introduction and suggestions

[BRDnFLT]

First let my introduce myself my name is Kyle I live in Oklahoma City I'm 31 and have been into audio equipment since a very early age. I listen to a very wide variety of music from Paul Hardcastle-Eazy E anything and everything in between. I've recently been reading a ton on DIY builds from most of the known designers. The 2 designs that really catch my eyes are the ER18 and Statement II. The speakers will be used for 50/50 HT and music. I use a sub for HT so extremely low bass extension isn't a must. I have a fairly sensitive ear and with that being said I see this is being a way to suit my taste without killing my wallet. Some might not suggest a build like one of these for my first but my wood working experience is far above average but not professional trim carpenter. As far as building the XO network my job deals a lot with schematics and wiring. None of this is said to say I won't need help just to give you a good idea of background. Any input is greatly appreciated. I just couldn't find some of the answers I'm looking for in the dozens of threads I've read dozens of times. Thanks in advance.

[mattsk8]

Not sure if this will help or not. I've built both the original Statements and the ER18. I like the bass output a bit more on the Statements, but I like the mids a bit better on the ER18. That isn't to say the ER18 doesn't have good bass or that the Statements don't have good mids... The ER18 has incredible bass response, but I think that's bested just a little bit by the Statements. And the Statements have great mids, but those are bested just a little bit by the ER18s. I've heard the Statement II as well, and I still think the ER18 has the edge in the midrange department. But again, this is all my opinion for what it's worth.

I built the Statements for my dad and the ER18 for myself. Both are incredible sounding speakers, very glad I have the opportunity to play with both sets . I've done a lot of builds and the ER18 is still my reference; my goal is to one day top that in terms of SQ, but it won't be cheap .

You really can't go wrong with either build, I think it's going to boil down to your personal tastes. The ER18 is more sensitive if that helps.

[BRDnFLT]

Is the ER18 lacking bass on the very bottom or just less bass overall? I guess a sub can be added very easily where you can't add midrange. What about clarity at volume? Do they both get pretty loud with a decent amount of power? How's the mid bass on either pair? Either of them have more impact? What amplifier? Sorry to play 20 questions but I'm trying to get as much input as possible. I've seen your build thread you've done a great job. When you said you built a pair for you and the others for your dad it was a give away.

[mattsk8]

I would say the Statements have a little bit more impact than the ER18. Both the Statements and the ER18 play pleasingly low in the bass arena, IIRC the ER18's F3 goes down into the high 20s (not sure about the Statements). That said, I've never listened to my ER18 and been disappointed in the bass, but when they were side by side I think the Statements had a tiny bit more "kick".

Regarding the clarity... again they both have great clarity. But, I think the edges are a bit sharper in the midrange department on the ER18 (again, just my opinion). They both have great highs, you can almost look into the music while it's playing but the ER18 is a bit sharper IMO.

I use my ER18 for a strictly music system. I use an older Adcom GFA-5500 amp, a B&K preamp and a Marantz SACD player. The amp is rated at 200w/ch at 8 ohms and 350w/ch at 4 ohms, if anything that's conservative. I know the Statements like power, and actually what I've found is that for both the ER18 and the Statements you gain a lot of clarity and bass with better power. I tried using a Harman Kardon HK-3490 (rated at 120w/ch) to replace a vintage Pioneer SX-950 (rated at 85w/ch) that I was originally using and I was thoroughly disgusted with my decision; the Pioneer mopped the floor with HK in terms of sound quality and power. Needless to say I returned the Harman Kardon and that's when I decided to get Adcom amp and the preamp. Finally I had a remote, plus I got away from the bugs associated with vintage receivers, and still have great sound. Not sure how much you know about the vintage audio, but it takes a lot of "modern power" to match the headroom in one of those older, silver faced receivers. As an aside, I still LOVE vintage receivers; I picked up another Pioneer SX-950 that I use in my shop.

Regarding how loud they'll play... My dad has made the Statements "pop" once from going too loud, but he powers them with a Pioneer SX-1250, which is a monster of a stereo receiver in terms of power output, and he was really hammering on them pretty hard (pretty sure he also had the bass knob turned up about 3/4 too). I've never made the ER18 pop and I'm definitely not nice to them (I don't boost bass or treble at all, everything is flat). Anyone that's had listening sessions with me knows that as much as I love clarity, they also need to survive the volume knob if they want to live in my house . The ER18s do that very well IMO .

I chose the ER18 over the Statements because of their size, the ER18 is a LOT smaller than the Statements. If aesthetics didn't matter and I had to make a blindfolded decision as to which speaker I liked better, I honestly don't know which I'd choose; they're both an incredible pair of speakers. I might lean more towards the Statements just because I love bass, but I don't know. Like I said, I've never been disappointed in the bass output of the ER18.

[BRDnFLT]

As far as vintage goes that's what I've got McIntosh MC2002 amp which is rated 200 X2 @8 and 300 X2 @4 ohms but I've seen this one make almost 400 @ 8 ohms with a resistive load. So I know what you mean by the power. I will eventually buy a second mc2002 and they make a rated 600 @8 ohms so who knows could be closer to 1kw especially dynamic burst. I like the power even if you don't use it all. I've also been known to aggravate the neighbors. I'm a volume knob nazi! I don't use bass or treble adjustments in fact the older Yamaha pre I'm using currently is in direct or passive type mode. I'm looking for a McIntosh pre but like you said with vintage you've got to find the right one. Sounds like your old man is as volume happy as my dad is. My father is who got me into audio equipment but I started on the car audio side. Names like Rockford Fosgate, Kicker, Hifonics, Sound Stream back before it all turned to imported JUNK! I appreciate all of the help. It sound like either set will be a winner. I guess the only downside to DIY is if you build a set that doesn't fit your tastes your kind of S.O.L. I guess getting any money back on your investment would be dependent on how good the fit and finish is. Thanks again for the input. I keep leaning towards the ER18 and you've

[mattsk8]

I don't think you would be disappointed either way you go (Statements vs ER18). I've listened to a lot of speakers and it sounds like we both have had a very similar audio journey. I went to the Axpona show 2 years ago in Chicago, which is basically a huge stereo show with speakers that are well over $100k. The main thing I left with was a deeper lover for my ER18s and for this hobby. You would have to spend a LOT of money to come close to the sound quality of either the ER18 or the Statements in the commercial speaker industry. I'm not saying they're $100k speakers, but these speakers definitely are no joke .