Blumenstein Ultra Fi

[Clark B.]

Oh-yes.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off yesterday, I'll get back to you re: Feastrex tonight here, along with a few other folks needing sub setup advice.  I'm having to answer emails during one sitting every day or two as we've been running the woodshop full steam this week.  Thanks for bearing with us!

 

[Gerry E.]

Hi All:

I'm sure the Orcas rock but I just want to mention that the bamboo bases for BH components do too!  I received my pair for Paramounts about two weeks ago and I'm very happy I pulled the trigger.  Attached below are "before" and "after" photos plus a close-up.

Good job Clark & Molly!

Gerry

 

[Clark B.]

Thanks for the shout out, Gerry!  Really glad to hear you are enjoying them!  Those are SUCH AWESOME PARAMOUNTS you built!  The silk screening is so cool.  What kind of OB speakers are those?

I love building the Bottlehead bases.  They really dress things up.  We built and entire set of them for all our demo amps - will have photos up really soon.  I like the tall profile as well, which makes ample space for upgrade caps and as a thermal mass of air for cooling.  Soon we'll be selling clear acrylic plates with holes in them as an add on.  Not sure on the price yet, but of course - its not gonna break the piggy bank.  The shipping on those alone should be really cheap to those who already own the bases.

Cheers!

-Clark

 

[tdogzthmn]

I had the top plate of my S.E.X. amp anodized black and bead blasted to a smooth finish.  I think that plus my caramelized bamboo Orcas + Base will look very slick.  I also had a Apls Blue Velvet and black aluminum knob added to finish it off! 

 

[Hank Murrow]

Hey Clark & Molly___ I just got my 'new' VPI turntable back with the Blue Point Special EVO lll cartridge dialed in, and I am listening to the Reference Recordings pressing of Eileen Farrell "Sings Torch Songs" through my Bottlehead Customs 'final music system' with custom Eros phonostage. Your Orca+BUF Subs have never been asked to convey so much, nor have they failed in even a tiny way. I am enthralled, and only into this disc halfway through the first side. "Round Midnight" is just starting, and I had to post this to tell everyone they owe your speakers a listen____ even if one can't come up with the scratch, they seem like a 'reference experience' while working toward a pair. I played the Telarc pressing of the Holst Wind Band Suites, and let me say that the subs come very close to the tactile experience I enjoyed with my big 10" transmission-line subs when those tympani thwacks jumped out of them. Set the hanging prints to vibrating on the walls. This vinyl setup is dead quiet, and reveals the limitations of those little discs I've been listening to. So much air around everything, and truth being told. You two have to come down and hear this sometime when you get caught up on orders. 1200 mint records to fall in love with all over again____thanks so much to both of the Blumensteins!

Cheers, Hank

 

[Molly]

Aw, thanks so much for this Hank! We'll definitely take you up on your offer to dig through that vinyl collection sometime. I too have recently fallen even more in love with the Orcas now that we have a pair of Orca Subs going in our living room setup with a Stereomour (on loan from PB until we get a chance to build our own). The S.E.X. is great down in the desktop/office setup in the shop, but the extra power from the Stereomour into our living room setup reveals new parts and experiences in albums that I thought I knew. Swoon!

I'm also wanting to point out to all on the thread that we got a chance to sit down and update the information on our website about the subwoofer and sub amp. New photos of the sub amp and diagrams on how to set everything up are on there now. Here's a link: http://www.blumensteinaudio.com/orca-subwoofer-amplifier/

There is a new subwoofer amp on offer, which is a 250 watt plate amp. The big reason we added this is because it allows for international voltage. Both models are getting added sets of binding posts now too, which--while they don't effect the sound in any way--are just meant to help with hookup/ease of use. If anyone is interested in having their sub amps retrofitted, just send me an email.


Molly

 

[Gerry E.]

Thanks for the shout out, Gerry!  Really glad to hear you are enjoying them!  Those are SUCH AWESOME PARAMOUNTS you built!  The silk screening is so cool.  What kind of OB speakers are those?

I love building the Bottlehead bases.  They really dress things up.  We built and entire set of them for all our demo amps - will have photos up really soon.  I like the tall profile as well, which makes ample space for upgrade caps and as a thermal mass of air for cooling.  Soon we'll be selling clear acrylic plates with holes in them as an add on.  Not sure on the price yet, but of course - its not gonna break the piggy bank.  The shipping on those alone should be really cheap to those who already own the bases.

