tsingle999
New member
Just got a used pair of Orcas serial #350. My old ones had the black plastic panel on the back. The new ones definitely have more bass weight. A good upgrade! Off to Ball and Buck tonight to check out the BlumenBottle pieces
Blumenstein Ultra Fi
- Thread starter Doc B
- Start date
Something must be in the air -- today I went down to my office, thought I heard something a bit different, turned up the volume a bit (the Orcas are running 24/7 with the sr-45s) and whoa! what happened? Not sure, but it is good... very, very good! I'm at about 200 hours now, still running without subs, and today, aside from even smoother, more coherent sound and soundstage (incredible already) the bass had some real wieght to it.
Ok, that's it, tomorrow the v-cap CuTFs go in the SR-45s. I had planned on putting the Nagas back in that system today, but between the sound from the Orcas making such a quantum jump and my back/sciatic nerve not fully healed from last week's injury, I just decided to leave well enough alone.
Of course the BH custom preamp is also coming along nicely as well and taken as a whole, this system is already bordering on magnificient -- still sourced by a low cost Virtue CDP at this point too. I'm hoping for vinyl this weekend...
-- Jim
Ok, that's it, tomorrow the v-cap CuTFs go in the SR-45s. I had planned on putting the Nagas back in that system today, but between the sound from the Orcas making such a quantum jump and my back/sciatic nerve not fully healed from last week's injury, I just decided to leave well enough alone.
Of course the BH custom preamp is also coming along nicely as well and taken as a whole, this system is already bordering on magnificient -- still sourced by a low cost Virtue CDP at this point too. I'm hoping for vinyl this weekend...
-- Jim
tsingle999
New member
Nice Jim! Sounds like you will have an amazing system! I saw the Orca subs live for the first time at ball and buck today. Very compact! Much smaller than i realized. Unfortunately they didn't have the subs hooked up. Everything looked really cool thought between the new style bh top plates to the blumenstein bases...
Clark B. said:
Thanks for the update and the photos, Clark. I also owe thanks to Molly for her dedicated assistance.
It was a delight to see that Facebook post with my Orcas showing in their full glory!
And yes, I'd be happy to join the IDBAOA
My <$2000 set up will be nearing completion and, needless to say, I'm anxious to hear what it can do... When I receive my Orcas, I'll be sure to post some pictures and impressions here! (Checking the USPS tracking site has become somewhat of an addiction as of late.
saildoctor
New member
I picked up my finished pair of subs yesterday and put them in my system! (powered with 2x 250w dayton amps)
Also, i changed the input resistance on my seduction because something just wasn't sounding right - some mid notes just sounded super quiet with the Orcas. I put it to 1kohms - using my Dynavector 20x2H i had been using 2.2k. Dyna just specs >1k on their website and poking around online it looks like a lot of people use the min and that sounds good to them. Here's the thing - the balance of sound coming from my old speakers with fe207 drivers sounded ok. I guess having too high a value was taming some of it's midrange shout! The Orcas now sound super balanced fed from the turntable now.
Been listening to the new setup and just wanted to say - hell yes!
Also, i changed the input resistance on my seduction because something just wasn't sounding right - some mid notes just sounded super quiet with the Orcas. I put it to 1kohms - using my Dynavector 20x2H i had been using 2.2k. Dyna just specs >1k on their website and poking around online it looks like a lot of people use the min and that sounds good to them. Here's the thing - the balance of sound coming from my old speakers with fe207 drivers sounded ok. I guess having too high a value was taming some of it's midrange shout! The Orcas now sound super balanced fed from the turntable now.
Been listening to the new setup and just wanted to say - hell yes!
Grainger49
New member
Kerry,
How many hours do you have on the Orcas? I broke mine in for 400 hours using a SS amp and playing them louder than I would listen. Well, I did listen whenever I wanted, but the rest of the time they were on "break in."
I think it will make a difference.
Enjoy the music!
How many hours do you have on the Orcas? I broke mine in for 400 hours using a SS amp and playing them louder than I would listen. Well, I did listen whenever I wanted, but the rest of the time they were on "break in."
