Blumenstein Ultra Fi
- Thread starter Doc B
- Start date
Clark B.
New member
Xavier,
Nice systems! Holy cow!
The Orcas + Sex on a desktop are a fantastic match.
I've heard the Edgar horns in a friend's system in the tri cities - Bill Van Winkle. His system sounded very nice when I visited him back when he owned them. Come to think of it, I do recall that the midrange was very nice... The Sony R10's also are a gorgeous midrange. What is coming to mind is the DEPTH of the midrange - they had plenty of lower midrange presence and this was the foundation for the upper frequencies floating around in the mix rather than the upper frequencies "striking" you per se. In regards to the R10's I've heard (not owned) several pair at length and every time was really striking. I learned a lot from these 'phones. I am also a fan of the sennheiser orpheus and have heard a few pairs of those as well. It seemed that there was variance between the sounds of them pretty heavily depending upon how well they were taken care of during their lifetimes. One pair had outright distortion in the highs as a result (I think) of having been overdriven somewhere along the line. Made in ca. 1990 These rigs are getting along in years now and I hope someone, somewhere comes up with something that (truly) trumps the orpheus and r10's. I am so tired of performance promises of new models that, yes, do somewhat outperform these classics in one way or another only to fall short in the most important realm of all - musicality. However - from only a brief time with the HD800's, I felt that they had alot of potential - especially for the price.
RCA compression drivers? Only heard the alnico versions in Pete Riggle's Po' Boys system and gosh do those things make music! We visited him back in October for the yearly get together of the PNW audio weirdo society. We'll be picking up one of his woody tone arms for use in the big rig that we are putting together over the summer here.
I've also been pretty gobsmacked by a well dialed in Cogent horn system at an RMAF and IIRC these were somewhat based on the RCA's (?)
Horn systems are so hard to compare because they vary so widely in quality of implimentation. I've heard some fantastic horn systems and others using almost the exact same componentry that were just ho hum. I think it takes a long time to get one tuned to the room, amps, cables, and luckily, unlike in other branches of high end speakerdom, there is actually tangible benefit to adjusting all these factors and sorting everything out.
The Feastrex drivers (and especially the highest end ones) are the only direct radiators that come close to the resolution of good compression drivers - they are extremely resolute and you have to power them correctly to get the right kind of high/low frequency mix. They juxtapose that same "thick, heavy" sound right along side a "light airy" sound that can really boggle the mind. They'll also physically punch you, which is rare for a direct radiator unless its a PA system.
Small Feastrex? I'm not sure how small ours will be.... but they'll be very good!
Cheers,
Clark
P.S. We just got our BeePree kit in and I'll be making some cuts for Bottlehead Bases for it and also for Dan's BeePree today and tomorrow time allowing - if anyone is interested in tagging onto the short run of them.
Well, I can't make this lunch break take too long here - I gotta get back to the coal mines... We are shipping out -literally- a ton of speakers this week and the next. Its the final hump for us before we are able to quickly follow all these backlogged orders up with a production run of several pairs of speakers that we will be able to sell from inventory (for the first time ever!).
So - wish us luck on this initiative! True progress like this for a company our size doesn't come for free i can assure you!
Nice systems! Holy cow!
The Orcas + Sex on a desktop are a fantastic match.
I've heard the Edgar horns in a friend's system in the tri cities - Bill Van Winkle. His system sounded very nice when I visited him back when he owned them. Come to think of it, I do recall that the midrange was very nice... The Sony R10's also are a gorgeous midrange. What is coming to mind is the DEPTH of the midrange - they had plenty of lower midrange presence and this was the foundation for the upper frequencies floating around in the mix rather than the upper frequencies "striking" you per se. In regards to the R10's I've heard (not owned) several pair at length and every time was really striking. I learned a lot from these 'phones. I am also a fan of the sennheiser orpheus and have heard a few pairs of those as well. It seemed that there was variance between the sounds of them pretty heavily depending upon how well they were taken care of during their lifetimes. One pair had outright distortion in the highs as a result (I think) of having been overdriven somewhere along the line. Made in ca. 1990 These rigs are getting along in years now and I hope someone, somewhere comes up with something that (truly) trumps the orpheus and r10's. I am so tired of performance promises of new models that, yes, do somewhat outperform these classics in one way or another only to fall short in the most important realm of all - musicality. However - from only a brief time with the HD800's, I felt that they had alot of potential - especially for the price.
RCA compression drivers? Only heard the alnico versions in Pete Riggle's Po' Boys system and gosh do those things make music! We visited him back in October for the yearly get together of the PNW audio weirdo society. We'll be picking up one of his woody tone arms for use in the big rig that we are putting together over the summer here.
I've also been pretty gobsmacked by a well dialed in Cogent horn system at an RMAF and IIRC these were somewhat based on the RCA's (?)
Horn systems are so hard to compare because they vary so widely in quality of implimentation. I've heard some fantastic horn systems and others using almost the exact same componentry that were just ho hum. I think it takes a long time to get one tuned to the room, amps, cables, and luckily, unlike in other branches of high end speakerdom, there is actually tangible benefit to adjusting all these factors and sorting everything out.
The Feastrex drivers (and especially the highest end ones) are the only direct radiators that come close to the resolution of good compression drivers - they are extremely resolute and you have to power them correctly to get the right kind of high/low frequency mix. They juxtapose that same "thick, heavy" sound right along side a "light airy" sound that can really boggle the mind. They'll also physically punch you, which is rare for a direct radiator unless its a PA system.
Small Feastrex? I'm not sure how small ours will be.... but they'll be very good!
Cheers,
Clark
P.S. We just got our BeePree kit in and I'll be making some cuts for Bottlehead Bases for it and also for Dan's BeePree today and tomorrow time allowing - if anyone is interested in tagging onto the short run of them.
