Blumenstein Ultra Fi

John,

Thanks much, and also for that introduction to Mike -- sent the deposit into him and in a few weeks there will be some nice Sappele platforms for the speakers and subs on the way.

Dan, well, I do trust your ears :-).

Yes, my Orcas are the new design and in caramelized 'boo too and after hearing the Nagas, I can't wait to give the little guys a listen too.  And if the Nagas sans subs sound as good as they do, the Orcas on their own are probably going to be very satisfying as well.

Now where's that dac? :-)  JK, I know it's coming.

Thanks again for publishing your thoughts on the first listen at your place -- I had just started my search for some new speakers and the timing and your comments were in the right place at the right time and after checking out Clark's web site and emailing and talking with him, the deal was done... and they came in right at what I had intended to spend on new speakers, so everything just came together so perfectly.

Thanks again,

Jim
 
Wow, Jim.  I'm so deeply honored by your comments!  It is great to own a woodshop in America, great to be building speakers, but oh how entirely those niceties are dwarfed by knowing of your whole hearted satisfaction and reaffirming that from the bottom of our hearts, we are proliferating beauty.

More to come soon, still slammin' to get the shop caught up after my move. 

Cheers!

-Clark
 
Clark,

I only tell it as I "see it" :-).  Beauty is far more than skin deep with these speakers.

Ok, another brief status update --  sometimes one gets caught up in the excitement of the moment and can tend to blow things out of proportion when it comes to first impressions, however...

I had a couple of busy days in which I had zero time to listen, and then last night it was driving me a bit nuts wondering if my first impressions were, let's say, a bit over the top?  Well, I only had a short time -- about 30 minutes to listen again, and I'm glad to report that if anything I may have understated some of the magic of this setup.

There have been many, many times when I've gone back for a second listen a day or two after my first listen to a new piece of gear/speakers, tubes, etc., and havve been taken somewhat aback and felt a little let down with the reality of the situation -- not at all with these speakers.

Anyway, in another update, the Orcas arrived today and I just unpacked them -- again, exceptionally beautiful to look at and feel, nice clean lines, and what I think 8is a new finish that is very smooth -- moreso than the Nagas -- but it could just be my imagination -- I'll have to get them side by side to confirm that.  Linda gave an immediate two thumbs up and said they were stunningly beautiful.  Unfortunately, I just don't have the energy to take them down to the basement and hook them up in place of the Nagas today, but hopefully tomorrow, so no listening impressions right now.  I'm looking forward to it, I can tell you that much!

-- Jim

 
Clark and Molly came over last night, and brought the latest version of the Orcas, in carmelized bamboo. These have a front mounted driver like the Naga. This smooths out a wee bit of midrange prominence that the previous behind the baffle driver mount version had. We hooked them up to the server via the 300B preamp, and drove them with a S.E.X. amp.

I continue to be amazed by what these tiny little speakers can do. The soundstage they present is amazing and the lower midrange of the 300B preamp came through beautifully.
 
Dan,

Yes, got mine hooked up in the listening room for a couple hours on Sunday and again, very impressive -- though it is clear they need more time on them to open up fully to where the Nagas are.

Of course I didn't know the old version had the drivers behind the baffle so I thought that's just how they were.  I did notice the back is not removable now -- just the terminal cup.

Even as they are, they really dont do any of the nasties so many other SD speakers I've owned have when new, so that in itself is a good sign of what's to come.

I just sold the old speakers in the living room system, so now when the buf subs arrive, we'll be good to go.

-- Jim
 
Yeah Dan, thanks so much for having us over.  It was so much fun!

Jim - Indeed, it is the new finish that was the surprise.  You were the first to be in possession of the new Tried and True linseed oil/varnish over 600 grit sanding, which is now the "standard model T finish" for everything that goes out.  So perhaps even the skin deep beauty has grown in depth a bit?  Anyways, that comment of yours in an email some weeks ago really helped urge me to try it (again), so I took my butt down to woodcraft and picked up a can. 