I think it will make a difference.
Enjoy the music!
saildoctor
New member
I've probably only got a little more than 100 hours so far with my pair. Still have a long way to go... I don't really have a place to set them up and run. Gotta do it the old fashioned way!
I've not kept accurate track of my hours logged on the Orca's but I expect it's around 200 hours time so far. Can't say I notice any huge changes but it still sounds thoroughly great. Once I get new Y cables and re-tune the sub I'll have a more accurate picture of how things sound.
Grainger49
New member
There are metal "Y-adapters" which are really good. I have a pair of Monster. You can find them at places like Audio Adviser and Music Direct.
Paul Joppa
Moderator
It's kind of like fine wine (I'm a wine DIYer too). In my youth I wasted a lot of energy trying to find out exactly how aged I liked my wine, and then trying to drink it when it was just right. Now, I have come to terms with wine - and speakers - as living things, with admirable but different qualities at various stages of their journey.
I'm not so generous with capacitors, which IMHO must be beaten into submission before they are fit for civilized company.
I'm not so generous with capacitors, which IMHO must be beaten into submission before they are fit for civilized company.
tsingle999
New member
I am loving my orcas more and more. They just seem to ger better every day.
Questions: can i use a sex amp base for a paramour 2? What is the difference between the bases that are all 8x10?
Have you tried enabling the drivers?
Thanks for such great speakers! Taran
Questions: can i use a sex amp base for a paramour 2? What is the difference between the bases that are all 8x10?
Have you tried enabling the drivers?
Thanks for such great speakers! Taran
Hi Teran,
Bottlehead or Blumenstein bases both are universal for a given plate size. I've got a foreplay, eros, and s.e.x. 2.1 top plate each in blumenstein bases.
I did speak to Clark about the Enabling some time back and his conclusion was that the enabling was a good thing for the FE-126 drivers, but the fe-83en in the Orcas is best left as is..
I have to say that I find it really interesting how many people with such varied systems and listening preferences just find the Orcas to be so wonderful and musical. Of course there is no such thing as a speaker that is right for everybody in every situation, but still, the appeal of the Orcas just seems to be a lot broader than probably any other speaker I've ever encountered.
Some day I'd like to hear them with a really good Class A SS amp like one of the Firstwatts, as well.
-- Jim
Bottlehead or Blumenstein bases both are universal for a given plate size. I've got a foreplay, eros, and s.e.x. 2.1 top plate each in blumenstein bases.
I did speak to Clark about the Enabling some time back and his conclusion was that the enabling was a good thing for the FE-126 drivers, but the fe-83en in the Orcas is best left as is..
I have to say that I find it really interesting how many people with such varied systems and listening preferences just find the Orcas to be so wonderful and musical. Of course there is no such thing as a speaker that is right for everybody in every situation, but still, the appeal of the Orcas just seems to be a lot broader than probably any other speaker I've ever encountered.
Some day I'd like to hear them with a really good Class A SS amp like one of the Firstwatts, as well.
-- Jim
Molly
New member
If there are any lingerers who have been waiting to pull the trigger, we have items in stock and on sale right now, all in caramelized bamboo:
Orcas on Floor Stands
Orca Subwoofer
Subwoofer Amplifier
S.E.X. base
http://blumensteinaudio.com/sale-items/
We had the chance to update the website/online shop over the last couple of weeks and uploaded photos of the new Floor Stands, which now have 1" thick bamboo bases with feet, and a groove cut into the back of the stand column, 1/4" thick, that allows you to run your speaker cable down it and then through a hole cut into the base.
Also, an update on the bottom clear acrylic plates for amp bases: We have some samples headed our way and I'll send out an email to everyone who expressed interest with photos and costs.
Thanks!
Molly
Orcas on Floor Stands
Orca Subwoofer
Subwoofer Amplifier
S.E.X. base
http://blumensteinaudio.com/sale-items/
We had the chance to update the website/online shop over the last couple of weeks and uploaded photos of the new Floor Stands, which now have 1" thick bamboo bases with feet, and a groove cut into the back of the stand column, 1/4" thick, that allows you to run your speaker cable down it and then through a hole cut into the base.