Well, I can't make this lunch break take too long here - I gotta get back to the coal mines... We are shipping out -literally- a ton of speakers this week and the next. Its the final hump for us before we are able to quickly follow all these backlogged orders up with a production run of several pairs of speakers that we will be able to sell from inventory (for the first time ever!).
So - wish us luck on this initiative! True progress like this for a company our size doesn't come for free i can assure you!
The problem with compression drivers is that one can usually hear the metal of the diaphragm and that's harsh and after some time one gets tired. That's one of the beauties of the RCA MI 1443B (or it's low voltage brother 1428B), they have fabric diaphragms. I suspect that is part of their magic. I guess the field coil magnet and the complicated phase plugs have something to do as well. Indeed these are the drivers on which the Cogent's are based off. I only heard the Cogents once and didn't like the system they were in, would love to try them in my system if only to better assess them.
Haven't heard the Orpheus or the HE90 (the headphone only. Orpheus is the system including the amp). Would love to. The main problem is they require push pull amps and I'm a die hard SET'er. But nothing I've tried gets even close to the R10s. I did try the HD800. I've had two pairs in the past. Also tried AKG K1Ks and Grado HP2s. Nada. The only thing that gets close are the Sony CD3Ks that share the biocellulose material of the R10s in the diaphragms. But the plastic enclosure kills half of the magic.
Molly: Thanks for your pm. I'll get back to you as soon as I end up deciding on a couple of things. One of them being whether I use my sub amp and my FP3 as it doesn't have speaker level inputs or your plate amp.
Haven't heard the Orpheus or the HE90 (the headphone only. Orpheus is the system including the amp). Would love to. The main problem is they require push pull amps and I'm a die hard SET'er. But nothing I've tried gets even close to the R10s. I did try the HD800. I've had two pairs in the past. Also tried AKG K1Ks and Grado HP2s. Nada. The only thing that gets close are the Sony CD3Ks that share the biocellulose material of the R10s in the diaphragms. But the plastic enclosure kills half of the magic.
Molly: Thanks for your pm. I'll get back to you as soon as I end up deciding on a couple of things. One of them being whether I use my sub amp and my FP3 as it doesn't have speaker level inputs or your plate amp.
tsingle999
New member
Looks nice! I cant wait to get to work every morning cuz i get to watch hockey games while listening to my bottleblumen system! The orcas are a great speaker. I appreciate them more every day!
Grainger49
New member
I noticed last night that this thread got stickyed.
Is the BottleBlumen breaking in all day?
Is the BottleBlumen breaking in all day?
Grainger49
New member
So until the martini Blast-O-Rama (I hadn't heard you did that) the BottleBlumen is singing in the front.
This post is driving me crazy, because I want to hear what the Orca's sound like. I wish I lived driving distance to the Pacific North West, so I could take advantage of the setup at BH headquarters. I guess I will have to suffer in San Diego.
Is there anyone around San Diego with Orca's?
Is there anyone around San Diego with Orca's?
Grainger49
New member
Brad,
If you like pinpoint images in a deep soundstage you are going to love them.
If you like pinpoint images in a deep soundstage you are going to love them.
BNAL said:
I hear ya. Since I live on a tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, I have no chance whatsoever to listen to BottleBlumen combos or any other decent audio gear for that matter. So basically I just ordered a pre-owned SEX 2.1 (only a couple months mileage) five weeks ago, based on information I found on the net. What interested me in particular is the headphone amp/speaker amp combo. It has not disappointed so far... wait that's an understatement... Wow! Holy cow! How can something this inexpensive sound so good? What Hi-fi shops usually sell at this price point can now officially be classified as daylight robbery. I LOVE my SEX!
From what I understand, the people on these forums are of the no-nonsense type that don't particularly strike me as prone to hype. Last week I pulled the trigger on a pair of Orcas, as these little wonders receive so much positive feedback from the Bottlehead community and they seem to be in line with what I'm looking for in terms of soundstage, imaging, near field listening application, SEX(ual) synergy etc. Now I just hope the delivery man doesn't screw up and the import duty and VAT will not kill me before I get a chance to enjoy sonic nirvana!
Finally receive my Orcas today, in good condition, after waiting for almost 3 months! Is this the first Orca in Indonesia?
Got about 8 hours of various music and they improve with the hours. I can say I like it a lot, imaging, sound stage width, depth and height is exceptionally good! And I'm sure it will also sound less harsh in the coming days together with other improvements.
Bravo Blumensteins!
Got about 8 hours of various music and they improve with the hours. I can say I like it a lot, imaging, sound stage width, depth and height is exceptionally good! And I'm sure it will also sound less harsh in the coming days together with other improvements.
Bravo Blumensteins!
Anyone have recommendations for the settings on the Sub woofer amp? I have the 100W version and a single sub with black paper cone. On the amp I have the Gain turned up a quarter and Freq. dial set at half way. Sounds good but I'm hoping someone has found a nice sweet spot where the Orca and Subs mesh the best!
Thanks
Thanks
It's going to vary with each room. Aside from taking response measurements that can show you if certain room modes are being drive, it's best to just tune by ear. I usually start with the sub off, then turn it up to where I just perceive it's addition to the bass. In our room with a Stereomour the sub level knob is about 10 o'clock and the crossover frequency knob is at about 110 Hz. We have lightly stuffed the Orca ports to reduce a resonance peak we were measuring at 90Hz. Your room could be very different.
After listening to an array of music genres on the Sub + Amp I've found that there is no single setting on the gain dial which works best. I do find that the frequency response control sounds pretty good set around the 110 Hz. My set-up is in a near field application on my desk so room effects are less of a concern.
Grainger49
New member
Blumenstein used to have a starting point somewhere on the site. But I don't remember where.