I mention "again" because it was first by Terry Cain's urgings several years ago that I tried out several non toxic finishes.  After doing my homework on them, I did the first 40 pairs or so in Tried and True.  But eventually, I meandered over to the Osmo because the Birch seemed to take to it just a bit more consistently.  But it hadn't occurred to me till you'd mentioned it recently that now that all my stuff is made of bamboo, that the Tried and True might be an even better match, and oh - how it is!

Of course, - just keeping making sure to dump the used rags in a wet air tight bucket, which is a normal precaution with any hand rubbed oil finish (!) 

But oh - The smell of it is so sweet!  It looks like honey.  I've even been able to convince Molly to come and hang out in the shop with me while I'm finishing with this stuff.  I have to be a little more careful than with the Osmo to keep from smudging it after the final wipe down between coats but other than that its pretty straightforward for me to work with.  As you mentioned, Its probably the nicest wood finish available.  I think as peoples' awareness of it grows, so will the company that makes it.  And I swear that it helps the sound just a fraction of a percent...

Cheers,

Clark
 
Hey Clark,

Yup, it is a fantastic finish, but I can't take any credit for anything other than being a middleman -- Lee Hankins on this forum is the guy who pointed me to it in the first place.

Given his description of it and the general description of the finish you used (before I knew it was the Osmo) I just wondered if it was the T&T stuff you were using.  Funny how things happen sometimes. 
The end result is spectacular though!  And from my perspective, it feels and smells wonderful.

Should have the new dac and file server back up in the next couple of days, and then I'm expecting even better things, and then it will be the vinyl rig.  Still much to do to get everything online, broken-in and properly setup, but if it gets any better, which it will undoubtedly do,  I may have reached the goal for this system -- one I can more or less leave alone and just enjoy.

-- Jim

 
I admit, this thread is making me want a pair of these just because.  You have said all the things that make me want to hear them, own them. 

But if I read the information right they have to be picked up.  I'm in Knoxville.  I get to the Pacific NW once every two or three years. 

Can the Orcas be shipped?  It will be a while before I can make a purchase that large, I'll have to sell some equipment that isn't being used, but I am interested.
 
Grainger,

Yes, the Orcas and BUF subs can be shipped.  I certainly didn't drive up to Seattle to pick up my Nagas and Subs or my Orcas.  It was the Thrashers that Clark didn't want to ship.

And the Orcas came in an approximately 14" cube box.

HTH,

Jim
 
I have a question for those of you using the Blumenstein Orca's. Are you using a sub? One or two? None?

I'm thinking about picking up a pair of orcas (natural bamboo) to start and then as finances allow pick up the subs at a later date. I dont listen to head banging rock anymore. In fact I gave that up a decade or two ago. I do enjoy some classic rock, blues and jazz. And occasionally I'll put on some classical music to listen in the background. Big bass is not a big deal to me really.

I have two options for powering the Orca's. An enhanced SEX amp or FPIII > Paramour II 2A3 (may wind up being a 45 amp one day). Your thoughts and impressions are appreciated.

PS: My listening room is approx 16' X 14'.
 
I'll take a shot at answering this, but as of yet I have not tried my Orcas with anything but my class A PP 6v6 amp so I can't comment on the s.e.x. or the 2a3, though my plan is to use mine with the stereomour when I get it done.

I have done most of my listening so far with just the Orcas bythemselves and no subs and found them quite acceptable for a lot of musics, but for the full spectrum and a fuller sound, even one sub will do it -- you'll be surprised how full this sounds at low listening levels.  My impression is that without the subs you get a "usable response to around 50 hz, give or take -- which means you can hear it but it is not as full as you might like -- I really can't predict that for you, you'd have to listen for yourself to know if that willl work for you.  With the sub there is just more body there, more substance, a fuller presentation, though it's not like you just added a wall of 15" subs -- it just completes the musical picture very nicely.  I don't even really like to think of these as subs, but as bass extenders/ bass modules for the Orcas.