Also, an update on the bottom clear acrylic plates for amp bases: We have some samples headed our way and I'll send out an email to everyone who expressed interest with photos and costs.
Thanks!
Molly
Attachments
Just received my Orcas. Stunning!
The cables I ordered with them were not included, unfortunately, but that will be resolved without hassle. Thanks, Molly. I managed to find some crappy wire I had lying around.
A total noob question to anyone who might know this. I'm playing some Eva Cassidy - Wayfaring Stranger straight out of the box and the bass sounds a bit boomy. Is that because everything has to settle in? Or maybe it's the wire?
Another noob question, I have not touched the impedance switches on the SEX 2.1 impendance switch board at all. What is the best setting for the Orcas?
Thanks guys!
The cables I ordered with them were not included, unfortunately, but that will be resolved without hassle. Thanks, Molly. I managed to find some crappy wire I had lying around.
A total noob question to anyone who might know this. I'm playing some Eva Cassidy - Wayfaring Stranger straight out of the box and the bass sounds a bit boomy. Is that because everything has to settle in? Or maybe it's the wire?
Another noob question, I have not touched the impedance switches on the SEX 2.1 impendance switch board at all. What is the best setting for the Orcas?
Thanks guys!
Clark B.
New member
Right on, Jim.
Those are the exact time frames ive been observing. 30-50 hrs to get pretty close to the final character, and then after around 400 to acheive the full glory of their disappearing act/ profundity of their bass (which is the precise "WTF" behind why they are called "Orcas").
They can go through some pretty funny phases sonically until the ~40 hr mark. They can swing between sounding a bit muffled to boomy to bright and then back again before they settle down and start to really warm up at 40 hrs. We put anywhere between just a few all the way up to tens of hours on them in the shop before they get packed. So depending upon where they were by the time we ship them (and how many extremes of weather/altitude systems they travelled through otw to you), you can bet that they -will- have some settling in to do once you've hooked them up to voltage.
One more note is that they do need a good thrashing some time after 50 hrs to get fully loosened up in the bass register as well. Those little 3"ers have a surprising excursion before they bottom out (at which point, you should back off slightly from the volume knob out of courtesey to the cone. A little bit of (calculated) bottoming out here and there won't destroy the cones.
I've been really happy these last several months especially with the Orca Pod floorstanders going out with the new Y cables and 250 watt sub amps. I'm hoping to film a little instructional video here soon about how to get this system properly set up and dialed in, as they are a really versatile compact high end speakers thats sounds way bigger and more coherent than they have any right to. This initiative will have to wait though until i'm not distracted by all the finishing touches to the systems we've got shipping out this week.
Cant wait to start playing with the line array Orca pod in the prototyping lab here soon though...
Jim, indeed we too have been surprised (and encouraged) greatly by the wide appeal of the mighty Orcas. We've got people from age 7-90, on all 7 continents, male and female, people who are permanently wheel chair bound and professional cyclists who race against Lance Armstrong, cancer patients and survivors, the blind and the nearly deaf, of all walks of life - janitors and CEOs, serious audiophiles, heavy metal bassists, hipsters and rednecks and hippies and creationists and scientists and - wheew! You name it.
Jim - one more thing i just noticed is that you managed to walk your way through our new online checkout system for the old Sex base we had listed in our b-stock page which is encouraging to me about our website's accessibility - always open to suggestions on that front because we've started trying to encourage folks with disabilities (and military) with a 10% discount, which should hopefully take the edge off for the folks who really need to heal themselves with music.
Thinking about the future, I cant wait to see who I get to meet over the next several hundred pair, but I'm sure that none of them will be quite as awesome, supportive, friendly, patient, and good-advice-giving as our community of To-The-Core Bottlehead builders who've been a major aspect of our clientelle this past year especially.
