Blumenstein Ultra Fi

[Grainger49]

Dan,

I should have said they defied the speaker technology of the old days (60s-70s) when I sold audio gear.  A 3" speaker was a tweeter, midranges were often 5" and woofers started at 8".  But not everybody would understand the 60s and 70s.  Much of that time I had a servo driven 18" sub.  It sits silent in the front right corner of my listening room today. 

But I did say, "seem...."

We listened for a long time with my current sub turned off.  We were very impressed with the bass with the Orcas far from any reflecting and reinforcing walls.  This isn't what anyone could do with a 3" driver back in the dark days when I was selling audio gear.

Yes, Jim, cognitive dissonance.  The full range driver has a coherence I have never heard before.  I'm convinced that accounts for the clarity of the imaging and soundstage.

 

[Downhome Upstate]

"Extraordinary, adj.,a : going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary <extraordinary powers>

Someone should defend Grainger's use of a figure of speech here (defying the laws of physics). The Orca's are damned-well and gloriously extraordinary. They do the unexpected. Unexpected, as in seemingly defying what we take for granted, stuff like Newtonian physics. I'm sure that physics properly understood, with a Japanese accent, explains what these tiny boxes do, but it damn sure seems to defy some kind of law to me.  Can I get a hallelujah!?! Can I get an amen?!?

I thing Grainger got it right. He didn't say his jaw dropped did he? Oops.  :-[

 

[patm]

270 hours in with Orca's, stands, Subs and 100w amps and the sound is Superb! The Orcas are really starting to hold there own and fill the room with sound. I agree that they SEEM to defy physics.

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Clark and Molly.

Pat

 

[tdogzthmn]

Looking forward to getting my own pair of Orca's in on Monday!  I have a S.E.X. 2.1 due to arrive next week so I'll be stuck powering my my Orca's with my FirstWatt F5 in the mean time.  It will be nice to hear these speakers on two different styles of amplifier. 

 

[butchbass]

My Orcas arrived this past Thursday and I cannot find enough time to listen to them. They are so natural sounding and just tickle the ears. I haven't been able to listen to must sax music on my Audio Nirvanas because of the blare. With the Orcas you can just hear the reed vibrating so sweetly. When listening to  a vibraphone every nuance of the vibrato and decay is vivid. It is hard to believe the sounds that come out of such a small package. The Orca subs will be next. Thanks for all of the good reviews on this forum. It convinced me to give the Orcas a try. If anyone is kind of waffling about them take the plunge. You will be glad you did.

 

[Grainger49]

"Decay"  That is something that I noticed too.  Even the fade out of familiar songs seems to go on forever.  Notes that hang in the soundstage will fade very naturally.

It is hard for me to imagine someone not enjoying the sound of the Orcas but everyone listens for different things in music so there are going to be folks out there who the Orcas just don't appeal to.

 

[tdogzthmn]

Letting my Orca's burn in and getting high off their natural varnish, or maybe its just from the sweet sound emanating from those small white cones.  I have a few options as to the placement of the speakers but for now I'm enjoying them from my desk.  The sound really does seem to come from an invisible source several feet from where the actual speaker is sitting.  They are wonderful for acoustic/live genres where there is more emphasis on the midrange and treble.  Rock, Metal and Electronica are good but need the extra punch of a sub for the full experience.  For now I am extremely content just playing some Ludovico Einaudi and sitting back with my tumbler of W. L. Weller Bourbon. 

-Tom

 

[Grainger49]

Looks like Scotch or Bourbon and water aids your listening as it does mine.  (well, Bourbon for me, not Scotch)

I took the fast way out.  I put my Orcas on a 120WPC SS amp and played my music loudly for over 400 hours; listening once a day to the progress.  Of course it helps having a "dedicated listening room (~2200 Cu Ft)" in the house.  This is the bonus room (not above the garage without the walls that slant in) that is not legally a bedroom.  If I turn the storage space above the garage to a closet I can legally call it a bedroom.

Today I was listening to my VSAC 2003 Demo disk.  It is my most eclectic collection of music1.  The Taiko drums from the Sheffield Kodo album were amazing.  One Winter's Night is absolutely stunning with the instruments floating in space.  This is an album anyone interested in acoustic music should own, Strength In Numbers/Telluride Sessions.  You won't believe the artists in this group.

1This disk includes all acoustic, Triad (written by D. Crosby), from Jefferson Airplane, Taiko drums, Festival Sketch by MJQ, San Miguel by The Kingston Trio, an R&B cover by Alison Krauss, and a jazz song (Clear) by Spirit.  A tribute to my eclectic taste in music as one retailer I know described it.

Addition:  Listening today to the whole of Strength In Numbers, Telluride Sessions, there are fades I never knew were there.  I have to reiterate DECAY in all caps!  The dynamics are shocking me.  This is a very familiar album.  I know every note on it but what I am hearing today is a clarity that wasn't there before.  As I had noted before, the side men, in this case Be'la Fleck, Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush are in a straight line, not in a semi circle.  Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer are dead center.  This is a revelation!

I'm still screwing with the sub's crossover.  I turned it all the way up to 100 Hz but can't decide.  I don't seem to hear any trouble at this frequency and I had assumed I would.

 

[Natural Sound]

I'll need to orient my orca subs with the speaker cones forward. Is it better for the ports to be faced in a certain direction? I.E. towards each other or away? The subs will be around 5+ feet or so apart.

 

[jrebman]

Tom,

Probably room dependent and how far the sides of the subs are to the side walls.  My guess and experience is that 5 feet is ok but you should try it both ways.  These don't require forklifts to move around like a lot of subs out there.