You should give the system 400 hours of playtime to make up your mind though as things will fill in, even out, and paint a more consistent sonic picture with time.

As for my setup, I have two buf subs on order for these Orcas because the room is fairly large (open floor plan and the inter main floor of our home) and because I want to use them as stands for the most compact, uncluttered look I can get.

Given your moniker, I'm pretty sure you will love these speakers with either of your amps, but keep an open mind about the sub, and I'd say that it would be easy to use just one for a great system.

I'm already thinking about a second pair of Orcas for my office desk/computer speakers -- to be used with my original s.e.x. 2.0 and my HRT MS II+ dac

Hope this helps,

Jim
 
Thanks Jim. I sure wish that Clark had a location closer to me. I typically like to hear speakers before I buy them. I might be in Portland OR this summer. Seattle is only about a three hour drive from there. Maybe I'll wait till then before taking the plunge.
 
Thanks Jim!

Reading that I just came up with this situation: 

Single Sub: "Plug and Play"

Dual Sub: "Patience Prevails"

Yeah, I have to echo Jim and say that for those on a budget, a single sub is a fantastic option.  I have set up my house system as such several weeks ago for a demonstration and have been finding further levels of refinement in the setup as I've ben honing in on the optimal range of values for the crossovers to be able to provide for my customers. 

As the tag line would suggest, a benefit to the single sub option is that they are easier to tune for most people - you don't need to match the knobs between two sub amps.  And the subs as a design in and of themselves sound just so "easy" that one is nice, two is nice.  Much of the choice depends on your level of dedication to getting perfect stereo and the twitch of added dynamics of two subs versus one. 

I've been coming up with a good design for Floorstanding and Desktop stands for the Orcas as well, which will help optimize the sound quality of the Orcas when used alone or with a single sub.

Also, I've started offering a 30 day money back guarantee on the Orcas and Subs (except shipping).  Should really help out the folks who can't make it out to Seattle.  (Though as always, we'd love to have you!) -  Its been a really unexpected benefit of being in the stereo biz for several years now - in addition to friendships, I've gotten to hear so many peoples' favorite music from diverse walks of life.

Gotta run for now, but there will be some cool tidbits of news soon.

Cheers!

-Clark
 
Hi Clark,

On your website you posted that you had been using a pair of Line Magnetic 755ex drivers in Beulahs.  How did this combo turn out? 

I'm interested in a full range driver with augmented sub system and am open to field coil drivers.  The mid and higher ranged Feastrex are out of my price range but there are others out there and I'm glad you are experimenting with them.  Do you plan on offering speakers in the middle of the line between your Fostex and Feastrex systems?  Also how about large coax designs such as the GPA 604 or Kilaminjaro version?

I've to add on a personal note that I've not had a good experience with Fostex drivers with wizzer cones (I didn't mind the 165 dome cone though) and I lean toward a larger driver in personal listening experiences (8" and greater). 

Regards,

Aaron
 
Ok well, guess it had to happen (again) sooner or later, so this time I'll soon be adding a pair of Orcas in natural bamboo, on stands and for use in the bedroom and paired with the s.ee.x. 2.1, and Clark will also be building a matching base for the amp.  No plans for a sub with this system -- not really enough room, want to keep things simple, and really I'm finding that the Orcas by themselves will be just fine without subs in this situation.

So, what's next? :-)  Not sure, but I am occasionally glancing at my stationary bike (a heavy duty, commercial gym suitable unit) and considering if I could weld up a bracket to hold a pair of Orcas in a close, near field configuration.  Certainly more appealing than wearing a sweaty pair of headphones or IEMs.  Yeah, this is going to get some more thought over the next couple of month...

And FYI, there was no need for a hard sell to my wife for the bedroom pair -- she loves how these look and how they sound.

-- Jim
s
 
Are the stands available yet?  Any pictures of the stands yet?
Thinking about a pair of Orca's with floor stands.


Debra
 
I don't have any pictures, but I'm pretty sure Clark said he had made up several pairs of stands a while ago.
 
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