Peace,
Clark
P.s. I did hear a first watt F5 recently through the Orcas and i brought by my Stereomour for comparison. The F5 sounded fantastic - some of the best balanced out solid state ive heard through the Orcas and ive definitely heard my fair share. The Stereomour had the edge (for everyone in the room) on that ever elusive aspect called "musicality," yet the F5 had as you'd expect, some of the "physical" benefits of solid state in that it did get louder and cleaner, but it was necessary to get to such loud levels to get to that benefit and i myself am just not that kind of listener anymore, though i do respect the needs of those who prefer such a sound via the way I've engineered the Orcas to have an ability to "chameleon" their way around the sound of a variety of amps and usually have something mildly optimistic" to say about the music itself at the very least. Like the way my own mind works i guess (?) I don't think I could ever be a proper audio reviewer
Those are the exact time frames ive been observing. 30-50 hrs to get pretty close to the final character, and then after around 400 to acheive the full glory of their disappearing act/ profundity of their bass (which is the precise "WTF" behind why they are called "Orcas").
They can go through some pretty funny phases sonically until the ~40 hr mark. They can swing between sounding a bit muffled to boomy to bright and then back again before they settle down and start to really warm up at 40 hrs. We put anywhere between just a few all the way up to tens of hours on them in the shop before they get packed. So depending upon where they were by the time we ship them (and how many extremes of weather/altitude systems they travelled through otw to you), you can bet that they -will- have some settling in to do once you've hooked them up to voltage.
One more note is that they do need a good thrashing some time after 50 hrs to get fully loosened up in the bass register as well. Those little 3"ers have a surprising excursion before they bottom out (at which point, you should back off slightly from the volume knob out of courtesey to the cone. A little bit of (calculated) bottoming out here and there won't destroy the cones.
I've been really happy these last several months especially with the Orca Pod floorstanders going out with the new Y cables and 250 watt sub amps. I'm hoping to film a little instructional video here soon about how to get this system properly set up and dialed in, as they are a really versatile compact high end speakers thats sounds way bigger and more coherent than they have any right to. This initiative will have to wait though until i'm not distracted by all the finishing touches to the systems we've got shipping out this week.
Cant wait to start playing with the line array Orca pod in the prototyping lab here soon though...
Jim, indeed we too have been surprised (and encouraged) greatly by the wide appeal of the mighty Orcas. We've got people from age 7-90, on all 7 continents, male and female, people who are permanently wheel chair bound and professional cyclists who race against Lance Armstrong, cancer patients and survivors, the blind and the nearly deaf, of all walks of life - janitors and CEOs, serious audiophiles, heavy metal bassists, hipsters and rednecks and hippies and creationists and scientists and - wheew! You name it.
Jim - one more thing i just noticed is that you managed to walk your way through our new online checkout system for the old Sex base we had listed in our b-stock page which is encouraging to me about our website's accessibility - always open to suggestions on that front because we've started trying to encourage folks with disabilities (and military) with a 10% discount, which should hopefully take the edge off for the folks who really need to heal themselves with music.
Thinking about the future, I cant wait to see who I get to meet over the next several hundred pair, but I'm sure that none of them will be quite as awesome, supportive, friendly, patient, and good-advice-giving as our community of To-The-Core Bottlehead builders who've been a major aspect of our clientelle this past year especially.
Peace,
Clark
P.s. I did hear a first watt F5 recently through the Orcas and i brought by my Stereomour for comparison. The F5 sounded fantastic - some of the best balanced out solid state ive heard through the Orcas and ive definitely heard my fair share. The Stereomour had the edge (for everyone in the room) on that ever elusive aspect called "musicality," yet the F5 had as you'd expect, some of the "physical" benefits of solid state in that it did get louder and cleaner, but it was necessary to get to such loud levels to get to that benefit and i myself am just not that kind of listener anymore, though i do respect the needs of those who prefer such a sound via the way I've engineered the Orcas to have an ability to "chameleon" their way around the sound of a variety of amps and usually have something mildly optimistic" to say about the music itself at the very least. Like the way my own mind works i guess (?) I don't think I could ever be a proper audio reviewer