In my setup I had the cones facing each other (with the rack of gear inbetween noless) and they were 5 feet apart or less.

HTH,

Jim

 

[Natural Sound]

In my setup I had the cones facing each other (with the rack of gear inbetween noless) and they were 5 feet apart or less.

I was originally going to set mine up like that. But I was forced into a compromised listening space for now. Therefore I'm unable to bring the subs away from the wall enough. We shall see. With a little experimentation I'm sure I'll be able to figure out an acceptable positioning arrangement. Thanks Jim.

BTW did you see my comments regarding the MyDac and ALIX music server?

 

[jrebman]

Hi Tom,

Yes, sure did see the comments about the Alix and mydac.  I'll be staying tuned to that for sure.

BTW, not to get too far astray here, but I finally got my iPad Mini and the Zag mini-9 keyboard all setup and was playing with MOG last night and was very pleasantly surprised at how good the streaming 320 kbps files sounded with my Sennheiser PX-100 IIi headphones directly plugged into the headphone jack on the iPad.  Not top tier sound for sure, but really quite decent.  Also, my iFi usb power box, headamp and dac all shipped today, so soon I can use the iPad mini directly into that setup through the camera connection kit and I expect the sound quality to take a big leap.  AND if folks have not checked out MOG yet, I strongly suggest taking it for a test run -- best streaming service I've ever encountered and by a country mile, no contest.

Now back to speakers...

Hey Doc, can Blumnenstein get their own sub forum like MQ?

-- Jim

 

[Hank Murrow]

Tom,

Probably room dependent and how far the sides of the subs are to the side walls.  My guess and experience is that 5 feet is ok but you should try it both ways.  These don't require forklifts to move around like a lot of subs out there.

In my setup I had the cones facing each other (with the rack of gear inbetween noless) and they were 5 feet apart or less.

Dear Jim; I tried that, but thought the subs were interacting with the tubes on my amp, so I fired the subs away from each other as there are no walls close by and they sound terrific now. I am lucky that there is an open doorway for the right channel to fire into and no bad first reflection points to muddy the image. Check the photo....

Cheers, Hank in Eugene

 

[jrebman]

Hey Hank,

Yes, I'm planning on the subs facing out (with the Nagas) in the listening room even though I still haven't decided if I'm going to leave the rack between the speakers or move it over closer to the listening chair.

If I could see the pic, I'd be happy to look at it (I'm totally blind.)

-- Jim

 

[Hank Murrow]

Hey Jim, I forgot who I was talking with. Sometimes I wish I had a remote volume control, but it is only a few steps to the preamp. Anyway, I am sure you have a strong mental image of your system, as I have for mine. If we ever get together in my room, you can fondle all you like, and PB created many felicitous details to fondle!

Cheers, Hank in Eugene

 

[rif]

Has anyone tried an Orca sub for home theater duties?  I am concerned that it appears to use a 6" woofer (could be wrong about this) instead of a more traditional larger subwoofer driver. I have no concerns about its musical ability, but what about explosions, etc. you get in movies?

I am exchanging emails with Clark. Just looking for others feedback before spending not insignificant sums of money.

I currently use Orcas for L/R/C channels with a pretty good Dayton titanic subwoofer. I will be using it with Audyssey room correction.

 

[Grainger49]

I can't control myself this morning.  This is not a direct answer to your question. 

Considering what an under 3" diaphragm (3" nominal) does in the Orca, the 6" sub will do fine.  I am looking at dual subs and dual amps.  (If the funding comes through)

My Boston Acoustics sub, my second sub, has been used for both my "Big Rig" and the A/V system throughout the years I have had it.  The advantage of a smaller, and similar cone being used for the sub is that the transient response will more closely match. 

Trust me, I started with an 18" sub, with a 16" piston capable of an acoustic watt.  That is kick you in the pants volume.  The problem is that this big a woofer didn't match the transients of full range electrostatic speakers it was matched to.  There was always a discontinuity in the music.  Kick, yes!  Coherence of the Orca, never.

 

[Demsy]

I tried asking this to Clark and Molly, but got no reply, busy sanding??
I ordered a pair of the Orcas in late December but did not order the stands due to the high shipping cost of it, the same with the subwoofers. My questions were, the height of the stand and a recommendation of subwoofer designs.
As for the stand height, should we have the tweeter at the exact height or is slightly below better than slightly higher ot it doesn't really matter?
There are so many DIY subwoofer design out there, are there designs that most likely will be a good companion for the Orca? Or even ready made subs that you guys that have used it with Orcas and feel it's a good match?
Thanks.

 

[earwaxxer]

The problem is that this big a woofer didn't match the transients of full range electrostatic speakers it was matched to.  There was always a discontinuity in the music.  Kick, yes!  Coherence of the Orca, never.

Hey Granger - I have had that experience with my planars as well. My solution was to move the sub close to the listening position and play with the phase until it was 'right'. Of course, good quick power to the sub is essential. I use class D. Very good for bass IMO.

 

[Hank Murrow]

I had the Orcas standing on top of the BUF Subs for some months, but after a visit to BHeadquarters and an extended listening session to the big system there I decided that a little below ear height of the Orcas in my room yielded a 'lower balcony' presentation. Since I wanted an 'orchestra floor' presentation, I asked Clark & Molly to make me a pair of risers to elevate the Orcas five inches. Soon I will find out if that creates the presentation I am looking for; and I will post a followup after listening. Audio, like Life, is made up of continuous adjustments___ accompanied by the hope that they are graceful. Cheers, Hank