Cheers!

-Clark

I wish I could take credit Clark but I purchased my Paramounts already built.  The silk screening is cool but since I had the V1.1 upgrade installed, the 12AT7 designation is no longer correct (that's an early WE 396A in there).  I'm glad you mentioned the "tall profile" of your bases because that's one of my favorite attributes of them too (besides the overall look).  Will the acrylic plates be replacements for the back panel or a bottom plate?  The reason I ask is that since I have them sitting on a flat surface the underside is completely enclosed.  I'm thinking of adding rubber feet for air-flow.

My speakers are JE Labs style OBs with added 12" bases (the latter was my idea).  Drivers are vintage Jensen RP-302 tweeters and Altec 756B bass/mid-range drivers.  IMO the 10" 756B is 10 times better than the much more famous Altec/WE 755A (I had both at the same time on identical baffles) but that's another story.  The 756Bs run full-range and there's a single cap on the tweeters.  See the attached photo below - it's taken from behind the speakers.

BTW, Do you do custom work?  I'm thinking of getting my LDR-based passive preamp, the black box sitting on top of my CD player, encased in the same bamboo wood as the bases.      

Gerry
P.S.
         

 

[johnsonad]

I had the top plate of my S.E.X. amp anodized black and bead blasted to a smooth finish.  I think that plus my caramelized bamboo Orcas + Base will look very slick.  I also had a Apls Blue Velvet and black aluminum knob added to finish it off! 

That sure looks great!  Who did the work on it?

 

[tdogzthmn]

I had my buddy up in Seattle do most of the work on it since he has access to high grade tools and a profession anodization machine. 

 

[Quattrofish]

Greetings, all

I found this great thread/community through research on Blumenstein Orcas.  With so few reviews online, this thread is about as good a resource as I could find on BUF products.  Thanks to all of you who took the time to share your experiences.  After admiring Clark's work for years, the glowing reviews here pushed me over the edge and I purchased a pair of BB Orcas with matching sub a few weeks ago.  They should be shipping in the next couple of days, which may get them here by the 25th.  Merry Christmas to me!

My existing amplification consists of an AES AE-3 preamp and Bedini 150/150 MkII.  It is a fine combination for the old acoustic suspension speakers I've used in the past, but seems a bit much for the Orcas.  I've long been interested in checking out SETs, and everyone here (including/especially Clark himself) speak so highly of the synergy between them and the Orcas, that I hope to find some Bottleheads in the DC area willing to let me have a listen.  There is a Mid-Atlantic meetup thread in the General forum so I'll post up there.  Hopefully one of those folks wants to hear a pair of Orcas on his/her system.

I'll keep you posted on my experiences, and let you know if/when I pull the trigger on a Stereomour kit.

Cheers
Mike

 

[tdogzthmn]

Did anyone who received their Orca's get a tracking number once they shipped?  I'm hoping I can get one so I can plan for their arrival. 

 

[Molly]

Tdogz, can you give/message me your name? Chances are we haven't shipped yours yet if you haven't received a tracking number, but I can give you an estimated ship date.

We received a lot more orders than we thought we would this season but luckily our shop has been able to handle it with only minor delays. We've changed our initial focus, which was to have everyone delivered before Christmas, to shipping before and after Christmas depending on when orders were placed. The good news is that we've shipped over 17 pairs out in the last week and we'll be shipping out even more this week. So...back to sanding!

 

[Wormwood]

Are these Orca's being signed by both you and Clark?


Stephen

 

[jrebman]

Finally... got my new Orcas playing today!  They sounded like sleeping speakers always sound, but after about 15 minutes of low to moderate play of some live music (Martin Sexton) they started waking up, filling out and sounding amazingly good for having so little time on them.  Very transparent, decent dynamics and super evenly balanced and smooth.  No sub yet -- I want to listen to these during the break-in process up to about 20 hours before I bring the sub in.  The bass, as is to be expected at this point isn't exactly gut punching, but it seems to fill out, deepen, and increase in dynamic response with every CD played through it.  I'm also not sure how much of this is the MyDac, but today I found the lost digital cable so was able to hook things up with the dac feeding the LM mini amp and the cdp being used only as a transport, and again, very impressive as a system.

My only issue is that the Orcas are too tall for this room and the seating we have, so they'll likely go back to the listening room as the seating is another 4 or 5 inches higher in there and everything should line up nicely in there.  The Nagas seem to be happy no matter wher they are but that's also just a quick first impression.

