they? I figure not more than 18", right?
Set the fence to the far left, and lay the cab on its side and run it through. Flip, and run the next 3 sides perpendicular to the baffle. Obviously the baffle is wider than the blade cut, so you need 2 passes, but 4" is usually not of concern.

I'm just inquiring further because sometimes the mental picture is not the actual procedure.
Wolf

[JRT]

In your redecorating efforts, I would suggest cleaning the surfaces without damaging those, and then cover the surfaces with vinyl wrap.

There are some nice wood grains available in the 3M Di-Noc product line. The plain white should be easy enough to find.

https://www.google.com/search?q=3m+di-noc+wood+grain&tbm=isch

When your decorating tastes change, you can change the vinyl wrap again or revert to what you had.

[djg]

Example of high grade vinyl probably 3M.

[Jim Holtz]

Many many years ago I built a set of Statement speakers.

http://speakerdesignworks.com/Statements.html

Love em to death but I am getting tired of how they look and want to give them a facelift.

Currently, the front baffles are painted black and the sides are dark mahogany stain. That was kind of the in style back then. I would like to now do a nice wood front baffle and paint the sides and back white. More European looking which seems to be the new in thing. And, I like the look.

So, hear is my main question.

I can get a really nice sheet of 1/4" hardwood plywood. I was thinking of "veneering" the front baffle with the 1/4" and then trimming that in matching hardwood flush to the sides of the speakers. I would then do a round over or 45 chamfer in the hardwood edge.

I know I would have to recess the drivers into the new 1/4" veneer, which I am cool with doing. I am just nervous that adding that depth will negatively impact the speakers.

Would adding 1/4" depth to the front baffles negatively effect the acoustics of the speakers?

Any thoughts and/or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Adding a 1/4" won't hurt the sound quality at all.

HTH

Jim

[mcl]

Thanks for providing feedback, Jim.

This was the info I was looking for (and hoping for) right from the man himself.

Thank you very much!