I can definitely tell that when all this is dialed in and broken-in that these two systems are easily going to meet and exceed what I was hoping for -- and I'm a pretty picky customer when it comes to my audio.

I honestly can't even begin to imagine what  these are going to sound like with something like the sr-45 amps.

Great going Clark and Molly!  For those of you who are in the queue, you will be rewarded .

-- Jiim

 

[Paul Birkeland]

I can testify to how busy Clark and Molly have been.  I have been in and out of their shop (mostly invited) as we work jointly on a few special productions, and they have been cranking out Orcas at all waking hours for weeks.  I hope they can take a day or two off for the holidays to catch their breaths!

 

[Clark B.]

Jim, exciting news to hear!  Congrats on getting them setup and warming up.  Yeah, I can't wait to hear what you think of the solid back version of the Orca.  The pair you already have had was early 2012 that was some of the few ones we made with the terminal cups right?  Dan's system still has the terminal cup versions at BHQ as well.  He's getting his new solid back version soon here and it will be great to hear what you both think of the systems as they'll be breaking in at about the same time.  Once broken in, their disappearing act should be pretty much spot on.  BTW, we are getting your Bottlehead SEX and Seduction bases made over the next week as well and will have those out to you soon here.  Also, those little chuncks of scrap wood you wanted finally got freed up.  And if you ever decide that you'd like shorter stand columns we'd be happy to accomidate you.

I can testify to how busy Clark and Molly have been.  I have been in and out of their shop (mostly invited) as we work jointly on a few special productions, and they have been cranking out Orcas at all waking hours for weeks.  I hope they can take a day or two off for the holidays to catch their breaths!

Yeah Paul, we've worked for so many years learning how to become being productive and well trained craftspeople and so now's the time to put the pedal to the metal and really show everyone what we are capable of.  Watch out!  We even just picked up a second electric sander so that Molly and I can team sand and learn techniques from each other.

As well, with our recently discovered production chops we are shooting to shrink our lead time down to the point that by the end of this month Orca Fullrangers can ship in either finish in well under a month from the time that an order is placed. 

I know - compared to the way so many companies work this is still a long wait time, but for us it is a herculean effort considering that we are unwilling to reduce the level of woodwork and finish quality.  Its taken all my problem solving and sweat that I can muster these last several months to get so far caught up as we are now.  But this is really cheerful effort.  I want to make it alot easier for people to be able to purchase and enjoy them till the end of time.

Clark

 

[jrebman]

Clark,

Yes, the other pair is the caramelized with the binding post cups.  Those are going to be just fine where they are too.

Everybody who sees these just ooohs and aaahs over them and just, like me, can't help but run their hands over them.

I think the only way I'd change the stand height is if for some reason there was some distinct benefit of having the Nagas in the listening room and the Orcas had to be in the media room, or if I got a different listening chair that was significantly lower to the ground.

If I do end up with the Orcas in the listening room I'm sure I'm going to be very tempted to add a second sub, but that's a bit premature at this point.

Looking forward to the bits...

-- Jim

 

[Molly]

You got it, Jim.

I found a hilarious photo from the archives.

holiday production, 2007.

 

[saildoctor]

Hi Molly and Clark - is the Blumenstein HQ going to be open to demonstration visits over the next two weeks?  I was thinking of stopping by to check out the Orcas I've read so much about here on the BH forum to compare with the speakers I currently have.  Sounds like things are pretty busy however and I wouldn't want showing up to be a hassle - if it would be inconvenient I could try to find an open Saturday in the months to come.

 

[jrebman]

I know that things are not supposed to sound this good so early in the break-in process, but I just had an amazing listening experience with the Orcas.  I put the XRCD of John Coltrane's "Settin' the Pace" in the player and hit play and after a short intro by the rythm section, Coltrane's sax cut into the mix and nearly knocked me over!  This is absolutely the best sax I've ever head -- big, no, huge, reedy, brassy, clean, meaty and so very real.  I've listened to this album many times on my old system with the tranquility SE dac, Fi 2a3 monos and my tonian tl-d1s and I thought it was really quite good then (and that was using a fully optimized computer as a source for the Tranquility.)  This easily bested it in every way.  And for those following the MyDac thread, yes, this is still the MyDac in the system.

Great stuff!

-- Jim